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Hobby Nest Cam
I am very excited to be able to host this incredible new camera from Jason Fathers, MD of Wildlife Windows and the ~Dorset Raptor Study Group. Jason and I collaborated in the build of the Yew View Badger sett in which I filmed the badger birth and I follow his work avidly. This is an artificial nest, built to mimic a crow nest. The hobby does not make it own nest, but uses those of other birds.
Jason's wildlife camera set-ups are a true inspiration to me. He is driven by his passion for wildlife and his amazing technical and set-up skills that simply blow my mind!
Wildlife Windows Ltd have been installing wildlife cameras throughout the UK for 18 years. They have installed many raptor nest cameras including Loch Arkaig (Woodland Trust) ospreys, peregrines, white-tailed eagles and specialise in "extreme cctv", delivering live streams from remote locations. Jason is a raptor specialist and especially keen on hobbies. He has monitored and studied them for over 20 years in Dorset / Hants. He was keen to set up a live hobby nest , to be able to share his passion for these amazing little falcons.
Jason allowed me to share this live stream last year and following these incredible little raptors was fascinating.
The set-up for a live camera has been extremely challenging and the feed may break up slightly, occasionally, due to the huge distances covered. There is no IR on this camera, so this will be for daylight viewing.
Enjoy this camera, I know I will, and thank you to Jason for allowing me to share it on my website.
From the team.......
Welcome to this 2023 live stream of a hobby nest in rural Dorset, England. This is the second year we have been able to set up this camera. The adult birds are infact the same two birds as last year as they are both identifiable. The female has an aberrant white feather on her head and the male is BTO ringed (most probably ringed by us in 2019 approx. 10km away…. we haven’t got the full ring number yet). The camera system was set up well before the breeding season and involved a complex set of cabling, solar panels and wireless bridges across 5km of farmland to send the video to a location where good broadband could enable live streaming. This has been a combined effort of Wildlife Windows and the Dorset Raptor Study Group. Hobbies (Falco subbuteo) are a long-winged migratory falcon which breed relatively late in the UK in order to take advantage of prey items such as juvenile swallows, house martins and dragonflies. Eurasian hobbies mostly over-winter in the southern half of Africa arriving back in mid-April to mid-May to begin the breeding process. It’s amazing to know these birds have flown so far and returned to lay their eggs in the same 6 square inches at least 3 years in a row. 3 eggs have been laid which is a normal clutch size. The first chick has hatched 5th July between 0800 and 1030. The second chick hatched July 7th.