Melting snow - finally!

Christmas is coming and the the world is starting to defrost. Life couldnt be better. Finally the squirrels, badgers, otters, foxes, birds and other will have something to drink and maybe, just maybe, something to eat in this brown sludge that was once called snow. Good times.

There are of course animals that are smart enough to bunk down somewhere warm and wait it out, others even leave the country (wimps) but for those of us with no choice but to brave the cold, all is not lost. But its a balmy six degrees out I hear you cry - the worst is over. That may be true (but again it may not, especially if we judge by previous weather forecasts - where was that indian summer so anticipated?) but we still need to think of the wildlife out there. Yep, they may now be able to drink, fish and whatnot in these newfound tropical conditions but this past fortnight would have left its mark. Leave fresh water (check that it doesnt freeze though!) and scraps out in the garden for birds and other wildlife (or at a feeding station if you are super motivated), and we can hopefully help our wildlife survive this horrible (but beautiful) winter, even if it is rapidly melting at the moment.

A school in Prudhoe has been leaving handmade honey-covered peanuts (a delicacy in badger land) out for their residents badgers although the little tykes did seem to enjoy ripping up the school field in favour of worms and other wrigglys once they had chomped all the peanuts up.

Admittedly this was before the worst of the snow hit but they seemed to be doing ok even when the ground was all frosty and white.

Yes, lets pretend the ground is all frosty and white here. Film was taken of these very badgers during the last two weeks of snow but I like this film better so thats what you get.

So what more is there to say than Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and Happy Mammal Hunting (in a lovey conservation way, not the guns and blood type).

Bring on 2011!

Rain, the dene and school children. What fun!

Who loves drawing? I don't. In fact I'm terrible at it. I always used to get the creative guy in my class to do my art for me. Oh yes. I cheated at school. But only at art. Promise. As a general rule (in my job, not life before anyone gets offended) drawing and colouring in is normally accompanied by a mass of very excited primary school children. Hence the calming clip of a fox before I delve into the chaotic (yet fun) world of working with kids.

Over the past few weeks I have had the privilege of working with Class 15 from Atkinson Rd primary in Benwell. Now why does Benwell ring a bell? I would hope its because you've all taken note and have instantly thought of Benwell Dene. Well this was the plan with the kids. We did some mammal-y sessions at school and finally when I asked for a mammal example, I was not told eagle, owl or snake. That was the hard part over. Next was the visit to Benwell Dene to ooooh and aaaaah over the new pond dipping platform and to discover what mammals might be lurking in the dene. It all went rather well I think. The rain was lashing down but the kids all braved the weather and filed out of the school gates and into the dene. We were a little wet but our enthusiasm could not be dampened (Ba!Bom!). Off we set to look for tracks and trails (planted by me) and to 'crack the code' (wingdings, I love you). So yup, take 22 kids, in the wet, in a park. What do you get? Lots of muddy bottoms. Not great for the moms and dads when they got home. But so so so great for me. Never have I seen such anctics. Yes, my risk assesment covered 'slips, trips and falls' but not flying through the air superman-style or just how high kids could bounce. Hilarious. Best part of the day.

But anyway, what I am trying to get to is the drawing. The last phase of the Benwell Dene project is to put up an interpretation board, telling all and sundry about the fanatastic wildlife that can be found in here. This is where the drawing comes in. Once we were dry and warm back in the classroom, I got the kids to draw me mammals that they think might be found in the dene. Some wanted to draw rats which, while technically right, I didnt think would raise the dene's profile too much. Here are a couple which I think are just brilliant, weird or just downright disturbing. I'll leave you to decide which one falls in which category.

Snow - oh -oh-oh-oh

And so the snow has arrived. Earliest widespread snowfall in 17 years you know. And early snow means early footprints so get your wellies and camo gear on and start tracking! Seriously, this lovely thick snow is just awesome to discover whats been out and about in your garden. Footprints never lie. But beware, objects can appear larger than they seem - snow melts and voila! you have a yetti or, better yet, a gigantic otter mooching round your garden. Unlikey, but you may just have a badger or average sized otter coming for a snoop.

One such footprint excitement occured not so long ago. As the theme goes, I set up a camera to capture footage of the Ouseburn otter. And as the theme goes, I haven't caught anything since the last spider-covered triumph. Buuuut we did have some (pause) footprints! Yes, my mate Bob called me in great excitement to say that otter tracks had miraculously appeared on the walkway (that he built. Obviously.) along the Ouseburn river. So we had footprints and we had a camera watching that walkway. Recipe for Mr O to be caught on camera. Right? Wrong. Bob had moved the camera to see if he could get his badgers on camera. Nothing wrong with that. Otters aren't the be all and end all. But, typically the few nights that the cameras were trained on the badgers was super windy. And super windy means lots of movement which means lots of false triggering of the camera. So anyway, the camera was dutifully placed back on its post on the Ouseburn (once the risk of flooding was over) and promptly ran out of battery. Super. One Ouseburn otter. One stealthcam HD. No blooming power. Story of my life. But still the struggle goes on.

However, its not all bad news. Quite often something cool, other than an otter, is picked up. Take this pouncing fox for example. Drainage pipe. A field covered in lovely long grass. I cant think of a better use for it. It seems to do just the trick (if you have sound, turn it up - some definite squeaking going on here).

And while waiting for the otter at Bob's, these little critters all turned up. Like I said, Mr O is not neccessarily the star of the show.

Golf balls keep falling on my head.

About a week ago or so, myself and a few intrepid volunteers marched into the not so hostile territory that is otherwise known as the golf course. As some as you may know, this particular golf course is Ouseburn Otter territory. And what the otter wants, the otter gets. Mr O has made my life an utter misery yet there I was building him a palace on a prime bit of real estate. Sounds like Stockholm syndrome to me. So yep, amidst flying golf balls and horror stories of irreparable golf ball skull damage, myself and the vols soldiered on. Luckily we remained unharmed and upbeat. This picture tells it all. Just look at those happy faces.


They say that forewarned is forearmed so on one of my more obscure google searches I came across this "On a more practical note, if you hear the distant call of "fore" and you find yourself the only one not ducking for cover, then perhaps it's time to start taking notes." Okay, fair enough. If you hear FORE! then expect there to be a pretty good chance of being smacked by a golf ball. Except I never heard the call of 'fore', distant or not, and let me tell you, some of these golf balls came pretty darn close. However, it was ladies day so perhaps this was understandable. Horror of all horrors, could I possibly be suggesting that ladies aren't much good with a ball and a stick? I wouldn't know, seeing that golf has completely passed me by thus far. BUT I am a lady (no comments from the peanut gallery please) so I can say such things.

Now, I'm pretty sure I regaled you all with tales of more otter holt building along the Ouseburn not so long ago? We have had a visitor there. Its not Mr O as one might expect but still, a visitor is a visitor.

What a lovely chappy. Luckily, he couldn't actually fit inside the holt itself, so it lives another day to welcome the webbed feet and slick coat of an otter. Hooray. And now you see why it is imperative to have not one but two tunnels - an escape route is never a bad thing.

10 salmon a leaping

Jump salmon, JUMP! This was my mantra when I accompanied an otter whizz kid on a survey last week. We were out hunting for the Ouseburn Otter's elusive cousin, the Northumberland Otter. Not as city smart as Mr O, this country otter left us plenty of signs to show he was about but didn't dare show his face. This dirty, wholly unnecessary teasing must run in the otter family. Country bumpkin or not, all otters seem to carry the sneaky gene. Otter lovers worldwide call this trait 'elusiveness.' Rose tinted glasses me thinks. Elusive my a***. Conniving and out to torment me is far more likely. The behaviour (torment perhaps) that I have seen over the last 18 months does not stem from something as sweet as being shy. Grrrr otters. Perhaps you can tell its a Monday morning? Perhaps you can tell I have just whacked my head on the shelf above the desk. Perhaps you can tell that Bob Wilkin (my partner in crime from when the hunt for Mr O first started) has reported tons of activity along the river near his house. The river that I don't currently have cameras on! This is more than shyness. This otter behaviour is planned, calculated and executed with the utmost precision and hilarity on Mr O's part. He certainly is spreading the word. And I kinda love him for it.

And here is photographic evidence to prove that I'm not an otter-hating philistine (just rather grumpy this morning). Ok, so I realise that I'm not actually in this picture but I was present. Promise. This is Mike, ranger (he too has an obsession with otters), along with vols who were kind enougth to help out, and our cunningly disguised otter holt.

You may too have seen me on Countryfile last night digging my heart out for a holt at Lowe Barnes nature reserve. I was the one looking go-ood in waterproof trousers and wellie liners. Or perhaps not. But you see my point is that I do care. I really do.

But I digress. Back to leaping salmon. Have you been witness to a salmon run? Awesome, is what it was. These salmon (and trout) were absolutely amazing. After travelling for goodness knows how long, they were being met by a pretty intimidating weir. In fact, I would go as far as to say that it was the steepest weir that I have ever laid my eyes on. And boy did these guys jump. Besides the fact that they had to propel themselves meters in to the air, the rains had come a calling and the river was flowing pretty fast. It was a veritable Niagara Falls out there. I felt really sorry for the poor things. Up they jumped, never making it to the next level. Those that did make it up the first three steps of the weir, then let themselves down by jumping clear over the wall and ending up back where they started. It was like their own personal video game. Poor poor salmon. In desperation, myself and Kev (the aforementioned whizz kid) refused to leave until we had seen at least one salmon make it all the way. And that we did. One lone, beastly-big salmon succeeded where others had failed. He defeated the weir and made us both feel slightly better. On a brighter note though, they sure look like they tasted good (they really were thiiiiiiiis biiiiiiiig). Next time I'll be there with a net.

badgers galore!

I seem to have lost a post or two. Surely it is an impossibility that I have not written a smidgen since July. Can't be. However, I have been busy busy busy. First off, there was holidays. Not any old holiday mind, a badger-filled holiday. A busmans holiday some have said but a fabulous time nonetheless. Badgers galore!









Now I can happily say that I have seen a real live badger, in the flesh, up-close. Now for that pesky otter...

I still have not been able to check for footage of frolicky otters and whatnot on the Ouseburn. Along with my posts, I am losing everything else. Not me personally mind, but I sense another otter conspiracy. Somehow (lets call it magic), the screen that I need to view the footage (and hence check who or what is appearing in it) has disappeared. How a big fat 80s style monitor (flatscreen it is not) vanishes off the face of the earth is beyond me. Like I said - conspiracy with a capital C. I smell an otter.

The otter is also up to his old tricks on another part of the Ouseburn river. Its a familiar story by now and I am not really surprised. Take one stealth camera in position on a river bank and I bet you know the rest. Fresh spraint abounds but no footage of an otter. YET. This is getting pretty ridiculous. Responsibility for this one has been handed over to Michael, dene ranger, and I have complete faith in him. He has not yet been jaded by the wiley games of the otter and I believe he can do it. While I will not be able to claim that I captured the Ouseburn otter on film, the victory will be a moral one. Mr O will be captured, in full technicolour, with no spider legs to protect him. At this point in time, I couldnt care less who gets the shot, as long as it is got.

Raccoons in Durham. Whatever next?!

Well, Paul A has rudely scarpered off to America (a holiday - how dare he!) so there may yet be a dancing otter waiting to be discovered on my cameras along the Ouseburn. I'm just going to have to wait til he returns and checks the cameras out. Oh how I wish I had the time. The suspense is killing me!



Despite the atrocious weather, the good old WildPlaces wildlife has been out and about, providing some very cute footage for the cameras. Check out our youtube channel WildPlaces NE for some wonderful footage of badger cubs that was taken by my colleague Kenny. Adorable (the cubs, not Kenny - no offence Kenny). And have you all seen the latest addition to the mammal count in the North East? A racoon. Yep, the cameras have captured those rarest of British mammals (well, perhaps just a resident mammal rather than a true Brit) - the raccoon.

He is quite a charming little fella although some of the papers describe him as a Nazi raccoon. Im sure you can all guess the calibre of the papers that print headlines like that! And, yes, I know this opens a whole can of worms of non-natives in Britain etc etc but just lets not go there. I am not open for some serious debate. Im not sure that I can cope with something like that after months of dawn bat surveys (think getting up at 2am for work) and seriously sugared up kids in their last week of school. A party just isnt a party without a hyperactive gardening club!

WildPlaces does practical work too!

Thanks to everyone who voted for WildPlaces. Unfortunately we didn't make it through to the next round but I think it was a great effort by all. To come in the top ten for such a relatively small project was fantastic and who knows, there might be a next time!

So what has been going on in the last month? I wonder. There's been a little bit of hedgehog action, a lot of fox cub frolicking and who knows, maybe a stealthy otter has been in on the act.



The big boy cameras are finally up and running along the Ouseburn River. Whoop. Whoop.
A few weeks ago, I spent a very uneventful (but miraculously sunny) day setting them up. I say uneventful because I couldn't get the ridiculous things to work!! Vision loss. Vision loss. Vision loss. Who ever heard of a camera having vision loss? Isn't it their jobs to see?! But all they needed was the magic touch (and technical brain) of Mark the camera technician and bham! otter- catching cameras away! Sadly Paul A hasn't had time to check them yet so who knows, there might just be a dancing otter waiting to be discovered.



As Paul has taken over much of the camera work for the moment, I think its high time that the wonderful WildPlaces volunteers get a mention. They have been working hard at making the north east a better place for creatures great and small and have done me proud. Its always excellent when the time for practical habitat management comes around but willing, able and fantastic volunteers make my job that much better.

First up, the kids at Byker Primary have been amazing - you guys rock (and no, no slave labour was involved here)! We have been creating a wildlife garden at the school and now have a smashing bug hotel, wildlife hedge and sensory bee garden to boast about. We've still got our pond to make and new fence to go in over the summer but check out this amazing bench I got commissioned from Chainsaw Creations.

Yes, the gardeners look chuffed with it (less excited than me and the head teacher though I think) but the highlight of the time we've spent working hard (for all involved!) will almost definitely be our end of project party in a couple of weeks. Chocolate cake, crisps, fizzy drinks. I think I'm going to have some hyper kids on my hands next Monday!

And from hard working children to business-suited adults (still hard working I hasten to add!). Over the past 6 weeks, the Quorom Business Park in North Tyneside has had one heck of a wildlife project going on. We've been clearing out the letch that runs through the grounds of the business park, turning it into a wildlife haven. Who would've thought that pulling out a few reeds would be such hard work? A jolly it is not. Through rain (seriously icy, pelting-down rain) and shine we have worked tirelessly to turn the letch into something resembling a river. Rather than the overgrown, impenetrable jungle that it started out as. It looks good. There have been a few incidences of ferocious mud monsters trying to suck us under and more than a few 'relics' pulled from the river but overall the hard work has paid off. Once the arduous job of river clearing is done, the volunteers will be rewarded with the relatively easy task of planting some wildflowers and possibly even a wildlife hedge in the winter. Fun times. How I love practical work. Really I do.

As an aside, thank-you to everyone who reads my blog and leaves comments. Its always great to read them :) BUT, I have recently discovered that there have been inappropriate comments (in chinese no less) left on my blog so I have decided to remove the comments feature all together. Please email me at kara.jackson@northwt.org.uk if you have something to say or videos to share. Thanks!

Vote for WildPlaces!!

So the WildPlaces BatBox Duet has finally arrived and I have been playing detective in the back garden. Turns out my resident bat is none other than a little common pipistrelle (still exciting nonetheless). And there I was making it out to be some monster bat. Tut. Tut.


Anyway, this month (or should I say last month) has been a super busy month, hence the lack of communications on the blog. The first highlight of the month was the BioBlitz which was held at Ashington Community Woodlands this year. I was charged with setting up cameras and capturing loads and loads of exciting footage of beasties in the woodland. And beasties did I get! Most notable beastie was Paul Salmon, our Eco-North manager, doing a newt survey while rocking a pair of waders that looked suspiciously like thigh-high boots. Still, clad in those 'waders' Paul was able to net us some horse leeches, smooth newts and a cool common toad. That was three species added to the BioBlitz count. More traditional beasties caught on my cameras included red squirrels, roe deer, a fox and lots of magpies, pigeons and crows. One of my cameras was mounted way up in a pine tree to try and capture the elusive little red. Memories of myself and Paul A lugging the ladder through the woodland, on what was possibly the hottest day of the year so far, still makes me shudder. It is not an experience that I wish to repeat. And to top it all off, the red squirrels didn't even bother to visit my carefully constructed squirrel feeder. No, I got footage of the little critters munching squirrel feed (cheating, I know) on the ground, in front of a camera reserved for foxes! Hey, I can't complain, footage of red squirrel is footage of red squirrel. During the BioBlitz I also had the pleasure of meeting student extraordinaire Chantelle. She kindly helped me to remove all the cameras once the BB was over, without the need of hoisting a ladder about. Brilliant. This girl should've been born a squirrel. She somehow managed to scurry up a tree (a pine tree!) and unlock and untangle one camera in one awkward position. Boy did that save me a tantrum or two!! Hmmm, don't try that one at home kids. So, well done to Elaine and the team for organising a fantastic blitz of all things bio (and for organising a comfy bed at the end of a very long day 1). I think everybody had a great time and overall, we managed to record over 3 000 different species - really impressive for an urban woodland. And it just goes to show that there's plenty of wildlife out there if you look hard enough for it.

Oh, and i swear this is a red squirrel. Some silly silly man investigated my little GL80 in the hedge and then thought it would be a brilliant idea to swish it about and ruin any subsequent shots. Messing with my art. How very dare he.

Second highlight of the month has been the filming of some wonderful little fox cubs at the Your Homes Newcastle in South Gosforth. The cubs have been spotted frolicking in the parking lot of the offices so I was there like a shot. On arrival at YHN, I was pleased to see signs all over warning people to 'drive slow. Fox cubs playing.' I decided to put up two of the HD stealth cams to capture the antics of the cubs and, unlike the Ouseburn Otter, these little guys are naive. They didn't try to hide from the cameras and sneak about like some creatures I know so I managed to get some really sweet shots of them. Paul will be editing the footage soon but this is a taster of things to come ....

Speaking of fox cubs, Paul has been out and about setting up cameras in gardens all around the North East as the cubs come out to play. Keep an eye on Facebook and YouTube in the near future to see the videos that he managed to get. Ooooh and check out http://www.urbanwildplaces.co.uk/ and check out our swish new website and vote for WildPlaces to win a National Lottery award. Please.

A rabid vampire bat in England? Never.

The cameras are up and waiting. Now all I need is an otter. At the moment, the big gun cameras are in use so I have only my trusty trail cams to rely on. I'm confident in their ability though and am looking forward to Friday when I will be able to check the footage (and hopefully get something more than raindrops on water!). Until then I wait with bated breath.

Did you know that bat season is upon us? I'm sure you've all seen the shadows of pipistrelles and daubentons (amongst others) flitting through the night sky (so have worked this out for yourself). I, for one, have a bad mother of a bat hunting in and around my garden so the aim of the week is to find out what bat it might be, armed with just a bat detector and my (not so) wiley perception. If you've never been on a bat walk or heard the eerie sounds that a bat makes while flying and hunting, I seriously reccommend you try out a bat walk. For most of us (unless you are young and spritely), we can only 'hear' a bat with the aid of a bat detector and only the proffessionals or the wildly enthusiastic tend to have this kind of kit. I won't go into all the technical stuff of how the detectors work but check out the Northumberland and Durham bat group websites for a series of walks led by super knowledgable people or join WildPlaces (also super knowledgable)on 20th May for a walk through Harpley Woods. Honestly, its something you have to do at least once in your life and the window of opportunity will close in around October (depending on how soon winter wants to start). Hearing a bat blowing a raspberry is priceless. Just priceless.


Oh and dont be afraid of bats. The smallest species of UK bat (the pip) can fit into a matchbox. Now how can you be scared of that? The UK currently doesnt have any blood sucking (or otherwise) vampire bats and its even a bit of a myth that bats will give you rabies. In the UK, it is so so so rare for a bat to even have rabies (never mind transmit it) and its not the classical foaming-at-the-mouth-rabid-dog rabies that we all know and love. In fact, according to the Bat Conservation Trust, classical rabies has never been recorded in a native European bat species. Bats get something called European Bat Lyssavirus and since 1986, over 9000 bats have been tested and only 9 have been found to have the live virus. And you can avoid the risk by not handling bats unless you really, really have to (and I mean really have to) and to wear gloves if you do. Anyway, thats me off my soapbox and you hopefully learning something new.

An otter, CountryFile and those St Nix frogs

The hunt has officially begun. Against my better judgement I have resurrected the search for the Ouseburn Otter. Last week, I set two of my new ProwlerHD cameras up along the banks of the Ouseburn at Bob's, pointing directly onto the wall where the sneaky beggar sprainted last week. I will catch him this time. And do you know why? Today I am moving further upstream and setting up yet more cameras to catch the little blighter. He can't swim underwater forever and he can't always dodge my cameras. I plan to strategically position the camera upstream so that as he ducks under to miss my first batch of stealth cams, he will pop up from under the water, all self-satisfied and superior (or so he thinks), only to be hit - BAM! - by the gentle infrared glow of Prowler HD number 3. I'm not entirely sure that this plan will work as he's outsmarted me many many times but anything is worth a try, right? Right?! Here's a reminder of the King of the Flood, the Goose-Footed Prowler (in Bob's immortal words), the Conniving Trickster (in mine).

So, did you all watch Countryfile on Sunday (25th April)? If not, check it out on BBC iPlayer as it was really great to see the wildlife of the north east showcased as it was, and of course to see the wonderful Bob that I am always banging on about. If, like many of the people that have been emailing me, you have been inspired to purchase your own trail camera (or if you live in the North East, WildPlaces is always happy to share), then check out http://www.scottcountry.co.uk/news_detail.asp?newsID=1008&link=head for details on many of the trail cameras on the market along with a handy 'how to' guide. I must point out now that I am an impartial writer here and am not favouring one company over the other - the people at Scott Country were kind enough to provide this information for the blog so I have put it up here. I may, however, be persuaded to be a little more partial to a particular place and/or company were that particular place and/or company do a little charity work and donate a few trail cameras to the project or, at the very least, sponsor me to do the Big Slide over the River Tyne (hint hint!). I must also point out that this is a light hearted blog and blackmail, corruption and/or bribery is not permitted. Thanks anyway, Scott Country for providing the info, I'm sure a lot of wildlife enthusiasts will find it super helpful.

Remember I mentioned the superhero assistant Paul? Well, he has been working on a lovely froggy video of the pond here at St Nicholas Park. It was amazing how many frogs you can fit into one relatively small pond and we all enjoyed watching their antics (not in a rude way of course). So now, for your viewing pleasure, I present the Frogs of St Nix. Bravo. Bravo.

Ooooh and since we are on the subject of frogs, I feel it is time for a little bit of education. Here we go.

Do you know the difference between a frog and a toad? And before I dive in and give you all the answers, I must thank Steve Lowe at the Northumberland Wildlife Trust for his spiffing amphibian training he delivered the other day and thus providing most of what I am now going to tell you ....

So, lets start with our little froggy counterparts

Smooth skin - check. Pointed snout - check. Brown patch behind the eye (for the common frog) - check. Barring on hind legs;ie stripey legs (common frog again) - check. Spawn laid in clumps - check.

And Mr Toad, well he (or she, i'm no sexist) has ....

warty skin, a copper coloured iris and a horizontally split pupil. And guess what, they lay their spawn in clumps rather than strings (or necklaces if you prefer), which you would know had you watched Paul's video.

But, perhaps the most obvious difference between the two (and the best I think) is that frogs JUMP while toads can only CRAWL. You do of course have to have them out of the water to see this but its a good difference between the two. Not that you should fish these poor amphibians out of the water in order to see them go - don't do it.

Oh, and have a happy happy bank holiday everyone - good times.

Mr O is back back back

Tonight is the night. i have just spoken to Bob who was out watching the badgers last night and they saw a whooping 4 badgers, 2 roe deer, a fox and, of course, the customary rat. Good times. Lets hope tonight is just as successful (please please please). Oh, and, in true style, Bob has been on yet another DIY spree and constructed a wee wall along the edge of his part of the Ouseburn river. More exciting than this is the fact that the Ouseburn Otter has deemed this wall mighty enough to claim for himself and has left some lovely fresh spraint to taunt us all. I fear the hunt may be back on. Who would've thought that some poo on a wall could get me so riled up. There's no plan as yet, but mark my words there will be. And hopefully, this time, it will be a successful one.

Picture of the newly filled pond at Byker too, as promised. Not as exciting as an otter or badger I know but just as important to WildPlaces. Didn't the volunteers and the firemen do a lovely job!

Now this bit is only for the most adventorous of readers ....

How do you fancy whooshing across the Tyne River on a really thin piece of wire with nothing but a harness holding you in place? Sound good. It's going to be! Northumberland and Durham Wildlife Trusts are doing a spot of fundraising and we need you to help. On September 11 2010, there will be a sponsored zipline taking place from the top the Baltic and over the Tyne. It costs £30 to register your place and then all you need to do is raise £120 sponsorship and you'll be speeding across the river like a flash of lightening. If this sounds like your kind of thing (and it should), drop me an email (kara.jackson@northwt.org.uk) and I will send you all the details to get you started. And don't worry, this Big Slide is super safe and super super fun. Even if you only do it for the reason that you will get to see Cheryl, WildPlaces project manager, nipping across the Tyne in a badger suit (and possibly me in a squirrel suit but that is still under discussion!). Thats got to be worth it, surely?!

WildPlaces on TV

Lately there has been very little (or none as the case may be) blogging activity from yours truely. This is not down to laziness or lack of exciting things to say but rather down to my favourite favourite pasttime - holidaying! But now I am back and have already had a super busy week. The most exciting part of which was filming for Countryfile. WildPlaces has reached the dizzying heights of television (excluding the features on the news of course!). Please please please check out the feature on urban mammals on Countryfile on 25th April. Its going to be great. Not least because the loveable Bob will be playing a starring role. It was Bob who was my greatest aid in the hunt for the Ouseburn Otter and his garden provided the first images of this elusive creature for the project. Bob built me camera plinths, fish island and became chief spider killer while the cameras were set up at his house so I am really pleased that he got to show off his footage and his garden to Katie (the Countryfile presenter) and the rest of the film crew. It was marvellous. Since my last visit to Bob's, he has taken on the massive task of building himself a hide at the bottom of his garden (which was done in no more than three days) and what a hide it is! Fantastic. Its a perfect spot to watch the kingfisher and roe deer from and I bet you could have a lovely close up of the badgers if you were quiet enough. That garden is a marvel.



On the subject of Bob, he has offered to take me badger watching next week which I obviously said a huge fat yes to. Can you imagine, the girl that has been staking out badger setts (in the non-illegal way of course) and capturing footage of badgers for the last year might actually get to see a real live one in a weeks time. I am so excited. Its laughable really that I'm yet to spot a real badger so maybe by next Friday I will have a little more dignity to hand. We'll see. I of all people know how wildlife loves to scupper the best laid plans and it never ever plays nice, no matter how cordially you may ask.



So anyway, those are my favourite highlights of the past week or so. Ooooooh and the pond here at St Nix was absolutely jumping (literally!) the other week. The pond became a writhing mass of frolicking frogs as they all came to the surface to enjoy a bit of spring sunshine, fun and games (wink wink). The superhero WildPlaces assistant Paul has been filming their antics so I will get that on here as soon as he's done editing it.



So now for some footage ....
Thanks to Val for the use of her beautiful garden - we got some fabulous stuff

And since I will be seeing a real badger next week (fingers crossed), here is some more Geordie badgers having a great old time with only the camera watching.

Dont forget that theres always lots of footage on our YouTube and FaceBook site (www.urbanwildplaces.co.uk for links) and that we always have lots of great activities going on which you are always welcome to attend (hint hint).

HD Cams Away!

So the HD cameras have been tested and I'm sad to say, two of them are not very well. Nevertheless that means that three of them are so I'm hopeful for the StealthCam HD future. This is some of the raw footage gathered at our testing bonanza. Hopefully there will be lots more to come including otter, red squirrel and those loveable badgers in the scary, scary woods!

So did I tell you about all the hard work that went on at Conservation Week? We built and installed an otter holt, chopped down many trees (in the name of conservation of course) and renovated a lovely pond. A great week all in all - thanks to everyone who gave up their time and came along to help! Paul made this cool video of himself and Dan constructing the recycled plastic holt. Check it out. And turn up that volume!

And here it is, installed, waiting to be covered up and just begging for an otter to visit it. The Ouseburn Otter perhaps? It might just grace us with its presence!

And this is the pond ... TA DA!!

It might not look like much at the moment but once this baby is filled up (by hunky firemen no less!!), its going to be a beaut!!

A badger up a tree - almost

Somewhere in the misty recesses of my post holiday mind, I remember promising some new badger footage for your viewing pleasure. Now, I hope you haven't been holding your breath to see this as I know that I have taken a bit of a dawdle getting it on here. Never mind, badgers up trees in all their glory await you.

So tree climbing critters seem to be all the rage nowadays, what with the otters and the badgers, even squirrels are at it nowadays! Has all the never ending snow coupled with the prospect of being famous gone to their heads? I think its more a case of good old animal behaviour, pretty interesting none the less. Some weird animal behaviour for you to ponder ....

Robins in urban areas are now singing at night because it is too noisy during the day.

Or how about a chicken-eating cow in West Bengal. When 48 chickens went missing in a month (thats a lot of chickens for any animal, never mind a cow) from a remote West Bengal village, everyone blamed the neighborhood dogs. But the owner eventually solved the puzzle when he caught his cow gobbling up several of them at night. "We watched in horror as the calf, whom we had fondly named Lal, sneak to the coop and grab the little ones with the precision of a jungle cat." Local television pictures showed the cow grabbing and eating a chicken in seconds and a vet confirmed the case.

Or imagine sleeping on your heels like a baboon or do as some birds do and sleep with one eye open.

Its on the internet so it must be true .....

Yep, animals are pretty strange creatures with some weird and wonderful behaviour but I guess they probably think the same, if not worse, of us.

But now onto the means of capturing this wonderful wildlife. I have a new camera. 5 new cameras in fact. HD cameras. Prowler HD cameras. I've hit the big time. Sadly, I havent had time to try these cameras out (or even to buy batteries and memory cards for them) but I will. Today. As well as my excitement at having new cameras to set up (and thus new adventures to be had), a new WildPlaces Assistant, Paul, started on Monday so one has become two. Oh yeah. I now have faith that between the two of us we have the means to become a wildlife-on-film busting superpower.

I'm not sure who the fat bloke on the end is, but its not me, alright?! Just not to be done on copyright infringements, this wonderful portrait is courtesy (unbeknown to them) of ippiki.wordpress.com. SSsshhh, dont tell.

Hedge Planting and Otter Acrobatics

Well, well, well. There certainly have been many exciting going ons in WildPlaces land these last few weeks. I ventured back into the scary woodland, I got some otter acrobatics on film and I did a little bit of wildlife hedge planting at Moorside Allotments in Fenham.

First, lets talk practical work. The other week, WildPlaces and my super helpful team of volunteers were lucky enough to be joined by Trai Anfield from the BBC and some keen conservationists in the making from Byker Primary. The weather was absolutely freezing (surprise surprise) and at one point I think we all lost feeling in our feet but the job got done, we had a good time (well I did anyway!) and we hopefully saved some wildlife while we were at it. Or to be more precise, we enhanced the habitat and reduced fragmentation for future generations of wildlife. Grow little hedge. Grow with all your might.

Good times. Next up, I'm going all out on an entire week of conservation (aptly named Conservation Week) to take place at the Ouseburn Farm in Newcastle. Check out the website (www.urbanwildplaces.co.uk in case you forgot) and come along and help out if you fancy it. You may become famous like me and the gang at Moorside who were featured on Look North (if you can call 10 seconds a feature!) and in the Go Green supplement in The Chronicle. Check us out. Celebrities in the making.

So, next to the scary woodland. This time, I didnt get lost and I didnt get scared but I did get some cool badger footage. So as not to spoil you, you can see that footage in my next update. I can't have you lot expecting 3 lots of pictures/film in every post. Sorry.

But you can see my little acrobatic otter if you like. I set up my trusty stealth cams on the Derwenthaugh pontoon again but this time it was on the opposite side to where I normally site it. At last, the otter climbed up the ladder and I caught it on film. I have been pursuing this show of agility for ages and am very very happy that it is now in my possession. Maybe its not as exciting as it could be (no baton twirling or somersaults) but I do still think its pretty cute. Hope you do too.

Otter up a tree.

Did you see the photo of an otter up a tree at WWT Slimbridge? Although this is not a new phenomenon its still pretty awesome. Otters never cease to amaze me - is there anything they can't do? This pic is from The Times (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article6994410.ece) and really made my day when it was showed to me. Guess I really am setting up my cameras in the wrong place! Next time I have tales of tall trees to tell, it won't be red squirrels that I was after. Oh no no no.


Oh. And I think the Ouseburn Otter has found a rival to his cheekiness down in Middlesborough. One of my WildPlaces colleagues, Kenny, got some crazy footage of an otter sauntering nonchalantly towards the camera, sticking out its tongue (can you believe the audacity) and then walking away. A real up yours in an otter kind of way.

Kenny, I hope you don't mind that I have put the video up - its really too special not to be shared! What a cheeky little blighter! Check out Kenny's blog (http://wildplacesteesvalley.blogspot.com/) for more cool footage from the WildPlaces team - that way I dont have to steal his to put on here cause you would already have seen it.

And in other news, I had some pretty rambunctious (I don't think thats a made up word) badgers on my hands. I went in search of a particular badger sett in a particular wood all on my lonesome last week. Never mind that I have visited this sett a few times with Barry, my trusty Northumberland Navigator. I can visit a place 100 times and still get lost if I'm the one finding the way. So yeah. There I was. Alone. In the woods. Teetering on the edge of the ravine. It didnt help that it was stupid o clock in the morning (and in this wonderful climate morning = pitch black at the moment). I admit I was scared. Especially as I had already seen this footage from cameras set up on a previous visit.

You don't want to be caught unawares by these sharp-clawed monsters (badgers are lovely really - that was just for dramatic effect). But needless to say, I was just being a wimp. I made it out alive, didnt even catch a whiff of badger although I saw some badger poo with a skull in it. Hmmm what a rubbish story. Lost in the woods and not a wound or a close encounter to speak off. Sorry about that. But at least I live another day to bring you tales of urban mammals in the North East. Don't even think it, I know you would rather I had been attacked and had something exciting to say.

A new years resolution

Another new year and boy has it started with a bang! Snow fuelled chaos has been the highlight of the year so far for many but never fear, apart from snowball fights and Frosty the snowman, the white stuff is pretty handy. Mammals cannot hide. Unless they develop a slick method of floating, you are pretty much guaranteed to see footprints wherever an animal has been. Bonus for me. I have been able to see the Ouseburn Otter's every move and while I still can't find him (typical Ouseburn Otter style), I do know a little bit more about his movements, with hardly any extra effort! However, my new years resolution for 2010 is to be a little more forgiving of Mr O. I am currently reading a book called The Otter in Britain (a lovely present from the legendary Bob Wilkin) and it has definitely given me an insight into why the otter is just so darn camera shy. Never mind the ye olde english style of writing, this poem by William Somerville (called The Chace and written way back in 1735) shows just how persecuted this poor critter has been for a long, long time. I too, would have developed a crafty instinct had a poem like this been written about me. Here we go. It gets quite gory - you have been warned.

On the soft sand
See there his seal impress'd! And on that bank
Behold the glittering spoils, half-eaten fish,
Scales, fins and bones, the leavings of his feast.
Ah! On that yielding sag-bed, see, once more
His seal I view. O'er yon dark rushy marsh
The sly goose-footed prowler bends his course,
And seeks distant shallows.

See, there he drives along!
The ascending bubbles mark his gloomy way.
Quick fix the nets, and cut off his retreat
Into the shelt'ring deeps. Ah, there he vents!
The pack plunge headlong, and protended spears
Menace destruction.

Ah, there once more he vents!
See, that blood hound has seiz'd him: down they sink,
Together lost: but soon shall be repent
His rash assault. See there escap'd, he flies
Half drown'd, and clambers up the slipp'ry bank
With ooze and blood distain'd. Again he vents:
Again the crowd attack. That spear has pierc'd
His neck; the crimson waves confess the wound.
Fix'd is the bearded lance, unwelcome guest,
Where're he flies; with him it sinks beneath,
With him it mounts; sure guide to ev'ry foe.
Inly he groans, nor can his tender wound
Bear the cold stream. Lo! to yon sedgy bank
He creeps disconsolate; his numerous foes
Surround him, hounds and men. Pierc'd through and through
On pointed spears they lift him high in air;
Wriggling he hangs, and grins and bites in vain.

So there you have it. But lets turn to the Haugh otter now. I don't think his ancestors were ever hunted, even back then I reckon they were tough, used to laugh at the dogs if they ever tried to come near them. In fact, the book gives a few accounts of otters actually being 'one of the dogs', trained to run alongside what should be their enemies. One particular pack of dogs even refused to hunt wild otters when their otter-mate was with them. I mean get a load of this bad boy. I certainly wouldn't mess with him!