Bel's Wood

I have been through a poor patch with the wildlife cameras over the last months only capturing squirrels, mice, badgers and common garden birds.  Grey squirrels enjoying this mast year for acorns and hazel nuts Blue tits feeding on insects Badger crossing the beck at night Mouse running around - I get many of these shots and they are always busily running and jumping around - I am not sure what they are doing. They appear nervous and indecisive and are perhaps responding to their awareness of predators. See below. I frequently pick up footage of the Sparrowhawk family that lives here and I hear them making their murdurous cry when at the wood. The Wren is one of the most common sights and sounds at the wood so it is good to see this one feeding on the beck The Song Thrush is also a common sight They are still good to see on the camera but just once in a while I do hit lucky. I tried new camera positions once the leaves had fallen from the trees so there are clearer branches to...

With so much tall grass and bracken triggering the cameras I have been placing them up trees recently to see what is happening in the canopy. I have picked up a good selection of secret goings on over the last month or two including some lovely Woodpecker, Jay and Owl activity. The downside of watching the activity in branches is the number of grey squirrels running up and down. It looks like the numbers are up this year and I am talking to neighbours about managing the numbers as the South Lakes grey population migrate north and threaten one of the last remaining populations of Red Squirrels. They will also pose a threat to the newly planted trees as they become more established as they will be vulnerable to damage to the bark. The ratio on the cameras is about 80% squirrel to 20% something else. Here I am including the ‘something else’.  NB the temperature reported on this camera has always been out by about 8ºc! One of the most common birds I see and hear at the wood is the blue...

The cameras have been picking up activity at the wood over the summer. This Tawny Owl has visited this pool created by a leaky dam over a number of weeks and I have some lovely footage of him drinking, washing and pooping. This Jay poses for the camera perfectly here showing off his amazing colouring and moustache:- I often see the sparrowhawk and always hear his threatening call. Here he is by the beck and below is a chick who looks a little less confident hopping around. I’ve slightly enhanced this photograph to show the detail - the camouflage on Sparrowhawks and the Tawny Owls is amazing and such a different approach to the blue coloured Jayl I have had this Mink visiting frequently. The pointy nose is an indicator that it is a Mink not an Otter. In previous years I have had both visit at the same time. I have one swift piece footage that may be Otter but so fleeting it is hard to be sure so I have not included it. I have this rather nice footage of a stoat slinking around the tree...

It is National Tree week in the UK from from 25th November - 3rd December so I have decided to blog about some of my favourite trees telling some of the stories attached to them. This one is about the hard working yew trees on site. I have blogged about the three mature oaks at the wood, a rowan tree that is special to me, praised the gorse on site and told the story of Agnes the hawthorn tree. Check back in to see the other blogs which celebrate trees during National Tree Week. https://treecouncil.org.uk/seasonal-campaigns/national-tree-week/ There are just 3 yew trees at the wood. Two large and a teenager. Yew trees are distinctive and give all year round colour as ever greens and produce flowers in spring and berries in autumn which feed the birds and small mammals. Since they are ever green I have found the two large ones to be helpful as providing shelter. One I use as my wood store and place to keep cooking equipment and tools. When visitors come they have two reactions. Firs...

There has been a rapid change of scenery at the wood with the hawthorn and gorse giving way to blossom from broom, rowan and whitebeam and the foxgloves have sprung up and are giving a splash of colour everywhere.              Broom                                      First foxgloves                     Silver birch in full leaf.                    Whitebeam in flower - briefly Dragonfly                      Unknown to me! Rowan in blossom                                            Gerrymander speedwort (blue)       ...