Wednesday 30 November 2011

Muntjac in daylight






I couldn,t resist posting this snap of a farm cat.The muntjacs are showing nicely in front of the cam in daylight but i expect this to change once we get back to normal season wise as it feels like it,s a month behind and we are still in october.There,s still a fair amount of leaf on the oaks and some ponds i have seen from all across the county are dry as a bone.......

Roe fawn eating mushrooms








This roe fawn is eating mushrooms.This was the last time that any of the trail cameras have recorded this type of behaviour from the deer.We have had such a mild and dry autumn overall,about 3 or 4 degrees above the norm,that it,s been only a below average mushroom crop and yet all species of deer have been targeting them specifically.I don,t know why but mushroom eating amongst deer rarely ever gets a mention and if it does(no pun!)is right at the last of their stated food lists.I always thought that they went for the nuts more but not so or maybe just when the fungi are not quite ready yet....

Wednesday 23 November 2011

Fox gets starling that fell from roost










I knew that foxes and big cats wandered beneath rookerys for fallen or fledging chicks especially after storms but i didn,t know until i saw it on Autumnwatch once that in very hard weather foxes,at least, had been observed snatching up fallen birds dying from the cold.The bird does look head up and alive in the first 2 pics but definitely dead by the third.Why this bird ended up on the ground we don,t know but what does seem obvious that when this fox showed up later after the badger did the badger was in the distance and came no nearer.I,ve seen this before and i can only presume that a sense of ownership,for want of a better word,exists from the predator that made the kill.In other words if say the badger had got the starling first it would then most likely have dominance in the area in the aftermath over the same fox.A sort of "finders keepers losers weepers" mentality.......

Thursday 10 November 2011

Leaf litter










Mixed bag from set C.No story to tell,no behaviour to comment on just a collection of pictures of animals out and about on their daily activities.The pics stretch out over a month though ,earliest first and show just how deep the leaf litter has got......