More Than Just Birds
On a dull, damp morning this rabbit was enjoying a quick snack in the yard.
Over the years that I have been studying the area, I have used trail cameras to see what life there is and spent time simply walking around looking for signs of life: droppings, footprints and the animals themselves. One of my most memorable mornings was spent sat against a tree in the woods, surrounded by bluebells and birdsong, just watching what was going on. A wren was singing from a nearby perch, a couple of hares passed by only a few metres away and a roe deer checked me out for a few seconds before calmly walking off. It was one of the most relaxing things I have ever done, and I thoroughly recommend it. Sitting in the woods watching and listening to wildlife, in my opinion, is the ultimate way to relax and clear your head.
I have also seen muntjac whilst out observing. Unfortunately, I sometimes flush them out as I often have no idea they are in amongst the grass or brambles I am close to, and they see me before I see them. This normally involves me getting the fright of my life when they jump out in front of me! I haven’t photographed one yet, but it will happen one day.
There are rabbits on the farm, not many though and they do tend to stay close to the farm buildings. The rabbit in the header picture was photographed in the farmyard, just after I had arrived one day.
An unexpected close encounter with a gorgeous animal
Hares have made the farm their home, and quite often they can be seen on the track down to the hide in mornings. I have barely attempted to photograph the hares as my attention has been directed towards the hide, but I am starting to make an effort with the hares now. The hare above was photographed whilst I was stalking another hare, further away. This one appeared in the long grass only ten metres away, and much to my surprise, started walking towards me. It came out of the long grass towards me and then casually turned and headed off back into the long grass. Unfortunately, I wasn’t using a zoom lens, so couldn’t fit the whole animal in the frame, but I was still pleased with the result, and it was just amazing to be so close to one.
A beautiful doe after sunset
Before we had the permanent hide, I had seen roe deer in the hide area, both in person and with a trail camera. One morning last year I had just got out of my small pop-up hide to stretch my legs, only to discover that there were three deer walking across the bottom of the set-up. I remained froze to the spot as I didn’t want to scare them and was able to watch them walk on into the woods. Another close quarters wildlife experience.
The doe above was taken from the hide recently, five minutes after sunset. She was happily feeding on the vegetation around our cut patch. It wasn’t the best light to photograph a deer in, in fact, with the shade of the trees, there was barely any light at all! But it was just nice to see her at close range and capture the moment.
This year has been a bit rubbish for insect life at the hide, as has been the case in many places, but we have had a few dragonflies in the area. Common darters often come to the pool when the sun is out, and the pair below spent a couple of minutes laying eggs, which was challenging to photograph!
Mating common darters at the pool
If you are coming to the hide, there is of course a chance that you could get to see a hare or deer stroll by, both species do spend time in the nearby woods. But obviously, compared to seeing a woodpecker for example, it’s a small chance. But that is one of the great things about wildlife photography, you never know what will end up in front of your lens!
