Birds on trail cameras

Birds account for most of the "non-target" triggers on the trail cameras, mainly pigeons, ducks, geese etc.  The advantage the cameras have is that they are watching all the time, so they see things that would otherwise be missed.  The videos can also show us natural behaviour in an undisturbed environment, something else rarely seen.

Bitterns have been causing great excitement in Gosforth Nature Reserve this spring with at least one booming male and at least one female.  Hopes are high that they may breed in the reserve for the first time.  Most of the time they are hidden in the reeds but this one, probably a female, went for a wander in front of the cameras last week.

And then it happened again a couple of days ago.  The bittern walked past three cameras and was a bit too close by the end.  It appeared to pause when it heard a sudden burst of song from a Cetti's warbler close by in the reeds.  I was interested to see that it stood tall and still when out in the open, just as it does for concealment when it is in the reeds.

Another recent recording showed an adult male Redstart, a summer visitor to the UK and a rare record for the reserve.  This one was presumably en route to a breeding territory farther north in upland woodlands.

And this is what I am seeing most of the time.  There are several Mallard, Canada Goose and Greylag Goose families in the reserve and they spend a lot of time using up camera memory and battery power.  This is a brief excerpt from a prolonged visit from the greylags.