bigcatdetective

rear view of roe doe at night

2012-02-08T23:41:00.000Z

Roe doe in the winter sun

2012-02-08T23:30:00.000Z

Roe buck in velvet scratching

2012-02-08T23:26:00.000Z

1st year roe doe eating leaf

2012-02-08T23:10:00.000Z

roe doe in a bit of snow

2012-02-08T22:45:00.002Z

Flock of woodpigeons feeding in wood

2012-01-24T20:19:00.007Z

I like woodpigeons,they have a strange attractiveness about them something about that greyish colour which is offset by the whitish bars on their wings and around their neck.Photographed under ultra violet light the white bars are extremely vivid and visible from a long way off.The ones on their wings signal to each other and are magnified by flapping so the rest of the flock are notified of the others actions like a good feeding spot or danger.The neck bars play a role in mating behaviour.Woodpigeons eyes are very sensitive to the ultra violet areas of the light spectrum and so can pick this up very easily as well as the colours of various plants they eat that are very visible at this range too.Now that,s an idea,a type of trail camera that instead of picking up infra red,picks up ultra violet instead or as well as.The bird at the front in the first pic is a sort of advanced guard while the others are waiting in the wings,up in tree branches to be more precise and they won,t come down to feed for quite some while,an hour in this case until they are quite sure the first sacrificial birds are safe.Strangely enough when spooked these same first to feed birds are often the last to fly off........

More fox,a roe buck and a woodcock at night

2012-01-20T22:50:00.010Z

A few more fox pics and a young roe buck showing off his new antler buttons....

Where are all the woodcock pics off the trail cameras?I was asked recently for last winter i had loads showing them probing through the leaves in ones,twos and threes.Back then it was very cold from november onwards and these little birds feed more in the woods when it,s frosty and frozen where it,s sheltered and they can more easily probe with their beaks in the softer leaf litter.Not so this winter with temperatures on most days in double figures, the nights barely dropping below 5 and only the second batch of frosts coming last week which have enabled the woodcock to keep on feeding out on the open pastures,not in the woods where my cameras are.Still time yet for some more pics of them but this is all i,ve got so far........

The (dead)squirrel,the stoat,then a fox

2012-01-05T18:02:00.008Z

Still on the squirrel theme i placed this squirrel carcase in front of the cam to see what would happen.Predictably the local squirrel took a look but never hung around the area while the carcase was there,a stoat showed up but didn,t touch it(only the second time i,ve captured an image of a stoat)then it took a few passes before a fox decided to take it.Coincidentaly,Camera trap Codger placed a squirrel carcase in front of one of his cams around the same time but on the other side of the world and incredibly another squirrel took it(see his post in the blog list)I don,t often bait my camera traps but when i do there is often something of interest so may do it a bit more......

Fox catches squirrel

2011-12-20T00:33:00.009Z

This fox hunting a squirrel has appeared to be doing it for some weeks now but it,s the first time i,ve caught it on camera.In the first pic the squirrel can be seen in the top left of the picture and in the next pic is caught.To the extreme right of the 3rd picture shows another squirrel safely on a branch,there has been quite regularly 2 squirrels scampering about here together.After that another squirrel pokes about and then the fox shows up again quite obviously after another one.I,ve never seen a picture of this happening before and can only remember finding a squirrel carcase that could of been attributed as a fox kill only once before.Some foxes,like most predators,can specialise in targeting certain quarry.

Annoyingly though i checked this cam today to find that the card had filled to 6000 odd pics,still with battery life left mind and had left the last 2 weeks unguarded so to speak.I last checked it a month ago and have been cutting it a bit close to the bone every time as this spot is a hive of,mostly squirrel and rabbit,activity as each time the card has been close to filling or the batteries near to running out.Who knows what has happened at this camspot in the meantime in fact noone will ever know so it,s every 2 weeks to check from now on,live and learn as they say.....

Woodcock probing the leaves

2011-12-10T21:46:00.005Z

The first,i hope of many more and closer woodcock pictures this winter.I first saw one in the second week of october but the early ones just pass through until the stayers can be seen regularly in areas from november onwards i think.They lie up in the daytime usually in deep cover found in all sorts of woods but the thick rhodedendrons like here suit them well.They flight at dusk from these places just before the duck do on the way to their nocturnal feeding grounds which they prefer to be dampish meadows but also downland grass fields and golf courses,mostly flying low a bit bat like.At some places they can be seen individually but in numbers of up to a dozen shooting over hedges and dropping,bomblike,out of the sky to feed on some favoured fields.Not often recorded is their probing in woodland leaf litter at night at a place where they could very likely be roosting(on the ground)during the day so pics like these are quite a catch of one of the most interesting of birds.It is quite probable that,just like duck,they do not always flight at dusk if their food is so close to hand,there is no point in exposing themselves,in flight,to unnecessary risk......

Muntjac and fawn lying down at night

2011-12-07T18:23:00.007Z

What are they up to these 2?The fawn at the back seems to be submissive(expected)of the doe and they are the 2 that have featured regularly on this blog.In the last pics the fawn appears to try and suckle but it must be getting a bit old for that now although the last pics of it doing this in front of the cam were not that long ago so the doe may be weaning it.These fawns spend at least their first year with their dams so she might be discouraging it from suckling but gently so it stays with her.......

2 foxes curled up

2011-12-02T00:59:00.013Z

It,s strange how things can happen in groups.Earlier on in the year the infra red flash from the camera traps was,if not scaring,at least making them more wary ,this month though most subjects appear well at ease and accepting what is an alien object in a semi-natural enviroment.I have had a fox curl up in front of the cam before but not 2 so this sequence of pics may show a dog fox and then a vixen show up who have either mated before or maybe just bonded many weeks before mating.Or they could be sibling cubs.I suspect the former......

Muntjac in daylight

2011-11-30T23:25:00.007Z

I couldn,t resist posting this snap of a farm cat.The muntjacs are showing nicely in front of the cam in daylight but i expect this to change once we get back to normal season wise as it feels like it,s a month behind and we are still in october.There,s still a fair amount of leaf on the oaks and some ponds i have seen from all across the county are dry as a bone.......

Roe fawn eating mushrooms

2011-11-30T23:08:00.006Z

This roe fawn is eating mushrooms.This was the last time that any of the trail cameras have recorded this type of behaviour from the deer.We have had such a mild and dry autumn overall,about 3 or 4 degrees above the norm,that it,s been only a below average mushroom crop and yet all species of deer have been targeting them specifically.I don,t know why but mushroom eating amongst deer rarely ever gets a mention and if it does(no pun!)is right at the last of their stated food lists.I always thought that they went for the nuts more but not so or maybe just when the fungi are not quite ready yet....

Fox gets starling that fell from roost

2011-11-23T17:24:00.008Z

I knew that foxes and big cats wandered beneath rookerys for fallen or fledging chicks especially after storms but i didn,t know until i saw it on Autumnwatch once that in very hard weather foxes,at least, had been observed snatching up fallen birds dying from the cold.The bird does look head up and alive in the first 2 pics but definitely dead by the third.Why this bird ended up on the ground we don,t know but what does seem obvious that when this fox showed up later after the badger did the badger was in the distance and came no nearer.I,ve seen this before and i can only presume that a sense of ownership,for want of a better word,exists from the predator that made the kill.In other words if say the badger had got the starling first it would then most likely have dominance in the area in the aftermath over the same fox.A sort of "finders keepers losers weepers" mentality.......

Leaf litter

2011-11-10T22:38:00.008Z

Mixed bag from set C.No story to tell,no behaviour to comment on just a collection of pictures of animals out and about on their daily activities.The pics stretch out over a month though ,earliest first and show just how deep the leaf litter has got......

Fallow buck eating mushroom

2011-10-30T19:11:00.007Z

Just by the rabbits nose in the second pic is the mushroom that the buck later eats,although there is a white fleck on the skin that shows that the rabbit may or may not of taken a piece of it Alice in Wonderland style the trail camera does seem to show that rabbits are not big fans of shrooms.The huge fallow buck though eats not only this big fully ripe shroom but also the half ripe ones next to it or at least just the caps and not the indigestible stalks.I had lightened the pics via Picassa 3 however the viewing improvement hasn,t come through Blogger so each pic needs to be enlarged to actually see not only the mushrooms themselves but the chewing of the deer.All the shrooms that came up in front of this trailcam got hammered by one species of deer or another in a short space of time,i don,t know what species of mushroom they are and i don,t recognise them on any "fit for humans list" but the deer must find them very good to eat.All types of deer are noticeable by their absence in the open fields but a wander through any thick woods about now will throw up sightings of deer......

Muntjac buck eating mushroom

2011-10-28T18:03:00.006+01:00

Checked my string of 4 trail cameras this week,3 hadn,t been looked at for over a month so i,ve been treated to more than 15000 pics to check.As a big cat is due to pass any of them all photos,especially the night ones, are scrutinised carefully with the shadows lightened to show up anything lurking there.It,s one hell of a lot of pictures with few duds which just goes to show the intense wildlife activity going on at the moment in the woods.The deer are very active even feeding in daytime and whilst i knew they ate fungi i never realised how much they went for them or that they left them until they are fully ripe.Only the big chesnuts are being eaten but all mushrooms are taken as soon as they are ripe,literally within hours as the next lot of pics will show of a fallow buck eating fungi.....

Fox carrying rabbit

2011-10-27T19:59:00.004+01:00

It looks to me that this fox is pausing in front of the trailcam to adjust it,s grip of the rabbit in it,s jaws.The fox may of just caught it as they do tend to run off with it a bit while it,s still wriggling and then once they have a firm hold will carry the rabbit by the middle with the belly facing downwards for balance to somewhere and eat it......

Sitting fox

2011-10-27T19:41:00.000+01:00

Squirrel flicking tail at pheasant

2011-10-20T21:38:00.002+01:00

This squirrel is getting territorial over it,s patch,they can get very aggressive at this time of year and are probably being possesive over the acorn drop.Pheasants eat them too.A friend related a story once of a squirrel launching itself at his terrier which was rooting amongst the leaf litter one autumn,it reminded my friend of one of the last scenes of Watership Down cartoon version when an ill fated rabbit flew at the farmers dog,despite the squirrels sharp teeth there can be only one outcome.In fact only the other day someone told me of a squirrel who came up to them chattering and flicking it,s tail ,there has been such a big acorn drop this year that it can,t be hunger just,i suppose,force of habit on the squirrels part......

Feral ferret

2011-10-18T22:35:00.002+01:00

Picked up this white feral ferret on the trail camera the other day.Someone has been releasing them over the past few years in the area and i counted over a dozen different ones that i saw in the course of the season,the dogs mark them first by wagging their tails as i keep 3 ferrets myself,often quite tame but always covered in ticks so they must be surviving,at least for a while.Never see the same one twice though.........

Following the flock/South downs

2011-10-10T19:00:00.000+01:00

Fallow buck up close and personal

2011-10-04T23:50:00.000+01:00

Muntjac doe and fawn

2011-09-30T10:02:00.002+01:00

The muntjac doe and her fawn are showing up often in front of the cam,the doe seems to be eating the brown leaves on the ground of the silver birch which i would of thought to be unpalatable.The acorns are dropping at the moment so many in fact that one nearly hit me on the head the other day.Also dropping are the early,smaller chesnuts and these proove to be a big draw for deer of all shapes and sizes which could be one reason for the increase of big cat activity in these type of wooded areas at this time of year.The oak trees are all over the place but the chesnuts are more locally defined and are more favoured by deer who will askew acorns for chesnuts if given the choice...........

Thousand yard stare(from Wonkabar007 on Youtube)

2011-09-24T20:04:00.001+01:00

Muntjac doe washing fawn

2011-09-23T21:14:00.006+01:00

I am pretty chuffed to get some muntjac fawn pics and this sequence here seems to show the doe being very attentive to her fawn by washing it every now and again.The last 2 pics are 5 nights later so she must be doing it quite often.Haven,t a clue how old the fawn would be but it,s still a bit spotty so can,t be that old maybe 3 1/2 months old if they mature in step with roe but i,m just guessing........

The fox and the fallow buck

2011-09-15T22:29:00.006+01:00

Thinking back at some of the titles i,ve used for posts they have been very simplistic and often,the above is a classic example,sounded like the title of a fable from Aesop.Well this story goes like this;A wise and ancient fox wanders during a nights hunting into a wooded glade and pauses,the heavy scraping sound of hooves coming closer is familiar but not scary and could be helpful,he sits down semi-hiding behind a tree just to make sure.Maybe if he got a little closer the buck may stir up a mouse to be caught.Then,he scratches an itch while waiting,maybe just to be seen to be not bothered in the presence of such a large and majestic animal.Hold on,the buck with the huge antlers is moving,he had better move too just so he doesn,t miss anything.Then both catch sight of a strange glowing red object in front of them that they haven,t seen before which is the trail camera,the fox is wary of it things like that usually have a lot to do with humans and he has learnt to stay out of there way for the most part,not much puts off a buck of this size but both don,t hang around and are gone.Neither the fox didn,t get to his grand old age by not taking notice of out of the place happenings and acting accordingly nor did the monster buck reach his size,stature and ownership of such a huge set of antlers by waiting for something that could get disasterous to happen.
Not anything like a fable i know and i,m just guessing the bit about a mouse but i wonder if the likes of Aesop saw animals like our buck and fox together who don,t normally mix and then came up with a story to match,just like i have done i suppose......

Roe deer is intrigued by bumble bee

2011-09-03T23:29:00.000+01:00

Roe buck following doe

2011-08-26T14:44:00.004+01:00

I think i,ve found an explanation for the roe buck still sniffing one of his marker trees in the previous post,although the pic was taken on the 10th august i assumed the rut was over which it was but only just,for i,ve just found this sequence of pics from the 5th which quite clearly show the buck hot on the heels of "his" doe with his nose outstretched very near the does rump.This usually means mating is very near ,a matter of minutes,as the doe has successfully been broken down in her unwillingness for the buck to get close to her as not being herd animals rarely touch each other this is preceded by much chasing around by the buck but from a distance.Roe very often mate in the daytime and strangely enough hot sultry evenings in late july see a peak,there must be something in the air!
In the last pic the buck is seen sniffing the ground around midday.
The rut seems to always be later here than it does in other areas for some reason but i have seen i presume to be the same pair in the same field for the past couple of months and previous pics i,ve posted show buck hanging out with doe in the spring.Personally and i,m going out on a limb here,i think they sort of pair up in spring in a roe kind of way but being non-contact animals stay together for a bit then later keep their distance.They are not always completely monogamous though and implanting of the embryo is delayed till autumn i think.As for the does kid,well it,s left somewhere for the time being to it,s own devices but from now on will spend virtually all it,s time with it,s dam as future trail camera pics will hopefully show,it,s also from now onwards that fawnless does in area could show that a big cat has been actively pursuing them so i look out for this also.......

Fox bounds after rabbit

2011-08-24T15:51:00.004+01:00

I,ve been flat out these past few weeks,flat out at work and with the hobbies then flat out(horizontal) at home exhausted.Trail camera-wise the pics have taken a bit of a nose-dive but then it is late summer after all,pick of the crop for me is this clump of 3 pics showing a fox spying some rabbits then in the next one bounding after one,top left hand corner,then the last pic showing a rabbit bolting for home.The 2 cubs here have disappeared from trailcam view and presumably moved to elsewhere in the area.The badger/s still pass through as do the roe buck and the doe with it,s fawn.

All the evidence points to the big cat that was in the area in spring being miles away in it,s late summer area but i,m hoping for it to return in october as it has done for the last 2 autumns and it just might wander past this Bushnell which i didn,t have last year.

You may be wondering why i have posted a poorish pic of the roe buck sniffing where he has marked in weeks gone by,but not recently,well the roe rut is well and truly over that i can make out but it seems that this buck still makes sure that he has some scent left on his marking trees.I had thought that that roe bucks only scent mark around the rut which this one has but never knew that they still display some interest much later on like this one has.Yet another interesting facet of behaviour that the trailcams have revealed............

Doe and it,s fawn

2011-08-23T09:50:00.000+01:00

Camaflage qualities of a merle coat

2011-08-17T10:01:00.000+01:00

Something a little different to the usual fare,this is what my dogs get up to.This is Mist standing stock still for half an hour while the rabbits moved and fed seemingly unaware around her.I,m sure the mottled coat of the merle collie colouring hides her somewhat from view as the rabbits were very close at times......

Roe buck marking his territory

2011-08-01T16:02:00.000+01:00

Roe buck up close

2011-08-01T15:37:00.000+01:00

For a filled up card there,s not a lot to show for in this dried out boggy bottom but this roe buck showed up on occasion.....

Fox cub pooping

2011-08-01T15:27:00.001+01:00

This cam set was in situ for a couple of months in which time it burnt out it,s batch of rechargeables and filled the card with 6000 odd pics,annoyingly a lot are dark due to shooting into the light,the cam faced north east and so each and every morning pic had to be lightened with the photo editor like this picture and hence the poor quality of the shot.Even so it,s not the usual type of foxy pic to be seen so i posted it!

One eyed fox with rabbit pic

2011-08-01T14:47:00.003+01:00

Here,s a pic of that fox with a rabbit,I have set a cam just below the other,one on pics and one on video.Strangely enough i usually get 2000 odd pics a fortnight off the cam here but since i,ve set one with video this has dropped down to 1000 odd.I,m sure this is due to the longer(15 sec.video length) infra red flash scaring creatures off a bit but due to the high amount of activity here and the interesting behaviour being shown setting a cam up for video was a must.A 10 minute delay on the video set also was needed as the rabbits tend to hang around here for long periods and interesting though they may be watching an hour of rabbits chewing can get very laborious.As it is i sit through about 2 hours of video every time with the 2 cams set whereas with pictures even 2000 pics can be scanned through far more easily.The vid sets are well worth the effort though and there is not the blurry night time pics that often plague these Bushnells.I see Bushnell have brought out a covert,no glow cam with HD and audio vid,one of these added to my small string of trail cameras would be ideal for the high activity places but at 300 odd quid a pop it will have to wait.Most farms around are getting stuck in to the corn harvest and what with being august there are a lot of people about,these 2 factors usually contribute to a leap in big cat sightings but whether this happens this year we shall have to wait and see,one things for sure that trail camera theft incidents also leap at this time of year and so only safe and sound sets are on the cards for the time being.......

I still can,t seem to suss out how to comment on even my own blog but where there,s a will there,s a way etc.etc.
Thanks for your comment John i had to laugh,i,m only assuming it,s injured as it,s eye doesn,t reflect any light when it passes the cam at nightime.Hope your Willows leg is healing up....

Roe doe and fawn

2011-07-27T18:07:00.001+01:00

This picture is an experiment to see if it comes out alright as the pictures have been hanging on upload again for some reason.I,ve tried everything and nothing seems to fix it so maybe i,ll have to try and change to the newer Blogger editor and see if that helps......

One eyed fox with rabbit

2011-07-27T00:42:00.000+01:00

roe doe and fawn are nose to nose

2011-07-15T00:53:00.000+01:00

Not as strange as folk

2011-07-13T21:41:00.000+01:00

It,s all been going on in front of camC ,loads of new pics to post like one of the best badger ones i,ve ever had in the first one.The 2 fox cubs are inseparable with one not being too far away from the other,the 3rd and 4th pics show a baby rabbit being eaten at night and the 4th pic is a "spot the roe deer competition".The last 3 pics show a fox doing something at a place where they regularly do and often one of the other foxes will come by and have a sniff and maybe do something themselves or even roll in it but what did surprise me was this rabbit which had a roll around itself,reason unknown.
They say in Yorkshire i think it is "there,s nowt as strange as folk", very true i,d have to agree but that rabbit is acting a little strange methinks......

Badger sniffing about

2011-07-05T08:56:00.000+01:00

2011-07-02T00:58:00.000+01:00

The badger and the spider

2011-06-24T13:35:00.000+01:00

Roe deer eating something

2011-06-24T13:34:00.000+01:00

2nd fox comes along

2011-06-24T00:08:00.000+01:00

A second fox comes in from the left,i think these two might be cubs.........

Fox eating at night

2011-06-23T22:47:00.000+01:00

Can,t be too sure what this fox has got to eat but this place is one big hive of activity for foxes.They are backwards and forwards all day long,night and day,often with some sort of thing in their mouths........

Same fox

2011-06-21T20:53:00.000+01:00

Fow with something else

2011-06-21T20:52:00.000+01:00

Fox with young rabbit

2011-06-21T20:49:00.000+01:00

I had to look hard but i think it,s a young rabbit that this fox has got...........

2 rabbits bucking

2011-06-21T20:05:00.000+01:00

Be it dry or be it wet

2011-06-17T17:07:00.000+01:00

Be it dry or be it wet,the weather will always pay it,s debt so goes the saying.The 3 month drought has been smashed to smithereens by 2" of rain this week so all us growers can rest a little easier in our beds now and this good soak should bring things on a little though it,s too late for some stuff like maize.Big cats have been in the media spotlight again this week with a pawprint on the tv show "Real rescues" and a statement by a wildlife crime officer that they (big cats)do exist.Problems with all things like blogger connected to laptops at the moment has prevented me from posting a link but i have put one up in the news bit on bigcatsinsussex.co.uk(link to this site in the side column)For some reason Blogger won,t let me comment on blogs,not even my own,but i,ve posted these brace and a half of pics especially for Trailblazer,it,s a rat neatly skinned inside out by what i think was a fox found by one of my mutts in the field opposite the trail camera that took the fox with a rat in it,s mouth picture.......

Fallow deer with very bad leg

2011-06-17T00:49:00.001+01:00

Roe doe eating leaves

2011-06-14T23:41:00.000+01:00

The recent gale had blown some hazel leaves on the ground.........

Roe doe eating windfall leaves

2011-06-14T23:39:00.000+01:00

Roebuck eating some leaves

2011-06-14T23:35:00.000+01:00

Fox with something in it,s mouth

2011-06-14T23:32:00.000+01:00

I don,t know what this fox has in it,s mouth but it must of been alive once......

Fox with rat in mouth

2011-06-14T23:29:00.000+01:00

Although this fox is having a wee it still has a rat in it,s mouth,class act......

2 fox cubs at night

2011-06-14T23:24:00.000+01:00

Problems with the laptop software upload,at least that,s what it could be,has meant delays in uploading pics so i,m just doing 1 at a time for now........

The drought is over

2011-06-07T10:55:00.000+01:00

The drought is over,for now anyway.A good 1/2" of rain on sunday has given everything a good soak the first for round here since early march.Northern parts of the county even though they are only 15 miles away had some rain last week.All the crops are stunted with the maize looking on it,s last legs but things should recover a little now.Not much from the camera trapping round for some reason but the mutts still enjoyed themselves larking about the riverbank .The mare with it,s foal that,s only a week old are near where a cam is set and i couldn,t resist a couple of snaps,they instictively keep stride together.........

Roe doe with kid

2011-06-03T10:31:00.000+01:00

This kid looks very young,too young to be trotting about the forest like this in daylight so i assume the doe thought where the kid was lying up wasn,t safe either that or her browse was running out,whatever the reason it,s extremely rare for this to happen but then the trailcam is in a glade amongst some very thick cover so maybe they do shift their kids about quite a lot for no apparent reason in these type of places but it,s not seen much.What i don,t like to see are pictures taken by humans of roe kids in their lyes as the does know a human has been about and shift them exposing them to needless risk just for the sake of a picture or 2.I have seen a roe doe panicking at the edge of a field while a nature rambler photographed idly snapping away who was no doubt thinking that their indiscretion would have no ill effects.........

Muntjac in daylight

2011-05-26T18:47:00.000+01:00

I,ve waited a long,long time to get some pictures of the rarely seen muntjac in daylight and i thought it would only be in these light months that any might materialise so,whilst not perfectionist perfect in composure,exposure or pin sharp,i,m pretty chuffed with what the Bushnell Trophycam has been able to capture.......

The fox cubs are on the move

2011-05-22T13:20:00.000+01:00

All over the place the fox cubs are on the move away from their den sites,i also picked up some pics of a badger in this new cam spot and pics of them are as rare as chickens teeth in areas where a big cat has been active (where i try to put my cams)so maybe one hasn,t been here after all as lack of badgers is my new litmus test of an area that cats like,i really don,t know if a cat has been here or not just assumed it was a good place as there are hordes of rabbits and plenty of thick hedgerows,the roe should be here as well but seem to be lacking for some reason,they haven,t showed up on the cam yet but i did see some little signs of them(some poo)The roe doe in the 2nd pic from the other spot seems ready to drop as she,s looking very bulbous........

Heavy looking roe doe

2011-05-18T23:20:00.000+01:00

After some teething or should i say seething problems with this cam spot i think i,ve sussed it now so why should i move it?Well this stream on the right of the picture had a fair bit of water in it 4 weeks ago when i first
scouted out the place but now there are only little pools of water.Although we are in the middle of a drought,a spit of rain only since mid march,this stream ,as i realise now,is a winterbourne and offers a perfect little summer run which the fox cub (you may have to enlarge and squint a bit to seeit) in the first pic is
using to it,s advantage.So next time i go will be to try and move it and get the stream in as well as the main run which goes just to the left of the cam as it is now.The roe doe looks about ready to drop and according to deer expert Richard Prior ,who,s forgotten more about roe than i will ever know,they start dropping fawns from mid april to june with a peak around the 20th may.
Near the top of my wish list is a roe fawn with it,s mum but a gaggle of fox cubs will do,the cubs are starting to move about a bit with the vixens now and although grey looking are starting to look like proper foxes......

Roe buck or two

2011-05-17T23:42:00.000+01:00

I can,t quite decide whether this is 2 different roe bucks,the last 2 pics could possibly be of a younger one and it does seem to be of a lighter build and have slightly smaller antlers but then that may be a trick of the light.The other thing i,m not sure about is whether in the 4th pic the buck is drinking from the stream as roe deer are not meant to hardly drink at all ,it,s an obscured camera angle and i may try and put the cam in a different spot here to try and include the stream bed in the middle of the action but it was hard enough setting it up here in the first place.False triggers due to the vegetation meant 6000 odd pics to go through from the first day and the following few days the cams battery had gone so who knows what went past it then.
Anyhow ,it,s all change on the cam front in the quest for the Holy Grail of wildlife pictures,those of a big cat, so we will have to wait and see what this cam spot throws up,one was seen just half a handful of fields away from here.It,s no good putting a camera up where it,s been unless i think it may come back,sometimes they do,sometimes they don,t........

Fox has rabbit at night

2011-05-09T08:33:00.000+01:00

Not the best of quality these pics i know,but they do illustrate just how much the rabbits are getting hammered.This won,t affect their general numbers though ,all areas have exploding amounts of them by now...........

Jay getting nesting material

2011-05-07T13:40:00.000+01:00

Crow cleans it,s beak

2011-05-07T13:25:00.000+01:00

Vixen shows up

2011-05-04T16:12:00.000+01:00

It looks like the vixen has showed up,i suspect she has cubs and is hunting day and night to keep them fed.The drought we are having,barely any rain since mid march,means the worms are off limits so the rabbits here are heavily on the agenda......

Cock pheasant crowing

2011-05-03T09:21:00.000+01:00

There is only 1 cock bird walking past this trailcam at this time of year and it,s this one.They,ve all got their own territories and our friend here has this prime spot that he struts around crowing from time to time ...........

New coat showing through for the roe

2011-05-02T15:11:00.000+01:00

The new,reddish fur of this roe doe
can be seen coming through and may be why it,s itching a lot........

Rabbits do touch

2011-04-29T13:31:00.000+01:00

It is often said that rabbits like roe deer,not being herd animals, don,t touch each other out of affection or whatever

and this is often true so this pic of 2 young rabbits nose to nose is rare enough,but young animals are very exploratory of the world around them and sometimes of each other it would seem. The second pic shows a rabbit preening itself and
in the last pic this rabbit has found a blade of grass amongst the bluebells..........

Rabbit relaxes while moorhen walks past

2011-04-26T23:08:00.000+01:00

A different sort of pictures for a change,this rabbit looks very relaxed while a moorhen walks past looking for food.It,s amazing how animals that don,t either hunt each other or compete with food will tolerate each others presence bordering on indifference though the rabbit is still very alert with it,s ears on radar mode.......

Very scruffy moulting roe deer

2011-04-19T20:50:00.000+01:00

Just about all the deer out of this months set from woodscam are all facing the other way in the pictures.These roe are very late in moulting and seem to be doing it all in one go,something has scared them off the field and they have retreated into the wood where they pause in front of the cam.The fallow buck is massive and i hope to get a good picture of him or one like him one day.There was a daytime pic of a muntjac but this too was going in the opposite direction.Never mind,there is always next time,hopefully.......

Fox with baby rabbit in mouth

2011-04-14T21:21:00.001+01:00

Sometimes i curse the angle i have set a cam,when i check to see what i have got there is only a tail in the picture at best,at worst nothing at all.

Not so today for this dog fox has caught a baby rabbit somewhere,probably in the field edge and has decided to bring it back here in front of the cam to eat it,all of it,because there doesn,t seem to be anything left of it. on the ground when he has finished.The baby boom of young rabbits is in full flood

now with hordes of them everywhere it seems and just about every predator capable of catching them is on them at the moment.I,ve noticed second litters to does that had the first ones early so with an average of 3 to a litter and 3 maybe 4 litters till august for the mature does that is one heck of a lot of rabbits.They soon get wise to their hunters too and adjust their feeding patterns some will also be digging summer bolt holes out in the open near where they feed to escape to when hard pressed,it may be easy pickings now for this fox but he will have to work progressively harder over the coming months to carrying on with this rabbiting caper,foxes adapt too though

and find plenty of other ways to fill their bellys........

Pheasants mating

2011-04-09T12:46:00.000+01:00

In the the cool light of dawn these 2 pheasants are mating,this will give the 4th week of may as a hatch date whereas the mallard have chicks swimming about cheeping already.Losses are severe around here for pheasant eggs and chicks as the crows ,magpies ,foxes and probably the big cat take a lot,last year the pheasant poult broods that made it to flying time numbered 2,s and 3,s.......

More moss for the crows nest

2011-04-06T00:52:00.001+01:00

I have a certain liking for crows.About a dozen or so years ago 1 of my dogs brought back an injured one in her very soft mouth and i kept it in the shed where i live which is 2o odd miles from where this cam is till it healed up about a month later.It became quite tame and followed me about flapping on ahead teasingly when we were walking to sit on posts and in bushes.Too,too tame in fact for it became caught up in a fence and so i decided to ignore the thing and never feed it and so didn,t see the clever but a bit stupid black bird all winter.Then,the following spring,"the" crow showed up,quite tame with a very nervous mate and certainly acted like the bird that i had helped and was around the year before.A nest was built,just like the one in the cam pics with sticks and moss,eggs were laid,chicks were reared,taught the way life works and the crow family would stay together until the following spring when the parents would shoo off the errant young to go their own way in the world so the parents could make a new nest and start the whole process again.The pattern has continued since then and photos of my own life and family often include these crows in the background hanging about, i only feed them some corn when it,s cold in winter and that,s it but still they are often around and always nest nearby, they can be a nuisance sometimes by nicking strawberries and stuff like that but who wouldn,t be seduced by scrumping such delicious fruit and their company on a cold winters day more than makes up for it.Besides,they are cracking guard birds by warning of trouble from afar,i kid you not.But the crows in these cam pics?They are as wild as hell and you can,t get closer than 2 fields from them before they see you and fly off squawking.Guess where that old dog of mine many years dead now picked up that injured crow?It was the other side of that holly bush in the picture.....

Roe buck in velvet with a doe in tow

2011-03-31T16:49:00.000+01:00

This buck looks a bit skinny with his ribs showing but i think he,s eating the new spring greenery that is emerging now.I,ve also removed the offending twig on the left of the picture and tilted the camera down a bit as the dawn shots were a bit dark because of the sky showing.I find it takes a while at a new cam spot before the camera is set up how i want it but i,m quite pleased with this place that i only set up as an experiment,it,s got a few branches in the way that may set off false triggers in the wind but we,ll have to wait and see.The roe had disapeared a month ago when a big cat was active in the area and have taken nigh on 3 weeks to return along with the dog fox but the vixen is no where to be seen..........

Sussex big cat seen on downs/photo

2011-03-27T15:50:00.002+01:00

Taken at dawn yesterday (top left of picture)by a witness at a big cat sighting in West Sussex who stood to watch the big cat for some time and was able to take this picture and is consistant with the descriptions given by over a dozen witnesses who have seen this big cat since january,in fact the description fits a big cat seen for the last 5 years.Deer have been found killed,the carcases looked like big cat kills and various other evidence, big cat-like paw prints,black fur on barbed wire,scratch marks on trees.It is very large,about 26"tall,often seen trotting with it,s tail outstretched.The very long tail can be seen protruding from the tree trunk.To my mind it,s the best big cat photo taken in Sussex to date of a leopard , i,m not sure but it,s certainly big......

UPDATE:This picture has now been verified by big cat researchers up and down the country and the photographer Carol Cowley has had it published in the new big cat book by Rick Minter "Big cats:Facing up to Britains wild predators".A cleaned up version of this picture is on view at bigcatsinsussex.co.uk .......

Young fallow buck in evening sun

2011-03-26T19:31:00.001Z

Different sort of camera angle for a change,pulling all the stumps out in the quest for the sought after big cat pictures but this buck is a nice bonus......

Mangy fox still about

2011-03-21T20:47:00.000Z

That mangy fox is still alive and kicking and actually looks reasonably well fed.It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few weeks like whether the mange clears up and the fur grows back or,what is commonly thought,that they mostly die of the disease.This one is fat enough to show it,s still feeding well enough so we shall see.The roe have gone,presumably feeding on the new hazel bud tips but this muntjac shows occasionally as do the fallow,albeit not with the frequency that they did in the dark months........

Roe doe mirrors the bucks movements

2011-03-18T23:46:00.000Z

This roe doe with a yearling on tow enters the clearing that the buck is in and follows where he has gone and also mirrors his actions.At one point she flattens her ears.Apparently ,the yearlings are left to go about their own way in the world or are even chased off this month........

Roe doe joined by yearling

2011-03-18T23:40:00.000Z

Roe doe deer in downland wood

2011-03-15T08:15:00.000Z

It,s time to lift all the cams from their more exposed spots and by exposed i mean exposed to being found.In this downland wood ,now the ground has dried out a little, people are starting to show up where they haven,t been all winter,still,most people are honest especially people who are in the countryside and all credit to the 2 people who walked past this trail camera and didn,t tamper with it.This roe doe which is noticeable by it,s anal tush could well be quite pregnant now but is obviously aware to something in the cover ahead of her........

Pheasant just walks past mangy fox

2011-03-09T23:45:00.000Z

In an everyday world a pheasant wouldn,t just walk past a fox as it looks like one has done here but this fox has got a pretty bad case of mange and it looks like it,s very uncomfortable to say the least.Excrutiatingly painful would probably be more accurate and a very commonplace sight as well at the moment as i,ve seen a lot of mangy foxes around but not seen them twice so i would assume they actually die of it.....

Big cat seen in Brighton

2011-03-08T19:12:00.000Z

There,s an article about a big cat seen inside a Sussex town today.If you Google "theargus.co.uk" and then search the online paper for "Has the Preston Park Panther been on the prowl?" it should come up........

Hare at dawn then hen pheasant

2011-03-04T18:57:00.000Z

An okish pic of a hare to come off the harecam at the time expected for them to move off the arable and go through the wood.I,m so out of practice with hares these days but at an educated guess it,s a youngish jack.For hares to move off just after dawn at predicted places denotes they are settled into established feeding and resting patterns which is good,to have any night shots or middle of the day ones here would suggest they have been disturbed or the fodder is not right for them and it,s very natural for hares to pause once they have entered a "new" piece of ground like this one has here which is why i put the cam at this spot........

2 fallow deer in the daytime

2011-03-03T23:45:00.000Z

I forgot to upload the pictures last first,a strange quirk of Blogger,so these pics are back to front.I,ve noticed the deer are around more in the daytime now,these 2 black fallow look like they are looking to feed,this would suggest that food is a little short for them even though some sheltered grassy spots and the winter wheat have started to grow.The hazel is starting to bud but i,ve not noticed any being eaten by deer yet so it,s probably not far enough advanced in growth for them yet.Fallow are grazers as well as browsers so food for them is rarely far away unlike for the roe who have to search it out more.Black fallow are typical of Sussex spreading from releases from Petworth and a couple of smaller estates in the middle of the last century i think it was,in the New forest they are the classic brown and more spotty in summer.......

Badger at night

2011-03-01T00:56:00.000Z

Nothing too exciting from harecam this,the first week it,s been set.Just a,bit over exposed,badger,a pheasant and a roe with it,s tongue out,it look like it,s been running a bit for some reason.No hares yet but will have to wait and see........

Panting roe/pheasant

2011-03-01T00:50:00.000Z

foxes sit together scratching

2011-02-26T21:31:00.000Z

This is all the pictures in worth blogging from stumpishcam,just a jay,couple of rabbits and these 2 foxes,nothing else.I had teamed up with a local wildlife group and together with their trailcams plus one of mine we staked out the whole place to gather evidence on the feral cat movements.At least 15 years they have been hugging the area using the overgrown hedges and scrub for cover to move and lie up in but the neighbours scrub clearance has cleared them all off.All the other cams have been lifted and mine will follow next week,it,s a tragic coincidence that we started this project the very same week that the new owners devastated the ground.I do have a fistful of other projects lined up including a hare survey i,ve been waiting to do but this was the only chance to get some real info like dates and times of the movements of ferals which may of shed some light on those of the big cats.
Still,at least it displays as a perfect example how any piece of ground cannot be looked at in isolation.It shows how destroying the links between woods like the hedges and also the only dense lying up cover in the area will alter it,s attactiveness to certain wildlife.Woods,scrub,thick hedges,streams and ponds,pasture and arable fields all are interlinked and each provide certain needs for certain animals at certain times of the year.Destroy one,the link in the ecological chain is broken and the wildlife will alter their usage of the area drastically thus reducing the overall population densities and biodiversity.The foxes and the rabbits are born survivors though,they adapt readily but even so they will feel the effects.........

Fox found on top of skyscraper

2011-02-25T17:20:00.000Z

Another foxy news story,if you Google "telegraph.co.uk" then search "fox found on top of Europes tallest building" or simply Google "fox found on 72nd floor" you should find it.......

Jay with one of its acorn stash

2011-02-24T23:00:00.000Z

Deep in Sussex,never mind a picture of a big cat,it,s not a mystery why there are no feral cats that stumpish cam is targeting because it,s been a month now and not a sign of any of them.When this cam was here before it picked up 2 different ones regularly now zilch.There,s a lot of scrub clearing being done nearby and i,ve an inkling this has disturbed them,in fact in 2 weeks no roe either have showed up.The scrub in question is maybe a third of a mile away but thick,impenetrable thickets are exactly what animals need to lie up in,animals don,t like to be disturbed and they don,t like a place that has disturbance,they like the place to be quiet and "messy".It,s a real shame,it took decades for that scrub to grow nice and thick like that and i would of bet a penny to a pound that roe and anything else would of been in it any day of the week.This sort of caper is going on all over the place at the moment,i know of at least half a dozen sites across Sussex, even by so called "wildlife friendly people",they may not realise in their ignorance but that little bit of "tidying up"they are doing is destroying the only piece of lying up cover around for several parish,s.Well,they will miss the nightingales this year because they won,t show up there now.Anyway,this jay here has managed to find one of the acorns it stashed way back last autumn.........

Fox catches mouse & talknite report.

2011-02-23T17:12:00.000Z

This was our first one and went very well,a good sized crowd packed out the bar in the Lamb to hear about what the big cats in Sussex get up to from the 4 local researchers.People contributed their own sightings and experiences of big cats and we raised £29(made up to £30)from the raffle to be shared equally between St.Peter & St.James hospice,Chailey and the NSPCC.Everyone said they enjoyed themselves and the jovial atmosphere was jollied along by the excellent ale from the landlord of the Lamb,Alec,a special thanks to him for hosting the event.Thanks also to Merrily Harpur and her publishers Roving press for donating our only raffle prize,her book "Roaring Dorset",this was won by a chap who had travelled 2 hours by train from Tunbridge Wells and will be very much appreciated by him,thanks to everyone else who bought tickets.A big thanks also to Rupert Taylor of Sussex express.co.uk (newspaper)and all the shopowners who displayed leaflets.
My fellow researchers have my deepest respect for putting on sterling displays and imparting their knowledge,i think we spanned collectively nigh on 60 years active big cat experience the 4 of us plus the others that were there, the pawprint collections other people have put my own miserable ones to shame,theirs were excellent and i have never seen so many pawprint plastercasts in one place and they were all individuals i noticed.Apologies to those who had trouble getting a place to sit and were so far back they couldn,t hear that well,this was my fault on the seating plan but i really didn,t expect that we would get so many people showing up and seeing as i know most of those that did i suppose i should of known better!After all one of the reasons we put this event on was for people to share their experiences and share them they did.I have managed to fill in the exact gaps i,ve been after so far as the Offham(pronounced oafhem as i was corrected!)cat is concerned and this all tied in very neatly with what i spoke about.This will be blogged in due course on the big cats in Sussex blog but i thought Lewesians deserved to hear it first seeing as it,s the local cat.......

Foxes mating

2011-02-15T23:23:00.000Z

These foxes mate very quickly and don,t even tie.In the first pic the dog fox is seen following the vixen,in the second i think it may be the dog fox having a breather from courting,they then mate,briefly,then in the last pic if it,s blown up the foxes can be seen in the far left of the picture with one of them standing up high.I don,t know what they are doing here.It,s quite rare to get mating foxes in the countryside in daytime on camera.I know people who have spent a lifetime trying to get those shots and a trailcam comes up with the goods.Remarkable.......

Bigcat Evening Talk. Lamb inn,Lewes 22feb.

2011-02-14T22:24:00.000Z

The evening talk will be at the Lamb inn,Fisher street,Lewes on tuesday 22nd feb.Meet at 7.30 for 8pm start.Entrance is free but we will pass the bucket round for charity.It is a lovely pub and just right for what we want it for i think.As i said before we will be presenting evidence like photos of a bigcat seen near Lewes,deer kills,pawprints etc.etc.Holding a question and answer session,talking about what the bigcats get up to in the countryside around Lewes,in particular the Offham cat.etc.etc.Merrily Harpur and her publishers have very kindly given us one of her books "Roaring Dorset" to raffle.It should be an interesting night and if we all have a good time and raise a few quid for charity it will be time well spent.For anyone coming in from outside Lewes,parking is free in the little car park down the road after 6pm or at a push you could park in Tescos and have a 5 min walk up the hill crossing the Phoenix bridge.I,ll have my phone on for anyone struggling.All are welcome......

Fallow buck /trailcam

2011-02-12T01:02:00.000Z

It,s like it,s never been away for the stumpishcam,the usual suspects are starting to show up like this fallow showing off his new set of spikes.No feral cats yet but they should show up at some point,roughly every 3 weeks here a couple of months ago.......

Fox scares 3 roe deer

2011-02-10T16:35:00.000Z

Stumpcam is back!Though for a slightly different purpose,ive teamed up with a local wildlife group in order to pool our resources,i,m particularly interested in the feral cats that pass through here as they may have similaritys in movements with their much larger cousins and the wildlife group have their cams plotted up elsewhere on this farm,i,ll explain more on this joint project another time.The stump is now in the corner of the shot and the run is in prime view.This sequence of shots show what i think may be a vixen or a small dog fox,i ll be sure of which after i,ve seen them a few times,creeping under the holly bush and a minute or so later the roe rushing out.They don,t go far though as the cam shows.These roe seem a bit jumpy to be scared by just a fox but then she or he might of been on a mission,either hunting for food or hunting for a mate.......

You tube video of the tree that a bigcat climbed

2011-02-06T21:47:00.000Z

The bigcat that climbed the tree/pictures

2011-02-06T21:36:00.000Z