Last month, we shared a number of videos from the owl box, showing the ownership tussle between a pair of Tawney Owls and a pair of Grey Squirrels. Some nights the box was occupied by the Squirrels, and some nights by the Owls. During December, the woodland housing crisis continued, and we captured 102 videos showing the ever-changing ownership. I won’t share all 102 videos here, just these three. This video was captured at 530pm on 19 th  December, just as night was falling.

The Aspect Nature Reserve logo is a picture of a Stoat. Their smaller cousins are the Weasels. They are both part of the mustelid family, which also includes polecats, otters, and badgers. We don’t see them often at Aspect, and when we do, it is usually only fleeting glimpses because they are superbly fast. This month, we captured not one but two weasel videos. It was hunting small rodents in the badger sett.   Weasels are smaller than Stoats and don’t have a black spot on th

The key event this month was the 2-day visit to Aspect Nature Reserve by 120 year 7 (11-12 year olds) from The Gatwick School. The success of the trip is beautifully encapsulated in this photo of two of the young lads (who were attempting to do a bee-waggle dance). It is the happiest photograph I have ever seen, I think. It was a 2-day trip with many of the children staying overnight for some brave October camping (made all the more courageous as for many it was their first e

Last month, I shared our first-ever video of an American Mink. I was very excited to see it. However, the Mink is an invasive species in the UK that indiscriminately kills the native wildlife (water voles in particular) and so needs to be controlled. I had posted a comment along the lines that ‘One mink surely can’t be that bad’. Unfortunately, we captured this second video of another mink (a juvenile), which suggests a family of them has moved in. I have therefore appointed

Over the past 4.5 years we have had an average of 10 trail cameras on site. That’s 45 years of footage. However this is our first sighting of a beautiful black American Mink! To give a sense of scale, here is a video of a baby deer which was left by its mother to rest just outside the mink’s burrow. It quietly sat sleeping in this position for a solid 2 hours before being collected by its mum. The American Mink was introduced into the UK for fur farming in the 1960s. Some wer

This is a Bechstein bat. They are absolutely stunning. It is one of the UK’s rarest and most endangered bat species. We captured her during our July 18 th  Bat Survey night, under the guidance of licensed bat handler Martyn Cooke. During the evening we also captured Pipistrelle and Natterers Bats, but this Bechstein was by far the most exciting. She is a one year old female and was feisty, as seen in this video. Here is a slow-motion video of her being released. Watch to the

Its grass snake season and they can be regularly found under the reptile refugia sheets My favourite woodland animals are Stoats and Weasels (look at our logo). Here is a Weasel sprightly running away from the camera, but keep watching because 3 seconds later he comes bounding back towards the camera. Beautiful. And here is a Stoat (twice the size of a Weasel, and with a black spot on its tail). It is only on screen for 1 second (bottom right hand corner) and then a few secon

A baby badger exploring outside his sett Mum and Baby (baby is at the top of the shot, on top of the sett) I found this grass snake curled up asleep under one of the refugia mats. I replaced the mat and got my camera out, but by the time I re-lifted the mat it had uncoiled itself and was ready to slither away. Still a beauty to behold though A Sparrowhawk enjoying a drink (see bottom right hand corner) And 2 minutes later the Sparrowhawk kindly shows us its magnificent plumag

We have a new welcome sign for the site. Spring has now properly sprung and, as shown by this stop motion video (comprised from 3 photos taken each day in April) the bluebells have come and, almost, gone. The woodland animals have been getting increasingly active: This buzzard visited every few days for its regular wash. A male roe deer (a Buck) showing a deep interest in the camera. A female (doe) roe deer We often hear  the woodpeckers in the woodland. Don’t often see them

Some great videos this month, including the absolute best ‘badger falling into a pond’ video. I promise you that you will laugh out loud. It is worthy of You’ve Been Framed. Let’s start with this one of a Buzzard eating some left over sausages. I put these deep in the wood and positioned the camera to see what it would attract. Staying with the buzzard, here it is again at the pond. Look at its right claw. I think that’s a frog it has just caught (either that or it’s a big cl