Filmmaker backs bid to transform derelict bothy into wilderness base

Athnamulloch Bothy in Glen Affric

A leading wildlife filmmaker is backing a bid by Trees for Life to transform an iconic but derelict mountain bothy into an eco-friendly weather-tight base that will be used to launch a quarter century of forest restoration in one of Scotland’s great wildlife wildernesses.

Glasgow-based cameraman and filmmaker Gordon Buchanan – well known from television programmes such as Big Cat Diary and Springwatch – is supporting the conservation charity’s appeal to raise £30,000 to renovate Athnamulloch Bothy in Glen Affric on the Forestry Commission Scotland managed

Iain MacDiarmid's landscape photographs of the Scottish Highlands

Loch Affric - copyright Iain MacDiarmid

I recently had the pleasure of meeting local photographer Iain MacDiarmid who specialises in landscapes around the Scottish Highlands.

In this post are some of Iain's images from the local area, which he has very kindly given me permission to use to illustrate other pages on this website in the future. I admire his work very much and look forward to seeing how his techniques develop over time.

I hope you enjoy viewing his work and at the bottom of this post you'll find a link to his website where you can browse his whole collection.

I have had a computer problem

The sketch on the left perfectly sums up the way I was feeling around the middle of last month. I'd had a PC problem for several months. Nothing dramatic, just occasional twitches when I was working but last month it developed into full blown aggravation with programs not installing/loading properly or at all, to the point where I was forced to do something about it.

To cut a long story short the reason was corrupted system files and with the help of Microsoft Support (I can't praise them enough) who carried out a remote Windows repair installation, I'm finally up and running again with no loss of data.

I've now taken measures to significantly reduce the possibility of this happening again and if it does it won't break my flow the way it has this time.

Problem now is that I'm way behind with answering emails, writing posts and camera tests. I'll try and catch up in the next week or two but if you are waiting for a response from me you can short circuit the delay by calling me on +44 (0) 1456 415726 or making a contact request to ron.bury on Skype.

If I don't answer when you call, please leave a message and contact details so I can get back to you a.s.a.p

Rewilding Scotland and return of lynx and wolf in spotlight in Edinburgh

Eurasian lynx © Peter Cairns www.northshots.com

Visions of a rewilded Scotland – from restored forests to the return of predators such as the lynx and wolf – was in the spotlight on Monday 6th October at a topical lecture featuring acclaimed writer George Monbiot and award-winning conservationist Alan Watson Featherstone of Trees for Life, at the University of Edinburgh’s George Square Lecture Theatre.

With enthusiasm for rewilding – the large-scale restoration of damaged natural ecosystems – spreading quickly in the UK, the Rewilding the World event highlighted the significant benefits that this could bring to Scotland, together with a discussion on its global and ethical implications.

George Monbiot said: “Rewilding offers us a big chance to reverse destruction of the natural world. Letting trees return to bare and barren uplands, allowing the seabed to recover from trawling, and bringing back missing species would help hundreds of species that might otherwise struggle to survive – while rekindling wonder and enchantment that often seems missing in modern-day Britain.”

Alan Watson Featherstone, Trees for Life’s Executive Director, said: “Rewilding offers an exciting vision of hope, through the positive and practical work of renewing and revitalising ecosystems. In the Highlands we

How Trigger Interval Settings affect image transmission in Ltl Acorn 2G Cellular Cameras

Fig 1: 6210 Wireless PCB and SIM900 Modem

This post is an explanation of how the interval time setting in the cameras menu affects the transmission of image data over a 2G cellular network.

This does not apply to the 6310 cameras with 3G modems when working over a 3G network, which were introduced at the end of 2016.

Acorn cellular cameras use the SIM900 GPRS 2G modem which can connect with either the GSM or the GPRS service. It is a class B device which means it can only use one or the other at a given time. During GSM service ( voice call, SMS and MMS ) the GPRS service is suspended, and then resumed automatically after the GSM service has concluded. 

Acorn cellular cameras utilise the SIM900 wireless modem to provide GSM ( SMS and MMS ) and GPRS ( internet access for sending an image in an email using SMTP ) functionality. 

In Acorn cellular cameras the SIM900 prioritises the GSM service when programmed by the user to periodically listen for SMS remote control messages. The SIM900 also prioritises the GSM service in response to a trigger

Funding hope for conservation of iconic Scottish glen and rare wildlife

Loch Affric - TFL

Hopes of protecting and restoring a magnificent Highland glen and its rare wildlife – including golden eagles, red squirrels and Scottish wildcats – have received a major boost after conservation charity Trees for Life was named as finalist for a major European funding project, with the winner to be chosen after an online public vote.

The charity’s Glen Affric Landscape Project is in the running to secure almost £20,000 in the European Outdoor Conservation Association’s ‘Outdoor’ funding scheme, with online voting taking place over two weeks until Monday 6 October. Trees for Life can be supported via www.treesforlife.org.uk/voteTFL.

The Trees for Life project will also create

Acorn Cellular Trail Camera Testing

Fig 1:  Acorn 5210MG and 6210MG
Cellular Trail |Cameras

I often get asked about how I test trail cameras and in particular the cellular versions so here is a brief overview of my test bench setup.

Figure 2 shows the complete assembly of test card, timer, meters and screen monitor.

The test card enables  a basic evaluation of the camera's lens performance and focusing.

The laptop screen shows a timer and clock, the former of which is used to test the camera's trigger time and also time longer events such as image/video sequences, network transmissions and time lapse functions et.c

The timer is triggered by a manual slider and paddle ( figure 3 ) which also triggers the camera at exactly the same time. The resulting photograph taken by the camera captures the timer and shows how long in tenths of a second, it took the camera to wake up and fire its shutter. This is the camera's trigger

Scotland’s first full humpback whale post mortem for Mull’s first stranding of iconic species

Recovering dead Humpback Whale

Scotland’s first full post mortem of a humpback whale – found dead at Fishnish on the Isle of Mull this week – was carried out yesterday by veterinary pathologists with the assistance of conservation charity Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust.

 

The seven-metre, eight-ton animal – believed to be the first humpback whale ever to strand on Mull – was discovered floating close to shore on Wednesday 25 June, and was craned out of the sea the following evening. The male calf had not recently been feeding and was probably still dependent on its mother.

 

Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust’s Science and Strandings Officer Dr Conor Ryan, who is an expert on humpback whales, assisted with a post mortem examination with veterinary pathologist Andrew Brownlow of Scottish Rural University College to establish the cause of death. Preliminary results from the examination were consistent with drowning, although the cause is unclear.

 

“This highly unusual and sad discovery is a reminder that Scotland’s west coast waters are extremely special and host a great variety of

Ltl Acorn 850nm, 940nm, 24 and 44 Infra Red (IR) LED arrays compared.

Fig 1:  5210A with 24 IR LED Array

Following on from my previous post which compared the FOV of the new Ltl Acorn 5310 standard and wide angle lens models, this post illustrates the differences in appearance and performance between the old and new infra-red (IR) LED arrays.

Up to now all the Ltl Acorn camera models have used a 24 LED IR light source as shown in figures 1, 2 and 3. Figure 1 shows the 5210A with 24 blue LEDs which emit light in the 940nm wavelength. These LEDs are covert and do not glow when operating.

Figures 2 and 3 show the 24 LED 850nm and 940nm versions. The white LEDs emit light in the 850nm ( nanometer ) wavelength and can be seen to glow red when viewed straight on during operation. They are visible up to 10 plus meters distance and although the IR light emission has double the range of the 940nm version they are not suitable for use in situations where the camera may be vulnerable if observed, such as security applications.

Acorn have now released their 5310 series cameras using their newly developed 44 LED array which doubles the night time light

First whale week festival spotlights western Scotland’s internationally important marine life

Minke whale in Hebridean waters / HWDT

A new annual week-long festival boosting the profile of The Hebrides as an internationally-important hotspot for whale spotting and conservation action will be launched on World Oceans Day on 8 June, in what is believed to be the first event of its kind in Scotland.

 

Humpback whales, orcas and bottlenose dolphins will take over Tobermory on the Isle of Mull between 8-15 June 2014, as conservation charity Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust (HWDT) celebrates its 20^th anniversary with its