Category Archives: Birds

Cute Badger Video plus…

Another mainly badger post this weekend, but if I have time I’ll slip in some daytime wildlife as well. I’m going to start with a short clip taken by trail camera a few nights ago. It’s a sequence which shows some behavioural traits as two badgers meet in the garden.

Cute, eh?

Now for a few photos… This is the bolder of the pair. We spotted him at the rear of the garden. He backed off when I went out to lay out some peanuts for him, but soon returned. Their sense of smell is acute. He stood at the rear of the garden sniffing for while, and hten headed down the path straight to the small supply of food. I was 10-15 feet further down the garden with the camera.

Badger on steps

Badger on steps

Badger on the path

Badger on the path

Badger on the path

Ok, some daytime stuff from last week. The current pick of the birds at Falmer are the house martins, swifts and swallows. Mostly they are sweeping the skies overhead for insects, but they also skim the pond (though getting decents shots of that is even trickier than following hteir erratic flight paths against the sky. Hence, sky shots.

House martin

House martin

House martin

House martin

Swallow

Swallow

Swift

Swift

Swift

Swift

More next week, but probably not daily for a while. You can follow me on Twitter or Facebook, or subscribe via email if you want to keep up to date.

Camera note: all badger photos taken with the Canon 7D Mark II and EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM lens. Birds and rats with the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens.

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House Martins at Falmer

House martin season is in full swing down at Falmer Pond. The adults are busy preparing for their broods, gathering mud for nest building at the water’s edge. There’s a swallow in among them.

House martins

House martins

House martins

And a photo from Monday.

Siberian Eagle Owl

Ok, I admit this is not a house martin!

It’s a Siberian Eagle Owl, part of a display of birds of prey at Wakehurst Place.

Camera note: all photos taken with the Canon 7D Mark II and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens.

Also posted in Bird of Prey Tagged , |

Tufted Ducks at Falmer

Another day, another surprise. There were four of them… three males and a female tufted duck enjoying the early morning sunshine on Falmer Pond. Clearly passing through (they were gone by lunchtime, but they were a delight to see.

Tufted ducks

Tufted ducks

Tufted ducks

At the edge of the pond a pair of the local rats had found some seed scattered on a rock.

rats

rats

And later in the day, the eight little greylag goslings feasted on plant matter growing on a submerged rock.

greylag goslings

greylag goslings

And then up on to the bank for a well-earned rest.

greylag goslings

greylag goslings

Camera note: all photos taken with the Canon 7D Mark II and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens.

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