Trail Camera Footage
An element of subterfuge is required to spot the more elusive, human-shy wildlife of the Heath. Heath Hands have been placing motion activated cameras in secluded areas to find the animals you are less likely to cross paths with (at least by day). Excitingly, it was through these cameras that we got our first recording of badgers on the Heath in 2017. Wildlife cameras are also regularly used by The Zoological Society of London to monitor the Heath’s hedgehog population (purported to be the largest in London). Sightings have included badgers, voles, hedgehogs, and foxes. See below for some footage!
Wildlife seen on trail cameras set up by Heath Hands
Worldwide, trail cameras are an increasingly important method for monitoring animal behaviour – they have even been responsible for the discovery of new species. In 2016 Heath Hands partnered with ZSL for their ‘London HogWatch Project’, using cameras to monitor hedgehogs on the Heath. These surveys were then repeated in 2017 and 2021 with the assistance of Heath Hands volunteers.
The attempt to photograph wildlife using unsupervised cameras has a long history. In 1906 the National Geographic’s first publication of wildlife photographs were taken using this method. But technology has improved dramatically since then. The use of a wire activating a shutter when disturbed has been replaced with non-intrusive motion or thermal sensing. The camera can be left for long periods of time, making recordings without a photographer.
Volunteers putting up a camera trap
Motion or thermal activated cameras are perhaps the answer to the conundrum wildlife researchers have long grappled with: Learning about animal behaviour requires observations, but the presence of the observer can change the behaviour. A benefit of this method is that it enables you to see without being seen. With some strategic placing of the camera, a bit of luck, and a willingness to go through the footage, you can be rewarded with wildlife images that would be difficult to capture without this technology.
By setting up cameras next to the wildlife homes made by youth volunteers, we hope to find out more about the wildlife that might be using them. You can support our work by adopting a wildlife home (for yourself or as a gift on someone’s behalf). Our Heath Hands shop also has tote bags with examples of wildlife that have been recorded on the Heath.
Youth Volunteer building wildlife homes - see our adopt a wildlife home project for more information on how to support us.
