My New Camera Adventures

So the new cameras are ready and waiting for any unsuspecting mammals passing them by. With lots of help from Newcastle City Council rangers Mike and Neil I have been on a frenzy of camera activity and set up 5 cameras to capture images of otter, red squirrel and fox (if these animals cooperate that is). The first camera that we set up was under some very dense and thorny undergrowth that a fox had decided would be a very good place for a den. Unfortunately though, this particular spot was clearly not so good a place for anything larger than fox-sized (and I am clearly larger than a fox). Never mind, in I went and although I didn't lose any eyes in the process, I did gain a few more WildPlaces battle scars to add to my collection. The next site we arrived at is, I'm assured, full of red squirrels (needless to say I wasn't impressed when the first dog walker we bumped into was adamant that only deer used this reserve - but I think I'm going to go with the rangers on this one). So the next two cameras had Mike hanging at a precarious angle in a couple of Scots Pines - one hand weilding the camera and strap, the other clinging to the side of the ladder. At this point I was torn between telling him to reach higher and further to really get deep into that red squirrel territory or whether I really wanted to apply my First Aid skills to a real live person. Lucky for me, Mike made it down the tree unscathed and we set off in pursuit of our last urban mammal of the day - the otter. Already wary of otters due to my run-ins with the Ouseburn Otter I wasn't expecting any miracles and I certainly didn't get them! Setting up these two cameras meant wading through very sludgy water that sucked at my feet at every opportunity and somehow ending up with wet socks at the end of it, despite wearing a very new pair of waders. The cameras were duly set up and there was lots of otter spraint around which is always a good sign (but not a guarantee of an otter sighting I have learnt) so I'm hoping that the Ouseburn Otter is the black sheep (or otter) of the family and all other otters in the Newcastle area will be wonderfully behaved and not in the least camera shy.

I will be checking the Stealth Cam 500 for Ouseburn Otter footage next week so keep your fingers crossed for me!