Category Archives: Wildlife

Samples of wildlife photography

Fox and Badger Update

January 25, 2015 by Words | 4 Comments

I’ve spent very little time recently watching for the garden foxes and badgers. I’ve had one or two glimpses out of the window, but nothing to photograph. They are around though. There are several foxes, and at least two badgers. The foxes are in varying condition. At least two healthy ones, plus Stumpy (the fox with half a hairless brush), and another fox with signs of slight mange. There may be another.

two foxes

Two of the garden foxes

This has all been gleaned from the trail camera which is set to take stills at this time of year. I do this when the temperature drops because the cold weather drains the batteries very quickly and 15-20 second video clips use a lot more energy than bursts of three stills.

I’ve put about 700 shots from the last couple of weeks together as a time-lapse video. It’s fast so don’t blink!

There were a couple of magpies and a cat in there as well. Checking the temperature readings it got down as low as -7°C during that period.

Here are the two badgers in case you missed them in the rush.

two badgers

Two badgers at the peanuts

All trail cam images from the Bushnell Trophy Cam HD.

Also posted in Badger, Foxes Tagged , |

It’s Colder than it Looks

January 23, 2015 by Words | 2 Comments

You could be forgiven for thinking there’s a nice log fire burning in the distance. You’d be wrong. The warm colours belie the reality. The small group of black-headed gulls are shivering on a frozen pond (as was the photographer on the bank). It was sub-zero and the light is the first glimpse of the sun coming up over the South Downs at Falmer. Cold it may have been, but the beautiful light made it worth the discomfort.

gulls on frozen pond at sunrise

That rich glow doesn’t last long, and just 10 minutes later the light was already calming down. Not that these ducks seemed to care as they marched across the ice.

ducks marching on frozen pond

The final shot today was taken at lunchtime, but I can just about manage to hang on to the ‘red’ theme. It’s a robin of course, grappling with its lunch.

robin catching a worm

Not quite the early bird, but it still caught the worm

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 Behaviour, Birds, water birds, Weather Tagged , , , , |

Two Ducks, a Rat and a Robin

January 21, 2015 by Words | 2 Comments

Nothing unusual here at all. All three species are ever-present at Falmer Pond, and (ducks especially) can easily be overlooked in the search for blog content. Anyway, the first two shots were taken in dismal conditions early this morning. For those who wonder about such things, I’ve put the camera settings in the captions.

First up is a nice round robin, one of many that are active at the moment.

robin

ISO 6400, f/5.6, 1/125s

The rats were also busy down in the tree roots. I grabbed this shot when one ventured on to the bank where there was a touch more light.

rat

ISO 6400, f/5.6, 1/125s

It was slightly better at lunchtime, though still overcast with a hint of drizzle in the air. It flet cold enough for snow, but thankfully that held off. A cormorant was lurking on the island, but I couldn’t get any usable shots. Instead I spent the time watching ducks, including this lively pair.

female mallard

ISO 1600, f7.1, 1/800s

female mallard

ISO 1600, f7.1, 1/800s

male mallard

ISO 1600, f7.1, 1/800s

male mallard

ISO 1600, f7.1, 1/1250s

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 Birds, rats, water birds Tagged , , |