Recently, I have been capturing some great footage using a camera that Hikvision have lent me. I am looking at how some of their CCTV cameras can be used for filming wildlife. Many of these cameras are designed to be used to monitor a large area, such as a carpark. I tend to use them in a much smaller area and with a much closer focus. I have been amazed at how close some of these cameras will focus, making them brilliant for wildlife filming. The other aspect that makes them great for filming in the way I do, is the ability to control the camera from my PC. I can log directly onto the camera, where I can zoom and focus.
The footage below is all from a Hikvision ‘Dark Fighter’ Bullet camera.
I have this camera mounted on a stand, so I can move it around. It is wired directly back to my PC, where is runs through iCatcher Console. This software monitors the camera and records footage when it detects movement. I can then lift the footage to share. For a few weeks, I have had the camera just over my back fence, in my neighbour’s garden. There is a steep bank down to the lane and we could see that something was coming up and down it. We knew there were foxes visiting, but this badger was great to see…..
It was also wonderful to film the polecat again….
I had filmed a polecat, possibly the same individual, earlier in the year with this camera as well…
I have filmed foxes in the field next to my garden for about 8 years. I had stopped over the summer as rat numbers were increasing and they were taking the food before the foxes got there. This last week, I moved the camera up to the edge of the field and put a few dried dog biscuits out. It was not long before they were back! The main individual visiting is a very handsome and healthy looking dog fox. I call him ‘Skittle’ as he has skittle shaped black markings on his back legs…
This clip shows the zoom capabilities of this camera and also how well the IR copes. The zoom does not make any noise, so does not disturb the fox at all. I had placed an egg in the grass and it was interesting to watch how carefully he picked it up!
Once they start visiting regularly again, I am thinking of trying some DSLR camera trap images here. It would be great to see if I could get some good shots of this fox and get it used to my camera kit.
I lifted some stills from the footage too…. it’s a great camera and I am not going to want to give this one back! #gallery-21393-4 { margin: auto; } #gallery-21393-4 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-21393-4 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-21393-4 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */
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