Everything is Permuted

The current good weather is holding, at least for a few days more. This is where I had lunch.


It's a good time of year for bird watching. They're busy feeding themselves are the privations of winter, and there's plenty for them to choose from. It's not, however, such a good time of year for the humble worm.




Those were a blackbird photographed at the edge of a churchyard early this morning. Blackbirds tend to keep to the undergrowth. Pied wagtails like to feed out in the open.


I think this next shot is a mistle thrush. Partly because it is out in the open, but also the stance and the irregular patterning.




The tadpoles are continuing to develop well. The newts are leaving them alone; and more have hatched, this time nearer to the surface of the pond.


Oh, and a wood mouse has turned up in the garden. It's a while since I've seen any and they haven't yet discovered the bird feeders this year.


Camera note: all shots taken with the Canon 7D, The birds were taken with the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens, the landscape with the EF 24-105 F4L IS USM lens, and the tadpoles and mouse with the EF 100mm f/2.8L macro IS USM lens.

Ok, this is a rapid bit of catching up. After yesterday's excitement I headed back to the fields this morning. It was dull and very little was about, but as I was heading in to work along a country lane I noticed two unusual birds trotting along the side of the road. I followed them for a short way until they decided to cross the road in front of me. I stopped and grabbed a shot through the car window. It's not great, but sufficient to identify this as a partridge, most likely the red-legged variety.

Partridge

I worked through lunch, so have very few shots from the day, but this evening spent a little bit of time in the garden, photographing the tadpoles. They are abundant, massed on the surface of the pond.





While I was peering into the weed, I saw what appears to be a pair of near albino tadpoles, which are extremely rare. I certainly didn't notice any white spawn, so these may not be full-fledge albinos. And the odds of finding them again in all that mass are vanishingly low. Anyway here's the photo.

Albino tadpoles?

Later, while attempting to watch for foxes we had just about given up when I made one last check at the top of the garden and saw this beauty. She hadn't triggered the trail cam, but was obviously enjoying her sultana feast.

Hedgehog

As for the trail cam, last night's footage contained much of the usual clips apart from this sequence which confirmed my suspicions about a pair of foxes. I've posted this via YouTube for a change (Vimeo is playing up).



Now I just have to work out who is who from all the other bits and pieces I'm gathering at the moment.

Camera note: the partridge was taken with the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens, the tadpoles with the Sigma 105mm F2.8 EX DG macro, and the hedgehog with the EF 24-105 F4L IS USM. The trail cam footage was captured with the Stealth Trail Camera GL80.