Tag Archives: fox

Blue Tits in the Day and a Night Fox

May 17, 2014 by Words | 5 Comments

My search for blue tits continues. Small, (mainly) woodland birds are always tricky so it will take me a while before I get any images I’m genuinely pleased with. Today was pretty good though. I went back to the same site I was at yesterday and managed a few so-so shots. It was as I was heading away from there that I found another nest box. This time it was on a path, and though the tree was still throwing a heavy shade the light was significantly better than under the dense cover of the wood.

Blue tit at nesting box

I have lots of photos like that, with the head just peeping out, and a few like this before the bird entered the nest.

Blue tit at nesting box

And a couple as it flew away in search of grubs.

Blue tit at nesting box

Blue tit at nesting box

I need to work on my technique for the flight shots. It’s all a question of timing. If I wait for the bird to take to the wing it is out of frame before I can fire the shutter.

The final blue tit photo for today is a more natural view of the bird, high in the tree looking for food (caterpillars, moth eggs and so on). Click on the image to enlarge it.

blue tit in tree

That was today. The foxes (yes two of them) are from last night. First up is the vixen. She paused only briefly before scurrying away behind the pergola and out of the garden.

vixen

The real star was Nicked Ear. He’s getting bolder and stayed around for around 10 minutes. He was clearly aware of me and tolerated the torch and flash.

Fox in suburban garden

Fox in suburban garden

Fox in suburban garden

Fox in suburban garden

I saw him again tonight, but let him be after just a couple of frames. At night the foxes rule the garden and we’re the intruders.

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

Posted in Birds, Foxes Also tagged |

The Cat in the Woods

May 15, 2014 by Words | 3 Comments

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.

Moorhen

A young rabbit was poking its head above the long grass, all wide-eyed and alert.

rabbit

And the great tits were continuing to provide for their young.

great tit at nest hole

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.

Wildlife

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.

blue tit

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.

cat with rabbit

cat with rabbit

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.

Posted in Behaviour, cat, Foxes, water birds Also tagged , , , , , |

Canada Geese, Mute Swans, and a Red Fox

May 14, 2014 by Words | 3 Comments

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.

Pair of Canada geese

Canada goose in flight

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!

Two mute swans in flight

Two mute swans in flight

Mute swan in flight

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.

fox

fox

fox

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

Posted in Foxes, water birds Also tagged , |