Mammals: Unseen

 In the last two 'Unseen' posts I took a look at badgers and foxes. In today's post we will look at other mammals in general. Let's get straight into it. 

Rats and Mice 

Lots of people don't like rodents. If that's you look away as rats and mice will be in this section. 

I don't mind rodents and think that they are rather interesting. I have endless videos of unseen mice that I could have made a separate post all about them. Anyway here is a funny one of it getting blown away by the wind.

This one jumped away. 

Now some rat photos.

And videos:

Squirrels

Squirrels are the most common animal on the camera trap. So its no surprise that we don't always put every video on the blog. This is the first ever squirrel we got. I only put the picture on and not the video (it's in the first ever post).

In 2021 we also got some squirrels at night.

Rabbit

When I put my camera out near my cousins house, (the same place as in foxes unseen) we got some rabbits. I wasn't too surprised as it was next to a warren. However, wild rabbits are much rarer than they used to be thanks to several diseases. I have only caught them a few times in the woods near my house. This is a video of two rabbits chasing each other.

 

Roe Deer

The roe deer herd in the woods near my house have been on my camera trap a few times. Here are some more unseen photos and videos from the first time we saw them.

The next video is from the most recent time we have had them on the camera trap. I thought I had put it on but I had not.

That is all for today's post. . Keep an eye out for my top 10 favourite photos/videos of 2023 launching first thing in 2024. It has been a great year for the blog and I'll see you next year! Remember to leave a comment and thanks for reading this year!

Foxes: Unseen

 A few posts ago, I launched 'Badgers: Unseen'. The truth is, I have lots of unseen footage. In today's post I will be showing some unseen fox footage. Let's get straight into it. 

Long ago in 2020, we got the second fox ever. The first fox was a bit rubbish as you couldn't see its head. But the second fox was a fantastic one. However, I just took a screenshot from the video and showed that. Today, I will show the full video. There is a peculiar sound which ends in a sad squawk as the fox jumped over the log. Did it catch some prey?

   Sadly, the area which was that video was taken in was flooded later that year and still is to this day. However, the bank just up from the pond isn't and I still put the camera out there today. We got another fox there and once again edited it so it was just a still photo of the fox. Here is the full footage.

Later in 2020 or 2021, I put my camera out near my cousin's house (more of that in a future post) and got a blurry photo of what is possibly a fox near some wild rabbit burrows. 

In 2021 we got a fantastic video of a fox doing a poo. We got another fantastic video in the same place.

When we went wildlife spotting we saw a fox walk down the slope. Here is a photo shoot of it. I have put similar photos on but they are not the same.

That is all for today's post. If you like this unseen series leave a comment because the next one is launching tomorrow at 10:am. Thanks for reading!

A Heron In the Woods?

 The other week I went on an extra long walk. I saw several animals such as ducks and moorhens because it was mainly along the canal. One animal which has never been on the blog before are domestic pigs which were in a pen on the side of the canal. 

Towards the end of the walk we walked through a wooded area. This was the place I least expected to see a heron but sometimes nature surprises you. It was a juvenile in the woods and the canal wasn't near.

In the last post I said I wanted to get the camera trap out over Christmas day. I did put it out but all I got was a squirrel on boxing day. Disappointing. Anyway, whatever animals you saw I hope you had a nice Christmas. The next post - foxes: unseen - will be releasing tomorrow.

That's all for todays post. Remember to leave a comment and thanks for reading!

Back at the Badger Set

 In 2021 we finally found the badger set. In 2022 we put the camera trap out there. Now, just at the end of 2023, I've put it out again. It's also surprisingly the first time I have ever put the camera trap out in December too (I'm hoping to put it out again and keep it out over Christmas day). It's extremely wet and windy here (it was a struggle getting the camera back) so some of the photos are blurred out by raindrops.

Anyway, lets get into it.

Saturday to Monday

We put the camera out on Saturday. However, it wasn't until Monday when we got something. It was just a miller-second glimpse of one's face before it went out on it's night scavenge. It wasn't really worth showing you. But the next clip is. It is a behaviour we have never recorded before. It is when a badger brings fresh bedding into the burrow.

                                                                                                                                                                           I almost forgot - earlier that day, we also got a great tit.

Tuesday                                                                                                                                                            

 The same night as earlier on, we also got another badger. This one came right up to the camera.

In the day, we also got a squirrel. The centre of the screen is a bit blurry due to rain. So focus on the side of the screen and you will see it. 

Wednesday

Wednesday morning at 3'oclock we got another, rather shy, badger.

However, just a few minutes we got a much more confident one coming up to sniff the camera.

Thursday 

This morning, we also got quite a bit. 

#

At 7 o'clock this morning the badger came home and is probably still there now (at the time of writing this). 

That's all for today's post. Stay tuned for more posts coming very soon! Remember to leave a comment and thanks for reading!

Badgers: Unseen

 Badgers are one of the three main animals on the blog  (the other 2 being foxes and deer). However, not all badger footage (even though some of them should) makes the final cut. Some of the images/photos in this post may seem familiar as they have similar backgrounds or are even just a full video of a screenshot taken. The first video is one I took a long time ago. It was in 2020 and is the second-ever badger video I got.

In 2021, me and my dad went wildlife spotting. For the full post, click here.

After waiting for about 2 hours one finally came out. I mentioned that there were two badgers but only ever showed a video of 1. Well, in today's post I will show you the other footage we got.

I'll start off with a video and some pictures. The camera is a bit shaky at the start but soon settles. Sorry if the sound is a bit strange; I had to take shorter videos of the videos on the computer from my phone so they would upload.

In the same year, I also put my camera out where the badger set is. So this time, instead of videos from half a valley away, there are some more close-up ones for you.

I have already made a post about the burrow but didn't put all the good videos in. You can tell from the sound of this one (this is the actual video now, not just my phone recording it) that there are 2 baby badgers play fighting.

Here is some more badger set footage.

That's all for today's post. If you enjoyed it, make sure you leave a comment so I will do a fox version of this post soon. Thank's for reading!

Recent Shots Part 2 - Birds, Badgers, Squirrels and Rats

 Like in the last post (if you havent seen it already click here) I will be showing some recent photos I have taken. Let's get straight into them.

Whilst out on a walk I got some excellent squirrel photos.

Next, we have a great tit.

A new bird is on the blog now - the muscovy duck. This bird is quite ugly.

More waterfowl photos:

Mallard ducks:

Moorhen:

Mute Swan:

Black Swan:

Now I'm going to show you a picture of a rat.

Finally, to end the post we have a video of a badger knocking over the camera trap.

That's all for today's post. Next time, we will be looking at some badger videos which for some reason, I never put on the blog. That will be releasing tomorrow at 15:30.

Don't forget to leave a comment and thanks for reading!

Recent Shots Part 1 - Heron and Kingerfisher

 I have not done a post for a while, however, that is because I have been taking plenty of fantastic new shots. I will split this post into two parts with the most exciting creatures in this half. Let's get straight into it.

The other day I was on a walk and was passing through the place where I got the photos for the post 'A hedge of herons and other birds I've seen lately'. I saw lots of other birds, (coming in the next post)  but one bird hiding in the reeds caught my attention. It was, of course, my favorite British bird, the grey heron. 

After getting a bit closer we got a clearer shot.

I still wanted to get a better photo so after walking around a bit more I got about 5 meters away.

After standing there for about a minute it flew away.

That wasn't the only heron I've seen lately though. A few days before I saw one standing in a field much further away.

That's all the herons I have seen lately. The other bird I have seen lately is the kingfisher. Kingerfishers are generally common but extremely difficult to get a still photo of. So that is why the photo I'm about to show you isn't the best in the world. It is just a tiny blue blur in the middle of the screen but it is something I have been trying to take a photo of for ages. 

As I said, it is not the best but I will try to get a better shot to put on the blog soon.

That's all for today's post. In the next one, there will be badgers, rats, swans and other waterfowl including another first for the blog; the muscovy duck.

Remember to leave a comment and thanks for reading!

Blurry Deer Photo - That's a First

 In today's post I will share some very exciting footage. I was showing the woods to my friend Chris; first I took him to the style - then I took him up a different path, one that leads to some of my  very first posts. 

However as soon as we came out of the woods we saw the herd of roe deer I have been studying for the last few years. It is the first time I have ever seen the deer in the flesh and they look a lot bigger than on the camera.

Here are the photos (taken by me).

Now the video (taken by Chris).

On the way back we noticed some hoof prints which must have been made by the deer.

That's all for today's post. Remember to leave a comment and thanks for reading!