Everything is Permuted

One of the less familiar faces in the garden is the squirrel. I do see them every now and then, but usually they are skittish and sightings are brief. Also they tend to 'hang out' on the bird feeder which is usually in deep shade. Today, however, one particularly greedy specimen decided that a peanut was indeed equal to the price of a photograph.







This afternoon brought a different kind of surprise. We'd headed out to one of the local walks (Castle Hill), an area of scientific interest. It's renowned for butterflies and wild flowers. I've been there before, but as we entered one of the valleys I looked up to the brow of the Downs and to my amazement a string of kestrels were out hunting. There were at least six or seven in the air, a veritable flock. I'm used to seeing two or three together, but have never seen quite such a gathering. I presume there were young kestrels among the adults. Plus, it turns out when I checked back on the photos, one was actually a sparrowhawk

It was impossible to get close (believe me I tried) as part of the area is fenced off for conservation, but I was able to get several group shots and some long distance hunting activity.
Three kestrels

Hovering kestrel

Gliding kestrel

I will definitely have to head back there again when I get the chance, and try to find a route that takes me to the top of the valley for a better vantage point.

The other sighting of interest was as we were heading back. I noticed some pigeons take off from a field, but my attention fixed on the birds that stayed put and 'ran' deeper into cover. I'm fairly sure these are red-legged partridges. These are an introduced species but now moderately common in the south east (though not that easy to spot!)
Red-legged partridge

As for the foxes, well there were three in the garden last night at various times. Bold (of course) plus Stumpy and a brief visit by the cub. Short clips below.



Camera note: the squirrels were photographed with a new lens, the EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM. Not only one of the lowest priced L lenses (relatively speaking), but razor sharp even when wide open. The kestrels birds were all photographed with the EF 400mm f/5.6L USM lens.

Most days watching nature is a wonderful affirmation of life, but today brought out the other side of the coin. These first two shots were taken a few minutes apart, early this morning.

The first is a juvenile green woodpecker. It was beneath a building and I suspect a window collision as the cause, though there were no visible signs on the building above.


Just a hundred yards away I came across a second fatality, possibly the result of a fall (it was beneath a tree).


Lunchtime I went in search of more pleasant things, and thought I 'd succeeded with this thrush.


The thrush was quietly feeding along a country lane, but a few seconds after this shot it hopped over the hedgerow into a sunlit field. I stepped across to take a better shot, but before I could even raise the camera a sparrowhawk had dropped from an overhanging tree and with the merest flurry of feather and two muted squeals, it was gone (and so was the thush). It lasted less than 2 seconds from start to finish.

Finally, I'm still working on stereoscopic images. They will improve as I get more practice, and I will almost certainly go cross-eyed in the process. But today's effort is I think an improvement on the butterfly (at least I intended to take this). As before, focus in front of the image (click to enlarge it) and the hedge should pop out into 3 dimensions. It can take a bit of practice, but once you get the hang of seeing them it's quite easy.

click to enlarge

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