Bungees are Best?

Saturday was the best chance for good weather this weekend, so I planned three small projects.

Firstly, I wanted to test an idea for an ultra-quick, low-profile shelter set up. I want to be able to go into the woods after identifying fallow rut stands, and quickly set up a low-lying shelter so that I would be able to observe the rut.

I thought about purchasing a hide, but these were a) too expensive and b) too bulky.

The quickest and most flexible way I thought to make a quick shelter was a tarp and bungees. I thus took my spare tarp and four bungees into the woods and tried it out. I’m a bit wary of bungees as they can be quite dangerous if they suddenly break, but in this case I think bungees are best.

Picking a more or less random random spot (obviously with a few trees) I set up the shelter in under 2 minutes including a couple of adjustments. That will do for me. I may need a couple more anchor points to stop it flapping about if it’s windy. But it will do for me to lay under and film without getting wet.

I celebrated by having breakfast under the shelter.

My second mission was to re-deploy the camera trap. This time I chose one of the main paths where there was a convergence of tracks. I’ve managed to get footage of badger and fox, but I haven’t got the Poor Park herd yet. If I’m successful at the end of the week, I’ll certainly do a write up of the camera trap and include the footage obtained so far.

I like setting the camera-trap up. It’s challenging to get the angle right and of course, read the track and signs to get the best coverage of the wildlife. For some reason I also get some enjoyment from camouflaging it, even though it’s got security straps and a padlock to stop anyone removing the card (even though these woods are hardly used.) In the picture above, the camera is a third of the way up a tree on the left.

My third mission was to cut back some brambles and holly which had overgrown at the end of the garden. Unfortunately, I can only get to the growth by entering the field through the woods because of a high security fence. I had already asked the farmer if I could enter the field and cut the brambles back.

After half an hour with the Gomtaro saw I had hacked my way to the fence much to the amusement of the Billy, who looked like he was wondering how I had managed to “get out” and he was still “in”. I made a nice viewing hole in the foliage and should now be able to see the deer and other wildlife in the field from the comfort of my lounge.

Thanks for the visit.