In the Garden

The mists are finally clearing away from the Downs. It's good to have clear night skies once again, especially with the moon almost full.

The pond is doing well. Three frogs spotted tonight (there may be more), and several newts.

The damselfly nymphs are also developing well.

The nightly meanderings of the various foxes continue. The young male has developed a limp (there's a small wound low down on his rear left leg), but as ever he ignores it most of the time.

And to complete the recent activity, a short clip of a badger seen on Friday night.

Camera note: all animal shots taken with the Canon 7D and EF 100mm f/2.8L macro IS USM lens. The moon was photographed with the EF 400mm f/5.6L USM and Kenko Teleplus 1.4x Pro 300 DG teleconverter.

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This Post Has 14 Comments

  1. RobinL

    20 Feb 2011

    One fox worshiping at the temple of Gnome!

  2. anonymous

    20 Feb 2011

    aliesje writes:

    the gnome pic is incredibly cute, but i must ask – any bold vixen sightings? i quite miss Her Boldness!

    get well soon, young fox!

  3. SittingFox

    20 Feb 2011

    You have remarkably well-trained foxes. I wouldn't trust my bunch anywhere near a gnome. It would probably end up in next door's flowerbeds :whistle:

    Nice to see the size comparison between the frog and the newts 🙂

  4. wellisteffi

    20 Feb 2011

    Great post. :up:

  5. lokutus-prime

    20 Feb 2011

    Love your photos and always have. 🙂 *
    The moon photo is a better shot than the one I tried to capture a couple of nights ago in my back garden. I had my camera (Panasonic G1, 200m lens) on a tripod and I was manually adjusting the focus but the result is not as sharp/clear as yours.

    I agree with Adele Brand who says "you have remarkably well-trained foxes" ..

    I'm not surprised they are because as long as I have been looking at your photos (since 2004 *) they've always seemed so and doubtless they and succeeding generations know you very well indeed. 🙂
    Very inspiring to see your pages, Robin :cheers:

  6. Words

    21 Feb 2011

    Lokutus (Robin), thanks. The moon shot was manually focused and hand-held (I need to tape the contacts on the teleconverter if I want to use autofocus). I think the shutter was around 1/1000 which is just about enough with an effective 560mm lens. I did get several 'less sharp' shots as well though 😉

    You're right about the foxes. This one has been coming since the spring, so regards me as just another garden creature.

  7. Words

    21 Feb 2011

    Erwin, thanks!

  8. Words

    21 Feb 2011

    Adele, the gnome is doing very well, and I don't think he's wearing slippers (which would add a whole new dimension of risk where foxes are concerned). Even the badger has avoided knocking it over, which is a surprise.

  9. Words

    21 Feb 2011

    Aliesje, no sightings of Bold for some time. She may well have found somewhere else to go. This happens with them over winter. She seems to have left the garden to the younger foxes for the moment. I do hope she comes back though.

  10. Words

    21 Feb 2011

    Robin, I think he's impressed with the gnome… at least he leaves him alone :smurf:

  11. Words

    21 Feb 2011

    Steffi, thanks!

  12. gdare

    21 Feb 2011

    The gnome is football player so your foxes + badger must be pulling for his team :whistle:

  13. Words

    21 Feb 2011

    Darko, you noticed. The gnome is not working his magic at the moment though 🙁

  14. Wulpen

    19 Oct 2012

    Lovely

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