"Hey, where did you go?"

Wild With Pants is currently off to Wester Ross, Scotland in search of otters. We'll be back in a couple of weeks. (Hopefully with an otter photo or two)

There Hare, Here Deer

This is a continuation of the previous post

As I was standing taking photos of the hares, stood stock still, I noticed some figures in the nearby woods - roe deer! After some milling around in the woods, I was amazed to see them jump a fence and come towards me! The female finally twigged that I was there (as you can see from the first photo), and then ran across the field with the male in leisurely pursuit. (I don't think he'd seen me, so was less of a mood to race).

All's fair in love and war

Leighton Moss on Friday was stunning. Warm, sunny and full of signs of spring including the "all's fair in love and war" which comes as birds and mammals get around to pairing up for some baby making.
Black Headed guls were making an absolute racket preparing to defend their territory which will evetually mean protecting eggs and then young from the circling marsh harriers, otters and other predators.
We saw a black backed gul gobbling up and enormous eel.
Lapwings with their electronic signal sounding noise soaring around with each other doing crazy aerial acrobatics (which are very hard to capture on camera)
Also the proud and graceful great crested grebes displaying to each other with a balletic dance involving swift head movements and fluffing up of beautiful crest. Witnessed them in anger though when a rival male shot across the lake and a violent scrap occured. It was quite a way away but managed to get the gist of it in pictures.
Went up to see if we could get any more shots of Swoop (our barn owl) but she was nowhere to be seen.

Spring emerges from out of the grey gloom

After a couple of gloomy, grey weeks where every effort to venture outside seemed to be met with camera-ruining drizzle, the sun finally shone and I was able to get out and feel the emergence of Spring, though Jo was unfortunately chained to her desk.

We're aware of where our local hares spend their day, so I managed to get pretty close to them before they hopped into the next field and out of sight. Usually the first sign of a hare is its rapidly disappearing backside!

Also spotted were three buzzards, a cormorant, some randy geese, the odd lapwing, and a few curlews. The colourful red fungus in the final photos is scarlet elf cup (Sarcoscypha coccinea) which is making an appearance in quite a few woods at the moment.

Deep in Hare Country

Went looking for hares since so far we've not had fab success in photographing them. Ended up deep in hare country and couldn't move for them. Pictures say more here I think....

....Added a few more. We're bogged down suddenly with hare photos!

Here hare here

Yesterday was pretty dark 'n' dismal but we set out on a safari early before the rain really hit. Wandered over barn owl hill/hen harrier walk but no sign of the HHs and now we regretfully are beginning to suspect they have left for higher ground as is their wont.
Nearer to home we stopped to look for hares. I was snapping a far away curlew in one field and turned to walk towards Pants who had camera at ready over a gate into a field further up. I crept up towards him and he turned to me and did the funniest thing. Now you need to find somewhere private and with a mirror here.... now pretend that you are turning to your pal and emphatically (as though shouting) but with no sound, mouth the word HARE. Take a look at the effect and I think you'll see it is rather daft!! As I crept towards Pants he was making this ridiculous face at me repeatedly - clearly concerned I hadn't understood but increasingly desperate for me to be aware that there was a hare directly in front of him, whilst not disturbing the beastie.
Hares, especially in poor light, are very difficult to shoot- they seem either to lie in and are hard to spot (looking like lumps of grass or mole hills) or they are dashing away from you at huge speeds. This results in the two types of photos above...neither particularly brilliant i must say.
Also a squirrel with a very ratty looking face taken the other day and published here for you to go "Eeew!"