2006 Jun - Dec |
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ADRIAN'S PHOTO'S |
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June: 3rd Friendly, Mum and Rogue out tonight.
4th The same trio as last night were out in the garden feeding
5th Friendly, Mum and the cub were the trio tonight.
9th Tonight was a slight variant with the foxes, Rogue and the cub were feeding although Rogue is not interested in playing unlike Friendly. Later on Mum came to feed.
10th Went to Dunwich Heath at 6am to try and photograph the Dartfords. However Wayne and I were not that successful although we did see 2 foxes 1 of which had a cub. Also I stood and watched a Black-tailed Skimmer Dragonfly looking, catching and eating a moth. Later on we went to Minsmere and had a go and photographing Bearded Tits, this also was pretty unsuccessful on my behalf as the reeds were playing havoc with the auto focus, so I tried to manual focus..... with not very good results.
16th Went out to a local river and photographed some Banded demoiselle Damselflies.
18th Mum, Rogue and the cub were out in the garden tonight feeding.
19th Whilst out on call at around 0430 I saw a Tawny Owl, but it was flying too quick to capture on camera.
20th Mum and the cub were out at around 2200.
21st Friendly was sitting on the wall in daylight around 2130 but jumped down when it saw me, later on it returned with Mum and the cub.
23nd Mum and the cub were in the garden again so I managed to grab a couple of pictures using flash,from the bedroom window.
24th The foxes never ate their food tonight which pleased Taz in the morning!
25th After another failed attempt at Dunwich Heath, Wayne and I tried our luck with the beardies again. Although doing better than previously we were more pleased to see 2 Bittern fly overhead. While we waited we must have had another 4 single fly-over's but as luck would have it, when one flew quite close, both of us didn't quite have the right settings ready in time .... maybe we will get lucky next time?
26th The new cub was tucking in to the treats left out tonight...
July: 1st went up to Minsmere again to try and see if the Bittern were flying about like last week. I did see one but it was quite a way off. The only flight shots I did get were those of Marsh Harrier but again not really that good.
8th Another trip to Minsmere and again the heat and harsh light didn't reward us with any good pictures. However on the way home there was a report on the pager of Lesser Grey Shrike at Shingle Street so this was a rare visitor not to be missed. There were already quite a few people crowded around the area and we soon caught a glimpse of the bird. Wayne and I decided we would leave the crowds and position ourselves shielded behind some gorse bushes and hope the bird worked its way towards us. Sure enough after a long wait the bird headed straight towards us so we managed to get a few shots, however along with the bird came the masses of people in their bright red and white jackets, desperate to get as close to the bird as possible, despite most of them having telescopes and no cameras! One older guy just had to keep getting nearer and nearer until the bird had finally had enough and flew away! Some people are just plain stupid!
9th Caught up with the Suffolk Kite Flyers and Barkinflyerz up at Rougham for an hour or 2. Unfortunately the wind was too gusty for Docgreen to get airborne "safely" but still it was entertaining watching others learning the hard way (I know the feeling well). Even with smaller kites the wind is just too unpredictable and can launch you and drop you in a matter of seconds!
15th Didn't go out with the big camera today, just my mini one as by 0600 my wife Carolyn was in labour with our twins! By 1605 I was the proud father of two little girls.
18th Haven't had much time for anything apart from going back and forth to the hospital but I did notice the new cub backing onto an adult fox in an attempt to defend the food left out.
22nd Saw the tiny cub by the back gate at 2100 whilst putting out food. Its funny how it looks so much smaller in daylight.
27th Only the cub was seen feeding today.
28th As I went out to put out the fox food, the cub disappeared over the wall.
August:
4th / 5th The cub was accompanied on both nights by an adult but I was unable to see which one it was.
6th No food was eaten overnight
9th The cub was seen eating at approximately 2200
17th Haven't seen any foxes for a while until the cub's appearance tonight.
18th Went to Redgrave and Lopham fen to pick up a prize for getting a "highly commended" in the "East Anglian bird" competition for the Suffolk Wildlife Trust. This was for one of my waxwing pictures. I was beaten by an ex member of the North East Essex Badger group Andrew Marsh. I've seen some of his Badger shots so I am far from disappointed. The standard of pictures was very good but I was a little embarrassed by my mounting and printing technique's, the vast majority of the other pictures were alot better presented. Still this was my first competition so I have learn't alot from the experience.
19th An adult was with the cub again today.
23rd Rogue made an appearance tonight with the cub, the first time I have managed to identify the adult in ages.
25th Went up to Huntingdon today to be presented with an Anglian Water prize for my picture of a kingfisher which came runner up in their competition to get photo's for their Environmental Report. I was also informed that the shot was used at the RSPB bird fair on a stand where various types of wildlife were made with old shopping trolley wire..... they looked very good.
September:
2nd A welcome return visit by Friendly tonight who was feeding at approximately 2200. It is alot more nervous now.... as soon as I moved it ran off, no more standing 10 feet away and feeding while I am still putting out the food!
6th Mum and Rogue feeding in the garden tonight.
8th Rogue and Friendly this evening but not together.
19th Haven't seen much activity from the foxes of late, although Mum was there at 2220
20th Tonight Mum was joined by a very playful cub, jumping and tugging at her while she tried to feed.
23rd Rogue only tonight.
October:
1st While out on call for work, a badger crossed the road in front of us, at Raydon, and ran onto someone's front lawn, before disappearing under some bushes. Makes a change to see an active one on the road rather than having to remove a motionless body.
2nd I was surprised to see amongst a small group of Collard Doves in the garden, a smaller Turtle Dove.
4th Went and fed the S.W.T. badgers tonight and upon my arrival the "Old Boar" was already out. I decided rather than wait until he had disappeared, I'd throw some food towards him. He was not at all startled so I threw out the rest of the food. He sniffed the air looking in my direction but did not seem aware of my possible threat. I slowly settled down where I was and quietly turned on my camera, the boar was only about 10ft away from my position but the wind was clearly in my favor. I took a picture which made the old boar look up but not move away. After several minutes we were joined by another much more pristine badger, this one much more nervous of the camera clicking so after a few shots I backed away and left them to their evening meal.
5th "Long Ears" the fox cub as I shall now call it, came into the garden about 2330.
6th Went to the hide again to feed the badgers but this time as the badgers approached with their noses in the air, they turned and disappeared in the opposite direction, clearly what little breeze there was, was blowing my scent right at them.
8th After four days of regularly seeing the turtle dove I thought about taking some pictures.... too late this was the last day it was here.
9th While patiently waiting at the hide tonight, I could hear some faint thunder, several seconds count after seeing the skies light up with lightning. After a few more minutes, the silence was gently broken by the light pattering of rain on the crisp leaves overhanging the sett. I should have left at this point. However believing that the rain would not amount to much as I hadn't seen any forecast of it, I was dramatically awoken from my daydreaming by a blinding light instantly followed by the loudest crack and bang of thunder I have ever heard! The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and and my skin went cold in an instant. I stood up and thought "what am I doing? standing in the middle of nowhere, on a hill, under trees, the rain now absolutely tipping it down, thunder and lightning all over the place and I'm wondering if the badgers were coming out! Not so likely, they were probably tucked up in their dry and warm setts" I hid my camera under my coat to keep it as dry as possible and slipped and slid my way back to my car.... a few miles back towards home and the roads were dry as a bone ..... typical!
15th Two foxes were in the garden tonight but I couldn't identify either of them.
17th On arrival at work in Raydon this morning I was greeted with the unusual sighting of a male Ring Ouzel, It did not stay very long and the light was back lighting it, so I didn't attempt any photographs, but worth seeing anyway.
21st Attended the Suffolk Badger Group meeting at Assington which had some very interesting speakers.
26th After buying a Stealth Cam on behalf of the N.E.E.B.G, It was decided I should have some time to get used to it, setting it up etc. Unfortunately the timing was not great as it coincided with fireworks so for the next few weeks either side of the 5th November, the fox activity in the garden has been somewhat hit and miss. I set up the Infrared digital camera in the garden hoping for lots of fox action. However the first to be captured on disc was not a fox but a hedgehog! These first pictures were way over-exposed so for the later ones I attached a piece of cardboard over half of the infrared led's. As can be seen in the pics the fox's are still sharing food with the local cat who is still clearly the boss!
30th While at work at Great Horkesley, the local Little Owl was hiding up amongst the framework of some steps, not at all amused with me stopping the van for some pictures!
November:
10th Met up with Margaret Grimwade and visited a local Badger sett she goes to quite regularly. I last visited nearly 2 years ago but was out of luck on that occasion. This time we arrived what we thought to be in good time (1710) however through the night vision equipment we had we saw there were already 3 badgers out! Margaret approached slowly and it wasn't until the peanuts hit the floor, that the badgers bolted. Within seconds of her withdrawing back to my position, the badgers were back to be accompanied by a further 4 badgers. As we watched them feed 5 of them decided to have a group hug.... well actually it was a group grooming / scratching session. They stayed around for nearly an hour, one collecting leaves (obviously looking forward to a nice cosy sleep once its belly was full) before heading off into the night.
18th Started to convert one side of our double garage into a room to house my reptiles. This is due to the escaping mealworms and consequential beetles which keep appearing in the twins nursery. The fact that Iguana's carry salmonella in their dung and on their skin is a definite worry hence the building of two insulated walls and a doorway in the garage.
24th After spending all week building the new room, I moved the 3 bearded dragons into their new room with the help of Carolyn's father.
December:
2nd Dismantled and rebuilt the female Iguana's cage, in the new room, ready for the male Iguana and the Day Gecko to be temporarily housed until I rebuild the largest cage. Transferred all the remaining reptiles into their temporary homes. This went well as I was slightly concerned about transporting a little under 6 ft lizard! Saw Rogue out in the garden.
3rd Saw either Friendly or Mum in the garden
6th My first spotting of a Fieldfare today at Castle Hedingham.
9th Bought some camouflage clothing which is both very warm and water proof.
16th Went out with Wayne for what has seemed a long awaited trip. Although not very rewarding, it was good to get out with the camera. Having twins has certainly taken up a vast amount of my energy and time. I am 2 stone lighter ( not weight training ) and just constantly juggling time to keep on top of regular jobs.
18th Bought a new lens ( Canon 17-40 mm) so as to capture some better pictures of the girls.
28th Rescued a little Wren while at work which had got inside a pump house and kept flying into the windows. It seemed none the worse for its ordeal but hopefully wasn't too hungry.