While I enjoy camouflaging up and staking out an area, I really just enjoy walking and shooting, even though physically I can only do this for a couple of hours before the back ache sets in terribly. I often push myself several hours past this point and come home shattered.
Nothing like being surprised by something walking out of the undergrowth – and actually taking a shot of it. Usually things like this startle me too much and I just enjoy watching it, but on this occasion I was able to snap this Muntjac deer.
Juvenile robins are really cute. This one hovers close to a beam of light peeking through the shady trees.
Blackcaps have a distinctive song. (Well, all birds do if you know what they sound like!)
Pigeons are my bane. They fly around making me think they are other birds, but there’s so many of them about, as evident in this walk by the fields close to Skeleton Woods.
This male pheasant croaks during a warm sunset.
I spotted this juvenile robin in the back garden, and subsequently its parent coming back a couple of times to feed it with insects. I seldom do any sort of garden photography and I wasn’t hidden at all or offering any bait, so I was quite lucky.
On a walk in Purwell meadows, I spotted several birds, including a Dunnock, Greenfinch, House Sparrow and a very wet but happy juvenile sparrow.
Finally, as I walked home from volunteering, I heard a woodpecker laugh and went to investigate. After spotting it (It was quite well camouflaged) and taking a shot, I decided I’d return at a later date to see if I could get some better shots. So stay tuned for Episode 17 – Dances with Woodpeckers!
Close to home wildlife 