Category Archives: Wildlife

Samples of wildlife photography

Little Egret at Seven Sisters

October 14, 2016 by Words | 4 Comments

I took these on a trip out to Eastbourne today, at Seven Sisters Country Park. As well as the little egrets, I was lucky enough to see a kingfisher (but it was too fast to photograph). The egret was rather more accommodating, posing primly on a fence by the edge of the water.

Little Egret on a fence

Little Egret on a fence

It had been wading when I first spotted it, and soon returned to the serious business of hunting tiddlers.

Little Egret at Seven Sisters Country Park, East Sussex

Little Egret fishing

Little Egret at Seven Sisters Country Park, East Sussex

Little Egret at Seven Sisters Country Park, East Sussex

There were some other little birds the water, and these ones really are little.

Little grebe at Seven Sisters Country Park

Little grebe at Seven Sisters Country Park

Two more shots from today… As I was heading home I spotted a gathering of swans (11 in total). It was difficult to get a good angle from the bank, but I quite like this one.

Mute swan

Mute swan

I can’t go without adding another photo of the fox from this evening.

Fox on the garden steps

Fox on the garden steps

Camera note: all the bird photos were taken with the Canon 7D Mark II and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens. As ever, I used the EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM for the fox.

Also posted in Foxes, water birds Tagged , , , |

Some Falmer Friends

October 12, 2016 by Words | 6 Comments

Over the last couple of days I’ve been back over at Falmer for work and taken the opportunity to look around some old haunts. The pond is still thriving, and despite the best and persistent efforts of the local council I don’t think they will ever completely eliminate these little creatures. They are certainly fewer in number (and there is much less feeding going on), but they are the great survivors.

Rat at Falmer Pond

Rat at Falmer Pond

I also spotted this cute little chiffchaff flitting among the branches over the pond.

Chiffchaff at Falmer Pond

Chiffchaff at Falmer Pond

And a fine looking young moorhen. This is undoubtedly their most elegant phase.

Young moorhen

Young moorhen

Those were all taken at the pond, but the campus wildlife is also thriving and I spent a good while watching this green woodpecker through a window before I had the chance to go outside to grab a quick photo.

Green Woodpecker at , University of Brighton Falmer campus

Green Woodpecker at University of Brighton Falmer campus

Lastly I’ll include a fox from tonight. He’s now waiting for me when I go outside, though the distance game continues in an increasingly pointless way. He insists I back off 10 metres before he comes out, but then lets me get to about half that distance. When he gets fed up with me he hides behind a bush. I retreat, he emerges, I approach… and we’re fine again for a few minutes. Repeat! Anyway, this was when he was waiting for the games to begin.

Fox waiting in the garden

Fox waiting in the garden

Camera note: all photos taken with the Canon 7D Mark II and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens apart from the fox which was taken with the EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM lens. The flash unit is the 430EX II (which has just repalced my vanilla 430EX which has finally given up the ghost.

Also posted in Birds, Foxes, rats, water birds Tagged , , , , , |

Fox Portraits – Getting into Range

October 6, 2016 by Words | 4 Comments

I may not have been posting much, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been working hard to get to know the dominant garden fox. Over the past week he seems to have reached the conclusion that I cannot leap 9.5 metres in the blink of an eye. Slowly the distances have been coming down. The pattern is the same. I have to start at least 10 metres away, but he now lets me approach closer. Tonight we got the distance down to a respectable 4 metres. Hence the opportunity to get some proper portrait shots, such as these.

Portrait of an urban fox at night

Portrait of an urban fox at night

Portait of an urban fox at night

Portait of an urban fox at night

Those have both been slightly cropped, but not much. The big gain though is that by getting in closer (5 metres) the eye-shine caused by the flash is much less apparent… and with a slight downward angle disappears altogether. From 9 metres away the eyes light up like headlamps. At mid-range (7 metres) the eye-shine is apparent in the original shot, but sufficiently controlled to make minor touch-up in PhotoShop straightforward (the equivalent of removing red-eye, except that in foxes the ‘red’ is ‘blue’).

Fox peering round a shrub (from about 7-8 metres)

Fox peering round a shrub (from about 7-8 metres).

Fox walking across the patio, from the same distance but with head lowered.

Fox walking across the patio, from the same distance but with head lowered.

Camera note: all photos taken with the Canon 7D Mark II and EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM lens.

Also posted in Foxes Tagged |