A Mystery Solved

I have had a perplexing mystery that has concerned me. My yard has a brick wall around it and the gate is full hight and has a bolt on the inside. Therefore I was finding it concerning that occasionally I would find the gate open in the morning. While it is bolted, pressing against it can cause the bolt to slip.

As this could enable a burglar access, it crossed my mind that it could be a two legged rat (Human) who was doing this. It only ever happened when I was in bed, and while I am often up into the small hours after being out watching nocturnal wildlife, not avoiding sunlight and turning into a bat, I have been looking out to see if I could spot what or who was doing this.

Further while I put out cat food to attract mammals into the yard, they can access under the gap. As it is I seem to be feeding the local cats more than the wildlife. Well last night I had need to fetch my glasses, that I need for reading from my office, and I noticed the gate was being pressed. So ensuring I was out of view, I watched. I could not see who or what was doing this. I was more than ready to call the police if it was a Two Legged Rat, but I needed a description. Well here it is Red Coat, long Brush and pointed snout. The Cunning dog fox had learnt that by pressing on the gate in the right spot it could force the gate open.

As I had been concerned that it was a human that had been doing this I did not want to set up a camera as it would have gone. But had I done so, that would have been a great sequence. I may try to do that now, but as he only comes once in every couple of weeks, I may have to be patient.

With that mystery solved, I can start to think about putting up the moth trap that I put together. I did not want to use it if I was likely to have it stolen. I have designed a set up so that none of my neighbours are disturbed by the UV light and when I tested it it worked a treat. Also when I have been writing up my nature notes at night, I will frequently see moths that are attracted to the lights in my office. So you can expect me to bore you with some moth pictures soon. That's if it stops raining long enough to allow the moths to fly.

Going off a a tangent a bit, last week I went to a pond where the wildlife is not thriving. Earlier in year I had gone there to try and observe Frogs, Toads and Newts, but the spawn never really materialised in the profusion that had apparently been the case previously. The suspected problem was some form of pollution so I met with someone who lives near there and we took samples. I had obtained some chemical sampling containers so that I could capture insects for identification and to photograph and film last year, so I had these sterile ones that were perfect for this. Also, while previously the concerned locals had taken samples before, they went missing so this time each sample was divided between four. One for the Environment Agency, one for the National Rivers Authority, One for the water company and one as a reference sample that is to be held by a solicitor. Sometimes it is exasperating just what measures you have to go though to stop pollution and ensure that vested interests don't cover it up.

Following collecting the samples and washing my hands, I noticed that I had spots where my skin was flaking off. Not great big chunks but little patches. Something I would normally have ignored, but it looks as though something is in the environment. Then thinking about this, I realised that the material of my old Camouflage strides was rotting and that had started when I had last been there in February and March. It will be intriguing to see the results of the tests.

However, it was the fact that we had to also record the exact grid reference point of where each sample was taken that was most changing. Not for the first time I have thought about how using GPS would make this so much easier. Well on Saturday when I went into the city, I made enquires about the equipment I would need and the cost. I had a very clear set of needs, and was not willing to have a salesman point me at just what he wanted to sell. While I did not buy the equipment, I can see many advantages of using GPS for much of what I do.

It would make relocating a nest easier, or if I am following the tracks of a Deer, I could transfer the data to the computer to work out the likely spots where they are feeding and drinking. Further if I were wanting or needing to carry out a comprehensive survey of an area it would be an aid to this too.

While I am far from being technophobic, nor do I rush out to buy the latest gadget or gizmo's. I need to find a real need for it, but in this case I think I can justify the cost, about two hundred and fifty pounds (four hundred dollars). The only difficulty is I just don't have that sort of money at the moment, hey I don't have any money at the moment. But if I can persuade the local cats not to keep eating the food I put out for the wildlife, I could save up for one.

While on the topic of GPS, it did occur to me that had the Apollo missions had GPS then the firsts words would have been “You have reached your destination”