Trail cameras are a wonderful way to discover who you are sharing your block of land with – be it feral pests or some of Australia’s unique bird and animal species.  However, they’re designed to look at large creatures and give disappointing results on small birds and animals.  Moving the camera too close to the target (be it food, or a hole in a fence, or a water bowl) only results in a fuzzy picture as the cameras have a fixed focus that is set for objects a few metres away.

Fortunately, reading glasses work the same way on cameras as they do on people.  So, taking one lens from a cheap (less than $10) pair of glasses and attaching it over the camera lens with Blu-Tack is all that’s needed to bring the focus in closer.

Reading glasses come in a range of “strengths”, denoted by the dipotre (D).  This is usually printed on the frames or on a small removable sticker.  Attached in front of a camera that was originally designed to focus on distant objects, the lens from the reading glasses will place the focal point of the camera at a distance from the camera (in metres) equal to 1/D.  So, for commonly available glasses,

D             New focus position

+1           1 metre

+2           0.5 metre

+3            33cm

+4           25cm

A few tips

* The cheapest glasses with plastic frames have the lenses glued in place. They are difficult to remove without some violence. For a few dollars more, metal-framed glasses come with lenses that will pop out under strong pressure from a thumb.

* It does not matter if the lens partially covers the infrared illumination LEDs of the camera.

* However, if the lens is too large it might prevent the camera door from opening. The plastic lens can be cut down to size with a small saw such as a Dremel.

* The “depth of field”, or range of distances over which focus is maintained, becomes smaller as the power of the lens increases. A +3 dipotre lens will create a depth of field of only a few cm, requiring careful placement of the camera relative to the subject.

All photos by the author.  The small animal pictured above is a yellow-footed antechinus, or mardo (Antechinus flavipes), taken through a +3 lens attached to a Browning trail camera.

John Storey,

Gunning District Landcare

21 Feb 2022

Yass Landcare Group is in its third year of the Paddock Tree Project. The project is funded through South East Local Land Services' 'Improved Biodiversity on the Tablelands' program, as well as participant contributions. Gunning District Landcare is also running its first Paddock Tree Project this year, with Yass Landcare is supplying the Eucalyptus tubestock.

Eucalypts which will be available in both Paddock Tree Projects include:

Eucalyptus camaldulensis River Red Gum

Eucalyptus melliodora Yellow Box

Eucalyptus albens White Box

Eucalyptus blakelyi Blakelyi’s Red Gum

Eucalyptus macrorhyncha Red Stringy Bark

Eucalyptus polyanthemos Red Box

Eucalyptus viminalis Manna Gum

Eucalyptus radiata Narrow Leaf peppermint

Yass Landcare's project has been so popular that we are already over-subscribed and need to close the EOI's for this year! You can follow the growth of paddock trees at various sites in future YAN Facebook posts.

A small group of regular Yass nursery volunteers met at a Landcare member's property to take some plant cuttings. Cuttings from Correas,  Wax flowers, Eremophilas and Grevilleas were taken. These plants will be stored and repotted up later in the year. Ultimately for sale at a future plant sale!

If you enjoy gardening and growing plants from seed or cuttings the next volunteer session is Tuesday 22 February from 9.30 at the Yass Landcare Community nursery which is behind the Yass Men’s Shed 1428 YASS Valley Way.

A few of us visited a property south of Yass this morning to see some fantastic growth in tree lanes several years old, and young Eucalypts that are naturally regenerating from mature paddock trees. 

The landholders have established many tree lanes over the past few decades, one of the most recent was part of YAN's  Yass Habitat Linkages Project, funded by the NSW Environmental Trust.

The landholders observed natural germination of Eucalypts in the drier years, when seedlings often sprouted against a clump of grass, a rock, or branch on the ground. The following wet years have ensured strong growth.

The landholders are supporting the natural regeneration by putting cages around some of the young trees. There was a huge difference between the trees that had protection and those that didn't - the kangaroos and sheep kept the non-caged seedlings chewed down, well and truly! 

They are also planting numerous paddock trees, and have found that the trees grow particularly well when planted amongst native grass. Besides the lack of competition from exotic pasture grasses, could there be a positive symbiosis at play?

Established tree lane in back ground, mature trees in mid ground, protected natural regen in foreground.

Planted paddock tree just 18 months old! Eucalyptus bridgesiana (Apple Box) are growing particularly well on this property.

Tree lanes planted by Greening Australia, approx 3.5 years old (tubestock).

The picture speaks for itself!