Orkney Vole.

I've been messing about with my camera trap. An ambition before leaving here was to get footage of Orkney Vole. Unfortunately, as good as it is, my camera trap, a Browning Recon Force (they seem to think crap military type names are good for sales :-( does not focus very close, not close enough to get decent footage of something as small as an Orkney Vole. However, help is at hand - European Journal of Wildlife Research (2021) 67: 12 - and Mammal News Spring 2021, have papers that suggest ways to overcome this problem. By coincidence first through work, and then via mothing I've either spoken to or corresponded with two of the authors who were most encouraging. And I've finally got around to adapting my camera and having a go.

I saw this lens on Amazon and thought it might work. PUSOKEI Wide Angle Universal Conversion Macro Lens 52mm 0.45X Optical glass lens (less than £20). There are various similar ones but by luck this one fits my camera so that the bottom edge rests on a ledge putting the lens centre in line with the camera lens (the key figure being the 52mm diameter for this camera model). I taped it on.

The first efforts were out of focus, and no vole. But the lens had slipped off the plastic ledge, so it was not centred, and I found that if I undid the two parts of the lens a little that got the sharpness.

Next problem, the camera fires a lot when it's windy. Being near the ground and near grass this is pretty much impossible to prevent. I ended up with a lot of video. So going through the output takes time. In the papers they put the camera in a box to avoid this issue but I wanted to get natural looking video. I need to think about ways to at least reduce this, perhaps some baffles.

I spent a long time choosing a site, even though our "garden" 0.5 acres of rough grassland is full of Orkney Vole "roads" it was very difficult to position the camera. However, I eventually found what I thought was a suitable spot. Camera in position, I baited with a little bird food and apple.

I was a bit dubious about the wee solar panel but with batteries at £17 + for ten, and the camera takes eight, I needed to do something. (Rechargeable batteries are not recommended with this model of camera.) It seems to work pretty well.

Followed two days of lots of pictures of grass, a video of a Rabbit too close to the camera and another very brief view of a Starling's back before it flew off. 

However day three worked out a bit better. Yes, the camera could be aimed a little better and I think I can adjust the focus by unscrewing the lenses to get little closer but...

 

I am dead chuffed with this. Be patient, the star of the show arrives after nearly half a minute.

There were ten or so clips with Orkney Vole. Some were a bit brief, the vole gets to the edge of its run, makes a mad dash for a piece of apple and disappears. But once the apple had all been taken then the vole(s) started showing a bit better.

Today I've repositioned the camera a tad. Next adjustment will be to try to get the focus even closer. But even if neither of those things result in better footage, mission accomplished!

The other stuff today was a site meeting re Species on the Edge, especially Chrysolina latecincta. A sunny two hours spent looking at beetles and talking at Yesnaby. Not many jobs to do in consequence, but I'd better remember to do what I said I'd do....

First Swallow today and three Blackwits on The Shunan again.