A stream running close to the cottage... My first camera trap plan...

The following morning I went to retrieve the trail camera. Sure enough, the Pine Marten had used the fallen branch over night to cross the river. My plan was to try and photograph them in the trees, like last year, during the early evening in daylight and then leave a camera trap setup overnight by the river.

My plan didn't work very well as, while the Pine Marten did show up, during the afternoon and evening they appeared very skittish. Unlike last year where I was able to sit in the garden without a hide or any cover and watch them, they seemed only to be comfortable coming out in daylight when I wasn't around. However, I had managed to discover that there were at least two Pine Marten around.

So, having been outsmarted by the Pine Marten during the day I hoped I'd have better luck with my camera trap. Just as it was getting dark I started to set up... Camera on tripod well and truly wedged in the rocks so as not to fall over into the river, two flashguns on separate tripods left and right of the camera and motion sensor positioned on the branch to trigger the camera when the Pine Marten showed up. A few test shots and I was happy with the lighting. I went back to the cottage with anticipation of what I might find on the camera the next morning. I'm afraid to say anticipation got the better of me and at about midnight I went to check the camera to see if it had captured anything... Nothing.

Feeling like I had been outsmarted yet again I returned to the cottage, leaving the camera trap setup until the next morning. You can imagine my excitement when I checked the camera the next morning to find the two photos, amongst others, below. It had worked!