A sign of the times

We're still deciding what course of action to take regarding the new high definition cameras, but hopefully we'll get them sorted out, as they're undoubtedly capable of producing some good, clear video.
In the meantime, here's a clip of some Roe Deer, which was sent to me by Paul Marsh, filmed on his own trail camera. Unfortunately, after obviously finding a very good location, his camera was stolen, which is a very sad sign of the times, I'm afraid.
Though his free time is very limited, Paul keeps us informed with his sightings of Mammals, which are very useful for our records. He was also intending to be a regular provider of video footage for the Wildplaces project. These cameras are not cheap, and hopefully the person that stole it will have a conscience, and return it... We live in hope.

New cameras

I was like a child on Christmas morning, as I waited impatiently for the files from the new camera to convert. But when I eventually got to see the results, I felt like the naughty child who had got no presents!... There was plenty of footage, but it was all very dark, and not even as good as the standard cameras. To say I was disappointed would be a massive understatement, so the next day I replaced the camera and also set another one in a different location about fifty metres away, determined to find out if it was just the one camera that was faulty. To cut a long story short, I got lots of footage, and while the cameras definitely don't perform to the standards stated by the manufacturer (the flash range is quoted at being effective to 40 feet, when it's actually barely a quarter of that) what was recorded is quite good quality. The microphone is very good, so make sure you have the volume switched on before watching the clip, because some of the sound is very interesting, especially the Otters calling. The Woodmouse by the way, is feeding on the leftovers from an Otters meal (a part eaten Trout). To see some very good daytime video taken by these new cameras, check out our wildplaces youtube page: http://www.youtube.com/user/WildPlacesNE