Each camera-trap deployment (one camera at one location during one session) may carry quality flags. A quality controller sets them after checking the data. On the dashboard and in export the flags work as a filter: you can exclude observations from deployments with the selected flags.
Flags
| Group | Flags |
|---|---|
| Equipment | not functional; stolen; hardware, firmware, settings, battery or SD card problem |
| Data | not uploaded; data not raw; no GPS coordinates; no species recorded; data not usable |
| Placement | incorrect; poor; near a feeding site; incorrect installation |
| Control frames | missing time-lapse frames, installation frames, removal frames, distance reference frames, date and time frames |
| Time | local time not set; local time problem (with a description) |
Most common problems
- Missing coordinates. Without them the location does not appear on the map. See the minimum standard.
- Date failure in the camera. Photos dated 1900-01-01 or with an obviously wrong year. The control frame of a sheet with the date and time saves the day: the date can be corrected from it.
- Moisture and short circuits. Check the seals and dry the cameras between seasons.
- Over-sensitive cameras on grass. They produce tens of thousands of empty frames: up to 42,000 from one camera in Polissia. Such series are still uploaded, but verified by priority, series with species first.
Tip: most flags can be prevented in the field. Go through the field checklist at every installation.