My OperaBritish Wildlife Centre
Thursday, August 30, 2007 11:32:04 PM
Today's photos come from the British Wildlife Centre in Surrey. The BWC houses a collection of native animals in semi-natural surroundings. I wanted to check it out to see whether it was worth visiting on its 'photographic days' which offer better access than normal visits. It was slightly disconcerting seeing some of the animals in pens (especially the birds), but generally the surroundings seemed good and the animals well cared for. Many of the mammals are wildlife rescues which aren't able to be returned to the wild.
Most of the shots in the latest album were taken through mesh, and in light that was fairly overcast and certainly not conducive to bringing out the best images. I didn't get any usable shots of the badgers, and the red squirrels were tricky given the poor light and their constant movement. The weasels stayed primly out of view.
There's a newly constructed wetland reserve at the rear of the centre which certainly warrants future visits. And I'm fairly sure I'll book a photographic day at some point. But here's a taster... I took over 300 shots today, and am still working through them
Milo the barn owl is hand reared and seems to live inside the visitor centre! Very friendly.
Pine marten
Grey Heron, spotted out over the wetland area.
Little grebe with its catch
Otter
And of course, foxes
More photos in the British Wildlife Centre album
Most of the shots in the latest album were taken through mesh, and in light that was fairly overcast and certainly not conducive to bringing out the best images. I didn't get any usable shots of the badgers, and the red squirrels were tricky given the poor light and their constant movement. The weasels stayed primly out of view.
There's a newly constructed wetland reserve at the rear of the centre which certainly warrants future visits. And I'm fairly sure I'll book a photographic day at some point. But here's a taster... I took over 300 shots today, and am still working through them
Milo the barn owl is hand reared and seems to live inside the visitor centre! Very friendly.Pine martenGrey Heron, spotted out over the wetland area. Little grebe with its catchOtterAnd of course, foxesMore photos in the British Wildlife Centre album
ALLY G.ALLY_G # Friday, August 31, 2007 3:58:26 AM
Adele BrandSittingFox # Friday, August 31, 2007 4:13:27 AM
I went there years ago to attend some wildlife art courses, and I also felt a bit disconcerted at the pens. But I do remember one of the foxes nibbling my pencil...
Lovely photos with really nice fur detail, and it's great to see the pine marten! Maybe one day we'll have them wild again in the southeast - we can hope, anyway!
Mark JonesFlying Red Fox Blog # Friday, August 31, 2007 6:35:34 AM
Words # Friday, August 31, 2007 11:15:57 AM
Adele... those are well fed foxes, but I think she's about 11 so a bit of elderly spread is probably ok
Mark... it's a good place to see them close up. It's not as big as I'd expected, but a good visit for an afternoon. It's also on the flight path from Gatwick, so every few minutes you get low flying aircraft overhead.
Darkogdare # Friday, August 31, 2007 1:19:36 PM
Great photographs, I especially like the second one, marten.
The fox looks good though.
Louisvolkuro # Sunday, September 2, 2007 10:26:43 PM
Ah, I only saw one in my life but I'll always remember it!
Words # Sunday, September 2, 2007 10:53:12 PM