Category Archives: Wildlife

Samples of wildlife photography

A Day of Surprises

August 3, 2013 by Words | 2 Comments

As everyone who reads this blog will know, I visit Falmer Pond very frequently and so there’s generally very little that occurs that that comes in the category of a surprise. There are the regular ducks and gulls and geese, and the more or less occasional visits by herons, egrets, sandpipers and cormorants. Today though there a pair of birds did catch me by surprise. I presume they have flown in, but the village pond being what it is I suppose they could have walked over from a neighbouring farm, or even been ‘released’ at the pond from captivity or rescue. I really don’t know. Anyway, whatever I do expect to see at the pond, I really wasn’t expecting this beautiful pair of Muscovy ducks.

Male and female feral Muscovy ducks standing at the edge of Falmer Pond East Sussex

Female feral Muscovy duck on the fringe of Falmer Pond, East Sussex

Male feral Muscovy duck at Falmer Pond East Sussex

They were very placid, and spent most of the time standing calmly at the edge of the pond watching the world go by. And the world in this case includes a World War 2 German aircraft! This flew over at lunchtime. It’s actually a Gomhouria Mk 6, made up in Luftwaffe livery.

Bücker Bü 181 - generic. This is a Gomhouria Mk 6. Training plane for Luftwaffe

There was one more surprise waiting for me when I arrived home. Young foxes start life by being fed, and gradually learn to scavenge. At around this age (just over five months) they develop their hunting skills. I came home to find the evidence of their first ‘kill’. I knew it was dead because it had flies on it. 😉

Prey left by young fox in suburban garden

And here’s one of the villains of the piece.

5 month old fox cub (Vulpes vulpes) stalking through grass in a suburban garden
Camera note: all shots taken with the Canon 7D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens.

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Around The Pond

August 1, 2013 by Words | Comments Off

It was a blastingly hot and humid day today. It will cool down again tomorrow, which will certainly be a relief. Not that the local wildlife seemed to mind too much. The local bird population was gorging itself on the plentiful insect life. The house martins were noticeably active, making repeated sweeps of the pond.
Three house martins sweeping across Falmer Pond for insects.

The reason for their frenzied feeding was near at hand. Here’s one of the adults delivering some food to a nest which it has built in the eaves of a local house. These birds are well-named.
House martin with ladybird at nest in eaves of a house

House martin flying to and from nest in the eaves of a house

The swifts were also busy, feeding up before their long migration back to Africa. The unusual thing about this shot is that you can see the swift’s leg. Little wonder that they prefer to spend their time on the wing.
Swift (Apus apus) in flight

Down at the water’s edge there are of course other things to see. Yes, the rats are still there, scurrying around trying to remain unseen and undisturbed.
Rat (Rattus norvegicus) scurrying among rocks at the edge of Falmer Pond, East Sussex

Rat (Rattus norvegicus) scurrying among rocks at the edge of Falmer Pond, East Sussex
Camera note: all shots taken with the Canon 7D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens.

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What’s that little brown furry animal?

July 31, 2013 by Words | Comments Off

The title is a direct quote from a visitor to Falmer Pond today. They’d been watching the gulls and ducks, and presumably watching me watching a little brown furry animal. Hence the question. My answer, of course, was: ‘It’s a rat’.

I first spotted it running down on to the road from beneath a tree.
Brown rat

It crossed the road…
Rats

Rats

For a little while it hid behind the pond-side scrub, but then I spotted it again as it ran down the bank and edged in and out of cover as it made its way along the edge of the pond.
Rats

Rats

It eventually disappeared into thick undergrowth at the north end of the pond.

I’ve seen very few rats at the pond this year, but in previous years they have been quite bold. A rather cute selection (well I think it’s cute) is over in my ‘rat gallery‘, including swimming and jumping shots.

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

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