I decided to set the Bushnell HD Max (119477) up on a new feeder today. Using my close-up kit, I mounted a coconut fat feeder 60cm from the Bushnell and checked that it was all in line and in focus. I was not sure how long it would take the birds to discover this new feeder, but being placed on the fence, near the hedge where they commonly wait to go on the patio feeders, I felt it would only be a matter of minutes! I got on with some other tasks and left the Bushnell capturing clips (I hoped) and returned about three hours later. I could see that there were loads of beak marks in the fat so I knew the birds had discovered it!
As always, it is exciting to take the SD card out of the Bushnell and load it into the laptop. I had over 200 clips… blimey… this could take some time! I started looking through them; lots of blue tits, great tits and robins…. and more robins… and more… and more….. I could see that this feeder had been very popular.
I always try to look through all the clips… just in case. You never know if you have been lucky enough to capture some unusual behaviour… or something more unusual. By the time I got to clip 183, my interest was waning as the clips were all very similar. A surge of adrenalin for this clip though…. thank goodness I had looked all the way through… a fantastic capture of a Great spotted woodpecker! I’m thrilled! When I first uploaded the clips, I had thought they were all of a male… on looking again, the first clip is a female (no red on nape) and then 2 clips of the male. I am thrilled!
Make sure you watch it as an HD clip for best clarity!
There were lots of other visitors too…. here is a selection of the best…. including fighting robins!