Time goes by so quickly and now that my new hip is settling in I'm back to work and struggling to get out and about and find the time to see my beloved wildlife.
I have managed an hour over a couple of mornings recently and despite the lack of wildlife I've really enjoyed that time on your own at a time of day that is so magical, the sunrise. It really is magical at this time of year and I've snapped a couple of pictures using my phone camera. I don't know why but sometimes I just love to leave the expensive and heavy gear at home and go out and see just what I can capture on my phone! Try it sometime you may be surprised by the results...
Sunrise in the Gordano Valley, North Somerset...
Sunrise over the River Kenn, Kenn Moor, Clevedon, North Somerset...
Foxy
going on is just what the doctor ordered….
It's the 23rd November and I've
just had a really interesting meeting with Gill who is a friend of mine and
looking at starting a really exciting pollinator project. I'm feeling alive
with ideas and thoughts of what Gill is proposing and the difference that this
project could make for the benefit of nature if she can get the right people
involved. The sun is out and I'm also throwing ideas around my mind for another
couple of projects that I am currently working on for my local wildlife group.
All of this is a very welcome relief in what is turning out to be a long
recovery from my recent hip replacement.
Choosing to travel back across Kenn Moor on
my way home I negotiate the twisting lanes out of the West End of Nailsea,
having to stop to give way to other vehicles who are speeding along with
drivers behind the wheel oblivious to the beauty that surrounds them or maybe
just living in a world much more important and stressful than mine! It's been
said recently that nature is a healer and should be prescribed on the NHS to
tackle work related stress and illness. I ponder this as I turn right towards
Brockley, 'nature and my wildlife trips are certainly helping me both mentally
and physically in my slow recovery', 'may be my good wildlife photography and
GP friend from Bridgewater, Tim, who strongly believes in this has a point?'.
Having negotiated the strange road island
whilst turning right towards Claverham I pass the newly rebuilt barn on my left
that was a pile of old stone for so long but now sits proudly in its overgrown
plot although seemingly still unused. I pull into the gateway of the field
opposite and muddy water splashes up onto my old truck to add to the dirty used
look that it so often has from my wildlife adventures at this time of the year.
It's here in this field just outside Claverham that I have watched and
photographed Lapwings and filmed over 1000 Starlings in the past. I always stop
here for a look but today there are just a handful of Black-headed gulls that
don't even bother to look up at the intruder who's just entered their world of
muddy foraging and squabbling.
The Lapwing photographed on Claverham Grove fields a few years ago...
I move off down the road past the turning to
Claverham Grove where I am actually heading and take in the barn on my left
that housed a little owl for so long, but now it has been completely re-developed
and this stirs an emotion as I think of all the current planning applications
around our local villages and the wildlife that will suffer if it goes ahead,
it makes me shudder to even consider the horror of this.
This Little Owl used to roost in this barn but it's now been redeveloped and it's now moved away!...
Turning around I take a left into Claverham
Grove up over the railway bridge and look for the Young female Kestrel that so
often sits on the telegraph poles here. Today she's absent but unknown to me
she will give me the ultimate reward for perseverance in only a few days
time!
Perseverance and local knowledge gave me the opportunity to enjoy and capture this beautiful Kestrel a few days later...
On the sharp left-hand bend I add another
layer of mud to my now dull paintwork as I bump to a stop in the entrance of
the rough lane that leads out towards the Old Kenn river. Here you can often
see large flocks of birds and watch hunting birds of prey such as Sparrowhawks
and Peregrine. In summer the occasional Hobby can be seen swooping down to
chase the dancing dragonflies of high summer that seem so far away now. These
fields here are affectionately called the 'Swan Fields' due to the large number
of Mute Swans that overwinter on them, quite a spectacle and one worth taking
the time to see at this time of year. You never know what can turn up here and
it's in this very spot four years ago that I recorded the first sighting of
Bewicks Swan on Kenn Moor, a real thrill. Today however it's quiet with little
to see but ten minutes of scanning with the binoculars is somehow therapeutic
this morning and the late season sun could only brighten the lowest mood.
Kenn Moor Swan Fields...
A local reserve is next on my list and this
really is a magical place that my wildlife group have done a wondrous job of
turning into such a superb nature reserve. I always stop here when out on the
moors and recently on visits I have noticed that a fox can often be seen
foraging at the bottom of the drove that runs aside it. I park up the truck so
as not to cause an obstruction and scan the fields and drove with my binoculars
and there she is once again, right at the bottom of the drove a beautiful and well-conditioned
fox! I'm sure she's a vixen and she's just pouncing and playing in the sun
without what seems like a care in the world! What a sight and a moment that I
have dreamed of for so long, a chance to maybe get a little closer and observe
her in her natural surroundings. It amazes me how special this moment feels
having imagined it for so long. I have observed countless 'city' foxes prior to
an early shift or during night shifts whilst working in Bristol but these
animals are different, brazen, fearless, unkempt and mangy. I remember one
morning when I parked my truck in the St Pauls area of Bristol and four foxes
passed within a few feet of me but it felt more like a passing group of
'hoodies' not the wonderful animal that I am looking at now!
Carefully so as not to disturb her I slip
through the gate and check the wind, it's blowing left to right but slightly
back towards me, perfect! This is simple field craft but so important if not to
disturb our wonderful wildlife. When I check the wind direction I automatically
check the sun and more importantly my shadow, this is especially important with
butterflies and insects that will vanish the moment that the warmth of the sun
disappears in your shadow with the result usually being the failure to secure a
picture. I'm wearing drab clothing, brown trousers and an army green coloured
top, perfect for preventing obvious movements and concealing me against the
hedgerow that I'm using as cover whilst creeping forward. My camera is on with
settings already programmed in and of course lens cap off, the failure of so
many perfect photo opportunities!
This isn't a race it's one foot placed
carefully and slowly in front of the last, with the wind in the right direction
and plenty of cover noise is my only enemy. A stop every ten steps or so shows
the vixen fully engaged in her game and oblivious to my careful approach. I
don't want to get to close as this would be unfair and should always be avoided
so as not to disturb your subject but close enough for a record shot would be
great and hopefully she will never know I was there. Half way down the grove a
tree has fallen and has been cut to clear the path but still crosses the rhyne
that it has fallen across and no doubt now offers a bridge to my new vixen
friend, I can imagine her crossing the log claws scratching against the thickly
fissured bark. But for now this is base camp and cover for me to crouch behind
and get my picture but more importantly spend some time just watching and
enjoying this amazing creature without disturbing her. 'Click, Click' I get my
shot for the record but the sound of the camera shutter alerts her and she
looks up but her look is inquisitive and she takes ten steps towards me, what a
treat! I stay still and low a sudden movement would disturb her but right now
she is focused only on me and approaches me slowly obviously intrigued by this
new addition to her wild world. I can now clearly see her, she's fit and well
fed, her coat glows orange in the late morning sun and her brown eyes are alert
and bright reflecting the light from this beautiful morning. How could anyone
not be enthralled by this moment, nothing else comes close, man and beast
together here in North Somerset on this fine November morning. I'm excited but
calm and she approaches further towards me, now within ten feet of me, I can
see the reflections in her crystal clear eyes that are locked onto me. Although
a magical moment it is at this time that sense needs to prevail as I don't want
her considering humans as part of her world and she needs some fear to keep her
safe from people who may not appreciate her as much as I do. It's now that I
stand and break the deadlock I hope the sudden movement will spook her and make
her turn away but she stands her ground for a moment eyes fixed on me before
slowly turning away and casually making her way back down the path, a quick
look back over her shoulder and she slips away into the undergrowth and is
gone.
It is now as I make my way back up the path
still slightly trembling from this fabulous experience that I remember my hip,
the pain having subsided during this magical moment, maybe those experts are
right and we do all need some nature and wildlife therapy once in a while…..
The beautiful Red Fox that prompted me to write this tale...
Until next time...
Best regards
Higgy
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