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Tales of a South Downs fox... and other ramblings

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Nature Blog Network

A kestrel swoops

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While many of the roads in the south are clearing, locally we are still surrounded by frozen roads while the distant hills maintain their snowy covering. The clear skies are keeping the temperature down, but allow clear views out to sea (the coast is about 3 miles from here).


The garden is beginning to thaw, warmed by the weak winter sun.


The cold snap affects all wildlife as they seek what sources of food and warmth might be available. Behaviours change and ranges widen in the constant search for sustenance. This morning a flock of black-headed gulls swooped over the garden, a welcome change from the perennial herring gulls. This afternoon it was the turn of a kestrel. Nothing so unusual in that (they fly high overhead regularly), but today it dropped low and paused to hover just to the rear of the garden. The local (herring) gulls maintained a noisy watch, but didn't disturb it.


Its hovering was in earnest, and after several minutes it swooped. I followed the rapid descent with the camera until it disappeared beyond the trees, somewhere in a neighbouring garden.







Nature Blog Network
Camera note: all shots taken with the Canon 40D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens.

Some more winter photos

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There's something special about days when the landscape is cloaked in white.
Snow clad Downs

The birds are ever present, their natural caution put to one side as they search out the meagre food supplies. And when the sun appears, the conditions could hardly be more perfect.

The berries hang heavy with brittle ice, slowing melting.
Berries and ice

A song thrush flits from tree to tree

And a wood pigeon lands on the pergola, throwing up a spray of snow

The little dunnock meanwhile seeks out a sunny perch

As the day draws to an end, the setting sun lights the sky with rich, other-worldly colour

Even the garden gate takes on a fresh appeal
Nature Blog Network
Camera note: All shots taken with the Canon 40D. The birds and the first photo of the Downs were all photographed with the EF 400mm f/5.6L USM lens. The berries and ice were photographed with the EF 24-105 F4L IS USM lens. The two shots taken at dusk were both taken using the EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM lens.

Foxes in the Snow (trail cam footage)

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I'll do a photographic post later, but these are some compilations from the trail cam taken over the past two nights. In the first one the blizzard is at full force during the initial sequence. Things are altogether more calm in the second video.





I've failed miserably to get any photos of foxes in the snow (they are made to be photographed in snow), but Sitting Fox has had rather more success.

A snowy day...

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Being perched on the top of the Downs, with hills leading out in all directions, things grind to a halt when we have a heavy snow fall. Roads are treacherous, and the elevation here means that the temperature is always a little lower than the headline figure so the thaw takes longer. The snow does, however, add something rather special to the landscape.
View from the garden

The smaller birds were busy in the garden (I filled the feeders for them).
Blackbird (female)



Blue tit and sparrow

It's a...

...robin!

And finally, a snowman in a local park
Nature Blog Network
Camera note - all shots taken with the Canon 40D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens, except the snowman which was taken with the EF70-300mm 4.5-5.6 DO IS lens.
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