WeaselCam on tour

One of my WeaselCam boxes has just spent eight weeks in Elemore Park in Sunderland.  The main aim was to record the local weasels although I was also hoping the camera would also see the local Greater White Toothed Shrew -  a hope that was realised.  In the first two weeks there were only a few recordings - of shrews and voles and all in daytime.  In the following four weeks the camera recorded 300 wood mouse videos, 150 vole videos and three weasel videos but no shrews.  The pattern was similar in the last two weeks - lot of mice and voles but this time there were 11 weasel recordings, although still no shrews.

To start with the weasel was very wary and was reluctant to come right into the box.  

Then it got a bit more confident.

In the last two weeks it was in the box nearly every day.

It seemed fascinated by something behind the camera (there was nothing there) often staying for 30s at a time.  At times it was jumping around like a stoat, unfortunately mostly out of view.  Here are the best bits edited from the 11 recordings.

I think this is probably all the same female weasel although it is difficult to be sure as some of the views were fleeting.  The likelihood is that the box was in her territory and she certainly got more used to it with time.  My only disappointment is that the shrews didn't show after the first two weeks - perhaps they were put off by the smell of weasel (or perhaps the weasel had eaten them all!).  The camera box is off elsewhere for a while but we hope to return it to Elemore Park for more weasel and shrew recordings in the near future.