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

Cute Little visitor to my local canal

While walking by the Swan meeting the other day we spotted an unusual bird in amongst the Mute Swans. It seemed to be very nervous and at first the bird was sat on the bank and when we approached it would jump in the canal and get mobbed by a few of the male swans. It seemed to hold it's own against the swans and when we backed off the bird would return to the bank to feed on the grass. After abit of patience the bird was quite happy in our presence as you can see from the photographs below.As I had seen these birds in a zoo once in a Flamingo exhibit so I new what these curious little character was. The bird is a Ruddy Shelduck and you can read more about the species here

Although usually seen in private collections at zoo's and WWT reserves it was very unusual to see one on my local patch. I think I captured the Ruddy Shelduck's visit to the canal exactly how I wanted to and I was very happy with the results. A couple of days later the Ruddy Shelduck left so I was quite glad to get the photographs on the day the bird arrived and as it was a sunny day the photographs came out the best they could.

Thanks for reading my blog

Stay wild, be happy and be safe
 

Mike

Back from a rest by the sea

Had a week away from social media and photography last week to enjoy a week by the sea. It was a nice break until I got ill and ended up having to cut down the long walks I had planned into closer, shorter walks along the coast as my energy was pretty low. 

So until I feel better enough to blog here's a cute video of a newly hatched Cygnet pecking at it's mothers feathers filmed in the Spring of this year.

Thank you for reading

Mike

Patrolling the local canals to keep the wildlife safe

Over the past few weeks I have started going for a night walk with a small group of wildlife lovers. Lately while walking we have noticed people not known to the area parking up and heading out with torches and species of dogs used for hunting at last light. So to put off these individuals from there activities we have been regularly checking the canal stretches and rural car parks along the T&M for suspicious behavior. As most of the group walks the canals regularly we know who's who and would recognize vehicle that are new to the area but we record number plates in case we find anything untoward. This afternoon we observed and kept an eye on 2 eastern Europeans in camouflage paying lots of attention to a local boaters cargo and as we have had reports of this activity where people come down to research an area then return at night with nets to catch fish and any other water bird life they can catch. As the T&M area of my local patch is where I do lots of filming of wildlife I feel that I am giving back by protecting and patrolling the area to make sure there safe from any human harm especially over the quiet and dark Winter months when boaters are scarce. The canal tow paths at this time of year maybe muddy and slippery but in the darkness there peaceful and on a clear night to get away from the bright streets lights and look up at the stars is a very calming experience.

Thank you for reading

Mike