Outdoor gear.

Since taking up wildlife photography last year I've just been wearing clothing from my wardrobe last year when I started I was just using my phone camera to take insect photos.
As winter came and I bought a bridge camera which allowed me to start taking photos of birds and mammals I started wearing darker generally grey clothing.
Now I've gone completely over the top and bought  camouflage clothing, green cargo trousers, a woodland camouflage hoodie, one of those wide brim bush hats and some of that netting to hide my face and break up outlines a bit. The best bit of clothing I bought was a vest/waistcoat with a flecktarn camouflage pattern it has fourteen pockets so I can carry every thing I need for a trip out even water proof clothing as it has a large pocket at the back.
Its great to be out and about in fields and woods and know that you have a decent chance of getting near your subjects as has happened recently with the roe deer and pheasants.

Roe Deer.

Came across a pair of Roe Deer. Quite exiting changing position and managed to get a nice photo.

Bird of prey.

During a walk this morning I saw possibly two birds of prey. One bird flew away the other landed in the farmers field. After a few long range photos it took off flying around my position it was mobbed by some birds that flew out of the woods at the edge of the field.  It came back around and landed in nearly the same place only to take off again and get mobbed again this time it flew off into the distance.

I continued my walk up the side of the field and found an area strewn with tufts of grey fur putting two and two together I think that bird has caught a rabbit here....a couple of meters away there was the rabbit, then I notice another dead rabbit. Two rabbits within a few meters of each other. I could not stay any longer and had to head off home but as a was leaving and knowing that I will have to go back later today I marked myself a spot next to the fence where I know  I can see the dead rabbit patch from a few meters away.

This was a new area for me to go to. I'm doing quite a bit of reading, field craft, animal behaviour etc. And I was looking on Google maps at my area and I thought that a good place to go wildlifing would be a wooded area by the side of a motorway looking at the map there always seems to be motorway one side farmers field on the other.  Pleased I went will be going back to watch the dead rabbit patch.

Hole Watching

A nice clear evening and I decided to go hole watching.(its easier than bird watching they don’t flap about.) In an area I’ve looked at before there is a long ditch down the side of a field, there are lots of rabbit size holes and several larger holes on the way there I took a couple of snapshots of a rabbit.

Later while watching the hole a rabbit appears so I took its photo

After a lot of waiting what should appear out of the holee .....another rabbit.

Rabbit, Rabbit, rabbits.

I'm quite the lighter nights already, I was out last night until about eight and rabbits where to be seen everywhere.

If I can see a lot of rabbits eventually I should see other mamals and birds that prey on rabbits.

I've been reading a book about wildlife photography and the author recommend using the flash on the camera. I was a bit sceptical about this but last night I tried it out and was able to take a photos before the rabbit moved.

I was quite pleased with this photo as I had managed to stalk up quite close the magpie flew away first and the rabbit maved a few steps later.

Diy Hide project.

For quite a while now I’ve been fancying trying using a hide. Things began to take shape when my son was cleaning his bedroom and he gave me an old igloo tent (one of those with the fibre glass rods joined with elastic. ) I’ve been doing quite a bit research googling hides the tent material is blue and silver and although I have seen a article where someone sprayed the material camo colours I think it would be to cramped for me.I am going to use the fibre rods as up rights, and I sort of visualise the camera tripod leg being part of the frame work. I have ordered a piece of camouflage material 3m by 1.5m. I’ve also ordered a camouflage poncho that I can use in the construction it will also be useful on a day to day basis due to the amount of rain we get.As to where I’m going going to set up I’ve been walking in a wooded area, I’ve heard owls nearby on a morning and what I think is woodpecker. I’ve seen deer tracks in the mud and there seems to be quite a few animal pathways criss crossing the area. I’ve also found a squirrel feeder fixed to a tree half full of nuts and stuff.

My camo net and poncho arrived on Friday so Saturday I was up and out bright and early. I set up my hide which was ready really just a screen that I was standing behind a pheasant came into view squawked and flew straight away other bird were blackbirds and blue and great tit nothing I could not photograph through my dinning room window. Meanwhile in the distance and in the direction of the lake I could hear the honking of geese, “Why am I standing here while all that’s going on over there?”As the area lit up I began to tell myself it was not a very good spot to set up a hide to close to the bushes for photos. So after about three hours I packed up and headed for the lake and got some photos of birds in flight and a pair of Reed Bunting.Next day went out in the afternoon to a different area nearby I had added tent pegs to my hide kit. Today I made a much better hide I just used the tent poles to make a frame and put the net over the frame I tied one opening shut with string leaving a hole for viewing through and to darken it down I hung the poncho around the back squeezed myself in and waited. After a while I could hear but not see pheasant and for some reason all the birds decided to sit singing in the bushes behind me so again not a great success.I think the hide will be a better hide when it has been used a few more times so much emphasis is put on being down wind etc. And I’m sure the net will probably stink of chemical newness.

A grisly encounter.

went out for a late evening walk tonight around my local fields. I heard a pheasant nearby so decided to stalk it but by the time I got to where I thought it would be it had gone. Then I heard squawking and crashing about in the nearby tree line I walked across the field feeling quite exited the last time I followed the sounds of distress I got my first sighting of a fox. This time it was two birds one was a magpie the other was a brown bird of similar size they were having a serious go at each other just as I was raising my camera they broke up the brown bird flew to the left and the magpie flew straight up into the trees. I stood a while looking into the trees to see if anything else would happen. After a while I started walking along the path next to the trees and there in a bush hanging upside down was a magpie, I’m a squeamish sort of person so I didn’t look to close but some of the magpies insides were outside.On a brighter note I’ve seen a stoat on two occasions lately and plenty of rabbits and I’ve seen quite a few yellowhammer in the area or at least a pair moving around a lot.