Author Topic: Nightcam videos  (Read 13293 times)

Wowbagger

  • Former Sylph
    • Stuff mostly about weather
Nightcam videos
« on: 02 July, 2020, 10:52:07 am »
These have a tendency to be a bit repetitive, but last night's was rather special...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRloayEAI34
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

Salvatore

  • Джон Спунър
    • Pics
Re: Nightcam videos
« Reply #1 on: 03 July, 2020, 11:02:43 am »
Something for everyone last night, a hoglet, a camera-shy cat, some courting snorting, and a hedgehog which stayed out late.

https://youtu.be/GKNo7gx48yM (1 min 9 sec)
Quote
et avec John, excellent lecteur de road-book, on s'en est sortis sans erreur

Re: Nightcam videos
« Reply #2 on: 03 July, 2020, 11:18:08 am »
These have a tendency to be a bit repetitive, but last night's was rather special...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRloayEAI34

Excellent! Also confirms that they will only eat slugs if they have no other option.

Wowbagger

  • Former Sylph
    • Stuff mostly about weather
Re: Nightcam videos
« Reply #3 on: 03 July, 2020, 05:55:12 pm »
These have a tendency to be a bit repetitive, but last night's was rather special...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRloayEAI34

Excellent! Also confirms that they will only eat slugs if they have no other option.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQEjtY93IsI

Last night's.

I think that one was about to eat a  slug but the camera cut out at the critical moment. 2m 15s and onwards.
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

Salvatore

  • Джон Спунър
    • Pics
Re: Nightcam videos
« Reply #4 on: 06 July, 2020, 08:39:52 am »
Hanky panky last night. This came after over an hour of circling courtship behaviour. There were more similar goings on about 4 hours later.
Quote
et avec John, excellent lecteur de road-book, on s'en est sortis sans erreur

Wowbagger

  • Former Sylph
    • Stuff mostly about weather
Re: Nightcam videos
« Reply #5 on: 06 July, 2020, 11:18:51 am »
That's pretty graphic!
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

Salvatore

  • Джон Спунър
    • Pics
Re: Nightcam videos
« Reply #6 on: 06 July, 2020, 11:37:31 am »
That's pretty graphic!

He was obviously ready for action. At least they had the decency to retire eventually to a dark corner of the camera's field of view (but not far enough to be totally out of sight).

Having watched more of the build up than is healthy, and seen several failed couplings, I wonder if there may after all be some truth in the old joke.
(click to show/hide)
Quote
et avec John, excellent lecteur de road-book, on s'en est sortis sans erreur

Salvatore

  • Джон Спунър
    • Pics
Re: Nightcam videos
« Reply #7 on: 07 July, 2020, 09:32:40 am »
Still up way past bedtime

Quote
et avec John, excellent lecteur de road-book, on s'en est sortis sans erreur

Salvatore

  • Джон Спунър
    • Pics
Re: Nightcam videos
« Reply #8 on: 22 July, 2020, 09:45:06 am »
She's up for it, doing the snorting head-jerking thing, but he only wants to fill his face

https://youtu.be/_lsY7cxkbiI
Quote
et avec John, excellent lecteur de road-book, on s'en est sortis sans erreur

Wowbagger

  • Former Sylph
    • Stuff mostly about weather
Re: Nightcam videos
« Reply #9 on: 01 August, 2020, 02:03:53 pm »
Video from 29-30/7/20.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1UuwT2jNzs&t=326s

There were that many visits from hedgehogs & foxes that even edited the night's activities ended up being more than 8 minutes long. At one point there's some pretty loud sniffing, and I think there's another hedgehog out of shot. Also, it's interesting how the fox turns up whilst the hedgehog is eating and just waits, before getting bored and wandering off.

Oddly, last night was the first time I've drawn a complete blank in more than 6 weeks' videos. Next door's cat triggered the camera at 9pm and again about 8.30 am, but nothing else in between. The food seemed untouched, by foxes, hedgehogs and slugs alike. Yesterday was the hottest day of the year so far - 33.5°C max, 17.4°C minimum. I don't know if that kept them away.
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

Salvatore

  • Джон Спунър
    • Pics
Re: Nightcam videos
« Reply #10 on: 07 August, 2020, 03:21:29 pm »
I usually (or used to) put out 3 bowls. One is heavy china and is full of water and the others are light plastic, the sort of saucers used under plant pots, and have a couple of handfuls of crunchy dog and cat food. The usual customers are hedgehogs, cats , mice and slugs, then the occasional magpie once it gets light. One day last week one of the plastic containers ended up a couple of feet from where I'd left it, and the other had disappeared completely. Never mind, I thought, I'll  examine the video and establish the culprit. But everything was in the right place when a mouse triggered the camera at 4 a.m. and that was the last thing recorded. Then a couple of nights later a pair of suspects were snapped.  It's the first time I've seen foxes, and one has been back most nights since, usually after 3 a.m. No hedgehog/fox interaction yet.



The video shows suggests that the adult was spooked by the camera, but the cub just carried on (13 seconds).

https://youtu.be/nEqGYNl49Pk
Quote
et avec John, excellent lecteur de road-book, on s'en est sortis sans erreur

Wowbagger

  • Former Sylph
    • Stuff mostly about weather
Re: Nightcam videos
« Reply #11 on: 11 August, 2020, 09:58:16 am »
There was another flat hedgehog in the road outside my house yesterday. That's the second in about a month. Obviously, I have no idea how many hedgehogs there are in our local community or how widespread it is, but it seems to me that that sort of level of road deaths must be very damaging. Having said that, the road has always been very busy. Southend is effectively bisected north-south by the railway and the pedestrianised high street, and East Street is one of only 5 points at which this barrier can be crossed. No matter what time the camera gets tripped, in the 20 seconds of video that follows, you nearly always hear traffic noise from the road about 30 yards away. I don't know that it has got any busier recently, but the hedgehog population must have survived here pretty well for ever.

I saw another flat hedgehog a few days ago in Great Wakering, a village about 4 miles from here. Clearly they must also have a community. I wonder whether the hedgehog population stretches all over the SE Essex peninsula. Certainly my brother, who lives about 15 miles away, nearer Billericay, tells me he hasn't seen any sign of hedgehogs for many years.
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

Salvatore

  • Джон Спунър
    • Pics
Re: Nightcam videos
« Reply #12 on: 13 August, 2020, 06:44:28 pm »
One of the foxes which visits my garden from time to time appears to have difficulty eating from a bowl. A vet has seen this video and says it looks like it might have a broken jaw. It certainly doesn't look right.

https://youtu.be/0uJXvE2PCcc
Quote
et avec John, excellent lecteur de road-book, on s'en est sortis sans erreur

Wowbagger

  • Former Sylph
    • Stuff mostly about weather
Re: Nightcam videos
« Reply #13 on: 13 August, 2020, 09:21:23 pm »
Poor thing. It looked pretty healthy, despite that.
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

Salvatore

  • Джон Спунър
    • Pics
Re: Nightcam videos
« Reply #14 on: 17 August, 2020, 09:59:03 am »
I think one of my nightly visitors is pregnant. A bulge in what I (admittedly not a hedgehog obstetrician) imagine is the right place. And it's the right time, considering the hanky-panky of a few weeks ago.

ETA and considering that 50% of adult hedgehogs will usually be pregnant every summer.

https://youtu.be/1ulPAhtTeYc (about 20 seconds, during which she obligingly gives us a good view from multiple angles)

Now I need an infra-red camera which also does ultrasound.

Quote
et avec John, excellent lecteur de road-book, on s'en est sortis sans erreur

Wowbagger

  • Former Sylph
    • Stuff mostly about weather
Re: Nightcam videos
« Reply #15 on: 31 August, 2020, 10:58:02 am »
It's become relatively quiet around my feeding station, at least, as far as hedgehogs are concerned. I suspect that foxes are getting used to the fact that I put food out in the evening and then turn up and snaffle it before the hedgehogs have had much of a chance. I see that there are "predator-proof hedgehog feeding stations" available at a price, but I wouldn't be able to film them, other than them going in and out. I was thinking of trying to rig something up which the camera could see through but the foxes couldn't break into, but having witnessed the ingenuity of vulpes vulpes I think that it would be a lot of hard work.
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

Salvatore

  • Джон Спунър
    • Pics
Re: Nightcam videos
« Reply #16 on: 31 August, 2020, 03:24:34 pm »
Same here - fewer hedgehog visits. One of the unexpected advantages of my ultra-cheapo camera is that the IR lights which illuminate the scene have a dim red glow, rather than being completely dark. It doesn't bother hedgehogs, cats are aware of it but ignore it, but foxes are very wary of it, even when it's  half hidden in the undergrowth. I've hardly seen any foxes since I put it in a more prominent position.

Meanwhile, for the first time I've seen a hedgehog eating a slug. It's not 100% clear, but the HH paws at something slug-shaped, rolls it over and appears to nibble it. https://youtu.be/rZPVKyNKqQs
Quote
et avec John, excellent lecteur de road-book, on s'en est sortis sans erreur

Wowbagger

  • Former Sylph
    • Stuff mostly about weather
Re: Nightcam videos
« Reply #17 on: 31 August, 2020, 04:35:50 pm »
My camera emits a visible red glow as well, and it clicks when it switches itself on and off. The foxes are aware of it, but it normally doesn't worry them enough for them to do any more than stare into the camera. Occasionally they back off or react in some other way. A couple of times I thought hedgehogs may also have noticed the glow because they seemed to be staring straight at the camera, but they showed no signs of alarm at all.
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

Re: Nightcam videos
« Reply #18 on: 31 August, 2020, 07:55:00 pm »
I was thinking of trying to rig something up which the camera could see through but the foxes couldn't break into, but having witnessed the ingenuity of vulpes vulpes I think that it would be a lot of hard work.

What about something like these - with the transparent storage boxes?

https://www.google.com/search?rls=en&sxsrf=ALeKk03QptV7rVmVowosLfrFFoUY2KUzMA:1598899280163&source=univ&tbm=isch&q=hedgehog+feeding+station&client=safari&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjAvID9i8brAhWgSRUIHSWwBSUQsAR6BAgBEAE&biw=1440&bih=837

To my eye, most of them need reinforcement or additional shielding including against digging under, but the storage box would be a starting point for a structure.

Hedgehog Cabin have a couple of options at the bottom of this page:
https://hedgehogcabin.info/feeding

The hardcore option would be a “proper” hedgehog abode and feeding station, with a camera inside it.

I was thinking the other day that it is quite possible that I might never see a hedgehog again, healthy and in its natural environment  :(

Wowbagger

  • Former Sylph
    • Stuff mostly about weather
Re: Nightcam videos
« Reply #19 on: 31 August, 2020, 08:30:03 pm »
Well, when this Covid pandemic is on the wane - assuming it ever is - then you must come and stay with us for a weekend when the hedgehogs are out and about.

Some of those look like very good, practical ideas. We may have one of those flattish boxes with the corrugated lid...
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

Re: Nightcam videos
« Reply #20 on: 31 August, 2020, 09:07:02 pm »
Cat next door has discovered my hedgehog feeding arrangements and likes to help himself.
Get a bicycle. You will never regret it, if you live- Mark Twain

Wowbagger

  • Former Sylph
    • Stuff mostly about weather
Re: Nightcam videos
« Reply #21 on: 01 September, 2020, 04:30:22 pm »
I've videoed a number of cats having a sniff at the hedgehog food but I've never seen them eat it.
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

Re: Nightcam videos
« Reply #22 on: 02 September, 2020, 06:41:23 am »
My camera emits a visible red glow as well, and it clicks when it switches itself on and off. The foxes are aware of it, but it normally doesn't worry them enough for them to do any more than stare into the camera. Occasionally they back off or react in some other way. A couple of times I thought hedgehogs may also have noticed the glow because they seemed to be staring straight at the camera, but they showed no signs of alarm at all.

It is most likely sound from the camera. Foxes, as far as I remember have no colour vision. But good hearing, the click would get their attention. Also some movement sensor lights emit a high pitch sound when working ( may be because said lights are cheap Chinese)

Re: Nightcam videos
« Reply #23 on: 02 September, 2020, 08:33:18 am »
I've videoed a number of cats having a sniff at the hedgehog food but I've never seen them eat it.

Is it commercial hedgehog food? If so, have a read about what my link above says about it. Apparently lots of it is rubbish and some contains things that are harmful to hedgehogs such as mealworms.




Re: Nightcam videos
« Reply #24 on: 02 September, 2020, 08:34:12 am »
Well, when this Covid pandemic is on the wane - assuming it ever is - then you must come and stay with us for a weekend when the hedgehogs are out and about.

Very kind of you! Let's see how it goes COVID-wise.