On Saturday 21st June, we held our first workshop in association with the Mammal Society at Cheshire Wildlife Trust’s Bickley Hall Farm.
The first part of the workshop covered the theory behind wildlife camera traps; everything from the first ever picture of a wild animal taken with an early camera trap, to how they are used in conservation and management today and we went though some of the remarkable images that can be captured with these small, inconspicuous boxes.
Our first workshop held in conjunction with the Mammal Society at Cheshire Wildlife Trust
In the afternoon, we were very lucky with the weather and we set out with the participants around Bickley Hall Farm, which is nestled in the beautiful Cheshire countryside, where we covered the practical element of the workshop – how crucial different settings are depending on each scenario and most importantly, camera trap placement – not as easy as you think!
Participants getting to grips with the camera traps!
Here everybody got to have a go with a camera trap, finding the likeliest spots animals may pass in front of, choosing correct settings for what they were trying to achieve and strapping up and securing a camera trap at the right heights and angles.
One of the participants finding a good spot for his camera
The cameras they set out would be left on the farm for a week so everybody was keen to ensure their camera trap was in the best place to try and capture some elusive Cheshire wildlife!
We were also asked by staff at Bickley Hall Farm to place a camera in their garden veg patch to see what little critter was digging in the compost bin and making a bit of a mess!
So, after a week what turned up??……….
Well the mystery of the the compost bin criminal may have been solved… The camera picked up over 100 pictures of a magpie constantly trying to peck and claw his way in to the bin!
Our camera picked up this little fellow pecking and clawing at the compost bin all week…
As for the participant cameras, one camera in particular picked up a lot of great stuff. Tucked away from the hedgerow on a small track it was little gold mine of an animal trail…
A great fox close up
Badger!
Some very adorable ducklings…
All in all a very successful workshop!
Our next workshop in association with the Mammal Society will be held on October 4th in North Yorkshire, fingers crossed for some more great captures!
For more information and to book click here.
