A new buck on RoeDeerCam

During the rut in July-August we saw the dominant buck chasing off a yearling and since then he has been the only one around.  Until last week that is, when a new buck showed up.  Roe bucks can be identified by their antlers so this one is clearly new.  Below is the dominant resident male with his six point head.

This is the yearling who was chased off a few weeks ago.  He has simple one-point antlers.

And this is the new guy.  He has small forward-pointing brow points but doesn't yet (ie this year) have rear points.

And here he is on video.

Roe bucks aren't territorial at this time of year so I expect he'll be able to stick around.  It will be interesting to see.

The older buck is a creature of habit and he often follows the same route in front of the cameras. He regularly takes a short cut through the water, here picking his way in the dark.

I have never seen him go back the same way.  Here he is again in daylight last week.  His darker winter coat is already nearly complete although he is still a bit foxy red around the tail end.

The new kids on the block on RoeDeerCam

I started targeting the Roe Deer with my cameras only in mid July, when the kids were several weeks old and already big enough to follow their mother around.  It has taken a while to work out where they go and where best to position the cameras but recently there have been some good recordings.  Roe does usually have one or two young, with twins being common, but the first video from mid July shows a singleton.  It still has some of its camouflage and is still interested in suckling.

The next video shows twins with their mother.  Most of the videos are like this as most of the time the deer just wander about, browsing as they go.

At this age they stay close to their mother but mid July to mid August sees the rut and the kids can get caught up in the action.  In the next video one twin stayed with its mother as she was pursued by a buck but the other one got left behind.  You can hear it squeaking as it calls for its mother.  It must then have caught sight of her across the water and decided to take a short cut.

The next episode was curious.  A kid appeared to be alone although I expect the mother wasn't far away.  The buck watched as the kid jumped the stream and then followed it.  When the kid turned and approached the buck (possibly its father, who knows) it was butted away but the camera didn't see what happened after.

The last video, from earlier this week, shows a young male kid with his mother and a second doe, possibly an aunt or an older sister.  You can see the little bumps on his forehead, starting to grow the pedicles which will be where his antlers are joined to his skull.  I read in John Halliday's book For the Love of the Roe that these little bumps start to grow at three months of age.  They will drop off in February and his first single-pointed antlers will then start to grow.  Roe bucks shed and regrow their antlers each year and it will be three years before he is a six-pointer.

Staking a claim on RoebuckCam

The rut may be over but the bucks are still putting themselves about.  Although the young buck is not old enough or strong enough to hold a territory he is still keen to make his mark.  The first video shows him scent-marking.  He has glands between his hooves that leave a scent when he paws the ground and scent glands on his neck and cheeks and at the base of his antlers which he rubs on the tree.

As you saw, he ran off at the end, perhaps aware that the dominant buck was nearby (and followed him a couple of minutes later).  The older buck returned after 20 minutes to check out the younger one's message.  He's a full "six-pointer", probably 3-5 years old and in his prime.  It is interesting that he didn't attempt to leave his own scent, something an otter would always do.

Here's another video of the older buck, this time running and barking an alarm call.  I didn't see what had spooked him because nothing else appeared on the camera.

Until recently I didn't think much of roe deer as subjects for trail cameras as all they ever seemed to do was wander past, occasionally stopping to nibble the vegetation (the twins a few years ago were a notable exception).  The last few weeks have proved me wrong and have produced some memorable videos of more interesting behaviour.  Let's hope the deer can keep up the interest as we move away from the rut.

The buck stops here

The roe buck has been busy with the rut in the past few weeks but he now looks as though he is due a rest.  Although the cameras have been in the same positions for a few weeks he looked a bit suspicious at first when he saw this one.

After standing for a few minutes he decided it was safe enough to lie down and was flicking his ears as he was bothered by flies.

Most of the time was just chewing the cud.

At one stage he was so relaxed he fell asleep, although his ears show he was still alert.

He also had time for a bit of grooming.

Eventually it was time to move on, almost an hour after he lay down.

He was back the next day but didn't have time to stop.

News from StoatCam

If like me you have a couple of dozen wood mice and voles in the freezer and have been wondering what to do with them, this may be the answer.  Since the excitement of seeing ten stoats in the garden a few weeks ago the cameras have been picking up only one at a time, although not always the same individual.  I noticed they have a particular liking for a space under a stack of large paving stones leaning against a sycamore at the end of the wall and were using it as a larder.  On one occasion a stoat went off to fetch a chunk of something, either rabbit or squirrel, and took it into the larder.  Three hours later it (or another stoat) returned and took the prize off elsewhere.

I had seen similar activity there as well so I put in a frozen vole and a couple of days later a stoat found it.  It brought the vole out and then returned to see if there was another one.  I think because stoats (and weasels) are used to raiding small mammal nests and bird nests they are always hopeful there will be more than one item of food.  This time there wasn't so it took the vole back in and either ate it there or took it out the back door as it didn't reappear.

Expecting this might become a habit I put in a mouse but no stoat returned.  Instead a magpie found the mouse and it certainly remembered and came back several times to see if I had left another one, which I hadn't.

Stoat sightings are intermittent at the moment but here's an example of what the cameras do see.

One of the cameras in the new wetland in Gosforth Nature Reserve is also seeing a stoat regularly although it is suspicious of the camera and doesn't hang around.  It is only a mile away so it could be one of the recently dispersed youngsters from here.

OtterCam on Channel 5

Oh dear.  It's happened again.  On Channel 5 last night.  People like otters and television people like to show pictures of otters but why they also need a mumbling old man as well is beyond me. My main aim in making all my otter videos is to be able to share them so of course I said yes but it wasn't a comfortable experience.  After Winterwatch a year ago I was hoping it would be better - at least I didn't wear my dreadful old hat this time. 

The approach came from Lonesome Pine Productions, an independent TV production company based in Newcastle commissioned by Channel 5.  The team above (R-L) was Simon Glass, who was also cameraman for Winterwatch (but soundman as well this time), Alan Fairholm, producer, and Bunny, assistant producer.  Brian Rutter took the photos in this post.

Most of the time all I had to do was walk towards tha camera (I am quite good at that bit).

Simon also took a lot of drone footage, much of it general views of the reserve and some of me walking up and down (again).

The interview is much harder than it looks, mostly because I talk too much.  The editors need very short sentences so they can cut up the copy more easily whereas I tend to talk in paragraphs.  Added to that I am always thinking three sentences ahead so I don't lose my thread but then I do.  Fortunately very little of what we recorded was used in the end.  (If you think it was bad you should see what they left out!)

The programme was no 24 in a series of 40 on Channel 5 called Love Nature.  If you want to watch it you can see it on the Channel 5 website here.  I suppose if I got more practice at speaking in front of the camera I would get better at it but I hope that's my television career over.

The trail camera footage they used was some I have shown before in posts here and here.    To bring you up to date here is a brief clip of the family last Sunday.  You'll see the cub with the poorly leg is still limping but is able to keep up with the others.

WaterRailCam

This blog has been taken over by mustelids recently so it is time for something different, although these pictures were recorded on cameras looking for otters.  The water rail (Rallus aquaticus) has a reputation for being a shy bird but it isn't shy when it thinks no-one is looking.  It is the most frequent non-target bird on this camera, appearing several times a day.

Most often the water rail just runs across the bridge but quite frequently it also does a dance on tip-toe with much flapping of its wings.  I don't know if this is a display or just for exercise, probably the former.  Here are a few examples.

Wikipedia says water rails mostly eat animals such as worms, slugs, leeches, spiders and insects.  They will also take small vertebrates such as amphibians and fish.  The cameras have twice recently seen a water rail carrying prey - first a fish and then a newt in the video, an observation that would be near impossible without the trail camera.

Because of their secretive behaviour water rails are very difficult birds to census.  My cameras suggest that locally at least they are doing very well.

Summer dragonflies

I don't take as many dragonfly photos these days, mainly because I already have good photos of the species I see regularly.  I do still take record shots to convince the county recorder when I submit records and I take a few if they would make an appealing picture.  2025 has been a good year for many insects, including dragonflies, and locally we have seen good numbers of previously rare species.  Here are some of my recent pictures.

Broad-bodied Chaser.  This was the first dragonfly I saw this year and features on the front cover of the latest edition of The NHSN Magazine.

Ruddy Darter.  This is an immature male and is fairly rare in Gosforth Nature Reserve (GNR).  I like the way the wings were in focus as well.

Emperor Dragonfly, the first time I have had a reasonable photo of one on the Hepple Estate but it was a bit too close to the background to be good.  This is a male.

Brown Hawker.  We had only one previous record of a male in GNR but there was lots of activity this year.  This is a male on patrol.

And a female ovipositing.  Females were observed on several occasion over six weeks so with luck we'll end up with a breeding population in the reserve.

Another species with only a single previous record in the reserve, a Black-tailed Skimmer.  This time we had multiple males and at least one ovipositing female.  This is a male.

A male Common Hawker, also from GNR.

And mating Common Hawkers from Cragside.

A male Golden-ringed Dragonfly from Hepple.

A female Black Darter, also from Hepple.

A male Small Red-eyed Damselfly in GNR.  This species first moved north of the River Tyne last year and our reserve has the most northerly UK record.

Finally another damselfly from GNR and a new species for me.  This is a male Willow Emerald Damselfly.  The reserve has the most northerly UK record for this one as well.

The dragonfly season will soon be over.  Let's hope next year is as good as this has been.

Lunar Hornet Moth

The Lunar Hornet Moth (Sesia bembeciformis) is a day flyer and flies only in July.  Its unusual life cycle begins when the adults emerge from pupae in willow trees in early July.  The female attracts a mate by wafting a pheromone and after mating she lays her eggs on willow bark.  The larvae chew their way into the wood and stay there growing for two years before emerging and the cycle is then complete.

The Lunar Hornet Moth looks, sounds and flies like a hornet or giant wasp.  It is one of a group of clearwing moths that use Batesian mimicry to deter predators, that is they disguise themselves as something more dangerous and unpalatable to a potential predator.

Since 2020 a synthetic pheromone has been commercially available and reports of adult moths have increased dramatically.  This is the third year in a row I have had a go with a lure and all these photos are of males attracted to a pheromone lure in the past week.  (The female moth looks very similar but is larger.)  Once the moths have been in the trap for a few minutes they calm down and are happy to sit on a willow trunk for a few minutes while they gather their thoughts before flying off.

The photos on or in the trap aren't much good so I had a go at flight shots which are tricky but a few came out OK.  This one was taken in natural light and the shutter speed wasn't fast enough to freeze the wing movement.  

These were taken with flash.

For comparison here are a couple of European Hornets (Vespa crabro), also from Gosforth Nature Reserve but a few years ago.  They are brown rather than black but otherwise the moth's mimicry is pretty impressive.