Daytime playtime

With longer days and shorter nights the badgers are out much more in daylight.  It is hard to guess which entrance they will use so the cubs only appear on the cameras from time to time.  This was almost four weeks after they first appeared above ground and they are now about 12 weeks old and are probably more or less weaned.  These two short videos were recorded on the same day.  The first one was just after sunrise.  I don't know if they had been out all night but I expect mother was hoping they would burn off a bit of energy so they would sleep properly in the day.  The lens is slightly misted up in the early morning.

The second video was early evening.  Much the same with mother having a scratch and the cubs wanting to play. They don't stick to her quite as much as before but still like to stay close by.

Fox News

At least one fox now turns up here every evening, usually between 9.00 and 9.30, and usually the vixen first.  They almost always stand facing the camera and the light, giving a head on view, but are easy to tell apart as she has unblemished ears whereas the dog has a torn right ear.  This is the vixen

and this is the dog.

They don't do much except wander up, chew some biscuits and wander off again so I haven't recently recorded video from inside the house but here are a few portraits.  The vixen again

The dog fox is more relaxed and is happy to lie down to eat.

Last night I put out a trail camera in the garden for the first time in ages.  The vixen turned right on schedule and was immediately very aware of it, and very suspicious.  As you can see in the video she was creeping up to the food, grabbing a few biscuits, and then retreating 5 or 10 metres to eat it.  Eventually she was a bit more comfortable but she never took her eye off it.  She also faced it all the time instead of facing the house (which is off to the right).  This is the no-glow camera and I am intrigued by how much light it picks up from the LED security light.  Either the camera sensor has a wider spectrum of sensitivity than its own light source (940nm) or the LED is producing some infrared as well as white light.  I suspect the former but either way it gives a better picture.

An hour or so later the dog fox turned up.  You can recognise his torn ear and hear him crunching the biscuits.  This time the security light was off so the video picture is not as good but he can still see the "no-glow" camera.

Another hour or so later the vixen returned to finish off what was left.  I think I'll leave a dummy camera in place so they get used to it.  I am hoping the cubs will turn up next month and it will be good to get some intimate video shots.

DucklingCam

I am not sure what this was all about.  The camera was set to keep an eye on the otter but does pick up other things.  I have seen water shrews, water rails and rats before but this was a first.  I think what happened was that one duckling jumped or fell over the sluice gate and the others followed.  Then they were unable to get back up to the mother duck who stayed on the water above.  The ducklings ran up and down the pipe more than a dozen times while the mother can be heard calling from above the sluice gate. It is funny to watch but must have been frightening for them and I am not sure how it ended.  The contrast between the dark of the culvert and the bright sunshine above the sluice gate is too much for the camera so we can't see the mother duck clearly.  The camera didn't show the mother in the pipe but she could have flown over to the other end or walked round a different way.  Eventually there were 13 ducklings running up and down for the next 23 minutes (don't worry, I have edited the video).  After that the numbers were down to four so the others may have gone off downstream.  Then there were two and after another 16 minutes there was no more recording.

The odd thing is that two days later it all happened again.  Again it started with one duckling jumping over and this time there were eight.  And again the mother can be heard calling from above the gate.  These ducklings ran through but didn't return.  It could be the same family who had worked out how to get back round above the sluice gate.  If so they may have lost five or the other five may not have jumped a second time.

Then six days later a repeat performance.  I can't tell if this was the same duck family, but, if so, they don't learn.  The camera had been moved to the other side of the pipe and there were three ducklings down in the pipe, with mother (and perhaps other ducklings) still up above the gate.  Mother was very agitated but didn't follow them down.  This sequence went on for 10 minutes and was again unresolved.  They ended up behind the camera at the downstream end of the culvert and I don't know what happened after that.  They will have to be careful as there are crows and magpies around, not to mention otters.

FoxCam

Foxes are usually pretty wary of the trail cameras.  They can see the infrared light and are suspicious of anything new or strange so it was good to see this one so relaxed and very generously staying within the frame.  It can obviously see the camera but is unconcerned.  It is interesting to see how the fox searches with its nose in the dark.

RoeDeerCam

It isn't easy to get good images of roe deer on a trail camera.  They don't have a home like badgers or foxes and won't take food put out for them, unlike most other mammals.  One way is to position a camera near a trail in the hope they will walk past facing the right direction.  This time I was just lucky.  Roe deer browse trees, shrubs and herbs and are surprisingly fond of brambles, as in this short video.  This one is still in her dark winter coat but will soon moult into her thinner foxy-red summer coat.

On another day the roe buck was less accommodating but did at least show off a fine pair of antlers.  He looks a bit shaggy as he is already moulting.

This doe walked in front of two cameras that were positioned close together.  She is starting to moult and already has the summer red colour around her face.  You can see she is heavily pregnant.   The fawn(s) will be born in a couple of weeks' time.  Wouldn't it be a treat if one of them walked past the camera?

Badger cubs in daylight

I expect you won't mind another badger cub video.  This is the only time so far they have come out in front of the camera in daylight, although they often don't use this entrance to the sett.  Mother and the cubs settled down for a scratching and grooming session before setting off to explore.  They weren't quite as well disciplined as before in staying in shot and in focus but it wasn't too bad.

This is a bit like those slow TV programmes of Norwegians lighting fires or people knitting.  I like the way halfway through the video the troublemaker gets a clip round the ear and then goes and sulks in the sett entrance.  It soon got over it.  I hope you enjoy it.

These images were recorded with the trail camera fitted with a +1.25 dioptre lens to improve close focus.  However, the badgers this time were a bit farther back from the camera and are just starting to go out of focus (interestingly the depth of field seems better with infrared pictures at night).  So I have splashed out on a pair of +0.5 dioptre lenses (£2.99 including postage!) and cut one down and fitted it today in the hope of moving the focus range slightly farther back.  We'll see if it works.

Garden birds in April

This blog has been rather overrun by mammals recently but I haven't given up on bird photography.  April was a good month for birds in the garden, including the arrival of chiffchaffs and blackcaps from Africa.

I saw the male kestrel again very early one morning.  Twice he dived down to the lawn to catch something which I think was probably a worm.  Although their main prey is small mammals, kestrels eat other things including small birds, insects and worms.

A pair of jays are in the garden every day.  They are the prettiest crows and are great opportunists.  This one was standing under the peanut feeder while a woodpecker was feeding, waiting to catch the bits as they fell.

Jackdaws also come down to the feeders and stand underneath.

Jackdaws are more agile than jays and can get onto the feeders themselves.

I also have a woodpecker feeder which has holes filled with suet.

It also attracts other birds.

And you-know-who is still around, keeping them all on their toes.

There were lots of other birds I didn't take photos of - all the usual suspects plus reed bunting and green woodpecker. The only disappointment is that my camera nest box is unoccupied for the first time since it was put up in 2009.  I have modified it slightly to move the camera so that it can see the whole floor and the entrance hole so it would have given good pictures.  Maybe next year.