Welcome to the Big Cats In Britain Wildlife Trigger Camera Blog

Welcome to the Big Cats In Britain Wildlife Trigger Camera Blog

The Big Cats in Britain organisation, (BCIB), predominately searches for evidence of native and non native feline species living in the British Countryside. Part of our research includes the use of wildlife trigger cameras, also known as stealth cams or trail cams . These operate using infra-red technology to take pictures of any animal that passes the camera.

Our members have dozens of these cameras in various locations around the British Isles, operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

This blog is dedicated to showing the general public, the animals we have captured on camera. These images are small snapshots of the diversity of animal life that can be found in our countryside.

We hope you enjoy them.......................

All images are copyright of the BCIB, if you wish to use any of these images online or in the media, please contact us first to obtain permission.

Latest Big Cat News

Tuesday 27 July 2010

Roe Deer Video Compilation, Argyll - July 2010

I'm not the greatest whiz behind a keyboard, and I seem to be learning new stuff everyday. Todays new stuff is that I've managed to work out how to join several short video clips into one longer video clip.

Easy peasy, I hear all you younger computer geniuses shouting at your pc. But I'm an oldie who never touched a computer at school, so it takes a while for me to catch up.

Anyway............................here are all the clips of the group of Roe Deer currently using this small wood in Kintyre, Argyll. As you can see there are two different bucks, at least two fawns, and either two or three does.






Monday 26 July 2010

Night Vision Roe Deer Video from Argyll

Another video from the recent crop of video's recently captured in Argyll.

This time a short close up video of the mature Roe Deer buck, using the night vision IR setting on the camera.



Saturday 24 July 2010

Mature Roe Deer Buck Video from Argyll

Once again I've been lucky with one of my cameras. Still no big cat, but I got a number of video's of a small group of Roe Deer, in a small wood on private land in the south of Kintyre. The group seems to comprise of a mature buck, with some nice large antlers, a smaller younger buck just starting to grow his antlers. Two or possibly three females. One with one fawn and one with twin fawns. I'll post these video's over the next few weeks.

The first one is of the larger Roe Deer buck, you can clearly see him rubbing his antlers against a fallen branch. This video was taken at about 3:00pm on the 13th July 2010

The strange thing is, the owners of the land had remarked that they hadn't seen any deer for weeks, and wondered if they had moved elsewhere. They were also only aware of one buck and a couple of females with one fawn. I'm pleased that we can show there are a lot more deer hiding in their woods than they thought. It just shows how well these animals are able to blend into their surroundings.

Shaun Stevens
(BCIB Argyll)




Friday 23 July 2010

Badgers climbing trees in Sussex

Derek Bilston (BCIB Sussex) is also a member of The Sussex Big Cat Watch, a small group of investigators concentrating on researching the big cat sightings in their county. Charlie, one of their members has recently created a new blog detailing some of the research they are involved in. It is a very good read and can be found at http://bigcatdetective.blogspot.com/.

They too have a trigger camera and Charlie has kindly allowed us to reproduce those articles on his blog that show some of the resulting images from their camera. The camera they are using currently is a "Stealth Trail Camera GL M100"

We hope you enjoy them, and don't forget to check out their website and their blog.




These pictures of the badgers were picked up by our infrared camera following a successful 3 week trial. It is set up somewhere in Sussex nigh on permanently. Many thanks to the landowner concerned, for their help. I don't quite know what the one up the tree is doing. It could be looking for insects or maybe just being nosey. Whatever it is, I'm glad I didn't put the camera 2ft up that tree, given the power of their claws.

Charlie (Sussex Big Cat Watch)

















Wednesday 21 July 2010

Black-Faced Ewe - Checking out one of our cameras

Last month I had my camera set up to follow a track line down to a small stream. unfortunately no cats, but plenty of inquisitive sheep. This ewe posed nicely for the camera.



Shaun Stevens

(BCIB Argyllshire)


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Sunday 18 July 2010

Roe Deer Portrait from Argyllshire - (From the BCIB Files)

I have had my cameras in various locations in Argyll for about five years. Plenty of shots of waving branches, deer backsides, and domestic animals, but every now and then you get that almost perfect shot of a wild animal. Over the next few weeks I'll be posting some of my favourites.

Today it's a young Roe Deer buck, taken with a Wildview camera in 2009.

Shaun Stevens (BCIB Argyllshire)


Saturday 17 July 2010

Foxes and Badgers from Buckinghamshire. (From the BCIB Files)

Paul Nicolaides has sent some more images that he has taken on his cameras over the last few years. All are from Buckinghamshire.


























































More Red Fox pictures from Kent.

Rick Snook (BCIB Kent and Essex) is still waiting for a secure location in Kent or Essex where he can put up his cameras. There are a couple of possible locations he is considering, but until then here are some more pictures of Red foxes from his friends garden.

If anyone in Kent or Essex are interested in having a camera put on their land, please contact Rik directly.

Rik has two websites
Big Cats In Kent and Big Cats in Essex, where contact details can be found.






























Thursday 15 July 2010

A startled Red Deer Hind from Fife, Scotland

Stuart Mackay sent these great pictures from a new location in Fife. The cameras have only been up for a short time and already we are getting some nice shots of the local wildlife. Stuart used a Wildview Xtreme 5.0 camera to get these images. Please note that the dates time stamped on the first three pictures are incorrect. Stuart believes the camera may have reset itself when he changed the batteries. The date on the fourth picture is correct.











































Tuesday 13 July 2010

Deer, black dogs, and well I'm just not sure!.

Paul Nicolaides in Buckinghamshire sent us these images from his files.

The first two pictures are easily identifiable, but the third has got us stumped. Can anyone identify what it is?


Well this one is definately a deer, but I'm a little unsure as to
what species. Possibly a Roe Deer.
















When I first recieved this image by email, it was shown as a thumbnail, and for a split second, I thought Paul had hit the jackpot, but unfotunately it wasn't one our big black cats, but a big black dog. Oh well, we'll keep trying.
















This final picture is, well your guess is as good as mine. Dog? Deer? You decide!

We'd be interested to hear peoples comments on this one.

















All images can be enlarged by clicking on them

Sunday 11 July 2010

Ducks and Deer - More Video clips from Argyll

I am currently testing a Moultrie I-40 camera loaned to me by Dick Raynor of the Loch Ness Investigation website. It is currently placed on a small river in the south of Kintyre, Scotland, overlooking a shallow part of the river. (Although thanks to the rain over the last week or so, this spot is now under several feet of water as the second short video shows.)

I've never tried placing a camera on a river before, so I was interested to see if the movement of the river would actually give false trigger readings. Happily this has not been the case.

On checking the camera today, there were two interesting videos. The first is of a young Roe Deer Buck, walking across the river. The other of a duck and her two ducklings floating by on the currently fast running water. According to the owners of the land where the camera is placed this duck actually had four ducklings orginally, as of today they inform me, she still has the two surviving youngsters.

The first video was taken at 8:38am on the 29th June 2010, and the second at 4:13pm on the 4th of July 2010.

Note the change in the height of the river
in the few days between the video clips.

Shaun Stevens
BCIB Argyllshire



Friday 9 July 2010

Who's there?

Roe Deer From Argyll

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Strange Cat photographed in Leicestershire Early in 2007

From the BCIB Files


Trigger camera pictures taken in Leicestershire, Spring 2007

BCIB representative Anne Paratt, sent these pictures that caught a cat prowling.

Anne said: “ It`s paw size was larger than normal but not huge as in lynx or leopard I have been tracking it for a while to try to find where it is living, it is certainly not in a house!!!”


Camera used was a "Stealth Cam"




Thursday 1 July 2010

Kentish Vixen and Cubs

Rik Snook, the BCIB member from Kent, has this week purchased his first couple of cameras. He bought two WildView Xtreme 5.0MP Digital Scouting Cameras.

As a test before deploying them in the field, he set them up on his friends property. His friends often put out food for foxes, badgers and other wildlife, and Rik managed to get 76 images in his first night of these foxes. Once Rik is happy with the set up on the cameras he will be placing them in an undisclosed location in Kent that has had several Big Cat sightings in the past.




These are just a few of those images Rik got on his first night.