Camera Traps

Yesterday I completed the wiring for the tawny owl box at the bottom of my garden, with a little help from a neighbour with an 18mm drill bit. It’s a really neat job and I can now watch what goes on from the comfort of my living room. All I need now is an owl, or two.

I went to the old fish farm to check my camera traps. It was a bright and breezy morning, but the forecast was for strong wind and heavy rain later in the day, so I made an early start. The camera under the bridge had recorded a mink, a brown rat and a kingfisher which seems to have a regular perch under there. After a couple of days, sightings of the kingfisher stopped. It had found a better perch on top of the camera trap, which was covered in poo!

The other camera, overlooking a track leading from a pool to the river, had lots of otter video on it. Otters are still very rare in this part of the country, so it’s great to find one in residence here, moving from river to pool and back every day. As expected, it’s most active at dawn and dusk, though it’s timekeeping is a bit erratic. Due to the way I set up the camera, it always seems to be heading in the same direction. You live and learn!

 

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