Fox cubs

It was one of those phone calls you get that no matter what you are doing you drop everything pick up your gear and go for it! It went something like this: "Alan the cubs are showing". Fortunately it was from my good friend Neal who the day before had gone out looking for Badgers to photograph and he had come across what at first he thought was a good site, waiting well into the late evening he got a surprise when several fox cubs appeared so he had decided to go the next day and give it a go.

I got there only to be met by a " they have gone back in now", something I did not want to hear, but after an hour or so they started to show themselves again.

Given the location it was sometimes difficult with the light and the trees foliage and not a lot of the ground vegetation had been trampled down by the Foxes.

One shot that I was after was of a cub in the Bluebells, these I got a couple of weeks after our first encounter

Although his/her face is partly in shadow I do like this one.

It was hard going and with other commitments and the great English weather that was against us by the time that we could get back they were being very stubborn and hardly if not showing at all!!

My thanks have to go to Neal on this one for without his commitment (and did he put some time in) and his use of a mobile phone!! I would have not got the pictures I did. Cheers Mate.

Snails

Had originally tasked myself to look for Slow worms but like always were they were the day before as soon as I go they have moved on.

So with a couple of hours to spare the most abundant creature to be hanging around where Snails and I thought it was time to get the Macro lens or more the case this time the small zoom with the extension tubes on.

I was told that the trick (in most things you photograph) try to get the eyes in focus, ok if it is anything but  a Snail you are photographing!!

No good trying from this angle!

So I tried from this angle, never did say it was going to be easy!

I even tried when the eyes first started to appear

I managed one eye (fairly) sharp

And then after many shots I got two (fairly) sharp!!

You know how on this Blog I say "I will have to go back" if there is anyone that reads this; please do not hold your breath!

Female only!!!!!

Had a run up to a place I know that has always had several pairs of Redstarts breeding and this year was no different.

Spent a few hours with a pair that have nested in a old stone barn for several years now, but unfortunately this time the male bird was not playing ball! He would insist in going to the nest by what I started calling 'the back door', he just would not preform as like the female. Now don't get me wrong the female is a very nice bird but the male well they are cracking.

So after just photographing the female the excuse; if I needed one is for me to go back and get pictures of the male!!

As you can see there was an abundance of food around.

Seahouses (the end)!!!

Not far down the coast line from the harbour of Seahouses is a Kittiwake colony,although small in numbers there was still all the hustle and bustle you would expect.

From the courting couples

To those busily collecting nesting material from close by

Or for those that chose to collect a little further away

And then there was those that chose to chill out

Seahouses III

As we photographed the House Martins and Swallows I noticed as the tide had gone out a few of the waders, noticeably Dunlin and Ringed Plover were coming closer as they fed, so carefully getting myself into position I just let the waders come to me.

And not to be left out the Ringed Plover

Sometimes a little too close!