Monthly Archives: August 2015

Common Shrew trailcam IR

Here’s another species to add to my attic menagerie, and one I wasn’t expecting to find – the Common Shrew (Sorex araneus). I’ve found them frozen to death in my kitchen during winter before but I’ve no idea how it got into the attic. I’ve had several encounters of the painful variety with these littleContinue reading “Common Shrew trailcam IR”

River picnic

The other night while out looking for suitable places to set my trailcam, I discovered this beautiful stretch of river out in the bush. The next day we decided to go on a picnic there and my brother and his girlfriend joined us. It amazes me that even within a short distance from my houseContinue reading “River picnic”

Praying Mantis

I haven’t seen one of these for a while. This European Praying Mantis (Mantis religiosa) was under the plastic sheet covering a pile of gravel I have in the garden. Freaky, alien creatures…. Years back, in Portugal, I kept one as a pet and the only thing it wouldn’t eat was a Cicada – butContinue reading “Praying Mantis”

Pine Marten infra red trail cam

We get two types of Marten around the house, the Pine marten (Martes martes) and the Beech Marten (Martes foina); the one in my attic is the Beech Marten. I’ve been trying for years to get a photo of a Pine Marten – I often see them in the forest but by the time I’veContinue reading “Pine Marten infra red trail cam”

Young Smooth Snake

This year we’ve had many Smooth snakes (Coronella austriaca) – they seem to have replaced the Slow Worm although they don’t eat slugs. They’re non-venomous and nowhere near as aggressive as Grass snakes. From a distance they’re colouring and pattern make them appear as Adders but upon closer inspection they can be easily differentiated dueContinue reading “Young Smooth Snake”

Edible Dormouse trail cam

Most people go to sleep to the sound of traffic and sirens; my family goes to sleep when at the house to the sounds of an entire menagerie of wild creatures a few feet above our heads. The attic is home to a multitude of beasties including quite a few nests of bees, hornets andContinue reading “Edible Dormouse trail cam”

Chainsaw horse build

Sadly, this year I couldn’t attend the Wilderness Gathering because of my son’s surgery so I decided to do a bit of bushcraft at the house instead. I’ve got several cubic metres of hardwood which needs sawing and chopping for winter and I needed a safer chainsaw horse than what we’ve been using up untilContinue reading “Chainsaw horse build”

Adder

Whilst taking our evening constitutional we almost stepped on this little beauty lying across the track – a European Adder or Viper (Vipera berus), the only poisonous snake. As it was almost dark the photo didn’t turn out well. The snake looked like a stick. We just stood and waited a couple of feet fromContinue reading “Adder”