I've still been sorting out my computing problems, which is part of the reason for the slight reduction in posts. The new machine is fine, but I've still been adding software as I come across gaps. Plus I tried to add my Sony camcorder software (PMB) and I suspect it caused a folder corruption. Thankfully I've resolved that, but I added the same software to my old machine just before it lost everything and I have a sneaking suspicion that the PMB software can't cope with the amount of image-data I have (and which it insists on indexing). Anyway, a system restore (and re-downloading and installing other software) has resolved that particular problem.
As for the weekend, well the weather has been great and I made the most of it. On Saturday I headed back down to Rottingdean Beach to check on the fulmars. They were out in number, and as quarrelsome as ever.
Nothing much seems to change in their life, just an endless sequence of heading out to sea, nesting, and cliff-skimming.
But for once they weren't the only cliff-skimmer. A paraglider put in an appearance, frightening the life out of me as it dropped over the top of the cliffs with rather more noise than you might expect.
And to top it off, literally, a kestrel decided that the cliffs were a suitable hunting ground. I watched this one appear and re-appear over a period of an hour or so, always hugging the top of the cliff. The gulls and jackdaws for once decided against interfering.
There were lots of families out on the cliff underwalk, but these for me were the highlight. It's a mother with two 8-month old daughters. More of them over on my Flickr account.
Today (Sunday) I decided to go on a proper kestrel hunt, but was more than momentarily side-tracked by the stonechats, whitethroats and skylarks. The skylarks were everywhere and intent on hovering just yards from me.
The other distraction were the horses. The site I go to is on the edge of Brighton Racetrack, and today was race day. I watched two of the races go by (there are long gaps in between as they move the starting gates). A long lens has some disadvantages in these situations as it's next to impossible to photograph the horses as they cross in front of you. But it does mean that you can get some decent head-on shots from the side of the rails as they thunder down the track.
There are a few more shots from the races in the Horses album. But I had gone in search of kestrels, and at the point of giving up saw this:
I had seen her dive down into the long grass, but until I got the shots back home I hadn't realized she had re-emerged from the grass still carrying her prey. It's tiny, and I suspect it's a pygmy shrew, one of the smallest of our mammals (and one I've never before seen). A few more from that sequence over in my Kestrels 2009 album.
Finally, some more fox news. The trailcam has been performing remarkably well lately (no eaten cards) and last night I left out a few scraps of chicken. This is an edit of what appeared on the cam overnight. The smaller/skinnier fox is the vixen and is clearly in the business of feeding other mouths. The dog fox, seems more intent on eating. Note the parting gesture (by the vixen). This is a common fox trait when a cache is empty.
Camera note: all shots taken with the EF 400mm f/5.6L USM lens.
cakkleberrylane
27 Apr 2009WOW!! Awesome shots! And a very nice variety! The video is great!!
Flying Red Fox Blog
27 Apr 2009Lovelly photos and video 😀 I had one of those chesty cough colds so didnt go out much apart from visiting the London Marathon yesterday which was fun, i took 300 photos too lol. 😛
gdare
27 Apr 2009Excellent photos and a beautiful day. Did you make a bets on races? 😀
Words
27 Apr 2009Darko, no I didn't bet. I don't actually go in to the race course. The start line is back out across the fields so I am on public land at that point. You get a great view though (but you can't see the finish line 😉 )
Words
27 Apr 2009Thanks Lois! The horses were great, but getting that last kestrel was the highlight for me. The video is a nice surprise when there's something intersting on it.
Words
27 Apr 2009Mark, thanks! You had a decent day for watching the marathon. I hope your cough is getting better!
SittingFox
28 Apr 2009Great to see two foxes together on the trailcam and those bird shots are spectacular, especially the kestrel 🙂
Words
28 Apr 2009Mark, well you can if you want :insane:
Words
28 Apr 2009Adele, thanks. Two foxes is always a bonus. Generally it's been one, various cats, the hedgehogs and birds early in the morning. I've fixed the kestrel links in the post… I'd aimed them at my desktop :doh:
Flying Red Fox Blog
28 Apr 2009I think we all should have a go at running next year's London Marathon! 😀
SittingFox
28 Apr 2009@Mark – eh? What are you trying to do to us? :faint:
gdare
29 Apr 2009To make you heroes 😀
Flying Red Fox Blog
29 Apr 2009Only kidding lol 😆
Words
29 Apr 2009Fair comment!
annoushkiss
10 May 2009Great shots as always :up: Interesting front view of horse races, impressive indeed! But my fav are the skylark and kestrel shots :yes:
Words
10 May 2009Thanks Anna! I think I was most pleased with the skylark, but the kestrel with a shrew was the most surprising shot.