Terrapins and Nuthatches

 It was very quiet on the lake for such a sunny day; the swans were on the island - possibly building a nest, there were no herons or cormarants, and even the ducks were scarce. The grebes were, however, on a nest after I caught them mating a few posts ago (click here to see that post). Here are some of the grebe photos I got:

The photo quality isn't great as I packed my video camera instead of my photo camera.

The next creature which I saw was a surprise - one I had never seen before on the lake. It was a terrapin, a type of reptile (and the first ever reptile on the blog) a bit like a turtle or tortoise. They are most likely a red-eared terrapin which has been recorded as an escaped, non-native species in the UK a few times before. 

That wasn't the only new animal on today's post. A colourful little bird known as a nuthatch, was also there.

That is all for today's post. Remember to leave a comment and thanks for reading!

Deer, Birds, But No Badgers

 I put the camera out by the badger set again this time. However, we got no badgers. It has been extremely stormy and rainy though lately so that is probably why - they often stay in the set over extremely rainy periods. The camera has also only been out for 4 days as I didn't want it to be out in a huge storm coming tomorrow ( it is April 8th at the time of writing this). While I was on my way to pick it up I saw a fox but I couldn't get a good photo (what I did manage to get is coming in a future post). However, you might have noticed that there are deer in this post - which certainly made up for the lack of badgers. But first, let's see what other creatures there were. We got loads of mice videos, but I can't really be bothered to show them to you as they are all just videos of them scurrying past.

Dunnock

A new bird for the blog, the dunnock. Chances are you have seen one of these in your garden.

Great Tit

We got a few photos and videos of the great tit, including this one of it attacking the camera.

Blue Tit

Usually a nicer and prettier bird, however this one looked a bit bedraggled.

Blackbird

Squirrel

Roe Deer

For the 6th time, the roe deer have been caught on camera again. Click here for more background on the deer and where they came from. they have been on my camera more since that post, including this one. Even more surprisingly is that we got them on two different days.

On the third day the camera was out, we got a video of it walking up the slope.

The next day we got one again, this time walking right in front of the camera. From the split-second you can see it's head, you can see it has no antlers meaning it is a female.

Five minutes later, we got another, but this one had antlers so it was a male. It is not rutting season, so I can't think of any reason that a male would follow a female. My guess is that it is just luck. There are only three deer in the woods that I know of (and the woods are quite small - It is surprising that the deer are there). There are two females and one male. At some times of the year, they will all be together, but most of the time the male is on his own and the females are in a pair. I also think that the male travels around the woods more, as we seem to get him more often.  Anyway, here is the footage.

That is all for today's post. Remember to leave a comment and thanks for reading!

Searching for Buzzards

 If I'm being honest, I'm never really searching for buzzards, although I do often see them on walks. This is two occasions when this has happened. One evening, I was a short walk to a place where I often see a fox. I didn't see any foxes but I did see two buzzards chasing after each other. In the confusion, I only managed to get one photo.

Another time when I have recently seen a buzzard is when I saw a few circling above me on the highway. With my long-zoom camera, these are some of the photos I managed to get. 

That is all for today's post. Stay tuned for more 'searching for' posts coming soon. What animal should I search for next? Remember to leave a comment and thanks for reading.

Life on the Canal

 On my walk today ( April 5th) I saw quite a few birds on and near the canal. The first thing I saw was a huge heron which sprang out of the canal and into a nearby field. Here is a video and a few photos.

We also saw a moorhen.

After that, we saw a pair of pheasants in a field from the canal. We got a better video than when I went searching for pheasants.

The next two birds are (yet again) 2 new species for the blog. After we came off the canal we saw a small bird of prey known as a kestrel. Here is the footage:

The final bird is another new one called a lapwing. It was quite far off in a field but there is no mistaking it for anything else - lapwings are distinct birds.

That is all for today's post. Remember to leave a comment and thanks for reading!

More Bird Life From The Lake

  A few posts ago I said that a part 2 was coming out featuring more things I saw that day (click here to see that post). This post shows more of the birds that we saw. Most of them are tufted ducks, swans and Canada geese. If you have seen some of my other posts you can probably tell which bird is which. Hope you enjoy!

Remember to leave a comment and thanks for reading!

My Top 5 Favourite Squirrel Photos/Videos

 In today's post, we will go through my favourite photos of one of the most majestic animals we have on the blog - squirrels. You can probably understand why I am picking the squirrel to do this post about; they are one of the rarest and most elusive animals we have had the opportunity to record - our cameras allow a glimpse into their secretive lives. Let's see what photos I have picked to represent this stunning icon of the wilderness.

5. A Good Quality Photo

It was an absolute privilege to be able to capture these photos of the enhancing squirrel. The quality is quite something.

4. Close Up of a Majestic Animal

Whilst having the camera trap out for the post 'Soggy Badger', we got a much more thrilling creature than what the title gives away. You guessed it, it was a lucky glimpse of a squirrel. Even better, it came right up to the camera! Unfortunately, it did knock the camera over meaning that we got no more squirrels that week.

3. Squirrel Action Shot 

There is no question in why I picked this photo of our friend, the squirrel. It truly emphasises why squirrels are so hard to get even just a glimpse of. Thanks to their  superb climbing skills and their ability to jump around branches, they can keep a watchful eye on us, even if we can't see them.

2. Night Squirrel

Maybe another reason that the stunning squirrel stays elusive is the fact that it often comes out at night.

1. Squirrels and Jays

Often, I put seed out to entice the remarkable animals to the camera. However, sometimes they are joined by a much less remarkable bird, the jay. I have had many videos of these fascinating interactions so here is just one, holding the number one spot.

They were my top 5 favourite pieces of footage of these enhancing animals. Who knows, maybe one day we will get some more priceless footage. 

Remember to leave a comment and happy April Fools Day!