Monday, 7 September 2009
Friday, 4 September 2009
Thursday, 3 September 2009
A gratifying night's video shoot ...
I never go out each night on my 'rounds' with any expectations of getting good footage of animals - most times I don't take the cam at all. Tonight with virtually a full moon, I took the cam along and was rewarded with some great clips. Using a different light setting and reducing the lux to 2, the quality was somewhat reduced but the clip stayed in focus throughout. The above extrapolated still shows 'Jackal' approaching to take a piece of chicken from my hand. The vid clip is magical and I'll get it compressed to AVI and posted later today as it's now 02:50 and I'm about to retire for the night. Also got footage of My Vixen outside the bungalow and the coastal fox to process. A good night's work.
Monday, 31 August 2009
CLASSIC EX HEADER PICS: 'Snatcher' ...
... a very special fox - a rural fox which took food from my hand after only 5 days ... his eyes are focused on a piece of chicken held in my right hand while this still is extrapolated from the vid clip on my cam held in my left hand. Illumination is from an LED head torch. A fluke shot as I'm no photographer. The extraordinary vid clip will be posted again soon - there's nothing like it anywhere on the internet ...
Friday, 28 August 2009
A batty bat, return of the Jackal and an owl swoops ...
Fun and games at CRUISEDOG TOWERS tonight ... had to duck when a bat dive-bombed the light from my head torch as I was feeding My Vixen just outside the back door. Couldn't identify it but it was a pretty large one and scared the hell out of me. Very relieved to see 'Jackal' half way through our cliff rounds. He had been missing for two nights in a row and I was getting uneasy. He was very skittish at first - the gusting wind not helping - but eventually he approached to take food from my hand. Last chore of the night (usually about 01:30) is to put some grain and seed on the bird tables (2) - again lighting the way via my head torch. A sudden 'whooshing' noise and a flash of white swept by me - literally only a few inches from my face. It was our local Barn Owl, who had been looking for rodents who grub around for dropped seed from the table. By the time I reached the kitchen I had developed a rather nervous twitch ...
Saturday, 22 August 2009
Where the deer and the antelopes play ...
Well, badgers and foxes together, actually. Although the Cruisedog and I follow more or less the same routine every night - whatever the weather - the wildlife we encounter regularly change theirs. However, for the past few nights there is one location - our last port of call - where both badgers and foxes await, separated by a few feet. Originally a badger point, a roaming and inquisitive fox watched the feed from some way off and then 'gatecrashed' the party the next night, much to the annoyance of the badger regulars. He liked the arrangement so much, he brought his buddies with him a few nights later and now we have a similar plot to that of West Side Story (1961) and the two rival NY gangs - the Sharks and the Jets. Nerve-wracking at times as the badger boar sometimes charges and scatters the foxes when he thinks they're after his banana (badgers love bananas, by the way) ... as I keep saying, every night a different adventure for us ...
Tuesday, 11 August 2009
Just off on our coast walk ...
... in case you didn't know by now, the Cruisedog and I have a nightly round where we walk a circuit observing all manner of wildlife - badgers, foxes, owls and anything else abroad in the early hours when most folk have retired for the night and on occasions we get some camcorder footage (see side panel or type in fox or badger in the search box on the left) .... Every night is different, every night an adventure for both of us. We'll get some more pics posted when we return in an hour or so ... seldom get any shuteye until 4 am ... a dedicated nightbird ...
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