The NatureSpot Species of the Month for August is this image of a Badger, taken by NatureSpot contributor Will Warley. More...

Badgers have had a difficult summer with the drought depriving them of earthworms, which make up the largest part of their diet. This individual was clearly willing to investigate anything that held the prospect of food. 

Camera traps historically struggled to capture small mammals like voles, shrews, mice, and small marsupials. Because standard trail cameras are optimized for medium-to-large animals at distances of 3 to 10 meters, small animals close to the lens resulted in blurry, out-of-focus imagery and extreme overexposure from the infrared lighting. Recent advances involve attaching close-up lenses over the main lens which shortens the minimum focal distance down to 15–50cm. To prevent overexposure on small subjects inches away, such setups use LED dimming settings or physical diffusers such as layers of microporous medical tape, parcel tape, or semi-translucent plastic over the infrared flash to reduce light intensity while maintaining clear night-vision. The camera is then positioned at the end of a wooden box with a clear top panel to allow natural light during the day, while bait at the far end entices target animals inside. Of course, when a hungry Badger comes along...

You don't need a fancy camera to take good photos, but read our Photography Help page: https://www.naturespot.org.uk/photography
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View all our winning images: Species of the Month