Yesterday I moved the video camera which was monitoring the outside of the nest boxes as there has been no activity in either of them for weeks. If the hedgehogs are investigating the seeds which the birds scatter from the feeders I thought I would put the camera where I could see when they arrive. At dusk I scattered some well ground peanuts (bird feeder type. not human salted type) and put out a bowl of water. Soon after 9pm there was some activity. A single large hedgehog had arrived and seemed to be tucking in to the peanuts so I started the recorder.
Here is a piece of the recording - very grey and shadowy as it suffered from the various processes getting it from the PVR to the PC and then to Flickr and it wasn't a great piece of video to start with. I will have to see about improving the lighting. The hedgehog is right in the centre of the frame.
This week is Hedgehog Awareness Week. If you are interesting in finding out more about hedgehogs then two sites worth a visit are The British Hedgehog Preservation Society and Epping Forest Hedgehog Rescue. A blog I like to visit is My Hedgehog Diary 2009.
If you are thinking of putting out some food for hedgehogs and are not sure what to use then have a look at the Epping Forest site and choose Diet from the Navigation list.
P.S.
If anyone knows of a good composite video to USB input device for the PC please let me know. I have tried a few over the years but have yet to find one which is reliable.
I enjoyed the video John and I am thinking I should investigate my garden after dark as I know we have always had hedgehogs in the past, I have often thought about putting dog food out but know that Louis would want to camp out every night once he got a sniff of it!
ReplyDeletePleased you liked it Jan.
ReplyDeleteI had a similar reason for not putting out Bobby's food as he would have made a bee (dog) line for it.
To watch for night time wild life was my original reason for putting up some video cameras. Until recently I had seen nothing and really most are looking at too wide a view which is fine for security as they are recording when I'm out and at night.
Once the 5 hrs of rain had finished today I changed the hedgehog camera and moved in closer now I know where it needs to be.
Oooh this is getting exciting. Thanks John :D
ReplyDeleteI very rarely see hedgehogs but get many foxes. So I don't think I dare risk putting out anything!
Isn't it good to see your efforts rewarded like that John.
ReplyDeleteKeith: Just disappointed with the quality of the camera, After it finally stopped raining today I changed the camera and the results may be better. In fact the two hogs have just arrived and they don't look to be the best of friends!
ReplyDeleteHi again John, great stuff, I too love to catch hedgehogs on film as you know :-)
ReplyDeleteI spotted droppings on my lawn before I cut it at the weekend but haven’t seen any about. Did put my original night camera (on tripod) out a couple of nights ago but didn’t see anything. Tonight I put it out again and have discovered it isn’t working. I’ve another one I can try. I am rethinking my feeding station etc but better get it set up soon to catch passing new visitors. Looking forward to following yours :-D
Hi Shirl: This is my first venture into capturing video. I've moved the camera even closer today as it has such a wide angle lens and now I know where the hogs go.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about the failed camera, unless it's just a connection worked loose somewhere. Let's hope the backup one works OK.