Wildlife Shots January - July 2026

I had a really bad run with the cameras catching moving brambles, squirrels and the odd Robin. I have however picked up the occasional gem (Otters, Woodcock, Sparrow Hawk, Badgers etc) so I thought I would gather my favourites and put them in one place. Enjoy.

Blackbird and Robin which are very common at the wood as they are in our gardens

I am so happy to have Woodcocks at the wood and have seen them in the flesh over the last years, usually just fleetingly when I have flushed them when walking through the trees. They have a mating ritual called 'roding' where they fly low over woodland or heathlands as dawn or dusk in spring and I was lucky enough to see this one time. They are a rare bird and on the red list according to the RSPB. I was therefore delighted to see this one feeding on the beck right in front of the camera. 

They are a lovely brown colour and maybe one day I'll get a daylight shot showing their colours.

Woodpidgeons are pretty common too. I am including this footage as I have picked up 5 in the same shot. Suggestions for a group of woodpidgeons welcome!

The prime reason for having the cameras at the wood is to monitor any deer incursion and I usually place at least one on the beck at regular crossing points (and happily there have been no incursions this year). I pick up badgers busily trotting around. I wonder if the first one is a pregnant female. This was taken in early March, 

Another bird I pick up regularly on the beck is the Sparrowhawk. There is a family living here and I have seen the juvenile at times. Here is an adult having a good wash while keeping a waring watch out.

I suspect mice are one of the commonest mammals at the wood. I spy them occasionally in the day and often pick them up at night on the cameras. They always appear to be in a rush but don't appear to be doing anything specific like feeding or drinking. I am sure it is a frightening environment for mice to live in with owls and sparrowhawks hunting them so they are right to move fast but I am not sure what they are doing. This shot is typical.

The Chaffinch is a very common bird at the wood but I rarely pick up footage and so was pleased to collect this.

It's been a long time since I have picked up the otters at the wood so I was delighted to see them back in May

Then in June they can be seen slide/ swimming down the very full beck after the rain. It takes a few goes to spot them both and I nearly deleted this video as the camera was triggered by the light coming off the water many times. The first one is already at the top of the screen when the video starts. I do try not to anthropomorphise but they do look like they are having fun!

I slept out at the wood in June and as night fell I heard a squeaking sound. I used the Merlin app and it identified Tawney Owls. I was able to get quite close and realised they were owlets chatting to one another. Here is one in the tree and you can hear the other one replying and a fox barking in the background. It was a magical experience.

The beck camera continued to pick up wildlife and here is some lovely footage of a Bullfinch, a Greater Spotted Woodpecker and a young badger crossing the beck.

I often hear the badgers at the wood and I see their spraint and snuffle marks where they have been digging with their snouts for worms. I rarely see them in the flesh. One evening, about 9pm I was approaching the Gin and Tonic Terrace at the top of the wood and heard these two juveniles coming towards me. I was able to reach my phone and take this video. The jiggle early on was being bitten by a horse fly and with my hands full of a bracken basher and secateurs I had to just try and push it off before it did any more damage while keeping the phone trained on the badgers!

I have posted this on instagram and it has gone viral with over 170,000 views !

I have found a new camera position in my oldest oak (Gandalf). It has a huge span with some dead branches and I found a place to film this wonderful posing runway. I have picked up an adult Tawny Owl, a nuthatch and a Greater Spotted Woodpecker (Juvenile I think).

It is harder to pick up wildlife in Summer with the bracken brambles and grasses triggering the camera in the breeze. The beck and up a tree is the best combination for now. My favourites are always the owls and the Woodcock and any new species. The cameras are there now and I will check them to see if anything new has turned up. I post these on my Insta account @belswood21 as I pick them up.