A few more Squirrels.

I bet you think that my last post was enough Squirrels. But I was so taken by them that I just wanted to show a few more.

These Squirrels are wild but very much used to being fed by visitors to the Grosvenor Park, some are incredibly brave and will take food from ones hand, others will merely approach and collect food near your feet. This obviously allows for great photo opportunities, if you can a) get them to stop squabbling, and b) find a spot where you are alone to feed them as you want them. Some of the best shots though come when they are not aware that you are near.

This one was having a little scratch.

This one was burying its nut, they are quite busy at this time of the year, storing up for the winter.

This one was eating a fungi or mushroom.

The only examples I could see were this one.

It looks like a puffball  but I know someone will tell me its not.

When they were burying their nuts there were raiders waiting to steal the stashes. It was quite amusing watching the magpies following the squirrels around, and the squirrels seemingly unaware what was happening.

All in all, I had a very enjoyable time watching the squirrels. I fully appreciate that they are vermin and that the lack of Red Squirrels in the country is largely down to their presence, but they are incredibly cute.

Click on pictures for larger versions.

Grey Squirrels Up close and Personal.

Dog sitting for my mums dogs means that I'm not allowed to be away from them for too long so I went to a spot in Chester where I know there is a good population of Squirrels. I was quite pleased with some of the results. They are taken with a 300 lens.

I think I would be right in saying that those first two were males.

and this one.

This one below looks like he's waiting for the bus.

I didn't think that he would be able to manage this conker, but....!

This Chiffchaff was also a nice surprise.

I'm going back tomorrow, weather permitting, to try and get a Jay that was flitting around but not close enough for a shot.

Slimbridge and Herefordshire

I have been back to Hereford this week as I told you in my last post. I arranged to meet Mike Smith at Slimbridge WWT reserve in Gloucestershire, yesterday (mon 4th).

Mike informed that there wasn't a lot at Slimbridge yet but we were hopeful for something. Looking in at one hide we saw a Sparrowhawk sitting on a post across the scrape from us, unfortunately it was still quite foggy and the viewing windows in that hide are too small for long lenses so no pictures, but it was lovely to see. The next hide we visited was slightly better, there were Teal, Mallard, Shoveler, Black tailed Godwit, Mute Swan, Buzzard, Wood Pigeon, Greylag Goose, and a quick glimpse of a Water Rail.

Godwit:

Mallard:

I love the reflection of this one.

Shoveler:

In this one the duck seems to be imitating the Swan in cleaning itself, I can just imagine it thinking to itself "will I ever be as handsome as the swan? "

After a quick coffee went to the South lake hide and saw, Cormorant, Grey Heron, Black Headed Gull, Jackdaw, Lapwing and a Kingfisher in addition to what we'd already seen.

Mike was correct, there wasn't the large numbers of Ducks, Geese and Swans that will hopefully be present in a month or so. So we cut short our time on the reserve to head off to another nearby location, but not before I'd snapped a close up Jackdaw at the restaurant.

Jackdaw:

Would you agree there is something quite stunning about the Jackdaw, I think it's in the eyes.

Leaving the reserve we had to wait for the canal bridge and mike spotted two Brown Rats, mooching about in the farmers yard area just to the right of the road we were on. Great views of them whilst we waited. They were in deep shade so no photos again, but I'll keep my eye out for them in future, I think Rats are fascinating critters, I don't like them but I admire their tenacity.

So a short drive to Frampton to look for a bird I've never seen was undertaken. Mike advised me that the target bird may have moved on so he suggested a walk with the bino's might be the best first option. We were lucky. The birds we'd come to see were Black Terns and there were a pair of them flying about and resting on bouys on the water. It was fascinating and thrilling to see birds I'd never seen before quite close up. Too far for decent pictures but great through the bino's. On a couple of occasions they flew close enough to see, in detail, with the naked eye and I wished then we'd had the cameras but in all honesty they fly so quickly and acrobatically that I doubt I'd have been able to keep up and lock on with the lens. I can add another life time first to this years list.

A very enjoyable time spent with Mike soon came to an end and we said our farewells. Thanks Mike!

Driving back to Hereford I happened across a Kestrel sitting on a telegraph pole. it was in the area of Weston Under Penyard, on the outskirts of Ross on Wye. I stopped the car and got the camera out of the boot. I was a bit surprised it didn't fly away. I got a shot of it.

and i was very pleased with it too, However when I zoomed in on the camera I could see what I thought was blood on it's beak and it didn't look right.

So I waited and when it turned it's head I got another shot.

this time I could see that it wasn't right. I again zoomed in on the pic.

Clearly this poor thing had been in the wars, could it have been done by another Kestrel? Could it have picked on prey that fought back? I'll never know, but I don't fancy it's chances of surviving a harsh winter with only one good eye. Nature at its cruelest perhaps.

A good day, nice to be back on my old patch.

A day in the sunshine.

After a quite long spell of miserable weather up here in S. Yorkshire today turned out nice. It was forecast to be a good day so I wanted to make the most of it, and in order to do so I made for Derbyshire.

I considered doing Dippers at a spot Chris Grady showed me a year or three ago, but couldn't face the walking, (if only I'd known). I opted instead for a little spot which is well known for Water Vole called Cromford Canal. It has to be one of the best known spots for these endearing little critters in the country, or at least it was. I didn't see a single one. I saw lots of Little Grebe which also provide excellent opportunities for close up photography.

I also saw Mute swan, Moorhen, Mallard Duck, and a Pike (in the shallow water). But not a single Vole was seen. I spoke to the young lady working in the shop and she advised me that the Vole seemed to have disappeared, one or two were being seen but very infrequently.

I spoke to a number of local people walking their dogs and they seemed to confirm what the shop lady said, the Voles just weren't being seen in the numbers they had been previously. I did glean a bit of information about other areas that the Vole were occasionally seen and set off to see if I could track them down.

This is where the walking came in. Foolishly when I arrived at the location I'd been directed to I decided to just have a short walk along the bank of the stretch of water and see if I could spot any likely areas.

Well I walked about 3/4 -1 mile before I saw anything, I was just so taken with the colours and the peacefulness of the area that I forgot that I hadn't brought my kit with me. So I had to walk all the way back to my car to get it, all the while hoping that the Vole would still be present on my return.

It was and I managed to get some nice shots.

I spent the best part of an hour watching and photographing this one, I find them a truly fascinating creature. They seem oblivious to their surroundings but then suddenly a loud noise or sudden movement and they are off, quick as you like.

Walking back to the car I happened across another little beauty.

and then another, although I was very lucky to see this one, a slight movement caught my eye.

It was busy chewing at the bramble bush.

So a very enjoyable trip and most of it spent on my own with just the Water Vole, heaven.
Tomorrow I am heading down to Hereford for the week, hoping to spend a day with  Mike Smith at Slimbridge, and a bit of time in the Forest. I'll post when I return.

Hope you enjoy.

Preparing for the winter.

A trip to Old Moor RSPB reserve this week unfortunately coincided with work that is being carried out around the area of the Bittern Hide. I had hoped to spend some time in the hide and hoped to see the Water Rails and Kingfisher that have been reported there recently. A change of plan and I decided to spend a little time in the next hide, the Reedbed Hide. There were only a few species here including, Ringed Plover, Coot, Moorhen, and Great Crested Grebe.

Great Crested Grebe.

The Little Grebe caught a fish.

and a Common Darter came to visit.

I did not have long before the weather became too cloudy for decent photography, I wasnt very happy with the Little Grebe shots because the light was very poor.

Only a short day but again some nice shots.