The grey weather is still with us, but that doesn’t really bother juvenile moorhens too much. These are three photos taken yesterday and today of one of the youngsters at the edge of Falmer Pond. I love them at this very elegant stage in their development.
A nearby rat looks to see what all the fuss is about. It wasn’t impressed.
Camera note: all photos taken with the Canon 7D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens.
It was an interesting and varied day today, with some genuine surprises. It all started calmly enough. I headed to Falmer Pond before work, photographed a few ducks, and this rather fine moorhen which was resting on the bank.
A young rabbit was poking its head above the long grass, all wide-eyed and alert.
And the great tits were continuing to provide for their young.
Seeing a terrapin is always somewhat strange, though not entirely a surprise. They appear in the warmer weather, basking on the rocks at the edge of the pond. They’re an invasive species and are predatory on young birds so their presence, however exotic it may seem, is unwelcome.
At lunchtime I headed to the local woods, searching for blue tits. I’d come across some nesting boxes on previous walks, and today I was in luck. A couple of them are in use. The photos aren’t up to much. I need to work out how best to take photos under the dark woodland canopy, but it’s a start. This is probably the best of them.
It was when I was heading back along the path that i spotted the woodland cat. It’s a small black cat with a yellow collar (so domestic, not feral). It’s evidently a good hunter because to my utter surprise it was trotting across the path carrying a baby rabbit. I’ve seen foxes with rabbits, but never a cat carrying such large prey.
That’s about enough for one post. I’ve just come inside from photographing the garden foxes. One of them is definitely becoming more comfortable with my presence. I’ll post some pictures tomorrow.
Camera note: all photos taken with the Canon 7D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens.
Sunshine, blue skies, no more than a light breeze. Things are beginning to look good again. Today saw me heading out to Eastbourne with the inevitable stop at Seven Sisters Country Park. The usual array of herons, gulls and egrets were around, and swifts and swallows appeared overhead. It was the geese and the swans though that provided the best photographic opportunities.
This pair of geese had been grazing and lazing on the bank, but then flew off low over the grass downland.
I had checked out the water to see if any swans were about. None were apparent until I spotted a pair of juvenile mute swans flying in over valley. These are a couple of shots from a much longer sequence. There’s also something very interesting in the sky in the background of the first shot. I didn’t see it at the time and it doesn’t appear in any other frames. Looks big though!
As you might expect I was very satisfied to have captured those shots and if it had ended there I would have put it down as a good day. But there was more. Glancing out of the back window just after 8pm tonight I spotted one of our clan of shy foxes bang in the centre of the garden. The sun was by now very low in the sky, providing a near perfect reddish glow. The fox stood still for a few moments and then ambled over to the flower bed, staying on the sunny side of the garden.
Camera note: all photos taken with the Canon 7D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens.
