Tag: camera

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For about three hours to day we have been setting…

For about three hours to day, we have been setting a camera up to watch a pair of Pied Wagtail nesting. They are nesting in an extractor fan outlet hole, in one of the holiday cottages. After a few problems we managed to get it going, but on putting the camera and light into the hole, we found that the light did not have the power to light up the recess, that the nest is in. I will have to look at the alternatives, and try to get it up and running tomorrow.

The Swallows are starting to arrive on the farm, to start their nesting. I must admit they are our favorites for the nesting cameras, they really are cute. They have in recent years lost a lot of their old nesting sites on the farm, as we have converted two barns. I am putting up a few shelves in another of our barns, in the hope that it will encourage them to nest in that barn. I can then hopefully put a camera up to watch them there. If I get the time, and I can find four different types of Birds nesting, I will put a camera up on each nest. I have a piece of equipment, that will allow me to rotate the four cameras at intervals I choose, on the four nests.

We are not getting the rain that we need to get the grass growing as it should be. The ground is very hard and we need a fair bit of rain soon. Most years the Horses are able to graze a seven acre field, for all of the summer and part of the autumn, up to November, December time. That’s allowing them to start to graze the field, on about the 1st of May. What with the sheep still on the fields grazing and the lack of rain, the grass may not last as long as usual. I know most of you would rather have the good weather we are now getting, but long dry spells do cause problems in farming, that in turn causes price increases in the food you purchase. Dont worry how daft you may look, go outside and try a little rain dance.

We have the remains of a small Cider Orchard on the farm. For the first time since we have lived here, every tree blossemed and we had more fruit than ever. There were more Blackberries and other hedge fruits than usual, and the Wallnuts were large. And that was after the exceptional hot and dry summer. We thought that we were in for a hard winter, because of the large ammount of fruit. On the conterary, the Autume and Winter were the mildest that I can remeber. I dont know that I am convinced on Global Warming, but if it is happening, Farmers will need to change there ways of farming.

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webcams

The Squirrels have started to use the Squirrel feeder that…

The Squirrels have started to use the Squirrel feeder that can be viewed by the main Badger camera. Once we put a Bird feeder nearby, the Squirrel soon found the feeder. There were two on it this morning, having a push and shove to see who was going to stay. It is a good spot to get an obstacle course set up. I will give the Squirrels another week to get use to where the feeder is, then I will put up another post with a piece of wood between the two posts. Something easy to start with, so they are not put off by it. I saw one some years back, there were some difficult challenges for the Squirrels to do, before they got the peanuts, but they always worked it out.

We tried to move the sheep again today, they were having none of it. I have had to put a pen up, made of gates, and have started to feed them in it. The idea is that when there are a good few Sheep in the pen, I will close a gate behind them. I can then handle them to get them in a trailer, and take them up to the field that we have prepared for them.

Anyone who had seen last nights diary about the fish, and had seen the fish that I had on camera today, would have thought that I was romancing about the size of them. I looked a good few times to see if there were any good sized fish. All that were there were five to eight inch fish. Quite a few of them were Tench, the first time that I have seen any, other than what had been caught by people fishing.

Because of the number of cameras that are installed at Denbury, I have to have quite a sophisticated setup, that allows me to change over the cameras, so that they are able to be viewed on camera one and camera two thumbnails. I also have CCTV monitors that allows me to view any one, or all of the cameras privately. My television is a monitor. Without a Sky box I would not be able to watch television on it, but I am able to watch one, or all of the cameras on the monitor, I can also watch them in picture in picture. So there is not a lot I should miss. The reason I mention this, is that I watch the valley camera more than any other, except Lady’s camera. Just recently I have seen very little going on down the valley, which is a surprise, considering the area it covers, and with the woods on both sides. The IR lamps make the eyes stand out of any animal that may come into view. I use to very often pick up wildlife, but it has gone quite. Let me know on the forum if you see anything. After Lady has her foal, I will leave the valley camera on over night.

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webcams

The Barn Owl Trust camera will not be working for…

The Barn Owl Trust camera will not be working for two day, whilst alterations are being made to the barn.

You may have seen Woody on camera today, you would never have guessed that two days ago she looked at deaths door. There was no point in having the Veterinary look at her as she was today, he would not have found anything wrong with her.

I have been trying to get the ducklings on camera today, there are still ten swimming about. The excitement on the lake today has been with the Canada Geese. There are still two pair trying to gain the territory and the island. One pair had taken residence on the island, the other pair will not accept it, and have been trying to chase them off. The Goose who is trying to take over, challenges the other Goose by swimming close to the island and even chasing it off across the island. and is seen off. Neither will give up trying. I should think that is why the duckling are not about, they must be keeping out of harms way. I hope you have seen it on camera. Every now and then when it is warm, you can see the fish in the lake. there are some weighing 12lb and maybe more.

We have seen a Pied Wagtail and one of the Tit family, start nesting, both in awkward places around the holiday cottages. The Pied Wagtail has chosen the cooker hood extractor fan hole to nest, the fan will not be able to be used until the fledglings have fully fledged, or they will find it a little drafty. The Tit is nesting in a hole in a timber lintel, that a few years back we found a wasp nest in. I will try to show them on camera.

When we converted a barn some years back, we had a Swallows nesting in the kitchen ceiling timbers, before we had plaster boarded and plastered it. Holiday guests were due, it did not look as though the fledglings were going to leave the nest before they arrived. There was no way they would have accepted sharing the cottage with the Swallows, especially as the cottage door would have to be left open. Luckily they fledged the day before, we quickly finished the cottage by boarding the ceiling and painting the board, we did not have time for the plastering. The guests never noticed, or at least didn’t say they had.

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There were more lambs born over night and today unfortunately…

There were more lambs born over night and today, unfortunately none were able to be viewed on camera. We were concerned that the Foxes had taken a lamb last night. As I was coming back from feeding the Badgers, I heard a fight going on between the Foxes, how many were fighting I don’t know, but it was the worse Fox fight I had ever heard. It was coming from the area very close to where the Ewes and Lambs were. I could only imagine that the Foxes had taken a lamb and were fighting over it. This morning I could only see one lamb with Minty and of course thought that one of her twins had been taken. Checking the Ewes and lambs this evening, we found Minty with both her twins lambs, and could not see any others missing. What ever the Foxes were fighting over so fiercely, I cannot imagine.

Four pairs of Buzzards have been flying above the farm today, it happens every year. They must be marking out their territory for the coming breeding season. It varies from year to year how many pairs fly above the farm. A few years back their were fourteen pairs. Some years they return for four or five days, flying and gliding in the thermals for hours at a time. Only one pair stay in the area of the farm, the way they hunt the valley, they must nest in the woods, but I have never found out where. It is good to see the Buzzards around the Farm, and they let you they are, with there call.

Although the Buzzard is about two thirds of the size, and has different colouring of that of a Golden Eagle, for those who have only seen the Eagle in a book, they could be excused for thinking that a Buzzard may have been an Eagle. I remember some years back that our local newspaper reported a Golden Eagle sighting, within a mile or so from the Farm. I cant believe that it was not a Buzzard, and surprised that our local newspaper would not have questioned the sighting.

We managed to knock a pole into the lake today, we can now find a branch to push into it, hopefully to make a landing site for the Kingfishers, to fish from. I had to get into the boat to help my lad keep it still as he was unable to stop it from moving, to be able to knock the pole in. I had it on camera, thinking he would be doing it on his own. Fortunately I was out of the sight of the camera when we had finished, for when we got to the bank, my lad got out first, and decided he was going to act daft, I have a better word, but you would not want to see it. I was sitting in the back of the boat, when he got out the boat it was well down in the water, he pushed the boat away from the bank so hard that the back started to go down, how I did not finish up in the water, I don’t know. You would not want to know what I called him

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It seems that the diary is all about sheep this…

It seems that the diary is all about sheep this week. One of the Texel Ewes, Minty decided that she was going to lamb in a great place to watch the lambing on camera. Whilst in labour, one of last years Ram lambs tried to mount her. I went to try to catch the Ram, so that it would stop bothering the Ewe, unfortunately when I went up the field to try to catch it, it got away. Actually it was not quite like that, I managed to grab it by the horn, I straddled across the Ram and got it laying down to get in a better position, so that I would be able to lift it on to the quad trailer. I was down on my knees still straddled over the Ram, thinking that it was calm, it suddenly got up and made a dash for it, as it did so, it lifted me up, so that my feet came off of the ground, taking me for a good few meters ride, until I fell off and finished flat on my back. It didn’t give me another chance to catch it.

During the lambing I moved the camera into a different position as the Ewe was having a little trouble lambing, the lamb was coming out in the wrong position and I needed to push it back and turn it in the correct position for delivery, it turned out to be very easy and I could have left the camera on the Ewe, but if it had gone wrong, which it can, it would not have been pleasant to watch. The Ewe had twin lambs, they are feeding and doing very well. We will have to watch out for the Fox, searching for the after birth as they did yesterday afternoon.

I went and looked around the Ewes that had not lambed yet, by the way their udders are springing, a few more will lamb over the next day or so, if poss I will show them on camera again, of course it depends if they are in view of the camera.

All the lambs that were born yesterday are doing well. The Portland had lost her lamb this morning, she was running around bleating in panic, we thought that a Fox may have got it last night. She eventually found it and has not left it all day.

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Three of the Ewes lambed today two sets of twins…

Three of the Ewes lambed today, two sets of twins, one set by another Crossbreed, another set by the Dolly the Texel Ewe, another Portland also had a single lamb. I put the camera on them this afternoon, you may have seen two Fox sniffing around Dolly’s pair, and Dolly chasing them off. I should think that the Fox were a pair with cubs, we see them most years in that area with their cubs, hopefully we will catch them on camera in a few weeks time. It is unusual for the Fox to take healthy lambs, that are on their feet. The Fox may take a weak lamb and sometimes a lamb that is being born.

I think this would be the first lambs that the Texel Ewes have had. They were orphaned lambs and hand reared by a child. They are quite old and it is nice that they have had lambs. Most we have named, Dolly, Minty, Cranberry etc. They are very friendly and will feed from your hands.

We walked down the valley before we put the Ewe and lamb in the barn tonight. When we went back to put them away, we found them waiting by the barn door, Ky who had run on in front, was sitting by the side of the lamb. I reckon Ky thinks the lamb as a playmate, or maybe dinner. The Ewe looks forward to coming in of a night, and is making sure she is not forgotten.

I bottle fed the lamb late last night, somehow without me realising, as I left the barn, the lamb managed to squeeze itself out of the barn door. The Ewe let me know by bleating, I quickly looked around the barn, not seeing the lamb I went out to look for her, there was the lamb running to the paddock, were they are put in the daytime, without a care in the world, not caring if its mother was with it or not. It would not survive out on it own, the Fox would soon get her, still being weak.

Ladies udder is very large, with a little waxing of the nipples, I wouldn’t swear to it, but it looks like she will foal anytime. The Broadband connection went down just after 1.am, when it goes down, even for just a second, it turns the webcam sending signal off, I have to turn it back on manually. If I had known, no doubt I could have reset it immediately. It sometimes happens for a few night in a row. When I check Lady I will make sure the webcams are working, hopefully then they wont be off for long. I may even change Ladies camera over onto the Denbury Farm, camera one. Check it out if the foaling camera is not on.

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webcams

There is a new posting on the Ghost cam page…

There is a new posting on the Ghost cam page.

Today you may have seen three of the Portland sheep on camera two fighting. Two of them are Ram lambs that were born last year, they are being a bit brave with the flock Ram, trying to take over, but he is a bit to cute and strong, even with two of them trying it on. They are bit to young at the moment. The older ram is getting a bit old now, he is what is known as broken mouthed, meaning that he is loosing a few teeth, as time goes on he will not be able to eat as well as he should, he will then start to loose a little condition, that is when the younger Rams will have their chance.

A new lamb was born last night, to one of the cross breed sheep. It was a bit of a surprise, as it was brown and the Ewe is white, the father, is the white Portland Ram, so the colour is a throw back from the Ewes cross breeding.

The farm next to ours have their Ewes and lambs out in the fields, it is good size flock that would need a lot of work throughout the year. It looks like most of the Ewes have twin lambs. As the lambs get older they tend to to get into little groups, playing and chasing around the field, good to watch.

A couple of days ago an entry from the US, on the forum said that that one of the Badger was still limping. As I am writing this entry I am changing between camera one and two, there are ten Badgers feeding, six on camera one and four on two, but I have not seen the one who is limping, they all seem fine.

When we went on our walk down the valley today, with Tass and Ky, we went further than the cameras view, disturbing the three deer that have been feeding on the valley camera of a nighttime. Looking at their hoof prints, there is a lot of activity. Because of the distance we would need to run the electricity wire, it would be very difficult to get a camera set up, but it would be an interesting site, I will look into it tomorrow.

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At the moment the Badgers tend to be feeding on…

At the moment the Badgers tend to be feeding on camera one first, it could be because it is staying lighter of an evening. Although camera one is very near the farmhouse, it is positioned in a darker and more secluded spot than camera two, that is very open position. As it gets lighter of an evening I gradually feed later. The clocks go forward this weekend, so I will start to feed the Badgers an hour later, at about 8 to 8.15pm. In the summer you can see the Badgers in colour as they feed before it gets dark.

The Deer were not about last night, they use the same spot at nearly the same time for three or four days, then go off somewhere else. I should think it would be close by as we often see or hear them in the day. We are leaving the valley camera on of a night to try to see them. Last night there were a couple of Badgers and a Fox running through, it makes a change to see them in the valley, a little more interesting than it is at feeding times.

The lake has been very noisy today, two pairs of Geese flew in and have being arguing all day trying to chase each other off. Why they both cant put up with each other, I don’t know, every year only one pair settle. Last year two pairs flew in and tried chasing each other off, in the end three of the Geese flew of together, leaving one on its own. A pair did settle a few weeks later.

We need to get on with a couple of jobs on the lake. We are going to put a couple of landing branches in the the lake to encourage the Kingfisher to catch the fish from them, so that we can see them on the cameras. We have Kingfishers on the farm, but we do not see them as much as we would like.

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I don t know if anyone else saw them between…

I don’t know if anyone else saw them, between camera one and camera two last night there were ten badgers. I have been checking the cameras out every night since we found the dead Badger, and although I had my suspicions that the dead Badger was not from the local sett as it looked very small, but you can never be sure until you see the amount that are normally there. The dead Badger must have unknowingly strayed into the local setts area and unfortunately got attacked.

We also managed to show the three Roe deer, later last night, they were grazing and laying in the valley field for a good hour. We will see if they are about tonight, for they often come back at the same time for a few nights running.

The two Ewes decided that they wanted to join the flock this morning, trouble was the twin lambs got left behind and were crying out for their mother, we did not notice until they were a good way off, so we had to go looking for them. No way were the Ewe and single lamb going to be captured, they had decided they liked the bigger fields. The lamb is a good size so it will be fine. The twins mother was easy to catch, she was pleased to see the lambs when she got back to them. We are still having to help feed the lambs by hand feeding them with a bottle, I don’t think they will survive without the help.

As is most of the country, we are being promised snow over the next few days. The Farm, the surrounding hills and countryside really take on a different aspect and is a delight to see, although it does make work on the farm harder, so I cant say we are relishing the thought of it. We don’t get a lot of snow here, so with a bit of luck, it may miss us.

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A few of you may have seen one of my…

A few of you may have seen one of my lads on camera 2 today, on the lake, in a dingy. He was towing around four orange sacks. If you did see it on camera, It wasn’t meant to be quite like that. He was trying to submerge the four sacks that were filled with barley straw. We put it in a a precaution against algae.

The lakes are man made, that we put in about ten years ago. We had a small, very wet field, with the overflow of a leet running through the middle of it, It was an ideal site for lakes and would encourage wildlife, it has worked very well. The idea was to fill the lakes with water from a stream that runs by the side of them, before we had time to put a diversion from the stream into the lake it was half full and filling very quickly from underground springs, there was no need to use the stream as the water source. There is a constant flow from the main lake, that is about an acre in size, to a smaller pond of about a third of an acre.

When the lakes were finished we had a nutrient problem that cause a very large build up of the algae. Trying to clear it by hand is a never ending task. The chemicals released from the barley straw as it rots down, acts as a natural herbicide and kills the algae, a wonder fix really. We had not renewed the straw for a few years and I should think that we may not have a nutrient problem any longer, but it is not worth taking a chance.

Any way back to the boat saga, the idea with the bags of straw, is to put a weight larger than the weight of the straw, to take the bags to the bottom of the lake, unfortunately we got the weight wrong and it was not heavy enough to sink the bags, they would have floated around the lake until the straw got wet and the bags sunk, but they really need to be in a certain place.

My lad was in the middle of the lake with one oar, no rowlock trying to get the dingy, straw and concrete weight back to the bank, but the heavy weight was making it difficult for him to move, he was cursing about needing help and that we needed to throw him a line, so that we could pull him in. I hope there were no lip readers watching. What was not seen on camera was my other lad and myself on the bank, in fits of laughter at the site of him struggling to get back to dry land, so much so, we were unable to help him. Needless to say the job did not get finished and it will have to wait until next week. I didn’t have the heart to tell him he was on camera, will he curse when he finds out.