100th Post

Hi everyone, just a quick post about the blog at the moment and what to expect. It is my 100th post so I thought it would be a good chance to talk about the blog currently. Over the last 4 years, I have been out taking photos and videos of the wildlife in the UK. In the future, I would like to get some footage of wildlife from other countries, but right now I am trying to see most British species. My main plans for the coming years are similar to what I am doing now; put the camera trap out and record my local wildlife. However, we have lately bought a campervan, meaning we might be able to go to more places across the country. My number one UK target is a wild boar, so it is likely that we will back at the Forest of Dean next year. If you have any other suggestions for where we should go, please leave them in the comments below. Anyway, let's have some fun and have a look at my favourite bit of footage from each year. 

2020

When I first started my blog I did not expect to get anything as exciting as a fox or badger. However, on its second night out, it caught our first-ever badger. Go check out my post 'badger sighting' to watch the full video.

2021

In 2021 I didn't put the camera trap out much, but when I did we got some good footage. For example, the fox having a poo would probably end up on my top ten of all time. However, nothing could compare to seeing my first-ever badger in the flesh.

2022

2022 was a good year for the blog, up until my camera got taken in Notts Forest :( - we did get a new one :).  2022 was also when I did my first yearly ranking. The number one spot was awarded to our first- ever roe deer. 

2023

In 2023, the number one spot was awarded to the animal I wanted to get on the camera trap the most. It was a tawny owl, and I have only had one since.

2024

2024 is going to be the toughest year by far to decide my top ten. I have an idea of what the number one might be, but you will have to wait until the end of 2024...

That is all for today's post. Thanks for all the comments and views over the last 100 posts. I know there was nothing new in this post, but the celebrations will continue over the next few VERY exciting posts. Stay tuned for more.

Kedleston Birds

 Hi everyone, yesterday I went to a national trust property called Kedleston Hall on the way back from Yorkshire. There was a river running through, and I saw a little egret on one of the trees. There was also a heron next to it. Here is the footage:

I also saw a flock of teals, which you can hear whistling in the video.

That is all for today's post. I hope you have enjoyed everything we got in Yorkshire and at Kedleston. 

Remember to leave a comment and thanks for reading!

Swaledale Scoop

While we were in Yorkshire we went to Bolton-on -Swale Nature reserve. We were in an area called Swaledale, and we were going to try and spot some wintering birds. The bird I wanted to see the most was a type of duck that I had never seen before called a wigeon. It is going to be a long post, so get comfy...

We got up early and made our way to the first hide. There were lots of the usual birds around; Canada geese, mallards, a big flock of swans and even some early greylag geese. However, we soon saw what I wanted to see, wigeons. 

Soon after this video was taken, a flock of them gathered on the shore. 

With the main target ticked off, I scanned around through binoculars to see if I could spot anything else. Behind the wigeons were a couple of curlews - Europe's largest wading bird.

Here is a nice video of a swan:

Just before we moved onto the next hide, I saw another species of duck I had never seen before - goldeneye. In the video, the goldeneye are the ones that dive down, and the ones which stay floating are the usual tufted ducks. 

At the next hide we had the camera on some bird feeders. (Thanks to my Dad for getting the bird feeder footage).

The first thing we spotted on the bird feeders was a tree sparrow. Tree sparrows are another first for the blog, and are actually quite rare. Their numbers have declined drastically lately and we were lucky to see them. They look a lot like a house sparrow which you might get in your garden but they do have their differences. House sparrows have a grey patch on their head while tree sparrows have a full brown head. Tree sparrows also have a black spot on their cheek which the house sparrows don't.  

Next on the pecker we have a squirrel.

We also saw a dunnock and a robin.

After that, another man came into the hide. Just before we had to go he pointed out another bird much further away which I wouldn't have noticed. It is another bird that I have never seen before and, like the wigeon, one I had been wanting to see for a long time - the snipe. There was a small flock of them on the edge of one of the islands. They are in the center of the screen, just at the water's edge.

That is all for today's post. I hope you enjoyed it as there was 4 new species for the blog today. 

Remember to leave a comment and thanks for reading!

Whitby Wildlife

 Hi everyone, I just got back from a holiday in Yorkshire and have three new posts lined up with new species on them. We were about one and a half hours away from Whitby, most famous for being the place where Dracula was set. 

There were lots of gulls about, although the first exciting thing I saw was a pair of cormorants.

I also spotted a much smaller bird called a turnstone. We have never had one on the blog before so I was very pleased to some footage. The videos were quite short so I combined them into one.

That is all for today's post. I have got two more good ones coming so stay tuned for them.

Remember to leave a comment and thanks for reading!

October Fox & Roe Buck

Last week's camera trap footage did not disappoint, even though I had run out of food to put out. We got our first daytime fox of the year, a badger and the roe deer buck/stag.

Saturday

On Saturday, (the day we put it out) we got a badger coming around to sniff the camera.

Monday

Nothing set the camera off on Sunday, but on Monday two blue tits checked the camera out.

In the evening, we got a good-looking daylight fox. It is the first daylight one of the year, so I am very happy with it.

Thursday

Nothing else set the camera off until Thursday morning when we got a mouse.

At half past seven in the morning, we got the roe deer doe passing through.

It was shortly followed by the buck. 

He then sniffs the camera. 

Friday

On Friday we got some good squirrel footage.

Saturday                                                                                                                                                          

We will finish with a thoughtful squirrel having a scratch and looking out into the woods from its perch.

It then ran away before I picked the camera up.

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

Red Kites in the Peak District

 Hi everyone, like a lot of my posts recently, this one is a bit late. I got the footage in September at Tittesworth resevoir in the peak district. There are two new exciting animals I have never had on my blog before, so it will be an exciting post. 

We were walking around the lake when we saw a red kite fly over. Here ios some of the footage we managed to get.

We also saw a flock of cormorants on one of the islands.

There was also a flock of teals, another exciting new bird for the blog.

Suddenly, the huge red kite swooped over again, and I was able to get some amazing footage.

The kite then landed on the other side of the lake, and was being mobbed by a crow. Surprisingly, the crow won and managed to chase off the kite.

That is all for today's post. I have an exciting new camera trap post coming soon, so stay tuned for that.

Remember to leave a comment and thanks for reading.

Fallow Deer in the Forest of Dean

 Hi everyone, In today's post I will show you what we got on the camera trap in the Forest of Dean. On the first day I found a good spot near the campsite. It looked like it had been trodden down; something obviously came through here often. An hour and a half after the camera was set up, we got our first visitor. It was a fallow deer doe, which got a bit spooked by our camera trap, or something behind it. 

Another hour later, we got a fallow deer fawn passing through. I have to admit, it is very cute.

Later that night we get the same fawn again; you can tell from its dark - coloured forehead.

The next day, at the crack of dawn, we got another doe again, probably the same one - and probably the mother of the young fawn.

At 9:45 we got the doe, and once again it got a bit spooked by the camera. 

In the evening, we got the doe again, followed by the young fawn. 

A minute later the doe comes past the camera again. However, the fawn is out of sight - it's probably just under the camera or behind the tree where the camera is strapped. 

At night, we got the young fawn again.

It appears to be quite brave, as it not always by his mother's side. Despite this, Mum is never far ahead.

This day was the best day for the camera trap. At 7:AM we got a doe standing tall and proud.

Two other deer were behind her, another doe and another young deer. I reckon it is one of last year's fawns as it is brown in colour and lacks spots, like young fallows often do. 

The deer live in herds and the young brown deer is possibly a cousin of the new fawn, if the two does are related. The deer with the fawn is raising it away from the herd, as that is typical fallow deer behavior. The two does in the video you just watched and probably part of the mother's herd, and the young brown deer is old enough to be part of the herd. By next year, the fawn will probably be old enough to join the herd, along with its mother meaning that the number of deer in the herd we have been watching is five. However, if either of the young deer are male, they will most likely live a solitary life when they are older. Anyway, the deer herd stuck around for a bit so here is some more footage.

In the afternoon, we got what I think was the mother of the fawn again.

In the evening, we got the fawn again for the last time...

...who was shortly followed by Mum.

That was all we got in the Forest of Dean. I hope you really enjoyed the last two posts, and don't forget to leave a comment if you did. Unfortunately, we didn't see any boar, although I'm sure that this is not the last time we will go on a boar hunt in the Forest of Dean...