Today's photos come from the British Wildlife Centre in Surrey. The BWC houses a collection of native animals in semi-natural surroundings. I wanted to check it out to see whether it was worth visiting on its 'photographic days' which offer better access than normal visits. It was slightly disconcerting seeing some of the animals in pens (especially the birds), but generally the surroundings seemed good and the animals well cared for. Many of the mammals are wildlife rescues which aren't able to be returned to the wild.
Most of the shots in the latest album were taken through mesh, and in light that was fairly overcast and certainly not conducive to bringing out the best images. I didn't get any usable shots of the badgers, and the red squirrels were tricky given the poor light and their constant movement. The weasels stayed primly out of view.
There's a newly constructed wetland reserve at the rear of the centre which certainly warrants future visits. And I'm fairly sure I'll book a photographic day at some point. But here's a taster… I took over 300 shots today, and am still working through them :faint:
Milo the barn owl is hand reared and seems to live inside the visitor centre! Very friendly.
Grey Heron, spotted out over the wetland area.
More photos in the British Wildlife Centre album
ALLY_G
31 Aug 2007Some great photos within your new album! You can be sure, I will come back to see the next series! 🙂
SittingFox
31 Aug 2007That fox has an impressive waistline :eyes:
I went there years ago to attend some wildlife art courses, and I also felt a bit disconcerted at the pens. But I do remember one of the foxes nibbling my pencil… 😀
Lovely photos with really nice fur detail, and it's great to see the pine marten! Maybe one day we'll have them wild again in the southeast – we can hope, anyway!
Flying Red Fox Blog
31 Aug 2007Wow thats a great place to visit and great shots there 😀 Nice Foxy too:P
Words
31 Aug 2007Thanks Ally!
Adele… those are well fed foxes, but I think she's about 11 so a bit of elderly spread is probably ok 😉 They snack them on chicks and claimed to give them sandwiches for dinner. Possibly true… but I presume small rodents get into the enclosure there. They had a couple of rescue foxes as well. The badgers are rescues or ex-zoo. I was more perturbed by seeing a kestrel and buzzard cooped since the local habitat is perfect for them anyway. Plus some jackdaws (which I presume have to be rescue birds). The rats in the barn seemed more than at home!
Mark… it's a good place to see them close up. It's not as big as I'd expected, but a good visit for an afternoon. It's also on the flight path from Gatwick, so every few minutes you get low flying aircraft overhead.
gdare
31 Aug 2007You're surrpassed yourself once again 🙂
Great photographs, I especially like the second one, marten.
The fox looks good though.
Words
2 Sep 2007The barn owl was much smaller than I would have expected. But it was beautiful to see.
volkuro
2 Sep 2007The barn owl (I prefer the French name "Effraie des clochers") is for me the most beautiful bird of all birds. Its feathers seem to be gemstone encrusted and its mystical look gives it such a personality.
Ah, I only saw one in my life but I'll always remember it!