Wight Life Photography

Red Deer

2010-10-03T11:56:00.006+01:00

I have ben so busy with the Wight Surf History project that it was looking very unlikely that I was going to get over to the New Forest in time for the rut this year. So I decided to take my girls to see the Red Deer on the Island. We have at least a couple of herds of farmed Red Deer on the Island and they are still magnificant animals to see. These particular deer are still quite nervous and we had to keep very still and quiet. My two girls were very excited at having seen them at such close quarters and didn't stop talking about it for over a week.

Kestrel

2010-10-03T11:45:00.003+01:00

Cowes Week 2010

2010-08-10T07:59:00.018+01:00

This has been a really busy summer for me and my blog is a bit behind but I promise to catch up soon. I had decided to let my photography take a back seat while I enjoyed the summer with my family, but a couple of weeks a go I got an email from Yachting World asking if I would cover 'Cowes Week' again and submit images for consideration for their website and magazine. Last year I had images published online everyday of Cowes Week, making the gallery cover shot twice and had a number of images published in the magazine.

I knew it was going to be difficult as I had both my girls that week. I had to plan very carefully, making sure that they would enjoy Cowes and I would get time to shoot some of the races. I planned my shoots around snack time, lunch time and a great new play park with a pirate ship, swings, slides etc.... The week was a great success and we all got to enjoy Cowes, the racing, the entertainment and a couple of evenings in the pub for tea.

Saturdays racing started with very close to shore racing with many yachts running aground and lots of bumps and scrapes with each other.

The weather on Sunday was lovely and it started with some great racing for the spectators along the parade and enjoying the beach.

I also managed to get in position for the Sonars in which a few friends were racing on a yacht called Discovery. They had won their first race on the Saturday and were in a very confident mood.

On Monday I had a great vantage point at Gurnard with great views east and west of the Solent. The two Americas Cup yachts, Jaguar Team Origin and BMW Oracle were out practicing and some of the bigger yachts came in quite close to shore as they headed west.

Tuesday saw me chase the Artemis challenge yachts to St Catherines Lighthouse and still get back to Cowes for the Extreme 40's.

On Wednesday the girls went to Grandmas so I was able to spend some serious time in Cowes and even got to take in a band on the parade.

Thursday was the Round the Island 1851 Cup so I decided to try and get the Americas Cup Yachts at St Catherines Lighthouse and the Needles Lighthouse.

On Friday everyone is looking forward to the evenings entertainment. Sadly the Red Arrows weren't able to do their display because of the weather but the Fireworks didn't disappoint.

You can see all the images used on Yachting World's website here.

Comma Butterfly

2010-07-16T16:40:00.006+01:00

A decided to spend half an hour in the garden today as we have a few insects and butterflies about. I was forced to shoot hand held because of the strong wind today nothing was staying very still for long. I spotted this Comma and we played a game of climb the pond fence; each time I climbed over the fence around my pond to get close to it, it would fly back over to the other side......

The Comma looks a bit like a fritillary but its 'ragged' wing margins and white comma on the underside easily identify it as a comma.

Pied Wagtail

2010-07-14T11:40:00.003+01:00

This Pied Wagtail was running up and down in the garden while I was waiting in hope to catch the stoats. I have not seen them running around in a garden before but the garden is right next to a small lake.

The Stoats & the Kestrel

2010-07-13T12:14:00.006+01:00

On the day I was to leave for Wales I received a phone call that a family of Stoats was playing in a friends garden.

I rushed over there only to see them disappear into the hedge and sadly they are not being seen regularly anymore.

I waited for about half an hour before rushing off for the ferry but while I was there this Kestrel was busy hunting all around and landed on a sign post to eat a vole. I was set up a hide for the stoats and too far away for any close shots but I do like these two. In the shot above you can see the poor vole dangling down on the post.

After finishing off the vole the Kestrel dropped down onto this wall and sat there for about 10 minutes.

Kingfishers

2010-07-08T13:02:00.009+01:00

While on holiday in Pembrokeshire, Wales I visited the Welsh Wildlife Centre at Cilgerran near the River Teifi. The Wildlife Centre building is a magnificent structure and won an architectural design award in 1993. The surrounding area is owned and managed by the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales and has numerous hides along many trails.

One of these hides is called the kingfisher hide. I have visited many hides before and have tried to photograph kingfishers on many occasions too. Most hides I have visited are great for viewing nature from a distance but rarely close enough to photograph anything.

On this occasion as I walked into the hide a young couple said 'your just in time he's posing for you.....', I couldn't believe my luck. There was a kingfisher only a few feet away sitting on a branch. I very carefully got my equipment set up and was extremely fortunate to watch this kingfisher catch a small fish, spend many minutes hitting it against the perch it was standing on before eating it, and eventually bringing up the pellet.

It was a truly magical experience and I used up a whole memory card. I decided to walk back to the car and get some more memory cards and to see if any of the family would like to come and see the kingfishers.

We all went back to the hide and waited for about 45mins before the others decided to go to the cafe after not seeing anything. I decided to visit some of the other hides but as there were a bunch of lads in canoes chasing birds along the river I gave up and went back to the kingfisher hide.

As I stepped into the hide I couldn't believe my luck as this time the male and the female were both there. I also saw some reed warblers, but they were a little way off. It was certainly a day I won't forget for a long time.

Female Great Spotted Woodpecker feeding its young

2010-06-02T22:15:00.000+01:00

Male Great Spotted Woodpecker

2010-06-01T08:29:00.004+01:00

As it's half term this week I am busy with my girls but I did manage to get up early and watch the Woodpeckers busily feeding their young (I will blog this later). I expect the young to leave the nest any day now so I decided to take my wife, our two girls and one of their friends to see the young being fed later on in the morning. My girls are only 3 and 5 years old so we only stayed for about 15 minutes. It was such a lovely time watching the girls enthralled by the male Woodpecker dancing through the trees calling to the young until finally feeding them.

The young sticking the heads right out of the hole to be fed and you can clearly see their red crests.

While I am up at the Woodpeckers nest and even while I had my whole family with me people walk right by without even noticing the Woodpeckers. The young are so noisy now and there is a constant barrage of noise from them that they can be heard from 50 feet away yet people walk right past without looking up. These same people will probably be glued to Springwatch next week on the television, when they show the Woodpeckers in their nest boxes, but they do not notice wildlife when it is all around them.

Great Spotted Woodpeckers

2010-05-29T13:50:00.004+01:00

I couldn't resist an opportunity to get up and see the Woodpeckers yesterday. I only had about 30 mins but it was one of the loveliest shoots I have had in a long time.

Glanville Fritillary Butterfly

2010-05-27T09:39:00.007+01:00

The Glanville Fritillary Butterfly is only found on the coastal cliffs of the Isle of Wight. The Glanville Fritillary is found in other parts of Europe but the Isle of Wight is it's most northern range. A few weeks a go I came down to Compton Chine to briefly photograph the caterpillars and this week I took advantage of the warm weather and got back to Compton Bay to try and get some shots of the beautiful butterflies.

Unfortunately the only day I could get out with my camera it was windy and I am a little disappointed with the results as the previous days while I was at the beach with my two girls we saw a pair of butterflies mating and one that only just come out of its chrysalis.

I decided not to even try the macro lens as the butterflies were hardly landing at all and when they did, were swaying in the wind. The London Zoological Society are currently studying the butterflies and I was lucky to meet a lovely lady who explained that there was concern that with our more extreme weather and colder winters and wetter summers, they were worried that they may be in decline.

They were catching the butterflies in large nets and numbering them. I was amazed that you would be able to number a butterfly, but as you can see in the shot above they know which ones they have already caught and tagged because of the marks they make on the wings (I believe this one was number 114). Another worry is that if there are a lot of caterpillars (which you may think would be a good thing), there are often less butterflies as the caterpillars eat the same plant as the butterfly leaving little for them.

Shippards Chine and cliffs along Compton Bay are probably where you will find the highest concentration of the Glanville Fritillary on the Island. It is also my favourite place on the Island and where I have spent much of my life.

While scrabbling around on the cliff top and down some very sketchy cliff falls I was amazed at the amount of insects that shared this area. I couldn't help but think of my good friend Viv in Northern Ireland who has taken some amazing macro shots of insects and one of the best macro photographers I know. If you like your insects or Northern Ireland in general then you must check out her work by clicking the link here;

Vab Photography

The Glanville Fritillary Butterfly is very similar to the Heath Fritillary the upperside having orange or sandy-brown reticulate pattern, but its hindwing has a conspicuous arc of orange spots with dark centres. The Glanville Fritillary can been seen from May to the end of June but prefers warm days.

As I was walking back to the car I just spotted this Small Blue Butterfly land near to me and just managed this shot. I had been seeing Common Blues and Small Blue Butterflies all day but they didn't seem to land anywhere because of the strong breeze.

Great Spotted Woodpeckers

2010-05-18T21:35:00.007+01:00

A few weeks a go, a good friend and fellow wildlife photographer was watching a Great Spotted Woodpecker starting to make a hole in an old tree. On more recent visits it became obvious that this looked like it could be their nest.

Last weekend we made a trip up to the woods to find that they now had young and the parents were busy gathering food.

It was amazing to watch the parents going back and forth bringing beak fulls of insects back to the nest having been only gone for a few minutes.

The nest is in an old tree near a bank so we can sit at almost the same height as the hole with a lovely backdrop of the woods behind.

There are a few very convenient branches for the adults to land on before entering the nest hole which made for some lovely shots.

I also noticed that on leaving the nest the parents would leave with what I think is the little poo sacks of the young and then deposit them elsewhere so that any predators would not know where the nest is.

This is a really magical find and I cannot wait to go back and see them again. I am hoping for some really good light this week so I can attempt to get some better flight shots.

To out fox the Fox

2010-05-18T09:08:00.006+01:00

We have been having lots of fun with the foxes but there is only so much cover and it has been hard to get really close without spooking them.

We have one spot that has excellent cover and the foxes can come really close but it has limited visibility. The only problem is often they are just out of shot and it is so tempting to move to try and get the shot but know that the slightest movement will spook them.

This spot is also only big enough for one so we have been setting up at opposite ends of the field. I would lay behind some tufts of grass and a small bank while my friend would use the good cover in the hedge.

The only problem with this is that when the foxes get too close to me and see me they usually leave quite quickly so I decided to try some thing that I had heard before when setting up in a hide.When setting up a hide some say it is a good idea to bring someone with you as a decoy and so two people walk to the hide and one person leaves.

The wildlife you are hoping to capture will think that the hide is empty as they see someone leave. So when I have been seen by the foxes, I get up and leave making sure they can clearly see me leave, but then double back around the outside of the field.

We have also use it when setting up so that one of us feins to leave but doubles back and shoots from the fence line. We have found it to work very well and now the foxes also are starting to realise that we are not a threat.

We recently had a tip that at a spot near to us there were some foxes that were feeding from peoples hands but last night when we checked it out there were a handful of motor-homes at the spot but no foxes. We headed back to our usual spot and got these few shots before the light had gone.

Foxes

2010-05-06T10:12:00.005+01:00

Had a great shoot with the foxes again last night. This time I got there earlier and managed to get into position to get some closer shots.

The foxes still didn't come out until 8pm and so still at iso 800 but with the evenings getting lighter I should get some great images soon.

My Local foxes

2010-05-05T13:23:00.006+01:00

Last night I went back to the spot where I had seen the foxes last and there was already a young fox about searching for food. This made it a bit difficult to get into position without spooking him but i managed to hide behind a fence line.

I have been very lucky to get permission to go onto some private land next to the farm land where the foxes live. I moved along the fence line, removing the camera from the tripod in hope that I would be able to crawl along the ground to a nearby bank that would give me cover and get me a lot closer. As I started to open the gate another larger fox appeared so I stopped and leaned against the fence.

This larger fox was obviously the dominant fox in the area as the fox I had been watching slunk to the ground and didn't move. He acted very submissively towards the larger fox and looked quite nervous. The larger fox walked around and around the other fox marking his territory everywhere before searching what food he could find.

The light had already gone so my shutter speeds were quite low and again had to use a high iso speed. I was shooting at around 1/30 sec but was hoping for some better images. Here is a selection of them.

The farmer is not keen on foxes and last year joked with a friend of mine that he had already killed 30+ foxes by May last year. This means I have to be very careful, the last time I saw the fox he was in the field near to where the farmer keeps chickens and not long after I started to shoot the fox I heard the farmers quad bike start up. I don't know whether he saw the fox or saw me but luckily the fox heard it too and was off like a shot.

Barn Owl

2010-04-23T14:05:00.003+01:00

I have been watching a Barn Owl near me for some time and now think I know a couple of its' favourite perches. I am still only seeing it after 8pm so the light is still not great but last night managed to get a few shots as it flew over me.

Glanville Fritillary Caterpillars

2010-04-23T07:56:00.004+01:00

There are a lot of Glanville Fritillary caterpillars about right now so I took a walk down to Compton (Shiphards Chine) with my macro lens. All images are hand held as I only had about 20 minutes. I have heard that there are also a lot in Ventnor at the moment, so it looks like the hard winter hasn't affected them.

As I went to leave this beautiful Small Copper Butterfly crossed my path and I just managed to get a couple of shots. It was a bit windy so I hope to go back with the tripod when the wind drops a bit.

Wheatear arrivals

2010-04-18T21:01:00.007+01:00

I seem to be having a weekend of every time I went out for a walk with my girls and no camera I would see all sorts of things but when I get the opportunity to take the camera with me not a thing.

I have done a lot of walking this weekend and have been seeing a lot of Swallows and Wheatears all along the south west side of the Island. Although I have been finding that where I see them in the morning isn't where they are the evening.

Here are a couple of shots taken from the car this morning of a pair of Wheatear. They look like they have found a suitable nesting site but were a bit unsure about the sheep.

Squirrels down the lane

2010-04-16T19:49:00.016+01:00

I have occasionally photographed the Red Squirrels where I live but I had never seen them on a regular basis. This winter I even started leaving a few hazelnuts out, hoping for that beautiful shot in the snow but it wasn't to be.

In recent weeks myself and a good friend had started to notice them more and had both got a few shots in the same place. A few weekends ago, we decided to stop by the area on our way back from an early shoot along the coast. Within 10 minutes we had four Red Squirrels darting about between us and some gardens.

There was a lovely little tree stump in the corner which looked like it would make the perfect place for a shot. It was one of the first places to get the early morning sun and would make a lovely natural shot. The stump was quite old and I managed to get a few hazelnuts into the stump out of my line of sight. I only had to wait about 5 minutes before one of the Squirrels had come to the stump and taken the bait. At first they would take the nut and run out of sight but I only had to wait a short while before one of the Squirrels sat on the edge of the stump and ate one.The next time I was able to visit the squirrels it was Easter Sunday and I was really wanted to try something a little different. On arriving at the area there were two little patches of primroses. It was perfect, but would it work? I positioned a hazelnut behind the primroses that I wanted in shot and waited. Initially they went straight to the tree stump but eventually this little one stood right behind them. It couldn't have been any better. I have a few shots but liked this one the best with its little paws up and staring out of shot. The first few shots the squirrel was facing into the space on the left which worked perfectly for the composition and I feel still works very well with this pose too.

This shot is of the odd one out of the bunch. Its' coat is much paler, almost a grey brown colour rather than red and also was the most jumpy of all the squirrels. But I like a challenge and was very pleased with this one.

Every time I watch squirrels I can't help but think of Eddie Izzard doing stand up and talking about the way squirrels always seem to stop and have that look of 'did I leave the oven on, no I'm a squirrel'. This one looks like I've caught him doing something shifty.

Over the next few days I came back and had a lovely time photographing the Red Squirrels. I even introduced another log as the first log had been half destroyed by a fox late one evening. The smell of the fox was quite strong and I had pushed some peanuts deep into the stump for a little challenge for a couple of Jays. The fox had obviously been desperate to get at the nuts deep in the stump that the Jay couldn't reach.

After spending a few days at this spot I soon realised that this little patch of ground was a haven for wildlife. I will post more images from the area in a later blog.

I liked this image as it looks as if the squirrel thought I couldn't see it hiding behind the new log. One morning the grass was quite damp and this little chap would stop and shake himself violently almost looking like he was trying to turn himself into a drill.

I still liked the idea of using the primroses in shot but wanted more from the squirrels. This time I positioned a nut right in the middle of the flowers and this little squirrel entered from stage right and didn't forget his lines. Those primroses never smelt so sweet.

I would really like to get some good shots of them in the tree but there is an awful lot of small branches between me and their trees. Here are a couple of my images so far.

For this image I had hid myself in the shadows and low branches of a tree and some bushes to get a little closer. It gave me a great angle on the squirrels playground.

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Spring is here?

2010-04-13T07:59:00.013+01:00

I have been really busy photographically but as it is the Easter holidays, when I have been at home I haven't had much time to write up any of the shoots. Have had lots of nice walks up to the Tennyson, along Compton beach, Devil's Chimney and more, we have also been to Robin Hill on a few occasions and I have been lucky enough to photograph Steven Hain's birds (White Falconry). I have worked with Steven and his team on a few occasions and always enjoy the opportunity to get shoot his magnificent raptors and now a Vulture too. I have also spent a lot of time with some local Red Squirrels which has been great fun and have some really lovely images. I will cover the Falconry and the Red Squirrels in later blogs.

I had been hoping to capture the Hares boxing and some more spring action from them but the wonderful English weather changed again and we had a bit of a cold spell resulting in the Hares being very elusive. I glimpsed some boxing one early morning (image above shows the two in the middle but it was a split second of boxing and then all over) in the fog but since then the hares have been seen further a field.

I have found a couple more spots with hares but it seems I have missed mt opportunity again this year.On one morning I did manage to spend a few minutes watching a Kestrel hunting at Compton Bay and had managed to get quite close until some holiday makers saw me with my camera and came over to ask what I was photographing and the Kestrel moved on.

I also took a trip over to Blackwater to see the Little Owls but unfortunately it rained constantly the whole time. I did manage to photograph one of the birds but the light poor and it was cold and damp. I have been hoping to go back but it will have to wait until term time again.

I am still out and about following some Barn Owls but only seeing them when the light is very low, this has led me to find an old fox who seems to be not bothered with me so hope to get some good shots of him soon. These images were shot at iso 6400 as it was about 30 mins after sunset and very cloudy.

Hop, skip and a jump

2010-03-19T16:01:00.025Z

Another early morning start. With the absence of the Barn Owls on the previous mornings, I decided to go looking for the other raptors in the area. The Kestrel was on a distant telegraph post so I carried on up the hill through the village in hope that one of the Buzzards may be close enough to shoot.

The light wasn’t great but one of the Buzzards was just the other side of the hedge. I spotted a gap in the hedge and managed to creep up to it with out spooking the Buzzard. It was a little difficult focusing through the hedge but the composition was quite nice with the disappearing fence line.After a couple of profile shots I decided to move on as I had a line of very tall trees behind me so it would be quite a while before I got any better light.

I hadn’t seen the Hares since the hedge laying had been done so I decided to try some of the smaller bridleways to search the other fields near by. My luck was in as I turned into the first bridleway and one of the hares ran across the track. I pulled the car up as far as I dare and waited.

My arrival and presence has sent two hares charging across the field towards the direction of the sunrise. The hares stopped almost opposite the car and the light from the sunrise gave a lovely glow around one of the hares and I managed a few shots showing them in their environment.

One of the hares then doubled back and ran across the track in front of the car into the next field but the other one carried round in a circle heading straight for me.

The Hare seemed almost curious and came quite close to check out what and who I was. The Hare came right back to the track and walked straight down toward me.

He seemed quite a character with half an ear missing and doing a hop, skip and a jump every few steps. I managed some lovely shots of him before he tired of me and went off into the next field.

On the way home I spotted a Common Gull at the end of the sea wall in the early morning warm sunshine at Freshwater Bay and it made a lovely shot to finish the shoot.

Blackcap

2010-03-17T17:58:00.004Z

This Blackcap has been a welcome visitor to my garden for a few weeks now but I have been struggling to get a clear shot of him away from the feeders.

The Cave

2010-03-11T14:49:00.020Z

Saturday 6th March 2010

A nice early start again and I went straight for the little spot down the lane in hope of seeing the Barn Owls. The sunrise was amazing and started with the most vibrant of colours but as the clouds moved in the colours turned to more subtle pastels.
With the clear night sky with a very bright moonlight it looked like I wouldn’t see the Owls. The air was so still and it was lovely listening to all the birds waking up but it made me realise that I needed to learn more about the different bird songs so I could identify them. As I took a few shots of the beautiful sky a Buzzard came into view which made up my mind to move on.There was not a breath of wind and the water was so still, it was a magical morning. Having recently hung some of my landscapes at the Sandpipers Hotel, one image in particular had been getting more attention than others and this morning was going to perfect for capturing it in a completely different mood.The tide was low and I knew I would be able to get some great shots from the cave at Freshwater Bay. The sky was a nice deep blue as was the sea which was like glass. As I walked to the cave the clouds above me were wonderful in the early morning sun. They were not quite where I would have liked but still making for some nice images of the Bay.When I got into the cave with only slightly wet boots, I realised that a huge chunk of rock had fallen into the opening of the cave which was not there on my last shoot there. This made it more of a challenge to frame Arch Rock from inside the cave.It was very eerie being in the cave that early in the morning and it suddenly dawned on me that no one knew where I was. With this in mind I decided to spend as little time as possible actually in the cave. The puddles in the opening of the cave were like mirrors and I could have spent hours trying different compositions and exposures.
It turned out to be a really magical shoot and I actually ventured back into the cave for a second time as I couldn’t resist trying out a couple of different compositions after checking my initial shots. Those soft low clouds that put an end to the sunrise gave me a lovely diffused light for some wonderful shots of Freshwater Bay.
I’ve been hoping to do shoot from the cave at the Bay for some time but for most of the year you are sat in a very dark cave shooting directly into the sun. I would like to do it with the sunset but it is only lined perfectly with the cave in the middle of winter and you very rarely get the tide and the weather at the same time.
The top off the shoot when I got back to the road where I live a Red Squirrel ran out in front of the car. We had two Red Squirrels that are often seen at the end of the road but sadly one of them was run over recently. It was good to see that this little chap was still looking healthy, although still running in front of cars.

Changing The Guard

2010-03-05T10:06:00.010Z

With my lens back from Sigma I’ve been itching to get out again. I checked the met office forecast for this morning and it was looking good. I got up nice and early, made a flask of tea and set off. When I got to the car and saw the ice I knew it would be a few minutes before I could go anywhere. With the heaters on and a cup of tea, I sat listening to the birds waking up under the early morning moon light. The temperature outside was minus 4.

I was hoping I might find the Barn Owls before the sun came up and get an idea of where they were hunting. I’ve had a couple of tip offs from locals that they seem to hunting regularly where they were last winter. There is a spot along a hedge row where they hunt, where I can hide and they often fly right over my head.

Unfortunately this morning there was no sign of the Owls. Not long after first light a Buzzard swooped over the top of the car and landed in the field. It is extremely rare that I see the Barn Owls about when there is a Buzzard near by. I could also see two Kestrels on top of telegraph poles not far from me so I didn’t think I would see the Owls today.

A little way from the car I could see a male Pheasant sitting on a wooden gate. I thought it made quite a pretty shot and good opportunity to test the lens especially in such low light conditions. With iso 6400 set I still had very slow shutter speeds but I took a few shots as the Pheasant stretched up and flapped his wings. You can actually see the Pheasants breath in the shot.

I started to wonder if I could get high enough up the lane to achieve a shot of one of the Kestrels on the Telegraph pole with the beautiful orange glow of the sunrise behind. This was going to be difficult as I knew I would need to walk or drive past the Kestrels to get that side. I decided that by driving I would be least likely to spook the Kestrels and it worked. As I parked the car further up the lane I decided to take a couple of shots first in case he was easily spooked. I had just set up the camera when the Buzzard decided that it was time to change the guard and chased the Kestrel off the post and took his place on the pole.

It was a really beautiful morning with a rainbow of colours from the sunrise. I had a quick walk around to where the Hares were, but since the hedge laying course was done in the field they seem to have moved on.

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The Raven's of Tennyson Monument

2010-02-24T20:03:00.001Z

I had a lovely walk with my family today over the Tennyson trail. At the Tennyson monument there are often a pair of Raven's.
The Raven is an amazing bird that has been seen on Mount Everest at over 6000m. This is the highest altitude a Passerine bird has been seen. We are very lucky to have a few pairs that can be found over some of the cliffs of the Isle of Wight.Still being without my 500mm lens I set myself a challenge to try and photograph the Raven with my 70-200mm. As much as it has been very frustrating to be without my big lens it has helped push my photography to another level.

I wanted to capture them in their surroundings, showing the cliffs and trail down to Freshwater Bay or towards the Needles.One observation I made was one of the Raven's would glide in a straight line flipping upside down for a second and back again. I watched the Raven do this 3 times, something I have never seen done before or know why.I also noticed one of the Raven's was missing a few feathers, and in flight you could see a big 'V' shaped gap in one of its' wings.It was a fun shoot and I am quite pleased with the results. As with all wildlife, nature rarely does exactly what you want it to do. I had about only had about 20 minutes with the Raven's before my girls wanted to go fly a kite, but I will go back soon.

Paul

Boisterous Hares

2010-02-24T19:54:00.003Z

There have been some young Hares congregating in one particular field where I often walk. I got up early yesterday and got some fun shots of them running on the hard frost and checked out the area for a shoot today.This morning I decided to wait for the sun to come and give me some light on the field. There is a path that runs along the east side of the field with a high hedge on east side of the path and low hedge on the field side. It was perfect as I crept along the path trying not to make any noise. The sun was behind me, and the high hedge made me almost invisible to the Hares.Before I had even set up the tripod two of the Hares came charging past me only a few feet away. I knew this was going to be a great shoot.

I spent about an hour watching the Hares running about the field. It was like watching a group of young boisterous boys playing. There was lots of chasing and jumping but no boxing today. They were definitely not bothered by me and one came over and sat only a few feet in front of me.

A couple of them sat grooming for some time, which was lovely to watch. After an hour I was freezing as I was in the shade and had been standing still.

I am having some of my equipment repaired now so it may be a couple of weeks before my next blog.

Robin

2009-01-16T15:18:00.001Z

Red Squirrel

2009-01-16T11:18:00.002Z

Robin

2009-01-16T11:16:00.002Z

Grey Heron

2009-01-16T11:15:00.001Z

Nuthatch

2009-01-16T11:14:00.002Z

Barn Owl

2009-01-16T11:12:00.001Z

Little Egret

2009-01-16T11:09:00.001Z

Red Squirrel

2009-01-16T11:08:00.001Z

Chiffchaff

2009-01-16T11:00:00.002Z

Long Eared Owl

2009-01-16T10:42:00.003Z

Fox

2009-01-16T10:31:00.001Z