Some familiar faces and an unusual rabbit
Saturday, 10. January 2009, 00:51:43
The winter light is so good that inevitably I gathered several more photos today. Regular visitors will recall the somewhat blurred shot of a lapwing from Tuesday's post. Well, I had another sighting today, in more or less the same spot. This time though I was able to track it as it flew overhead and although far from the best b-i-f (bird in flight) I've managed, at least it's in focus this time.
Lapwing
There were plenty of the more common local birds in the vicinity, including this crow which flew past while I was surveying the fields from an excellent raised vantage point.
Crow
And I can hardly ignore the robins, which seem to be falling over themselves to get in front of the camera at the moment. This one seemed quite intent on being noticed.
Robin
The final shot tonight is more of a reference photo. I was unable to get anywhere near the subject, but spotted it in the distance and took a few frames as I tried (unsuccessfully) to get within proper range of the lens. Nothing particularly unusual about the species. It's a rabbit, and we have countless rabbits around here. What made this one special though was the colour. It's a black (melanistic) variant, the first such one I've seen in the wild. Melanism, is a pigmentation variant caused by an excess of melanin (logical) and is occasionally seen in foxes, squirrels, rabbits (evidently), and cats (among other mammals). The photo is heavily cropped.
Black (melanistic) rabbit

Camera note: all shots taken with the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens.
LapwingThere were plenty of the more common local birds in the vicinity, including this crow which flew past while I was surveying the fields from an excellent raised vantage point.
CrowAnd I can hardly ignore the robins, which seem to be falling over themselves to get in front of the camera at the moment. This one seemed quite intent on being noticed.
RobinThe final shot tonight is more of a reference photo. I was unable to get anywhere near the subject, but spotted it in the distance and took a few frames as I tried (unsuccessfully) to get within proper range of the lens. Nothing particularly unusual about the species. It's a rabbit, and we have countless rabbits around here. What made this one special though was the colour. It's a black (melanistic) variant, the first such one I've seen in the wild. Melanism, is a pigmentation variant caused by an excess of melanin (logical) and is occasionally seen in foxes, squirrels, rabbits (evidently), and cats (among other mammals). The photo is heavily cropped.
Black (melanistic) rabbitCamera note: all shots taken with the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens.



Dudley # 10. January 2009, 01:12
Flying Red Fox Blog # 10. January 2009, 07:01
I hope to go to Gatwick today but delayed myself (should be on the train now...) due to forecasted freezing fog and -8c temps lol, only woth it if you can see what you are looking at! So going to wait until sunrise.
EDIT: Iam going to try Gatwick tomorrow now as the forecast isnt good for today, BBC Weather seems to not show the actual fog and cloud, good thing i waited until daylight.
SittingFox # 10. January 2009, 11:10
Love the "fingers" on the crow's wings
cakkleberrylane # 10. January 2009, 12:38
gdare # 10. January 2009, 15:24
Anonymous # 10. January 2009, 17:11
Heh heh!
A great shot of a superior beast! :-)
Of course, being a black rabbit, I've seen the odd one or two wild melanistic brethren, but only got THIS photo...
http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/onblack.php?id=2445078008&size=large
Lovely shot Words!
Words # 10. January 2009, 17:47
Words # 10. January 2009, 17:50
Words # 10. January 2009, 17:52
Words # 10. January 2009, 17:53
Words # 10. January 2009, 17:55
gdare # 10. January 2009, 17:59
Words # 10. January 2009, 18:00
Ukwildlife # 10. January 2009, 19:00
Great pics btw
Cynthia23 # 11. January 2009, 17:13
Words # 11. January 2009, 18:14
Words # 11. January 2009, 18:16
sprogger # 17. January 2009, 04:15
Words # 17. January 2009, 09:08
Vulpes vulpes # 21. January 2009, 17:51
Words # 21. January 2009, 20:30