Odds & Sods 2022

Stay safe, CinJ. I suppose that you were floating on one end of the lead while he was sauntering along, firmly anchored to the ground and preventing you from blowing away!

Yes, Ann - what's the fuss mum ... just ploughs on through it

A somewhat windswept sparrowhawk. Is this a female or a youngster?

That is a female DB, youngster?

Thanks Catlady. I read in an online guide that sparrowhawk females and juveniles can look similar. This was the first time I saw one with brown back feathers in the garden.

Glad the Bear was holding on to you Caroline:-) and hope the daffs don't suffer too much in these gales. There are a few open here too but mine in the garden are still small so should be safe enough. Forecast bad again for tomorrow, so it's batten everything down once more. Titch visited me today looking wild and small, makes you wonder how on earth they survive in these storms.

Lovely pics DB of the Tufted Ducks, and also the Sprawk, can't say whether female or youngster only that maybe too early for such a good sized youngster to be around, but I am usually wrong!!!

I hadn't realised my trail cam had got this badger, scurrying across a field. I'll have to burn this short (10 second) video onto a CD for the land owners to view at their leisure. This is nature in the wild.

The badger is heading off to a bit land that juts out about 15 yards into the field. This provides the beastie with cover as the bit that juts out has shrubs; I did notice the fox (in earlier posting) also heading in that direction.

I'll have to put a trail cam on the corner of the jutty out bit to figure where the badger goes from there. It will either follow the field boundary (i.e. hedge row) all the way round or take a more direct route and strike out across the field to a small spinney/hedge row opposite. At this point it has the option to cross a footpath to gain access to a golf course; which has lots of wooded and scrubby areas full of nice tidbits to eat.

A couple of problems with placing a trail cam on the jutty out bit. Firstly, the badger can take two different paths, which are orthogonal to each other. This is not an insurmountable problem, it just requires clever positioning of a trail cam. Secondly, I may have to point the trail cam in an easterly direction. This means the possibility of catching early morning sun, which will cause over exposure and flaring of any photos/videos. Bit of a pain, as if you are going to get badgers in daylight, then early morning (or evening) is the best time. The path the badger takes probably means pointing the trail cam either east or west.

Not used trailcams, but would elevating the cam if pointing easterly, and angle it down alleviate the flare issues, as it would be a more oblique angle?