A very narrow escape

I am not an expert in swallowing live frogs but I think the trick is to get it turned round so it will go down head first.  This young heron made a rather inelegant flop into the reeds to catch a large frog but then didn't seem to know how to deal with it.  The poor frog got rather mauled about as the heron was trying to work out how to deal with it but eventually took its chance to leap to freedom.  The heron spent another minute gazing at the gap in the boards just in front of the camera to no avail.  Despite its escape I fear the frog probably didn't get away unscathed.

Another example of the fascinating non-target videos that turn up on OtterCam.  I expect we may see otters with frogs soon as March and April seem to be the season for them.  Otters are also rather more effective in dealing with frogs.

Relaxation on OtterCam

Otters rely on their dense waterproof coats to keep them warm in the water and they spend a lot of time keeping their fur in tip-top condition.  The parts within reach are groomed but it is hard to scratch your back when you have short legs.  The solution is to roll on something comfortable such as grass or moss.  It looks as though they enjoy it and it is certainly enjoyable to watch. This is the dog otter looking as though he is having a good time.  I love the way at the end of the video he seems suddenly to realise we have been watching him.

Grooming seems also to be a social activity as the family all get involved at the same time.  This is the longest video I have posted but is relaxing to watch - perhaps the otters' equivalent of slow television.  I hope you enjoy it.

Snakes in the grass

Spring equinox, so time to look for adders.  But it was a big surprise to find that the last time I was there was five years ago, just before lockdown.  The forecast was for a cold sunny morning which would have been ideal but it turned out misty and hazy and the sun barely showed.  Still, the adders did come out in the hope of soaking up some warmth.

They lay on the bank, facing where the sun should have been.  To start with I had trouble finding one - they are camouflaged after all - but once I got my eye in it was easier.

I think most I of those I saw were males but it isn't easy (for me) to tell males from females before they shed their skins after emerging from hibernation.  Females are larger and brown/dark brown while the males are smaller and will eventually be silver and black.  I think this is a male.

And this might be a female.

The snakes regularly adjust their position to try to absorb more warmth.

There are two snakes here, coiled together.

These are well arranged to maximise heat absorption although it can be difficult to tell which end is which.

If I get the chance I may go back next month after their first moult, although the vegetation grows up quickly so they can be even more difficult to see.

Ladybirds go over to the Dark Side

I started looking out for ladybirds just over two years ago so I am still learning how to find them and recognise them and which colours and patterns are common.  Already, however, it is obvious that things have been different this winter.  Most species, other than Orange Ladybird, have been present in much lower numbers than usual.  The other striking observation is how many have been found with much darker colouration or patterns than usual.  Here are a few recent examples, each alongside a common / typical version.

18-spot Ladybird

10-spot Ladybird f. decempunctata

10-spot Ladybird f. decempustulata

Cream-streaked Ladybird

Harlequin Ladybird f. succinea

Cream-spot Ladybird

Ladybirds of many species, especially 10-spot and Harlequin, come in all sorts of colour variations.  These, for instance are the variants of 10-spot Ladybird on Christoph Benisch's website, and it doesn't even include my first one above.

And these are his variants of Harlequin Ladybird!

However, it is not just me noticing the unusual dark forms - other people around the country have made similar observations this winter.  I haven't yet heard a good explanation for it.  I did read somewhere that dark versions might occur if they were cold as pupae but that would be odd as only the occasional one is affected.  It will be interesting to see what the next year brings.

The crow is outsmarted

Crows are pretty smart but this one wasn't quite as clever as it thought.  A carrion crow appeared on OtterCam with a piece of dried bread.  It dunked it in the water to soften it (clever) and ate half.

It decided to hide the rest for later (also clever) and then flew away.

However, later that night a wood mouse found and ate the bread - although the camera didn't trigger as the mouse stole the bread the evidence is pretty damning.

The following afternoon the crow returned for the bread but couldn't find it.

I see some interesting things as non-target captures on trail camera but this is one of the best. The video is a bit longer than usual but is worth a watch.

Crows have deserved reputation for intelligence but don't always get the upper hand.  Aesop's fable The Crow and the Pitcher shows how smart they can be but in The Fox and the Crow it was the fox who came out on top.  As far as I know Aesop didn't write about The Crow and the Wood Mouse.

Dinner time on OtterCam

If you listen carefully to this first video, after the mother whistles she makes a low-pitched cat-like mewing sound that I haven't heard before.  It must be to encourage the cub to come and take the fish.  Two minutes later the cub appeared on an adjacent camera with the (now dead) fish and played with it in the water for a few moments before bringing it out to eat.

The next otter didn't lack ambition but its stalking skills weren't what they might be.  The white blob on the second camera is a water drop on the rain hood.

The little old bridge is a very popular spot with the otters.  They enjoy rolling on it and may visit several times in 24 hours.  Even though I have five cameras in position the otters are quite close and rarely sit in the right place so piecing together the video clips into something coherent is a challenge.  Here is my attempt with a sequence of the cubs fighting and the mother trying not to get involved.

The cubs are now as big as their mother and I suspect that both might be male.  It is about time they started catching their own dinner.

Frolics on OtterCam

It looks as though the otters have completely taken over the blog, for now at least.  I am still refining the camera positions each time to try to cover as much of the action as possible.  I have four cameras on the old boardwalk bridge and the otters are triggering about 150 videos a week, mostly in daylight.  That's over two hours of videos clips to sort through - after sifting out all the moorhen, water rail, heron and wood mouse pictures.  Most recordings don't get edited into a brief story but the best do.  Here is the family, close together for once.

At other times the cubs lag behind and mother has to wait for them.  I expect the second one is the cub that got lost a few weeks ago.  I can't tell if it always the same one dawdling.

The cubs are now over seven months old and fairly well grown but they spend a lot of their time playing and still seem to expect their food to be caught for them.  Here is a taste of what they get up to when the cameras are watching.

The dog otter hasn't been around for the past week or so - I expect he's on patrol somewhere else in his territory.  More otter news soon.