Tag Archives: wildlife

Marwell After Hours

We got some tickets to an event at Marwell Zoological Gardens that took place after normal hours. Having done some after hours events at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, we were interested to try this. It was a different format from what we had done before. Instead of lots of people being free to roam the zoo with various food outlets around the zoo, this was a more compact group of people. We were escorted by zoo staff including some of the keepers and they took us to specific parts of the zoo and were able to give us answers to any questions we might have while telling us about the animals and what they need/like.

While they wanted to try and keep everyone together, they were very accommodating if you wanted to linger a bit at one area. There was also a buffet mid way through the visit so we could all have a break and some food. The CEO was one of the people taking us around so you could ask any questions of how a zoo operates if you wanted to.

Zoo animals can always be a bit tricky. They do like to spend time in parts of their enclosures that are the least visible. Also, since this was later in the day, some of them were already getting ready to bed down for the night. However, we did pretty well with what we saw. The servals were the most elusive, but we did see one of them from a distance.

The rhinos were the trickiest. They have a large field that they wander around, and it didn’t seem to matter where around the enclosure I was, they were always far away. It almost seemed like they were following us around and making sure they stayed as far away as possible! I had not come with my bigger cameras and lenses and so the photos were a bit distant.

Whether it was smiling while watching the ring-tail lemurs, enjoying the giraffes as they lick everything with their massive tongues, seeing the tiger stretched out and dozing or debating whether the Dorcas gazelle where more interested in me than I was in them, I had a ton of fun. There was one enclosure that was particularly fun but that will get its own post. I would certainly recommend this if you are interested.

Hello Piggy

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Nancy and I were out walking through the countryside not too far from home. As we came along one of the little lanes, I thought it seemed familiar from a previous bike ride I had done. On that ride, I was surprised to see some pigs rummaging under the trees alongside the road just the other side of a fence. I mentioned this to her at the time and, as we walked on this day, I wondered aloud whether they would be there again. Sure enough, there were a pair of porkers snuffling in the ground for food. One was closer to the fence, so I took her picture before we continued on our way.

How Quickly Do Young Cattle Grow?

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When we first moved into our rental place in Winchester, I explored the local pathways and quickly found the Barton Meadows Nature Reserve. It surrounds a pair of fields that are still part of an active farm. When I first walked in the area, there were a lot of young cattle in the fields. Over the coming weeks and months, I saw these cattle grow from youngsters to sizeable creatures. It was surprising just how quickly they grew. Their fluffy mops of hair on their heads made them look cuter than the average cow/bull. After a few months, they were gone…

Spying on the Trout

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On a few occasions, when we have been in Stockbridge, I have spent a bit of time watching the trout swimming in the river where it runs under the road and alongside the pavement. This has got me thinking about how to get some good video of them. I figured the Insta360 X3 might be something to try. The invisible stick is pretty long which would allow it to go into the water and the camera itself is waterproof. I was too sure how the image quality would work out but, when we went to the Trout’n’About festival in the town, I took the camera along.

Initially the arrival of the camera spooked the fish which was not a surprise but leaving it there for a while meant they got used to it. It didn’t hurt that some people were throwing food into the river which the fish were way more interested in. I wanted to use the app to control things, but the connection was lost when the camera was under the water. Instead, I just started recording before putting it in the water. The images are not great, but they do give a good view of the fish moving around. Check out some video below.

The Lambs Might Be Bigger but They Are Still Cute

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Our visit to the rare breeds farm included some not very rare breeds too. They had a bunch of lambs in one of the barns. These lambs were clearly a little older than some of the others I have photographed through the spring, and they were growing quickly. This hadn’t impacted on how cute they were, though. Adult sheep are not the cutest of the animals out there but, like many creatures, the youngest ones are just cute. From a photography point of view, I appreciated that these have not yet been marked up with ownership markings. They look more ideal as a result.

Red Kite Was Not Part of the Air Show

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Airfields are not a great place for birds, but Old Warden seemed to attract quite a few of them. Maybe the vintage planes are less of a threat to them – a collision would still hurt but maybe they figure they can get out of the way without too much difficulty. A few of the birds seemed to be getting very close to the display line but one red kite seemed more intent on coming over the crowd line. Maybe it was anticipating something left over from the food everyone had or maybe a small child was considered fair game! Either way, it did distract me a bit during some of the flying. I know the resurgence of the species causes concern for some people, but I am just fascinated by how elegant they are.

The Foals Along the A30

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The fields along the A30 near Heathrow have horses that are a familiar sight to anyone driving by. I think I may have photographed them on a previous visit. When I got there this spring, there were a number of foals in the fields. Some of them were a bit far away but others were coming quite close to the fence. One of them was right up to the path and was clearly interested in all of the people nearby. There was no way I wasn’t going to get a picture or two of these cute little guys.

Cygnets at the Pub on Friday Evening

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Friday evening and we headed to The Willow Tree, a pub in Winchester. The river runs either side of the pub and the garden narrows to a point as the river comes back together. While there are plenty of birds around, it isn’t often that you see anything swimming in the river. The occasional duck perhaps. We were quite surprised, therefore, to see a family of swans come swimming up towards us. The adults had four cygnets with them. They would go off exploring but then, one of the adults would make a few low noises and you’d see the cygnets head straight back to their parents. I figured video was more fun for this so that is what you have below.

Another Caterpillar Web

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When Nancy and I were in Nanaimo, I took some photos of a web of caterpillars that were on a bush alongside the path we were on. More recently, we were up near Bembridge windmill on the Isle of Wight so I could take some photos of the windmill as the evening sun was lighting it up. As I walked back to the car, I could see something in the hedges and went to take a look. Tuns out it was the same thing. Seeing such a dense cluster of caterpillars is a touch surprising and I would have spent longer checking them out but the others were waiting for me, so I made it quick.

Jackdaws After the Scraps

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There is a nice café and bar at the Marina over on the Duver in St Helens. When visiting, we have been known to stop over there for a snack or some refreshments. The local jackdaw population also really likes it. I don’t know whether they would consider buying their own stuff, but they do like to see what is left by any of the other patrons. They are definitely wary of the humans but, if you don’t move too much, they get progressively closer.

I find them fun to watch. Crows and ravens appeal to me anyway but the grey feathers around the head of the jackdaws make them look a little different. I got some wider views of them including some video. I did also go for some closer shots of the birds when they would be near enough for me to do so. The details in the feathers when you look close at them is really interesting to me.