USE A SIMPLE TRAIL CAM
Most trail cams are about half the size of a sandwich box and look like a piece of camouflaged military hardware. You sense you could drive a tank over them without causing damage! They project a beam of infrared light and when something moves through that beam, it activates the camera. This Passive Infrared sensor (PIR) technology is also used in security lights. You decide whether the camera then takes a few photos, a short burst of video, or both.
TRAIL CAMS ARE usually operated by batteries that can last for weeks, because the camera is typically only active for up to a few seconds every hour. There’s no need for mains electricity here! The footage is recorded onto the same kind of smart card found in most cameras, which you can retrieve whenever you want.
These cameras also take colour footage in daylight then switch to black and white images after dark, using infrared light.
There’s a bewildering array of models on the market, some at about the £40 mark, but these are likely to be poorly made. Instead, stick to brands such as Bushnell, Ltl Acorn, Spypoint or Browning, costing about £100-200 (see over).
Check the quality of the still pictures, measured in megapixels (MP) – the number of dots on the screen. These days 12MP is quite low for a trail cam; 30MP is at the high end. In terms of video quality, a high-quality camera will shoot at 1920x1080 HD (high definition), but no trail cam will give you television documentary-quality footage.
Certain trail cams have a mini screen on the camera itself, which confirms you’re pointing the camera in the right direction when you set it up.
In this fast-changing world, you can now even get trail cams that transmit images automatically using 3G mobile phone technology. You will pay for the privilege, though!
Before you set up your trail cam, make sure there are routes in and out of the garden for ground-dwelling creatures, for instance by cutting ‘hedgehog highways’ in the bottom of fences about 12cm (5in) square. Now you’re ready to set up.
1. Choose a path. Fix the camera securely alongside a path that you think wildlife might use. Most trail cams come with a long canvas strap and clasp buckle to wrap the camera around a tree trunk. However, trying to hold the camera while strapping it in place is a challenge, so you might like to buy a trail cam mounting-stick that can simply be pushed into the ground. 2. Orientate the camera. Face it north if possible, to avoid the images being overexposed by the sun. The camera should be about 15–45cm (6-18in) off the ground. Make sure there’s no vegetation that will flap around in front of the lens.
3. Check all the settings. Make sure you’re switched on and ensure the batteries are fully charged, and away you go – literally! ➤