Your day's wildlife

[Psamathe]

Anyone got any suggestions and or recommendations for a new trail camera as we are trouble with our Apeman hx55 one , we don't want wifi equipped thank you

A lot will depend on budget.

I like my Browning Recon Force Edge but it's no longer made and their new models have a wider field of view. I don't like "wider field of view" as I use mine for close small creatures (within 1m of the camera) and the wider is really targeted at the hunting community who are just interested in detecting where targets might be roaming. I've adjusted (non-destructively) the focus range on mine and normally have it set to 40-90cm in focus.

A lot of the claimed higher quality ones don't actually have sensory that match the saved image/video resolution but for marketing the upscale the sensor resolution to get to HD or even 4k. My view on this: it's marketing and if you want to upscale you'll probably find better algorithms on your laptop with plenty of processor.

I use mine mainly for video and it frustrates me that the max clip record length when it switches to illuminating is 20 secs (no real limit when there is plenty of light and LEDs are not on.

Also think about whether you want "no-glow" LEDs. I initially (many years ago) got a "no glow" Bushnell high end one and whilst camera was fine I wasn't impressed with the LEDs so send it back and got the Browning one which does glow but that doesn't seem to upset the wildlife I use it for (birds, rodents, reptiles, etc.)

Ian

 

[Gillstay]

 

[gbb]

Seems to be my luck...dead stuff.
A dead Chinese Water Dragon in the river yesterday..a dead bat, small, body the size of a 10p today

 

[Mrs M]

A poor wee deceased shrew on the moss today (disposed off with dignity).
Also encountered a nosy deer on our way home who’s stood her ground and just kept eyeballing us.
We changed our route to avoid her.

 

[Psamathe]

I have a fair number of ant nests on my grass. And although they make cutting the grass harder (more uncomfortable) I don't kill them as they frequently attract Green Woodpeckers. But over the last few days had a lot of blackbirds and rooks "anting" themselves, sitting on a nest wings open on ground, then after a bit hopping off and having a scratch and preen.

Ian

 

[PeteXXX]

View attachment 776837

I see your Scarlet Tiger moth and raise you one that I saved from our kitchen blind mech 😂

 

[biggs682]

Just evicted this month from the conservatory

 

[Gillstay]

 

[Psamathe]

Out on a walk the other day and saw 3 buzzards in the distance over the fields. Got out phone to log the sighting (yes, I keep lists!), and as I and the birds got closer I suddenly twigged my main reason for thinking "buzzards" was big BoP and we have a fair number of buzzards around so big assumption and ... realised they are not buzzards but red kites. Swooping around over a recently mown field of hay, cut grass/hay still drying on field, virtually over my head.

Only other red kit seen anywhere near the location was a year ago 10 miles away so three and close was brilliant.

Then wondering why they moved there. It's open arable countryside but National Grid built a pop-up supply depot on a bit of farm and no planning permission, but 24/7 generators, flood lighting through all hours of darkness had quickly driven all wildlife away (including several buzzards, rabbits, etc.) and that somewhat devastating impact lasted for 12+ months. complaints to planners and after a bit the depot went so I wondered if the "gap" in the food chain left by the buzzards being driven away has been filled by the Red Kites before buzzards as the ecology tries to re-instate itself.

Ian

 

[gbb]

Out on a walk the other day and saw 3 buzzards in the distance over the fields. Got out phone to log the sighting (yes, I keep lists!), and as I and the birds got closer I suddenly twigged my main reason for thinking "buzzards" was big BoP and we have a fair number of buzzards around so big assumption and ... realised they are not buzzards but red kites. Swooping around over a recently mown field of hay, cut grass/hay still drying on field, virtually over my head.

Only other red kit seen anywhere near the location was a year ago 10 miles away so three and close was brilliant.

Then wondering why they moved there. It's open arable countryside but National Grid built a pop-up supply depot on a bit of farm and no planning permission, but 24/7 generators, flood lighting through all hours of darkness had quickly driven all wildlife away (including several buzzards, rabbits, etc.) and that somewhat devastating impact lasted for 12+ months. complaints to planners and after a bit the depot went so I wondered if the "gap" in the food chain left by the buzzards being driven away has been filled by the Red Kites before buzzards as the ecology tries to re-instate itself.

Ian

They introduced Red Kite in Nothants 20 plus years ago and the populations were small and localised there. Over the years they slowly...and then quickly expanded east (and probably every other direction as well)
The one thing that bugs me is their apparent abundant food sources ? As they're pretty opportunistic and carrion feeders, there's seemingly no shortage of food out there judging by the numbers of them. You'll occasionally see one on the deck in a field, I assume they've found something to eat...otherwise they spend an awful lot of time looping and gliding around even our urban estates let alone the countryside.

 

[FrankCrank]

When in the UK, in Reading at least, it's common to look up and see a dozen more Red Kites circling above.
They really have become a successful reintroduction, folk regularly leave food out for them, well capable to adapting to an urban lifestyle

 

[Willd]

When in the UK, in Reading at least, it's common to look up and see a dozen more Red Kites circling above.
They really have become a successful reintroduction, folk regularly leave food out for them, well capable to adapting to an urban lifestyle

There's quite few in central Milton Keynes too

 

[Animo]

 

[TLW1]

Blunt nose viper - circa 2 meters long and too fast for me to get my phone out

 

[Binky]

Best I can get without scaring it off nest. Yesterday I was cutting back some hedges and trees in the garden and I found a nest with an egg in it. I stopped any further cutting as didn't want to expose it to the elements. Anyway, found out it's a pigeon.