Everything is Permuted

It's been relatively quiet out in the garden. I'm still undecided about whether there are cubs nearby. The signs are good, but signs are not proof. It could be that they are still too young to come out, or are coming out very late into the night. And it's been quiet (as in no squeaking), though from last year's experience they don't make a constant noise. The young male is more active though (despite his daytime sleeping habits). He was in the garden briefly last night and this evening, and tonight I spotted him trotting along the pavement opposite, nipping into some other gardens.

The warm weather seems to suit the newts, one of which has emerged several evenings this week to patrol the edge of the pond.



The blossom is at its most beautiful at this time of year.


The seagulls are somewhat frisky too...

More of this sequence in the Gulls Ahoy! album

And the sheep are enjoying the sunshine.



But the star of this show is the fox, so I'll close this entry with a photograph taken earlier this evening of the young male.

The weather was beautiful today, and we were fortunate to spend a good part of it in the town of Berkhamsted. The town is rich in English history, boasting one of the earliest castles built after the Norman Conquest of 1066 (William of Normandy was offered the Crown in Berkhamsted), links with Chaucer, the Black Prince, and Thomas a` Becket.

But me being me and knowing next to nothing of the history of the place before I arrived, I spent most of the day exploring the canal and castle ruins with the camera. A selection of photos are in the Berkhamsted Wildlife and Castle album (more to be added later), but as a taster I'm including some here. The canal is a wonderful haven for water fowl, as well as houseboats and barges. Here are a few of the birds. Some of the identifications in the album need tidying up, but I'll try and confirm the varieities of duck and other fowl as I dig through various field guides and websites It was a beautiful day, and a place I'm sure I'll visit again. Next time I'll check out the history as well (and invest in some more data cards. 2 gigs goes nowhere it seems).

Mallard duck (female)

Another female mallard

The blackheaded gulls were a treat to watch.

A common coot

Click image to enlarge
Posted in the Wildlife Group