Trail Cameras To The Rescue!

This week has brought some big changes, further restrictions on movement, countries closing their borders and countless businesses closing their doors to the public all in an effort to stem the rapid spread of COVID-19. Following government advice Yorkshire Water's policy on visiting recreational sites too has changed:


Yorkshire Water encourages everyone to stay home to help battle coronavirus 
 
On Monday (23^rd March 2020) Yorkshire Water – in line with water companies across the UK – is closing down its reservoir car parks to help encourage everyone to stay at home.


Over the weekend, there were unprecedented numbers of visitors at Yorkshire Water’s reservoirs and concerns were raised about everyone’s ability to follow social distancing guidelines under such busy circumstances. Yorkshire Water took the step to close the car parks and will be installing temporary signs and barriers to encourage visitors to stay away.

 Gaynor Craigie, Land and Property Manager said: “We’ve all got to play our part in keeping everyone safe. We’d normally be thrilled to welcome so many visitors to our reservoirs, but with the current government guidelines it makes it incredibly difficult to keep everyone safe.

 “We know it’s important to get some fresh air and exercise, particularly at the moment, but it becomes a risky activity when everyone ventures to honey pot sites. Our reservoirs will still be there for everyone to enjoy when the restrictions have been lifted.”

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Whilst we are all in the same boat, locked away from the glorious bright sunshine outdoors we thought it would be the perfect time to share some of the happenings that we've managed to catch on our trail cameras this winter.

A beautiful frosty morning this February when the reserve was shut to
support the riverbank repairs undertaken by the EA and BAM

Since arriving at Tophill Low back in September, like all of our visitors and members I have enjoyed spending many hours walking through admiring the surroundings and the wildlife that is within. In the first few weeks of starting at the reserve a long-term member told me something that has stayed with me, he said "you get to do something for a living that the rest of us have to pay for to do". I have found this to be so true, in many aspects of this role... Not all of them though.




Undoubtedly, the biggest downside and drawback of working at Tophill Low is that you don't actually get to sit in the hides all day taking pictures of both the incredible wildlife and beautiful scenery. Who knew?! Between the emails, texts and phone calls in the office, the ticket machine chewing up new shiny plastic fivers and trying to find the amazingly well camouflaged Belted Galloways there are plenty of other jobs to be getting on with. At first, I think I could get away with it a little easier... "So, where is the Angus McBean hide again?" and "Can we go and look at the changes you've made on South Marsh East again..." doesn't fly after 6 months on the job.

To get my wildlife fix I rely on the marvellous trail camera collection we have at Tophill Low. I admit, initially I was most excited to play with a new gadget and the idea of capturing some intimate footage of local wildlife was second to that. However, I quickly found that once you have set the camera up, trigger it and walk away the excitement of that new, shiny gadget wears off with immediate effect. It then evolves into something far more compelling...

Our most advanced trail camera. In the future we aim to invest in trail cameras
with displays screens to ensure more quality footage and less reed bed footage.

An almighty war of attrition between impatience and patience ensues. I've found half of the battle is wondering if you've set the camera at the best angle. Is it worth going back to pull the camera out to go over the footage and check to only have to reposition it?! Or do you leave it and gamble, just hoping against hope that it's all going to be ok? Once I've finally made my mind up on that factor the next battle begins... How long is long enough? Should I leave it there a few days? A week? Two? (I'm not even going to pretend to convince you all that I have the patience to leave it for a month) And then finally, one last mental battle, and perhaps the hardest...  Once I've collected the footage should I now move the camera to a new location completely?

I've had some big wins just changing the direction the camera is facing. After spending many hours watching footage of reeds gently swaying in the middle of the night, I decided that whatever it was that was triggering the camera must have been moving passed too quickly to be caught. I gambled and turned the camera to face the other way. One of the first clips on the SD card was a family of 3 otters running through the shot - albeit their rear ends!

It always plays on my mind that I should try to 'leave it longer' or I shouldn't 'relocate it so soon' or should I just 'change the direction'. More often than not I can make peace with all this by reviewing what I have captured. Over the last 6 months I've found that by moving the cameras around frequently and checking back on them more often I've been able generate a variety of footage and images. Some of the best clips and stills I have managed to edit into something a little more presentable so we can share them with you all. Over the coming weeks we will keep releasing new clips so you can see what exciting things have been occuring while we've been shut. And we'll finally get to the bottom of this...

The video that follows is just a short time lapse of a hole I found in a tree stump one afternoon while conducting a site inspection following Storm Ciara. I don't really know what I was expecting to capture, perhaps a single curious little Blue Tit... Who knew it would get such attention?

Sit back, enjoy and just remember... "Good things come to though who wait".