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 and Barn Owls

With the nights drawing in and the darkness creeping in I have started exploring areas closer to me. This has led me to find a family of Foxes close to a river where I check up on this years cygnets.

On the few occasions I went to see the Swans I also saw the Foxes. Most evenings I left my DLSR at home and just enjoyed watching the older cubs play as dodge the dog walkers and chased the blackbirds into the trees. One evening when we had the blood red moon I watched the cubs cross the river using a falling tree which gives these cubs a good chance of surviving while they remain here.

I still go to see if the Foxes are around but unfortunately I have not seen them so I am guessing they have been chased out of there parents territory. Before they disappeared from the area by the river I had a sighting closer to home. One night I put out some meat bones and water for any night time visitors to my bird table which is next to the cemetery. While I was looking out later that night I spotted a cat chewing on the bones and the cat seemed distracted by something. Out from the darkness a young Fox came in but the cat chased it off and it never came back that night. I would like to think it was a last goodbye from one of the cubs before it headed off to find pastures new.

Also while out in the low light I found an area near to my home where a Barn Owl quarters the fields while on the hunt for prey. I tried to get a few photographs in the low light but as I did not want to use my camera flash as this would disturb the birds or temporarily blind the Barn Owls which would impair there hunting.

The best/worst photograph I got before the Owl disappeared is above. It seems wherever I find wildlife there is always someone with a dog off a lead which disturbs the wildlife from the area. I guess I will have to keep searching for those places where nobody else goes where the wildlife is.

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

A Family of Foxes on my local patch at last

While on a sunny afternoons ramble after finishing work I decided to visit the new wild area I found recently found near my home town. I was hoping to see what else was around while the sun was shining and the birds were singing. While on my way through one of the fields I got distracted by a Fox heading towards me, I decided to drop to the ground and get my camera out just encase the Fox walked right by me. The grass was wet but the excite of this stunning Fox heading towards me took all my attention. I could just see the Fox getting closer through the long grass, it seemed to be marking it's path from the woodland it came out from. As the Fox got really close I raised my camera and awaited it to pass, just as I was about to trigger my camera it quickly shot off back where it came from. The only photograph I managed to get was a little disappointing to say the least.

Photo Fox fail!!!!

The Fox returned to it's woodland hideaway it was nice to see the Fox react as I'd expect hopefully this will mean the Fox will manage to keep away from man. This will make my job harder so I think I will be pulling out a new piece of kit from my inventory. I decided on seeing if I could find out where the Fox had gone as I was hoping to find a Mother with cubs to photograph. I have been searching for many years to find a local Fox family as they don't seem to hang around, I'm not sure why but I'm sure it could be a hunter related issue which I will be keeping an eye on over the Autumn season.

Closer to where the Fox disapeared off I looked up to a hill I saw 2 more Foxes together enjoying a sunbathing session. The pair seemed to be adults not grown cubs and I noticed they were quite friendly with each other and they kept nuzzling each other so they could be related.

 Hiding in the grass

 On the run

They may have been after this stealthy Rabbit

As the wind changed direction the pair caught my scent and headed off in the same direction as the first Fox headed off to. I'll leave them for a few days and head back to see what else I can find but as I only have a week or so left before heading off on my 2 week summer holidays on the North Wales coast. Hopefully while I am in Wales I may be able to find a coastal Fox family but one thing I've learnt is to keep the photography locations secret as Foxes have many enemy's and as I'm a friend to the Foxes I will do all I can to keep them safe from an idiots gun or a hunter dog.

Thanks for reading my blog

Stay wild, be happy and be safe
 

Mike

A nest on the ground

While searching my new wildlife area my brother found a nest on the ground in long grass. We found the nest while searching for Foxes and on this visit I nearly stepped on a young Badger cub snuffling around in long grass near it's sett, once it noticed me it gave a big sniff and ran off into cover.

After abit of research I found out that the nest belonged to a _____ and hopefully over the next few weeks before I go on holiday I will get to see these eggs hatch and fledge.

Hidden in the thick grass

 6 Little eggs but will they all hatch

 The nest was well hidden in the undergrowth which got recovered with more grass when I left

As the nest is right next to a Badger sett where there are Foxes and Badgers I'm not sure whether they will make it to adulthood let alone hatch.

2 of the 3 adult Foxes I have seen in the area and hopefully there may be cubs nearby :-)

A lovely part of the river which flows under a bridge where I like to shelter when it rains when I am heading back from my new area.

Thanks for reading my blog

Stay wild, be happy and be safe

Mike

Off to find my snood but we found so much more

As I dropped my snood while on the walk the other day, I decided to head that way again to check out the other areas and to see if I could find my missing snood. We arrived at the area and I quickly found it by a kissing gate then we headed over to where we saw the Foxes hunting in the sun the other day.

While heading over I spotted something fly out from some logs near some Rabbit holes. I quickly realized it was a Little Owl and luckily it landed in a nearby tree where there were lots of hollow branches. I am thinking the Little Owl may be nesting in the tree so I will be checking the area a couple of times a week. I managed to get a few photographs before it disappeared into a hedgerow on private farmland.

Hiding in the tree you can just about see him

He seemed to be watching us as on the way back we saw him watching us from a different tree

As the woodland was quite well barbed off I could not access but I spotted a Fox skull within my reach so i got the skull and hopefully I can find a way into the woodland another time to see what lives there and makes sure there no suspicious activity as I think I could see a Badger sett through the trees surrounded by Bluebells.

I also saw a Jackdaw go into the Owl Box so there won't be any Barn Owls nesting in the area but I'm hoping they may hunt here due to the habitat being perfect for them due to the grassy plains and hedgerows all around. A very successful afternoon finding another Bird species I've been after plus another item for my Nature collection.

Thanks for reading my blog

Stay wild, be happy and be safe
 

Mike

A new place to photograph Wildlife

Last week we decided on taking an afternoon to walk to checkout an area of countryside we visited over the winter season. The area has a river, woodland, a few small pools for waders and lots of farmland.
A panorama of the area where you can look down onto lots of farmland down to the river

One of the larger pools where two Swans have decided to call home but there not nesting

The two Foxes were close to a woodland so they could be a pair and have cubs nearby. So I've found another area to explore another time. When I tried to get closer the Foxes disappeared into the hedgerow. I had a quick look there and all I could find were a few droppings and plenty of Rabbit holes.

We spotted this Owl box below where the Foxes were hunting. I am not sure if there's anything using the box but I will be keeping an eye out as the Nature footpath goes right below it.

 The male Mute seemed to be protecting his female rather than any nest due to there being no vegetation to build with

I spotted this Wader on a different pool but I am not sure what it is possibly a Redshank??

  On the way back we spotted these Guinea fowl grazing in a field

I hope to return again this week to hopefully put some time into photographing the Foxes as well as checking out the woodland and a few other nearby areas. On my way back I noticed I dropped my camo snood on my way back and as it was a long walk back home I did not fancy going back to find it.

Thanks for reading my blog

Stay wild, be happy and be safe
 

Mike