Night Time Watch
Group/Individual: Ross Jolliffe
Location: Saxlingham Nethergate
You could try positioning a remote camera in a strategic spot in your garden which will record the comings and goings of wildfire over a period of time.
Ross Jolliffe, a resident of Saxlingham Nethergate did just this:
‘Trawling the internet for camera parts one evening, I discovered the world of American trail cameras. These devices are self-contained, waterproof cameras that can be fixed to a tree and left in-situ to be triggered by passing wildlife. The technology combines digital or film cameras with passive infra-red motion detectors (like that used in burglar alarm systems) and is designed with hunters in mind. My own interest was less dramatic: I just wanted to know what was going on by the river.
‘Camera duly received, the next task was to find a suitable spot to monitor. In my case, a clear trail ran from the river, past a convenient poplar on which to site the camera. Eventually I hoped I might get evidence of my otter, and this wish was immediately granted. After Just three or four days, I captured some wonderful night-time pictures of not just one otter, but a family of three, entirely justifying my time and expense. In its first month, the camera recorded otter, fox, deer, pheasant, partridge, crow and one or two house guests. Annoyingly, giver our expensive rabbit fencing, a baby rabbit grins back at me in one picture.
‘The pleasure in these cameras is mainly a case of seeing what you’ve been missing. It has been very satisfying to show visitors proof of wildlife thriving at the bottom of our garden and even my two teenage daughters have been wowed by pictures of the otter family.’