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How does the state manage its wildlife cams? Are there ways regular people can participate in the project? Those are some of the questions the Margaret Watson Bird Club will provide answers to on Thursday, Feb. 1, as the group hosts a virtual presentation from Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources Biologist Meagan Thomas. 

DWRs’ live-streaming cameras offer the public a close-up view of the daily and nocturnal activities of Virginia’s diverse wildlife, from elk restoration habitat in the Southwest mountains to urban falcons on the 21st floor of a downtown Richmond high-rise, to migrating shad in the James River fishway. Their newest cam is of a marsh habitat on Hog Island, in Surry County.

“You get this intimate view of something that you don’t get to see too often, and you kind of get to know the birds and what to expect from them,” Thomas said. “You get sucked in. It’s like nature documentaries and I think it has the same appeal.”

Prior to her employment with DWRs, Meagan worked as a human-wildlife interactions biologist for the NC Wildlife Resources Commission where she developed a variety of programs and materials centered on fostering positive wildlife interactions for constituents. She obtained her M.S. degree in Biological Sciences at Eastern Illinois University and she received two B.S. degrees from Towson University, majoring in Organismal Biology and Ecology as well as Animal Behavior.

The meeting will be held at the Prince Edward County Extension Office at 100 Dominion Drive; across from Lowe’s in Farmville. Light refreshments start at 6:30 p.m. and the program starts at 7 p.m. A short business meeting will follow the program.