Early fox on the prowl

High streaky cloud formations created a dramatic sunrise over Bartinney Down early AM just as a fine female fox briefly breaks cover in the low light to hunt for voles in the rough grass fields.

Thirty minutes later with improving sunlight I was in luck as the vixen reappeared just twenty meters from my hedgerow hide-away near the banks of one of Bartinney's small ponds.

I watched as she located, pounced and dispatched two voles in quick succession after which she picked up on the sound of my close shutter action and immediately faded away under cover to continue her morning hunt in one of the many adjoining fields

A nice sunlit encounter with a fine looking fox and many thanks to Peter Tonkin for the loan of a complete camera and lens system while mine is away for a much needed service and repair

Red Kites in Cornwall

While working on Cuckoo portraits at Bartinney Down this morning a Red Kite appeared flying low out of nowhere.

I was caught in open ground without any cover so the bird clocked me immediately and went into a spiral flight that put to much space between us in no time at all.

I used my camera settings that were preset for Cuckoo portraits in sunlight and fired away in cloud cover until the bird became a dot in the distance as it headed on towards Lands End six miles away.

 

Exposures were not the best but I was so pleased to get this short encounter with the visiting Red Kite and hoped at the time that I might just see it again in a few hours when it headed back up country !

Bartinney Bits

Bartinney Down has been looking lovely in the early sunshine over the last few days with uncut rough grasses waving in back lit sunlight and the Cotton grass bog is just splendid.

I came across a rather large colourful frog doing his morning press-ups on a flat stone at the edge of the bog but he looked a little indignant at my intrusion and was ready to take me on,   

                                      I'm glad he wasn't any bigger but he is working on it !!

Cuckoo and Kestrel are still showing quite well but covering a large area which makes for sporadic sightings.

Several skylark were seen and heard singing their hearts out both in the air and in the long grasses.

Various dragonfly including this golden ringed species and Four Spot Chasers can be seen in the rough grass areas around the large pond.

The colours in the uncut rough grasses waving in the breeze makes Bartinney a real joy at this time of the year.

Early Morning Cuckoo

A Canada Goose takes an early flight from the Bartinney pond and presents me with a nice Fly-bye

A group of six Northern Wheatear were foraging on the down for grubs as sunlight lit the early morning dew

A resident Reed Bunting goes straight on the attack when a female Cuckoo is spotted.

A Male Cuckoo arrives at the same time and starts to display to the female who gives him her complete attention and the pair fly off together and all goes quiet for the following hour,

The male Cuckoo eventually returned but there was no sign of the earlier female and the male very soon starts his calling all over again.

The Northern Wheatear took note of the Cuckoo calling before getting back to their more important foraging for grubs.

My aim for today was to capture 'Mating Cuckoo' images,  I think I came close but it was just not to be today,  Even so,  Bartinney was a fine place to spend a few hours on such a bright still morning .

Bartinney Down

No Short-eared owl or even Kestrel sightings at Bartinney Down on the 27th of December but I was surprised to see that all of the local ponds and water-logged ditches were full of early frog spawn and the sunset out over the Longships was just amazing,

Ponds full of fertile frog spawn

This lovely sunset behind The Longships was taken on the Down using a 700mm lens from a distance of six kilometres from The Longships

Bartinney Dog fox

No Short -eared Owl at Bartinney Down today but my consolation  prize came by way of a fine dog Fox which came into the main rough grass fields to hunt for vole,  I have seen this particular fox work its way up towards the top of the down before but this time I got lucky as it gradually worked its way towards the pond at the bottom of the down where I was concealed in an overgrown corner Hedgerow,  I took plenty of images as the fox moved forward as I realised that the wind direction was from behind me and it would not be long before I was rumbled by the fox's keen sense of smell.

Dog Fox enters the field and is soon on the prowl

The fox gives chase to a vole but misses it on this occasion

Moving closer now but still concentrating on the Vole population

At around forty feet the fox crosses my scent trail and I've been rumbled

Just time for one more Portrait image and then the fox turns and retreats back up the field

Short-eared owls, Bartinney Down Cornwall

December 2016 has been a good month for Short-eared Owl photography on Bartinney Down near St Just, Two of these amazingly photogenic birds have moved onto the down and are currently involved in daily territorial disputes both with each other and a resident pair of Kestrel

Owl take-off montage

Aerial territorial dispute

Short -eared Owl portrait