15 October 2026

Dashcam

Hi all,

Is anyone here using a dashcam to record mammals crossing the road at night?

Living in the Eifel, Germany, I regularly encounter European Badgers, Red Deer, Roe Deer and Foxes on the roads. I’ve even come across European Wildcats! Just last week, I saw another Wildcat walking along the roadside. I really wish I’d grabbed my phone to record it, but unfortunately, phone footage at night isn’t always the best quality.

I thought a dashcam might be a good solution, as it would be great to capture these encounters while driving, without having to reach for my phone.

If any of you have experience using a dashcam for this purpose, I’d love to hear your recommendations. Which model would you suggest, particularly for good image quality in low-light conditions?

Thanks in advance!

Regards,

Leo Boon

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Post author

Leo Boon

A Dutch birder living the dream in the Eifel, Germany!

My garden mammal list currently stands at an impressive 24 species. I haven’t seen them all myself, unfortunately. My wife spotted a beautiful white Stoat, while my cat has contributed three species to the list: Montane Water Vole, Short-tailed Field Vole and Least Weasel! A European Mole and an Eurasian Pygmy Shrew were found dead in the garden, while Red Deer remains a heard-only species so far. The highlight of my garden list has to be the European Wildcat, which has been captured on my trail camera on three separate occasions. The Western Polecat has also made an appearance, although just once on camera. Not a bad collection of mammals for a garden in the Eifel
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2 Comments

  • 15 October 2026
    Curtis Hart

    This summer a Samsara recording device was forced on me for work. I did have administrative access so I was able to view and pull footage. Basically it is unsatisfactory. I only pulled footage for two encounters. One was a Long-tailed Weasel crossing in front of me. It was close enough to easily ID by eye. As there was no “incident” it only recorded in a low frame rate. I was not able to see the weasel after a lot of review. The second time was an “incident” because I locked the breaks for a Black Bear that was running for the road. It stopped at the roadside and turned around. The bear was probably 300 lbs and was barely identifiable in the video, which was at a normal frame rate due to the sudden stop. There may be a better system for this, but it is not Samsara.

    • 17 October 2026
      Leo Boon

      Thanks Curtis for sharing. I am now in contact with a company from the Netherlands. If it will be useful i will share my experience. I thought i would make a nice extra gadget to mammal watching!

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