Late autumn sunrise



Sometimes the wildlife photographer's lot is a frustrating one. After the constant seesaw of rain and sunshine all the work week, this morning dawned bright and clear But where are the foxes?

Sightings are rather uneven right now. Young male foxes from the year's litters are travelling away from their parents, seeking territories of their own, and run the risk of cars and unfriendly neighbourhoods. Even the established male foxes don't seem very bold; the Silver Dogfox has now returned, after an absence of a fortnight, but he is carrying an ear injury. And yesterday was Guy Fawkes Night, and the traditional aspects of the day seem to be increasingly giving way to nothing but fireworks The impact of firework noise on foxes isn't easy to quantify, but they certainly terrify many pets and dogs, and I would hope that everyone who wants to use fireworks tries to buy the quietest ones possible. After all, it's the explosion and colour which are the attractions, not the noise

All in all, I thought I was going to have a completely fox-less morning, but on my way back down the lane, a lithe little form far in the distance caught my eye



The pony took no notice as the fox trotted by.

Other creatures are more active. Squirrels are rushing down the branches seeking nuts to cache, and small birds are chattering from the treetops...and the ground! This is a pied wagtail.



And magpies are always with us

The weekend has gone by with rain drumming against the window and the trees shaking their dead leaves in the moody wind, and fog being tinted orange by the streetlamps at night. The pavements are deep in beech leaves now, and puddles stretch across the roads. It's a time of great change in the woods, with finches and starlings coming down from the north, warblers leaving for the south, and mammals on the move as breeding cycles start or youngsters step out into the world away from their parents. But it's also a time when wildlife photographers are prisoners of the weather and the most unusual wild animal that I saw this weekend was actually indoors!



I'm still learning my spider ID, so, beyond that suspecting that this is an orb spider, and that it's very fat or perhaps just has a wide abdomen, I wouldn't like to speculate too much about it.

It has been a bumper autumn for spiders I took this picture when I was down on the south coast. I think it's a missing sector spider Zygiella x-notata, so-called because its webs have a thread-free section like a segment pulled out of an orange.


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The Tip Vixen has been visiting the back garden regularly; there has been no sign of her mate for a few days, but fox movement patterns are often erratic at this time of year.

So, back indoors Waiting there are several highly opinionated creatures, including Madam Inscrutable - that is, Foot, my tiny and very noisy 19-year-old cat, who has been driving me crazy with her demands for different food types this week



But at least she looks before she leaps.



Chiara just charges in whenever she sees anything that amuses her



And Leila is still very big



...and beautiful!



I am very impatient to catch up on the local foxes, though. Here's hoping for a break in the rain