My Foxy family is back and some lovely moments in Nature

A couple of weeks ago as the vegetation began to burst from the soil and fill up the empty spaces down the countryside paths making them into lush life filled mini woodlands. One evening I was walking by and I spotted a few leftover animal parts and as soon as I saw this I knew that my Fox family had returned with a new set of cubs ready to bring new fun and cuteness into the area.
I ended up hiding behind a tree and filming on my phone.

Altogether there were 3-5 cubs but they were so playful and running everywhere it was hard to count.

As the Foxes played in the undergrowth a Nuthatch called in full nesting season glory and filled the air with beauty of its song. I love the evenings of the summer but the early mornings are so beautiful and are my favorite part of summer as the light paints such beautiful colors that reflect and cast birds on the water into stunning views. They have disappeared in the past few days but they usually get more cautious and reappear as they get older and start homing there hunting skills through playing with each other.

Final flap before take off

Preening

Drying in the first rays of light

The sun rises fully over a nearby farm and the reed beds below

Goose nesting on the canal edge

Pair of Mandarins a few on the Trent and Mersey canal, Middlewich

Perfect spot for photographing the Otters on the river in the early hours of the summer mornings

 Stay wild be free and enjoy the Season to come

Mike

A Local Family out in the meadows

A few months ago at the beginning of summer I was treated to a wonderful British wildlife encounter that I always await for over the long winter months. While out walking through a freshly cut field by a local river  as the sun was about to set and the wind dropped leaving wonderful conditions for an encounter with Fox cubs. We watched as the adult left an area where the Fox cubs were waiting for the all clear to come out into the open. One brave cub followed the adult into the open field to look for an small mammals killed by the grass cutting machinery.

The adult moved off while the young cub explored alone so we decided on seeing if we could get a little closer without disturbing the family. We got quite close using a dip in the field to get about 10 metres away for a couple of shots before a dog walker disturbed the adult Fox which made the cub follow the adult into the safety of the undergrowth.
One of the photographs before the dog walker disturbed this wonderful family

 Cub and Adult Foxes

 The Fox cub is left alone

A few months later I visited the area again and saw the whole family including 5 teen cubs sunbathing and bounding around in the early hours was an amazing and beautiful thing to watch. I could not get any photographs as I was on my bike without my camera so I decided on just watching the family until the sun went behind the clouds that blew in from North.

Thanks for reading my blog

Stay wild, be happy and be safe
 

Mike

Drawing Foxes.......

While walking through the countryside lately I have noticed the smell of Fox getting stronger which means it's getting time for the breeding season. The breeding season lasts from December through to the end February at the latest, then there cubs will be born in the late spring. With Foxes in my head I decided that it was time to have ago at drawing them and I decided to start with a photograph I took this summer then move onto something a little more difficult to draw. In the end I found some inspiration from a fellow wildlife lover from North Wales.

Fox in the hills of Conwy

For my second Fox drawing I decided on drawing from a photographer called Richard Bowler who once looked after and raised a Fox cub to adulthood. While looking after the Fox they gained an amazing relationship with each other also his Dog Maddy became firm friends with the Fox. Richard got some amazing photographs of the pair together which inspired the drawing below.

Rosy the Fox and Maddy the dog "Forever friends"

Below is a link to Richard Bowlers photographs and I'm sure you will agree he has taken some amazing photographs while still having the time to care for our wonderful British wildlife.

https://www.flickr.com/people/richardbowler/

Thanks for reading my blog
Stay wild, be happy and be safe

Mike

Foxes from summer 2015

After going through some of my unpublished blog posts I came upon one from the summer. High up in the Conwy mountains we enjoyed many long and warm sunny days watching a family of Foxes living on a ledge which looks out to the Irish sea. We watched them playing, sunbathing and hunting below is a few photographs I took of the family members coming and going.

In this photograph one of the Foxes watched us from below as we ended up sitting on the top of a hill so we could see the Foxes below and the sea behind us. This meant we could enjoy the sun, watch the Foxes and keep an eye out for Dolphins on the sea.

We did not see any Dolphins on our June trip but on our September trip while heading to a local shop with no cameras. We decided to take the scenic route up the Little Orme and down to Angel bay to see if we could have any wild encounters as well as soak up the sun and views I love so much. A few meters out we spotted 30+ Bottlenose Dolphin breaching which was an amazing site. Seeing a beautiful creature off our coasts means more to me than seeing them in tropical waters in other places where there more commonly found.

Thanks for reading my blog

Stay wild, be happy and be safe
 

Mike

Cuckoos on Conwy mountain

While walking up one of the hills on Conwy mountain I heard a Cuckoo and after listening to it's cuckoo call we managed to pinpoint it's location. We found the male bird in an area of trees close to a farm and after 5 minutes of waiting the bird flew out and headed up to higher ground. It returned 10 minutes later being mobbed by another male bird.
I managed to get 2 flight shots and this one seemed to be the best one

 Mobbed

Only the male Cuckoo calls with the Cuckoo call and the female uses a bubbling call so it was quite interesting to see them competing for any females in the area. The 2 males kept getting mobbed by pipits that did not want them any where near there nests. It was great to hear my first Cuckoo and to see 2 on my second visit was a great result. Now I know there up there at this time of the year hopefully I can get back there next year or maybe in July before they leave as I would like to photograph one perched in a tree. 
I spotted this Pipit with food in it's mouth so it must have had a nest nearby

 Buzzard chased by a Crow

 This Fox was hunting in one of the fields near to where the cuckoo called

The views from Conwy mountain are beautiful as you can see by the photographs below

As this is my second and last visit on this trip it was nice to get a few photographs of a bird I've never photographed before and to find a new wild location to relax is a bonus for me. Since returning home I have heard my first Cuckoo on my local patch down by the river.

Thanks for reading my blog

Stay wild, be happy and be safe

Mike

An unexpected Fox encounter

One thing I have longed for in North Wales is a coastal Fox family and while we were up in the mountains sunbathing and joying the view over the Irish sea I finally got lucky when a Fox headed right towards me. While having dinner one afternoon I saw a Fox in one of the nearby fields at first I thought the Fox had spotted me but it seemed I was wrong as the Fox started to head right towards us scent marking as it came closer.

Coming closer and closer

The Fox ended up a few meters away but unfortunately it stopped right behind some nettles so i could not get a clear shot and once it spotted us it decided to find another way around behind some rocks below where we were laying. I am thinking the Fox was hunting so possibly it could have cubs nearby so we decided to wait and see if we could spot any other Foxes in the area.

Quick turn around

We watched the Fox head off into a larger field where there was small copse where it disappeared for a while. It enjoyed the fresh breeze and then left the area but it returned after an hour or so with a Rabbit!!!!!

Below is the Female returning with an adult Rabbit in its mouth which it took to an area of bushes near a small pond. After another hour the wait was worth as two quite large cubs came out from some gorse bushes to play in the sun. As the light began to fade we headed off with the idea of returning to the same place at the same time but next time we would get in a better position where we could get a clear shot of one of the adults before it spotted us and we were rumbled.

Two of the cubs running around, I was not sure if there was any more cubs hidden away possibly enjoying the Rabbit that there mother brought in.

We saw a few other Foxes hunting and scent marking in the same area so I'm hoping these are last years cubs helping there mother look after this years cubs.

You can find out what I photographed on the second day of Operation Coastal Fox in my next blog post

Thanks for reading my blog

Stay wild, be happy and be safe
 

Mike

Lower Moss wood wildlife hospital

 A quick post today to show a local project and I really respect the people and the work they do.

Here's some information about them:

www.lowermosswood.org.uk

Lower Moss Wood has been an educational nature reserve and wildlife hospital for over twenty years. The warden, Ray Jackson MBE, with help from his band of volunteers, has been providing a place for schools, disabled visitors, environmental groups and many others to come and enjoy the the countryside, learn about conservation and the environment ... and have a good day out!

The wildlife hospital is situated within the wood, near Knutsford in Cheshire, and takes in any orphaned, sick or injured wild animal or bird for care, rehabilitation and eventual release back into the wild. In addition to the hospital itself there are a number of aviaries and purpose built recuperation pens. Over the last few years the number of casualties brought to the wildlife hospital has gradually increased, at present totaling around 2000 each year. Animals range from badgers and foxes, to hedgehogs and bats, and bird species vary from small garden birds to owls and other birds of prey (and the occasional rarity such as a frigate bird). The wildlife hospital is not open for viewing, but visiting parties can learn about the work that takes place there during their trip. Lower Moss Wood is also a private nature reserve; seventeen acres of mixed woodland set in two hundred and eighty acres of arable farmland in the heart of rural Cheshire. The nature reserve is managed to provide many different habitats and so encourages a wide variety of flora and fauna. There is a half-mile circular path that meanders through the Wood, enabling many interesting observations without destruction of precious habitats. There are a number of vantage points to view the ponds, and hides overlook a peat bog and a wooded glade.

Photographs and description above belong to:

 Lower Moss Wood Educational Nature Reserve and Wildlife Hospital

I wish I could get involved with the project but it looks like they get so many volunteers that I don't think I would even have a chance. As it's a wonderful project I am only happy to blog about and share the good work they do.

Thanks for reading my blog

Stay wild, be happy and be safe
 

Mike

Top 14 Wild moments of 2014 part 1 of 2

As it's the last day of 2014 I decided to post a quick review of my top 14 wild encounters and moments from 2014. There not in any particular order as each one was very special to me.

1-My first ever Dolphin encounter at sunset on the North Wales coast at Llandudno.

2-Filming my local Mute Swan pair from nest building to egg laying to Cygnets and them leaving.

3-We had to rescue 2 Cygnets as they got separated from the other 6 and the adults and reuniting them was a very nice thing to watch.

4-Having a close encounter with a local Fox that lived next to the holiday cottage where I stay regularly.

5-A Buzzard caught a Rabbit on a cliff edge next to the sea and it flew over the sea with it while it was still alive.

6-I have been checking a regular sighting spot on the coast for Purple Sandpipers but one day in April I was climbing over some rocks on the beach and 2 birds on one rock.

7-While walking back from a summers visit to my favorite Badger sett I bumped into some fledgling Kingfishers that were still unafraid of humans.

More to come asap

Thanks for reading my blog and have a great New year

So stay wild, be happy and be safe

Mike

Badger visiting my artificial den!!!!

In this post a Badger visits my artificial den I made for Foxes. After placing a Camera trap on the entrance I found the Badgers were visiting and eating the food I was leaving to tempt in Foxes to checkout my den. I think I heard a Cuckoo calling from the woodland in this video at about 2.28 seconds into the video.

The video below shows the Badger coming out of the den and then returning into the den exiting from another entrance at the opposite end of the den.

Thanks for visiting

Mike

Watch more of my YouTube videos here

Fox cub with no tail :-(

While walking back from the Great Orme we ended up on the outskirts of Llandudno and on the floor I spotted a small Foxes tail probably a Fox cubs tail and there were no foxes around or blood from the tail. I am not sure how this happened but somewhere at the sea side town of Llandudno there is a Fox cub with no tail if anyone's heard or seen anything like this before then let me know. I just wish I had picked up the tail and examined it abit more then I might have more answers but when we went back the next day it was no where to be seen.

One theory I had was a Fox cub had died on one of the ormes and a Corvid had 
picked up the tail from the body and dropped it when it realized it could not be eaten.

Thanks for visiting 

Mike

The Foxes next door and across the road!!!!

On my way back from doing some Dolphin spotting and hearing that they were close to shore further up the coast only about 30 minutes walk from the cottage where we were staying. As the sun was about to go down I decided not to go and see if we could find the pod as it would have been too dark to see them or take photographs and it was lucky we didn't go to Rhos on sea to see the Dolphins as walking back to the cottage we noticed a Fox come out from the garden next door to where we were staying but as it saw us heading up the hill it stood for 30s watching then headed back into next doors garden.

I managed to get a couple of shots which I was happy with and it was probably the closest I had been to an Urban Fox in day light.

 We never saw this individual again over the 2 weeks we stayed there. While looking out of the upstairs bedroom window one day at the beautiful surroundings of the woodlands and cliff edges I spotted a Vixen and 2 cubs playing and sunbathing each evening as the sun went down.

The family was to far away to photograph but I managed to film on my DSLR and watch there antics through binoculars as they played in the sun.

Our setup where we watched the Foxes from became an office for the trip

 My DSLR setup on the Foxes

 The view from the window the only thing that spoiled it was the telephone line

 
Thanks for visiting 

Mike

View from the Little Orme over Penryhn bay