One Night Stand

I believe all camera trappers are doomed to succumb to the allure of a one night stand every once in a while. Fellow camera trapper Jeremy recently shared his latest heartbreaks with us (over here) and yours truly also tried his luck during the festive season with "modest" results.

My first one night stand over the festive period was a total no-show. After spending some time looking for a suitable location, getting to close for comfort to some fighting baboons, being terrorised by vicious ants and fearing that my stealth cam exploits would be exposed I finally found a decent enough looking spot for my romantic date with camera trapping destiny.

Most one night stands are also stealth cam setups. Fellow camera trappers should be familiar with stealth camming: looking for camera trapping rapture in dangerously exposed areas and without proper permission. The key to stealth camming is to pull the whole thing off without anybody knowing. I remember first hearing the term being used by the Codger over here. Few things beat the thrill of the rebellious pursuit of mammals in forbidden areas.

My Bushnell camera trap on the lookout for mammalian action in Xxx National Park

The area was crawling with ants and Oogpisters so I had to be quick. Oogpisters are fascinating creatures, but I'll leave it to David Attenborough to explain why over here.

I decided to play it safe and didn't get too close to the Two-Spotted Ground Beetle (Oogpister - Thermophilum homoplatum) since their Afrikaans name translates to "eye pisser" and gives fair warning of what they are capable of

I took the Oogpisters as a good sign and thought my destiny with the camera trapping goddess was set for a night of mammalian delights... However, as all camera trappers will know, camera trapping is a cruel vixen that enjoys crushing our dreams just as much as she delights in exceeding our wildest expectations.

In the end I didn't photograph anything at all. The usual collection of false triggers was like a slap in the face. Camera trapping can be cruel...

Our cottage at Addo's Matyholweni camp

Like any star struck lover I was back in the game two nights and 230 km later.

It all started when my wife called me to see the mouse in the cottage's kitchen. We were only staying over for one night and having an interesting rodent in our kitchen sounded like a good omen. I grabbed my digital camera and managed to get a few photographs of the visitor before it jumped back out of the window.

A shy Woodland Mouse/Woodland Thicket Rat (Woudmuis - Grammomys dolichurus) paying us a visit

The photographs turned out good enough to make a positive identification. This little fellow is a Woodland Mouse and a rather attractive rodent. I liked the reddish-brown splashes on the sides, sporting a respectable dark mouse-grey on top and a dashing white below. I would love to camera trap these charmers in more detail in the future...

Unfortunately it was a bit camera shy

After managing its escape I felt my heart stirring anew for the excitement that comes with a one night stand. I decided to put one camera under the wooden deck of our cottage and another in the road that leads up to the camp's gate.

An early morning visit from a Scrub Hare (Kolhaas - Lepus saxatilis) was a pleasant surprise

At the one camera only a Scrub Hare showed up, but one Scrub Hare is better than none at all. It's a decent photograph and I was happy, although I would have liked a Genet as well.

The other camera captured a video clip of a Giant Eagle Owl hopping around on the road.

Video: Giant Eagle-Owl (Gevlekte Ooruil - Bubo lacteus) dropping in for a visit

In the end, as always, after toying with your heart, the vixen gives you a tease and leaves you wanting more. I'm already thinking how and when I can sneak away for another stealthy one night stand.

Now, on a different note...

I usually try and keep the posts on this blog informative and fun, but I believe all emotions are good in their own way...

While on holiday this year we drove about 4000 km and noticed road killed animals everywhere. It is always sad to see an animal killed by a car, but of all the killed animals we saw the Woodland Mouse below moved me the most and possibly illustrates the animals' plight the best. I know nature is both kind and harsh, but somehow being killed by a car while going about your daily activates just doesn't seem natural. I found the Woodland Mouse below on the road in Addo Elephant National Park. (I must say that we saw very little road kill in the park itself and in general people that visit the park drive responsibly, but unfortunately sometimes accident do happen.)

Its a sad loss...

Caracals at Candlelight

I'm just back from the Woody Cape and the gamble with the cameras payed off! First up is the familiar (at least on this blog) profile of a Caracal.

Caracal (Rooikat - Caracal caracal) walking down the hiking trail in the Woody Cape thickets

Caracal are by no means scarce and seems to be camera trapped quite frequently in many places in South Africa. However, I haven't photographed many at the Woody Cape, and this is the first one I've photographed in this area of the Woody Cape - the thickets next to Cannon Rocks.

I placed the camera trap looking directly across the trail. The Cuddeback cameras have a wonderfully fast trigger speed and a very narrow detection zone making this setup the easiest and most effective.

My camera trap mounted to one of the trees

About two weeks later the same animal walked down the trail again. Caracals aren't easy to uniquely identify, but I've used the stripes on the insides of their legs in the past with reasonable success, so I'm pretty sure this is the same individual.

Looking a little sulky compared to the first image?

This was the first time we were able to take our dogs with us and I just can't resist slipping in some photographs of them. This one of Scout was taken by the camera trap when we went to fetch the camera. She's a "rescue dog" and we've had her for about 9 months now. She really turned out well and was having a blast the entire trip.

Our domestic dog (Hond - Canis lupus familiaris) aptly named Scout

You might think she is looking in the wrong direction, but after reviewing the photos from this camera I noticed that she is actually looking down a small path that is occasionally used by the animals to join up with the mail trail.

Watery Ways

Next week this time I'll be back in the Eastern Cape. The past year I've been helping my mother finish the retirement home they started building before my father passed away. This December will be the first time we are going to stay in it and I'm very excited to experience the (almost) finished product :)

Some finishing touches are still needed, but at least it doesn't look like this anymore...

I've been a little concerned about my camera traps recently. The previous time I was in the Woody Cape I decided to take some risks with a few of my cameras because I was under the impression that I'll be back two weeks later. I was planning to receive the truck with furniture from Johannesburg, however my mom was able to fly down and do it herself, so there was no need for me to go as well.

It is now over a month and a half later and I hope I find them where I left them...

As some of you might have noticed the Woody Cape has been a somewhat "slow" location. I was glad to finally get another new species during my last visit. Hopefully I'll be able to spend more time during my next visits to explore new locations I couldn't get to during my house building trips.

A Marsh/Water Mongoose (Kommetjiegatmuishond - Atilax paludinosus) at the Woody Cape

Not the greatest photograph, but I'll take anything at this point.

It has been raining heavily in the Eastern Cape during the time the cameras where out. The photograph below shows a dune that was washed away by the small temporary stream that turned into a small river after some heavy rains. The water normally stops towards the back of the photo, in the thickets, and never runs all the way to the see as it did during this visit.

The heavy rains at Cannon Rocks resulted in the spring going into flood and washing away a large portion of the dune

Maybe a better way to illustrate the heavy rains are the following selection of images. The photos were taken by the same camera as the Water Mongoose above, but about a week later.

A young Bushbuck (Bosbok - Tragelaphus sylvaticus) next to a temporary puddle/stream

You can see the ditch in the ground has filled up. The next image was five days after the one above.

Aaaah, nothing like a foot-spa to work up an appetite

By now the ditch has turned into a stream with water everywhere!

But all of the rain didn't dampen the spirits of the resident animals. One of the other cameras got some interesting photographs of two Bushbuck males getting a little frisky.

A Bushbuck male raising the long hair on his back in response to the other fellow approaching in the background

If we can get the internet sorted out at the new home, and if I'm in the mood I'll try and do some posts over the holiday period. If I don't get around to it: Have a great holiday time and rest well.

Hangin' Around

A Vervet Monkey (Blouaap - Cercopithecus pygerythrus) at the Woody Cape

As can be expected the Woody Cape is home to monkeys. I seem to encounter them more frequently in the forest-like parts of the national park. The high and open trees seem to fit them better than the low and thick bush of the tickets. They are quite common throughout a large part of South Africa, preferring Savannah bushveld and river vegetation.

They can become a huge nuisance if they get accustomed to humans, especially if they get food from them (either being fed, or stealing it).

I'll confess that I'm not a huge fan. A few years ago I noticed that even though I've had hundreds of excellent sightings of these monkeys, I didn't have any photographs of them at all. I had to force myself to take a few so-so photographs "for the record". I guess I'm just not a big primate fan...

Showing off an intimidating set of crown jewels...

In Afrikaans they are know as "Blue Monkey", I'm guessing that the reason for this can be seen in the above photograph. They live in troops of 20 or more and have a well defined social hierarchy.

Vervet Monkeys spend a lot of time on the ground looking for food

These monkeys are active during the day and usually sleep at night in trees or sometimes on cliffs. They eat mostly plant material, but also snack on insects and small animals such as lizards, bird eggs, etc.

This monkey seems to know it's corridor safety checks: always look left and right before crossing

The above photograph's camera (a Bushnell Trophy Cam) was placed on a small trail crossing an open patch in the forest-like area. I was curious what animals use the trail. The most common were the Vervets, but a few other species also showed up.

A Blue Duiker (Blouduiker - Cephalophus monticola) following similar corridor safety procedures as the monkey

The above image gives a good idea of just how small a Blue Duiker is, compared to a monkey.

The members of the Duiker subfamily are quite different from many of the other antelope and one might thing that the Duiker subfamily might be somewhat "primitive" compared to some of the other antelope species.

However Duiker remains are fairly uncommon in fossil records and there are indications from their anatomy and behaviour that they are amongst the smartest and most complex of antelope. Their brains are apparently the largest (proportionally) of all bovids (ruminating animals with cloven hoofs). They also have a relatively long gestation period and slow growth rate, which might indicate a prolonged learning period. They are known to predict and exploit other animal's behaviour including monkeys, bats and birds. They often seek out these animals and eat the fruit they drop from the trees. Duikers are also know to stalk and eat insects and other small animals. They are also excellent at hiding.

I remember once stumbling across a Grey Duiker in an open field in the Magalies Mountains. As soon as it saw me it froze and didn't run, but instead started to sneaked to the closest tall grass and trees. Even though it was fairly close to me and in plain sight for a good couple of seconds while moving towards the cover my brain didn't fully register it's present, and then once it reached the cover it just vanished, completely! Never was there a rush of sound or movement to "trigger" my attention. It was as if it was never there. The animal just slipped away. I could almost feel it "brain washing" me: "I'm not here I'm not here I'm not here I'm not here". On that day I got respect for the intelligence of Duikers. It is a difficult thing to explain to somebody else, but the animal was able to actively counteract my instincts, to put my senses off balance and then just vanish.

I believe this guy knows some Karate (but don't worry he isn't any good because his headband is only white)

What would a camera trap set at the Woody Cape be without a smiling Bushbuck dropping in for a self portrait. Seriously whats up with the smiles from these guys...

It's a good life being a Bushbuck (Bosbok - Tragelaphus sylvaticus) in the Woody Cape

It has been raining heavily in this part of the country during this camera trapping session and a lot of photographs have moisture on the lens. But sometimes everything comes together in a good way. For instance, I quite like the way the following photograph turned out.

A male Bushbuck browsing in the Eastern Cape forest

On The Move

Two months ago I had my Bushnell Trophy Cam XLT setup in part of the more forest-like sections of the Woody Cape. Reviewing the first moths images I noticed that a Blue Duiker was active in this area and I wanted to get some video of it. I moved the camera to a different tree and waited.

Below is a collection of the video clips I got. Although the Blue Duiker was active during the day, the forest is so dark that the flash kicked in on most occasions.

Video: A series of Blue Duiker (Blouduiker - Cephalophus monticola)  visits at the Woody Cape

I think in the last clip you can see it using its facial glads to scent mark.

For a long time I've been playing around to reduce the flash of my Bushnell camera traps. Most camera traps, especially the IR models, tend to have a very strong "spotlight" flash. This might be great in wide open areas where the target is fat away from the camera. However, almost all of my camera trap setups are in confined spaces and very close to the animals. This can cause severe whiteout.

In the past I used black isolation tape to reduce the flash, but after giving it some thought (and talking to some knowledgeable friends at work) I decided to try something new.

Two pieces of the textured glass that I'm currently using to improve the flash of my camera traps.

I got some textured glass cutoffs from our local hardware store. The idea is to get the glass with the roughest or most irregular surface.

I'm no expert, but in theory if I can't move the flash further away from the camera's lens to reduce the direct (harsh) reflection of the flash's light, then I can try to deflect the flash's light, thus creating a softer more natural spread. The idea is to diffuse the light, turning a spotlight into a more natural light and allowing the environment to reflect some light back onto the subject.

Since all of my cameras are in the field I haven't been able to do a direct comparison, but based on my observations in the field I do believe that this is making a noticeable difference. I've even put some glass over the new Cuddeback Attack (even though it comes with an "adjustable flash").

My old Cuddeback Capture and the Birdcam each take excellent white flash images. Interestingly, if you look at the flash covers of these cameras you'll notice that both of them don't have a clear smooth texture, but that they actually have different segments that deflect the flash into different directions.

This definitely isn't a magical fix to the flash problem but I think it does help.

Video: Large-Spotted Genet (Grootkolmuskeljaatkat - Genetta tigrina) catching something in the leave litter

I'm sure the above Large-Spotted Genet was in the neighbourhood for a dinner date with one of the regular visitors to the area, the Woodland Dormouse.

Video: A series of clips showing a Woodland Dormouse (Boswaaierstertmuis - Graphiurus murinus) zooming about

I love the way their eyes glow as they zoom around. It reminds me of the cat bus in My Neighbour Totoro...

Another well known species is the Bushbuck. One of the sequences was long enough and interesting enough to put together into one two minute segment.

Video: Bushbuck (Bosbok - Tragelaphus sylvaticus) out for lunch

 

I usually prefer photographs, but it is nice to switch over to video once in a while to capture some natural behaviour.