Tag Archives: woodland

Rural Landscapes

March 10, 2014 by Words | 6 Comments

For a change I’m going to focus on a few rural landscape shots today. The weekend had left Falmer Pond in less than pristine condition. There was a fair amount of rubbish around, and this:

Rubbish bin discarded in Falmer Pond.

I’ve no idea why anyone would throw a rubbish bin in a pond, but then there’s no accounting for some folk. I was pleased to see it had been retrieved during the morning and was back on its plinth by the side of the road.

Later in the day I headed out to Ridge Road. There are some stunning views of the Downs from there but I ended up walking through a small wooded area. This wasn’t intentional. I’d gone along the path by the fields and found my route back to the road cut off by some new fencing. It was either go back the way I’d come or cut through the wood to get beyond the fencing. I’m glad I did.

Woodland path

Woodland path

Woodland path

I can’t quite bring myself to include no wildlife, so here’s a greylag coming in to land on the pond this morning. It’s almost a companion shot to the duck from last week.

Greylag goose landing in Falmer Pond,

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

Posted in Landscape, water birds Also tagged , , |

Opposite the Amex Stadium

March 4, 2014 by Words | Comments Off

I was back out in the fields today looking for buzzards. Unsuccessfully as it happens, but the woods were coming into their own with the morning sunshine, and the sheep were grazing in the shadow of the Amex Stadium (American Express Community Stadium to give it its full name).

Sheep grazing with Amex Stadium in background.

The wood is full of trees. Nothing unusual there, even though a good number are prone. These are both long-time fallers, but they add some character and colour to the woodland floor.

Fallen trees in woodland

Fallen trees in woodland

The sheep had obviously had a hard morning grazing. This one was taking a nap when I returned at lunchtime.

Sheep sleeping in field

A couple of others were hanging out at the bar 😉

Sheep in field

So the weather holds up (more or less) for another day. Tomorrow looks good too. This little blue tit hopes it stays that way for a little longer.

Blue tit

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

Posted in Amex Community Stadium, Farming, Landscape, Sheep Also tagged , |

Blackbird, Yellowhammer (and video fox)

February 19, 2014 by Words | 4 Comments

More grey skies and poor light, but the birds are becoming active despite the poor weather and none more so than the local blackbirds. This female was the highlight of an admittedly poor morning at the pond. But she was worth a couple of photos.

Female blackbird

Female blackbird

At lunchtime I went back through the woods. No buzzard today (but I am hopeful of more sightings). I did, however, photograph one of the recent storm casualties. There are several tree in this condition, and a large number of broken boughs.

Fallen tree in Westlain Plantation,

The woods lead out into local farmland, and (suitably booted) I ventured out across the fields. I could see pigeons in the distance, and crows and a good-sized and highly mobile flock of yellowhammers. With more time I might have managed something slightly better than this.

Yellowhammer

Yesterday I mentioned that I’d set the trail camera to video. Here’s the first clip of the year. Pretty is out with another (male) fox. It’s raining (when isn’t it at the moment?).

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

Posted in Birds, Foxes, Landscape Also tagged , , |