Stoatally awful photos!

Is there anything more difficult to photograph than a stoat whizzing about in the grass when there is something in the foreground that your camera can't help but focus on instead? We saw a stoat in its winter coat a few weeks back near Newton, Forest of Bowland, and that time we were in the car, so my camera decided to focus on the dirty windscreen rather than out the window.

These shots were taken in Great Langdale campsite a couple of days ago. I watched the stoat from near our tent, without my camera, which was in the tent itself. The stoat vanished, so I went in and grabbed the camera, crossing my fingers that it would make a re-appearance. Amazingly it did, and I took a few shots - unfortunately between the stoat and I was a tree, a fence, and a wall. The camera quite happily focused on all of these. Everything but the stoat in its winter coat.

It vanished again, so I made my way to a spot where I could take a clean shot whereupon it came into view again, shot me a look before I could raise my camera, and then popped down a hole....

Pants

Camping in lake (erm Lakes)

Camped in Langdale this weekend. Couple of nice days and a good walk. Plenty of fine ales (Coniston Bluebird, Hawkshead Red) and some interesting culinary delights like my home made smoked mackeral pate and the ODG's chilli and chips.. filling!
Didn't expect to see the otter who visits the ferry pier on Windermere in Ambleside.... so we weren't disappointed when we in fact didn't see the otter who visits the ferry pier on Windermere in Ambleside!
Pants took some shaky shots of a white stoat running about near the stream where we camped. There were early bats buzzing about outside the ODG and lots of tawney owls twit twooing but not much else of interest.
Spent lots of morning breakfast times photographing chaffinches and blue tits who became increasingly brave in coming right up to us to eat the crumbs we put down.
Woke this morning to the sound of rain (which we had all night) and unsurprisingly discovered we were camping in a lake and that the campsite was flooded out. A very speedy de-camp was called for, leaving us soaked through and with no option but to head home.

Pick o' the Pants #2

The humble, mouse-like Treecreeper. Photographed at Leighton Moss.
As with all the photos, double-click on the photo itself to see a bigger version.

They're following us....

Firstly thanks for your Pick O' Pants!! The Magpie is a much underated corvid. Fact O' the Fatty... did you know that the Latin name for Magpie is Pica Pica? So Pants' last post title could have added a little geeky birdy wit had he called it Pica the Pants!!
Sorry for that - not well just at the moment - the mind is bruised.
On that note went to the bosom of the family for some R&R down in Wirral and would you believe it saw a female Hen Harrier out at Burton Marshes. (They're following us around now!!)
Some pictures attached to prove to the sceptics that it was a Hen not a Marsh. On way home we went via Leighton Moss and read that the otter had been seen a couple of times. Waited excitedly to no avail but got a long distance glimpse of a red deer hind in the tall grass right across the lake.
Adding too, a picture of a coot who looks like he's auditioning for the Natalie Portman role in Black Swan. There's a female golden eye and a goldfinch too just for the hell of it.

Pick o' the Pants #1

A magpie! Nothing out of the ordinary, but because we often don't look twice at the more common birds, we forget how stunning they actually are. If there were just 10 breeding pairs of magpies in the UK, everyone would be foaming about the bright blue flash. Because there are many thousands of them, we hardly notice it.

Addicted to Hen Harriers

Seriously it is dreadful.
Today is windy, rainy, cold, dark, miserable and yet we are pawing over the map and scrolling through our collected Harrier snaps and desperate to get out again. I dreamed about them last night!! It isn't healthy but they are so compelling and stunning. According to my beautiful Christmas present from Matt and Maz (cheers guys) A hardback full colour RSPB book of British Raptors - our rare pals will be heading upland in coming weeks for breeding and so we mayn't see them again until they finish rearing their offspring (fingers crossed for that - as Forest of Bowland Grouse Moors are dangerous places for nesting hen harriers -apparently thanks in no small part to evil gamekeepers who trash nests, eggs and kill chicks)
Anyway we had a to take some of the kids to a voluntary placement yesterday afternoon and half an hour drive in the opposite direction is Barn Owl Hill/Harrier walk - that would leave us approx 20 mins up there to see what was happening - long way for 20 mins.. to hell with it!
It was windy up there and not the brightest day but we saw him hunting over the moor and watched his for 5 minutes or so. A couple of buzzards then flew over making a big noise and the harrier sloped off over the ridge.
I reckon despite our misgivings about the weather we'll be up there again today (just can't help ourselves)