Everything is Permuted

I had an unusually successful day today with the local greater spotted woodpeckers. I first spotted this female as I parked the car at work this morning. It was her call that attracted my attention and I eventually located her high on one of the boundary trees.




Later on in the day I was out in the woods which is where I cam across one of the many rabbits. This one was resting in the hollow of an old tree stump.


The woodpecker also put in another appearance. It's the female again, and somewhere in these woods I am sure she has a hungry brood.




No sign at all of the fox cubs last night, though I have heard them this evening and had brief sightings of Shutterbug and (separately) Mama Vixen. I'll be checking the trail cam tomorrow to see what else has been going on.


Camera note: all shots taken with the Canon 7D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens.

Two subjects today, and I was pleased to see both of them. Yesterday when I was scouting around the local woods I came across a tree which I thought looked 'interesting'. What makes one tree in a wood look interesting? Well this was a dead tree and it had numerous bore holes drilled into into it., one of which looked fresh. Woodpecker territory!

I went back this morning, and sure enough a female greater spotted woodpecker put in an appearance. It was brief, but a good sighting. Even better, this is actually on site at work, so I will be able to keep an eye on it over the coming weeks.




Back home this evening we were blessed with a gorgeous golden sunset over the Downs.


It was while I was photographing the setting sun that a very welcome face appeared at the back of the garden. Shutterbug, barely awake, was just coming out for his evening foraging.






He hung around for just shy of 10 minutes before disappearing out into the street via the side gate.





Camera note: woodpecker shots taken with the Canon 7D EF and 400mm f/5.6L USM lens. The fox was photographed with the EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM lens.

The mistle thrush is larger than the song thrush and more upright in its posture, but the easiest way to identify it is by its call. Not the melodic call of its better known cousin, but instead a call that closely resembles a football rattle at full throttle. This morning you could have been forgiven for thinking that a game was taking place at the nearby football stadium. A small flock of mistles were 'thrushing' for all their worth.

I started by photographing a playful pair. They were jumping between branches so it was just a matter of biding my time to get a flight shot.




The light was excellent and after watching them for a few minutes I stepped back to take a shot of several perched high in the trees. There are five in this frame, and one very colourful interloper. I really didn't see the woodpecker when I took it.


The next shot is one I like, not a thrush but a magpie landing in a ploughed field as the sun was rising above the Downs.


And just a couple more ducks enjoying the late season sun. This may be the last of it. The weather is changing again. Some rain and drizzle tonight, and cooler air on the way. Still, it's been a good month so far. We'll probably have snow by the end of it





Camera note: all shots taken with the Canon 7D EF and 400mm f/5.6L USM lens.