Introduction

I live in a village on the NW edge of Sheffield, quite close to open countryside, and not too far from moorland, about 245 m above sea level between the Upper Don and Loxley valleys. We have a small garden and I have always been keen to keep track of the wildlife that uses it. 

This blog is going to be about what goes on in the garden at night. I've had a few Trailcams for some years, which mostly give me an idea of the mammals that use it. A couple of years ago I started trapping and recording moths, and even more recently, I've taken up "Nocmig" i.e. Nocturnal Migration, which involves recording the calls of birds which fly over at night, or call nearby. 

It's a quiet time of year but that gives me a chance to fill in some of the background, and have a gentle start. Last night, for instance, the camera captured a Wood Mouse, and the recording device (of which more later) picked up a Tawny Owl having an altercation with a Magpie at about 10pm. 

I should be able to post some photos from the trail cam, and also of the moths. The bird recordings will be more problematic, as I can't post sound files on this blog, but I'll work on that. Meanwhile here's a sonogram of the altercation - I wonder who came off worse.