Tag Archives: fox

Pretty Special (fox feature)

January 15, 2014 by Words | Comments Off

I’ve been meaning to do a proper update on Pretty, our resident young fox, for a while now and the lack of any decent daytime photography today (more rain) provides the perfect opportunity. Pretty has been carrying a leg wound for a week or more, and for several days was carrying her right hind leg rather than putting any weight on it. Yesterday she started walking more or less normally again, and that positive outcome continued this evening. You can see the wound in this first photo.

Fox with wound on leg

This next photo shows her in one of her favoured spots: sitting on the leading up into the garden.

Fox on steps

What passes for a lawn in our garden (it more often resembles an unkempt mini-meadow, especially at this time of year) is situated at the top of the steps, which affords some good angles for photographing her from below.

Foxes

Foxes

Another sitting pose.

fox sitting

And away she goes to wherever it is she disappears to… sometimes just as far as the rear of the garden; other times away through the fences.

Foxes

Camera note: all photos taken with the Canon 7D and EF 24-105 F4L IS USM lens.

Posted in Foxes

Three Birds, Three Mammals

January 14, 2014 by Words | Comments Off

There were certainly more than three species of birds out there today, but three is the number I’m going to post. There are also three mammal species tonight (two of which are fairly obvious).

I’ll start with the early morning pair… our local Muscovys, enjoying a natter on the stone wall outside St Laurence Church at Falmer.

Muscovy ducks

Next come the lunchtime birds… the Muscovys were still around, but it was a lone black-headed gull, standing quietly on a floating branch, that caught my lens.

Black headed gull perched on floating branch

The first of the mammals was also lurking around the pond. Yes it’s another of the Falmer rats, huddled up in the tangle at the water’s edge.

rat

I’d also been out to the local fields, along Ridge Road. I was in search of buzzards but found a small group of roe deer.

Roe deer

Roe deer

The buzzard did finally show up… but not out by the fields. I spotted this beauty over the car park on my way back to the office.

Common Buzzard

Common Buzzard

So that’s three birds and two mammals.It’s not hard to guess who makes up the final mammal. It’s Pretty and it’s a fox 😉 Her hind leg seems to be improving. She’s been carrying it high for the past week (approximately) but today she seemed to be putting her full weight on it as she moved around the garden… pausing occasionally for a long stretch and yawn.

Fox yawning

Camera note: all photos taken with the Canon 7D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens, apart from the fox photo which was taken with the EF 24-105 F4L IS USM lens.

Posted in Bird of Prey, Birds, deer, Foxes, rats, water birds Also tagged , , , , |

Magpie Takes a Bath

January 10, 2014 by Words | 2 Comments

It feels like it’s been a long time since I’ve posted pictures of our more common birds so I’m starting with a couple of standard images of a blue tit and a greenfinch.

Blue Tit

The greenfinch felt like something of a treat. These ought to be very common birds around here but I don’t think I’ve seen too many recently. Their numbers are severely affected by Trichomonosis, a disease which can trigger rapid declines and is often spread through feeding sites. This one looked healthy though.

Greenfinch

I have photographed (and seen) plenty of magpies. These are flourishing, along with all the local corvids. I took this short sequence of a magpie taking a bath at lunchtime.

Magpie bathing

Magpie bathing

Magpie bathing

Magpie bathing

Magpie bathing

On the home front, Pretty is carrying a typical fox injury… she’s limping. It seems she’s cut her rear right lower leg. She is putting weight on it when she stands, but carries it when she’s negotiating steps. Leg injuries are extremely common among foxes, and a survey in Bristol some years ago found that 30% of year old foxes had a healed fracture and that this figure rose to 70% for foxes that reached five years. Clearly they don’t always look before they leap. We will, as always, keep an eye on Pretty, but I’m sure she’ll be fine. Just about every fox we’ve seen over the past 8 or so years has sported similar injuries at one time or another.

fox

Camera note: all bird photos taken with the Canon 7D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens. Limping fox taken with the EF 24-105 F4L IS USM lens.

Posted in Birds, Foxes Also tagged , |