There has been quite a lot of interesting wildlife, over the last week or so, around my home in Hampshire and I thought I would share it with you. There has been a Buzzard which has spent a lot of time around my paddock at home recently, I don't seem to be able to get very close though! This Blue Tit was feeding on a wild growing Apple tree, in a disused chalk quarry, just up the road from my house. There were about 5 0r 6 birds regularly visiting the tree feeding on the rotten fruit. Perhaps they were feeding on small insects feeding on the rotten fruit. There are also a few Dunnock around my home, and occasionally they even try and feed from the garden feeders. This is more often than not, rather amusing to watch as they struggle to grip onto the feeders. They normally give up and pick on the scraps of bird feed on the ground before retreating back into the thick bushes nearby. Whilst watching the Blue Tits feeding on the Apple tree in the quarry, I noticed some movement on the bank beneath. After sitting still and watching carefully, I noticed it was a hive of activity for small rodents for which I only managed to get one shot. I have looked at the image again and again and due to the length of the tail I have decided it was a Bank Vole.
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I have been spending a few days at home photographing the resident birdlife around my garden feeders. Unfortunately the first few days were a bit of a disaster. There was a warm spell which led to lots of insects coming out of hibernation and providing great feeding opportunities for the birds. Eventually the weather co-operated and the wildlife also decided to play along. One of the hardest birds to photograph in the area is the Coal Tit, they are quite common but they are very nervous around the feeders and they often only land on the feeders and not the surrounding branches. Goldfinch have also been proving difficult to photograph but at long last I have managed to get some crisp shots. There are a few pairs of Goldfinch around the garden and I have often seen them fighting. I have been desperate to try and photograph them but I have had no success as yet. Plenty of posing birds though which always makes me smile a little. There have been plenty of the other common garden bird species around this week including Greenfinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit & Bull Finch.
Over the last few days at my office, on the edge of Cheriton village, we have had some really good wildlife sightings. Two of the mammal highlights being Red Fox and Weasel. We have also had plenty of birdlife on offer too, a Peregrine Falcon, a Treecreeper, a couple of Nuthatch, a Marsh Tit and a host of other common garden birds as well as the usual wetland birds such as Little Egret, Grey Heron, Mallard Duck & Kingfisher. There are quite a few Little Egret feeding along the River Itchen at the moment and one individual appears at the same spot everyday. In the early weeks of February we had some particularly cold weather with some severe frosts - this image was taken on one of those bitterly cold mornings. The Egret flew off up the river as I approached, with little cover I was never going to get very close, but I managed to get a few shots off before the bird disappeared behind some distant reeds. The Treecreeper is often seen around our office garden and it seems to have taken a liking to our mossy wall, lining the mill stream. Yesterday it was back and was busy feeding as it clung to the moss clad wall, so I took the opportunity to get a few images. This male Mallard has been repeatedly seen around the mill over the last couple of weeks, spending much of his time with a female. The two of them have been feeding in the mill stream as well as scavenging on the dropped garden bird food. Today he hopped up onto the wall with his lady friend and posed for a few minutes whilst I took some shots.
As promised here is one of the shots taken with my old Canon 400D and the 300 f/2.8. The combination of the two looks absolutely hysterical and entirely useless. Unless you are sat in your hide with the lens mounted on a sturdy tripod that is. The minute my 7D gets back from its repair I can guarantee, I will be out there making the most of it. I also borrowed a friend's 50D to see how that performed on the lens, it was obviously a great improvement over the 400D, the Herring Gull below was taken with this combination.
Today I set up my hide by my garden feeders, I just wanted to see what might turn up. All the usual suspects plus a Greater-spotted Woodpecker showed themselves. After three hours or so, the light started to fade and the temperature started to drop. Without the light I went back indoors and sat in front of the warmth of the fire.
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AuthorBret Charman Archives
March 2024
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