Glynn Hobbs - imageweaver

The Common Genet (which is far from common) is the only Genet present in Europe and occurs in the Iberian Peninsula, Italy and France. Just over a year ago, I was invited by a friend to set up my 'DSLR Camera Trap' and record the nocturnal wildlife that was living in his forest. He had been using 'trail cams' to record video footage, but whilst the image quality was ok, what we both wanted, was to record higher quality, colour images of his night time visitors.  Approaching septuagenarian years, I had lost my enthusiasm for camping out at 'silly' o'clock, in all weathers, so had built my first camera trap a few years ago. It allows me to set up my DSLR cameras and flashes in waterproof housings, which are triggered by 'Camtraptions' trigger systems. These remotely fire the camera and flashes, when my 'target' appears. It is not just the discomfort of spending nights in the forest that forced me down this route, but also the fact that our wil...

The Coypu was introduced from South America into France, back in the 19th century by the fur trade. As a result of escaped animals and subsequent later (1930's) mass releases ( when the fur trade declined ), the Coypu is now considered both an 'alien' species and a 'pest' throughout France! Having the unfortunate appearance of a very large rat, it has not ingratiated itself with the human population. Size varies, but an adult is typically 50-60 cms long, with an additional tail of 30-40cms. Average weight is around 10kgs! When one adds the fact that its burrows can cause damage to river banks, and its fondness of surrounding vegatation, upsets farmers, we have an ideal recipe for a human desire to kill it. Of course, like many 'alien' invaders ( usually introduced by man ), there can also be implications for the resident wildlife. In this instance, it is the Coypu's diet of plants ( they are herbivores ), that can be argued, potentially destroys nesting...

It's been quite a while since my last blog, as although I have been busy with the camera, I have simply not got around to writing anything about it on here. It's a shame, as this summer has been one of the hottest on record and the difference in the behaviour of our wildlife has been noticable! Even in our small region of France, global warming is having an effect, with many of our regular garden birds arriving earlier in the year, along with seeing new species, that would normally only be seen a long way further south. Equally, some birds that would normally be seen here, have already found new pastures further north! Fortunately, the Kingfishers that I have been photographing for the past few years, are still in situ, although for how long, is difficult to tell, as the water levels in their lake, are now at dangerously low levels, never seen before. My hide which was positioned at the very waters edge of the lake, is now marooned some 10 meters away from the waters edge. This...

I have been fascinated by Ospreys, since following some of the online 'nest-cams' at locations around the British Isles. Most of the locations are run by the RSPB, or Wildlife Scotland and many locations have purpose built hides, which are available to the public to watch these amazing birds. With a wingspan of 1.5 metres Ospreys are one of europes largest birds of prey and the only kind that exclusively eats fish. My first visit, was near to Castle Douglas, where I had been told there were a nesting pair. Although I did manage to locate the nest site, it was at least half a mile from them and simply not worth trying to photograph anything due to the distance. The following images were taken at my next location 'Loch of the Lowes' Wildlife Reserve in Perth, which was two hours north. Here, you can access two purpose built 'hides', overlooking the loch, but quite some distance from the nest site. I was using my 500mm lens with a 1.4 teleconverter, giving me 700mm...