Day 268 - Bertie the Bat

lunchtime is crunch time

The batphone rang for Anna today, so of course she immediately donned cape, put her pants on the outside, and dashed off to collect little Bertie here from a local school.

He'd been stuck indoors over the weekend...they think he must have flown in through a door which had been left open late on Thursday evening...this morning he was found, tired and hungry, on the floor in the sports hall.

He's a Common Pipistrelle, and the school staff that rescued him named him Bertie.

Having found him to be quite lively and animated, and apparently none the worse for wear, Anna brought him home with a plan to release him this evening.

And so Anna ran through the usual checks...inspecting his right wing for any problems...there's no sign of damage here:

wing of bat

Similarly, all is looking good for his left wing too...

other wing of bat

...although he's not too happy about the inspection!

Concluding that all was well, it was time to feed him up for release...

dinner dinner dinner dinner...

Here's a long, unedited video of Bertie having a couple of mealworm for lunch.




His appetite was strong, as you can see, and he ate 5 or 6 of these on the trot!

As dusk approached, we headed back to the school where he was found, 15 miles away, hoping to release him around 10-20 minutes after sunset, which is the time that he would naturally be emerging for his regular evening's foraging.

When Anna took him out of his box to release him under the trees just near where he was found, he seemed oddly reluctant to go.

He was a little lethargic initially, and despite shivering strongly to warm up, he didn't look as though he would fly.  Anna put him under her arm (by which I mean, up her armpit!) for 5 minutes to see if it would help, before once more holding him up to the night to see if he'd make a break for it.

For a few moments we were concerned that we'd have to take him home with us, which would leave care issues to sort out for whilst we're away...then it seemed as though he was just going to fall back to sleep...



But happily, instead off dropping off to sleep, he dropped from Anna's out-stretched fingers, spread his wings (coincidentally, his own out-stretched fingers!), and disappeared immediately into the surrounding darkness, never to be seen again. 

Another successful rescue operation for International Bat Rescue!

Be safe, little Bertie, and try not to fly into any more buildings!

:-)

Day 223 - No Frankie and Bunny

brave bunny

We went looking for Frankie this evening, but all we found was this young rabbit.

We'd heard a horse whinnying over that way a few days ago, so were a little hopeful that Frankie might have put in an appearance...so we wandered over there in the evening warmth, only to find a meadow full of long grass, inhabited only by a couple of sheep that had escaped when the flock was driven through there recently. 

No Frankie...

But we did spy this lovely little juvenile rabbit, and he sat very patiently whilst I rattled off a few shots. 

A little too patiently, to be honest...I'm worried that he'll be predated if he's so comfortable as to ignore humans clicking away 10 feet from him...

Still, he's an amenable fellow, and helpfully supplied some blog fodder, on an evening where I was tired and struggling to feel inspired.

Friday night, innit?!

Thanks, Bugs!

:-)

Day 214 - Neuro-Synchronicity

jiminy?

Oddly, it was only this morning that Jiminy Cricket hopped and skipped his way through my mind, and then this evening whilst walking Jazz down the lane we met this little fellow.

I was on a management and leadership course (I know, right?), and following a discussion on Values, we were asked to spend a few minutes thinking about our own personal values.  The idea was that in order to lead, you need to know yourself, be firm and considered in your values, and understand how they correlate (or not) with the values of the organisation within which you're leading.

Really, it's not as dull as it sounds! 

Ok, maybe it is - but I found it interesting...and as I pondered my values, I considered how the concept of following my conscience is a fundamental value of my life, (and the idea of which brought with it Jiminy Cricket, tripping along my neurological pathways...).   

Everyone else was talking about values in brief, abstract phrases, such as honesty, caring, and respect.

Some seemed nonsensical to me, such as loyalty (you may value it, but it's not a value - it's a characteristic, isn't it?).

Or the even odder timekeeping (the basis for which seemed to be "I hate it when people are late, it makes me so angry"...which I translates to me as "I hate it when people don't understand that I'm considerably more important than their own insignificant agenda's and life challenges!").

But my values were all more concrete and specific, and I suppose more philosophical:

- Always let your conscience be your guide...

- Treat others as you would be treated...

- Everyone has the right to be who they are (although not necessarily to impose themselves on anyone else)...

- People are more important than money...and more broadly,

- Living beings are more important than inanimate objects...

So anyway, apparently I'm still pondering these notions...I'm not sure the above is a complete set, but I'm comfortable that what's there are all solid aspirations/values of mine.

Consequently, when we heard the familiar chirrup of crickets down the lane this evening, it seemed opportunistically pertinent, like a little reminder of my earlier musings...and made for some obvious blog fodder, of course!

This is a Roesel's Bush-cricket, quite common across Europe...but still, not something you see every day, and a nice addition to my species collection (insect department)!

On the course this morning, the Trainer commented that she got the impression that I'm more reflective than most...which seemed a polite way of putting it - and I suppose it's true.

I can live with that...

:-)

Day 206 - Snail on Snail

facetime

Well, what a sight to be greeted with, stepping out of your door first thing in the morning!

This pair of amorous lovesnails were going at it hammer and tongs...or should I say horns and tongues?!  Do they even have tongues?  At this point, I'm oddly reluctant to go off researching the intricacies and intimacies of snail physiology!

I suppose it's feasible that they're fighting - this could be some brutal, slow-mo' territorial battle to the death...the one on the left has the other one locked in a vicious, suffocating face-grip...

But then if I'm going to anthropomorphise, I might as well assume something less violent...they're sucking each others faces like teenagers at the school disco?

...um no, that's not really working for me either.

Perhaps they're good mates coming home after a heavy night on the town, intoxicated on the juicy leaves they've been nibbling all night...one is draped around the others shoulders, drunkenly slurring, "I love you mate, you're my besht mate ever...ever, yeah man..."?

Or maybe they're seasoned lovers, basking in the afterglow, cuddling peacefully and chatting about how they should probably get up and go about their day...

I suppose it could simply be the gastropod equivalent of a car crash...one of them changed lanes without using the appropriate horn signals, leading directly to this pile-up...

Then again, it could be the long awaited TPGM (terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc) WWF (World Wrestling Federation) match up between Trailer Snail (he'll slime you up!) and The Mighty Mollusc (he's stuck on you!).

(they're all a fix, you know, sportainment or whatever they call it...maybe they don't call it that...I might have just made that up)

Anyway, after careful consideration, I think I'm going to go with the afterglow image...that's the most peaceful of the options.


Speaking of which, a couple of people who saw my blog post from last night commented that I looked like a bit of a hooligan, and then looked at me a tad cautiously...

Somewhat amusingly, they seem to have seen that photo, which was obviously staged entirely for effect, and wondered whether that's actually the real me...

The mind boggles!

On the one hand, it's a little disturbing that they seem to think I could be like that...but on the other, I guess it speaks to my impressive acting (or at least, posing) skills!

I wonder what else I could convince people of with my acting (Gary)?

(bonus points for spotting the reference)

B-)

Day 199 - Big Buggers

big bug

I got an early bonus picture, first thing this morning, when I came across this big fella lurking under my desk...

I can't quite ID him, some kind of Ground Beetle...perhaps Carabus problematicus?  He was certainly a big bugger, maybe an inch for his abdomen and another half an inch for thorax and head.

In the bottom middle of the photo, you can see a coarse black dog hair...I realise it's not brilliant as a scale reference, but it's all I have - I only got a couple of shots before he caught on to me and went running off behind the bin, never to be seen again.  

So far...he's still hiding under there somewhere, with the vole that Loz released under my desk on Sunday...never saw that again, after if went under the desk...that's going to be quite an operation, retrieving the body, if he dies under there somewhere.

Fingers crossed that both of them somehow find an escape route and get back out where they belong.

In the meantime, I'll keep my slippers on - just the other night, Anna was severely mauled by a marauding beetle (not Ringo), which bit her on the foot just because she nearly squished it to death ('scuse the technical jargon...). 

This one's a biggie though, he might have your leg off!

Speaking of biggies, I have it on good authority that "that big black crow thing" (one of the ravens) has been mugging the jackdaws that congregate in our gardens around the bird feeders early each morning. 

They make a lot of noise, apparently, but I sleep like the dead, so even though this is apparently going on 5m from our open bedroom window, I've not heard a thing. 

Still, I'll take the camera upstairs just in case I should happen to waken around dawn...he pins them to the ground and gives them a bit of a beating, so I've been told...

Ok, so it's far from a reliable source, but there would be no reason to just make up a story like that!

I heard the raven cronking in the tree just over the road, earlier this evening...he's got a much deeper cronk than in that recording - I reckon he's a big bugger even amongst his own kind...

Anyway, I thought I might get a better close up:

no big bugger

But I didn't...although I quite like the look of the tree that he's hiding in...it looks resplendent in the evening sunshine.

I didn't spot the raven at all, and Anna said it flew off whilst I was nattering to my neighbour Dave. 

Encouraging that he's around and about though...I'll keep my ears tuned for his distinctive deep rasp, see if I can't catch him bullying the jackdaws...

I do like him, but not if he's going to be mean!

:-/

STOP PRESS

By incredible coincidence, and entirely a propos of the subject of tonight's blog, Anna just called me upstairs to grab a photo of this amazing little (big!) beauty:

the queen hornet

She is a hornet, probably a queen, and was quite simply gigantic.  She does look a little like a male, but much bigger than any hornet I've ever seen...the window frame she's clinging to is around an inch wide...she was probably 1.5 inches in length or more.

Hornets are very docile creatures, so there was nothing to be afraid of.  She'd somehow found her way on to our landing and was stuck on the windowsill.  

After grabbing a few snaps, I ushered her out onto the ivy, where I hope she'll be ok. 

We'll know if she comes in the house anyway - their buzz is so low pitched, they're like a big, slow bomber plane, compared to the zippy little jet fighter planes that are wasps.   It's like a chinook just flew into the bedroom, when they occasionally find their way through an open bedroom window. 

They are several times the size of the common wasp, and they really have a drone to match...as soon as you hear it, you just know it's big.

She has fantastic big brown eyes:

brown eyed girl

What a rare, late treat that was!!

B-)

Day 189 - The Longest Day

yurt in the paddock

This is the lovely Yurt-in-the-Paddock, our home whilst we've been here in the Lake District.

A Yurt is a large, round tent, of a style used by nomads in Central Asia for thousands of years.

Inside, the decor is ethnic - I would have guessed Morrocan or similar, but maybe it is Mongolian or something.  In any case, it's cosy and welcoming, and a really lovely place to stay.

With a double bed, and a woodburner for warmth, this is what is known these days as glamping - glamorous camping.

cosy

The view out of the front door of the yurt (yep, it's a tent with an actual door!) looks across the valley of Wasdale.  Looking left from the doorway gives a spectacular view up the valley towards Scafell Pike (the highest point in England), which is a couple of miles distant.

how green is my valley

Last night at midnight, we could see the lights of walkers descending from the summit...perhaps they'd been up there so late to witness the setting sun on the longest day of the year?

The Yurt stands in a paddock (like it says on the tin), with a fenced off garden of its own.  In the main Paddock, a few metres from our door, there is a friesian cow and two young bulls. 

On the first evening we were here, we saw a local hare that lives in the immediate vicinity...Anna saw a deer shortly after that, followed by a rare sighting of a badger that seems to have taken up residence of late.  

During the night we can hear large deer barking around in the field just behind the yurt.

It's a lovely place! 


Today, as befits the date, we had a longest day all of our own.

Up at 8am for a very welcome full English breakfast in the farmhouse, we had a leisurely hour or two at the Yurt, before heading off to Eskdale for some trad climbing at Hare Crag.

It took us an hour or so to scramble and fight our way through thick bracken, and across boggy fells, just to get to the buttresses we were heading for!

I led a long slab route, which started a little nervously... with few opportunities to place protective gear in the rock, a new rock type (granite) to familiarise with, and a blustery wind, it all felt somewhat precarious for the first 15m or so...a bit like Anna's start to Little Chamonix yesterday.

But then the climbing eased, I started to feel more comfortable on the rock, and before long we were at the top, enjoying the lovely views up the valley.
 

rocky perch

We down-climbed an easier side route, which was great fun, then fought our way through more bracken to another buttress, where Anna bravely led a bold route, the brilliantly (although obscurely) named Fireball XL5 (MVS).  

MVS is an unusual grade, only used in the Lake District.   It means Mild Very Severe, which seems contradictory to me...in any case, it seemed like a full on VS as far as I could tell, and definitely a fine lead from Anna.
 

harder than it looks

  Here's a view looking back at the buttress as we made our way down off the crag. 
 

big rocks

For some reason, we were still up for more, so we stopped at the Eskdale Fisherground for some bouldering.  We did a few lovely little problems, before rapidly running out of steam in the warm sunshine.

Still, when we came across this curious little stone doorway on our walk back to the car, Anna couldn't resist trying to climb it!
 

how old is she?

Back at the yurt, we had an hour to take a very much needed shower and started to unwind for the evening.
 

evening in the paddock

There are some funky li'l chickens wandering around on the farm, and Anna took this lovely photo of them outside the main house. 

because chickens

I had a play on the swing because apparently I still don't know how old I am.  I might start a series of upside down photo's!

how old is he?

The hare was pottering about in the paddock, and I managed to get close enough for this nice shot.

hare today

As the evening started to fade, we bought takeaway pizza from a cool little pizzeria in Gosforth, and headed to the coast at Seascale, where we sat and watched the sun go down.

sunset over sellafield

As if that wasn't enough for one day, we then went to the dunes at Drigg, where there is a colony of the rare and protected NatterjackToad.  We didn't see any, as it was 10.30pm by this time (although still not fully dark, being the longest day and all that), although we're pretty sure we heard them croaking in the long dune grass.

By 11pm, we finally got back to yurt, where we were so tired it was a struggle just to walk up the embankment from the car.

When we got there however, the interior of the yurt looked lovely in the soft lighting.

even cosier

And so ended one of the longest days I've ever had!   I'm hoping tomorrow is going to be quieter, or at least easier, but the plan is to go up the valley to the Wast Water to get some photo's, and then go bouldering at St Bees, on the coast...

So we'll see!

B-)

Day 185 - Inexplicable

intruder fur

Some sort of animal drama occurred today, whilst we were out at work...

When we got home this evening, Jazz seemed a little stressed and desperate in his excitement when I got home...and there was some sort of poo on the floor in the door to the lounge.  It clearly wasn't dog poo - probably cat, although it wasn't obviously one of ours. 

And yes, you do become familiar with that kind of thing, as a pet owner!

Anyway, it then became noticeable that May-Z was conspicuous in her absence.  Anna found her hiding under the bed, very subdued.  Attempts to pet her were met with hisses - she's clearly sore down one side.   May-Z was a little unsteady on her feet, and whilst she would accept a light face and ear rub, she seemed able to bear it for only a few moments, before retreating under the bed again. 

It's typical of her behaviour after a fight...not that May-Z is a fighter - what I really mean is, after she's been beaten up by another cat. 

Upon looking around, we found scraps of white fur all over the place...at the top of the stairs...around the lounge, including on my foot stool...and in the garden, leading away from (or towards) the open front door. 

We usually leave a towel on the floor in the doorway, during the day, in case it rains...on the towel this evening, I found this incriminating claw:

tiny eagle beak?

Closer inspection of May-Z showed that she has a loose claw on one of her back legs too.   This is where she would have been on her back, her attacker on top of her, kicking with her back legs to defend herself...

With only one front leg, she can neither defend nor attack effectively when standing face to face - she can't both stand on and attack with her single leg at the same time.  So she rolls on her back and mostly just gets the shit kicked out of her. 

Loz, on the other hand, seemed fairly relaxed and composed.

So, it's a bit of a mystery as to what happened.  Did May-Z get mugged by a passing cat outside, run back into the house, the intruder following her in, only to come face to face with a territorial (and it has to be said, something of a hardcase) Loz? 

This seems feasible, and would explain the current physical and psychological state of all three of them, Jazz, Loz and May-Z (I so nearly typed Bluez into that...and look at all those Z's!)...

But what about the poo?!  That just doesn't fit into the story...

Was it a nervous, stressed reaction from MayZ, after the event?  If so, why in the lounge, when she would have been hiding upstairs?

Loz would never do it in the lounge, 3 feet from an open door into the garden - none of them would! 

So was it the intruder?  If so, how did they have time to do that, before being seen off by Loz, or even Jazz?  

Jazz wouldn't do anything, in truth - he'd have no idea what to do, so would pretend it wasn't happening...but he is a big black dog, which ought to scare off an encroaching cat, you would think.  But why would it poo in that place and time anyway?  To be deliberately provocative, knowing it was in another cat's den?!

It's a mystery, and no mistake.

It feels uncomfortable to me, the pieces don't quite fit and that offends my slightly OC sensibilities.  I expect I will be pondering it frustratedly, for as long as May-Z is showing the after effects...this will be 2 or 3 days - as she physically heals, she will psychologically recover, gradually find her confidence again, return slowly and somewhat tentatively back to normal.

It's a reminder to us all of the valuable role My Boy Bluez played as guardian of the den...we still miss him - painfully, on occasion.

Today is one of those occasions...

We miss you, Bloobs....

:'-(

Day 177 - I Give You...Pigeons

part of a pigeon

Ironically, five minutes after taking a photo of a woodpigeon (whilst expressing my reluctance to use another photo of a woodpigeon), we came across this dismembered leg in the lane, and all of my good intentions went out of the window...

It's a bit of a grisly shot, I grant you, but it's not every day you see a pigeon leg that's been ripped off and discarded!

We often find clusters of pigeon feathers around here...as we did yesterday, strewn across our car park and lawn...coincidence?  

There weren't so many as to indicate a total kill and dismemberment, but certainly enough to suggest that something happened to a pigeon...and then we find a single pigeon leg 50m down the lane, the next day?

I think we can comfortably conclude that something did indeed happen to this woodpigeon - and that something is most likely to have been our local sparrowhawk, who we know frequents this area.

He's the most aggressive and successful raptor around here, and the primary predator of our local bird life.   Fast and agile, he can easily catch a slow, clumsy woodpigeon, if he catches him unawares.

Nature has conveniently provided a large local woodpigeon population, to support a solitary sparrowhawk.  The sparrowhawk takes weak and unhealthy pigeons, improving the general robustness of the local pigeon genepool in the process...and so both species thrive on the deal.

Nature always will bring systems back to balance...a point we should carefully consider, when assessing our interaction with the rest of the Earth's systems and lifeforms...we're not in a position to claim we haven't been warned!

But I digress...here's a solitary woodpigeon that was in the garden just before we found the foot.  The shot has a new melancholy now we realise she is probably missing her mate...

poor pigeon

In other news, when leaving work, through the dingy little corridor behind my desk, I spotted what appeared to be grass or hay up on the wiring looms high and left...

pigeons?!

Closer inspection revealed what appears to be the beginnings of a nest:

pigeon!!

Just at the top middle of this photo, there's a gap right through the wall, to the outside.  Anna is impressively knowledgeable on such things (as always), and thinks it's either pigeon, or starling.   

Now, pigeons are common around where I work, whilst starlings are depressingly scarce of late...so once again, it seems likeliest to be a pigeon...

What is it with all these pigeons today...even the dead and the absent found their way into my awareness...wtf?!

It feels unavoidable...one way or another, The Universe seems determined that I'm going to feature pigeons in my post today...

I'm a great believer in The Universe, so I can only respond...

as you command...I give you...

Pigeons!

:-)

Day 176 - International Bee Rescue

queen bee

Although I didn't realise at the time, this morning I was presented with a timely opportunity to tick off one of my challenges for the year.

Whilst enjoying a fairly lazy Sunday morning, I was pottering about the house, when I came across a large bumblebee on the kitchen floor.   A queen Buff-tailed Bumblebee (bombus terrestris), she appeared to be somewhat distressed - any approach towards her was met with arms raised defensively, and I strongly sensed that she felt vulnerable.

She was indeed vulnerable, being on the floor in the doorway, liable to be trodden on by human, dog or cat at any moment...

Many years ago (so long that I can no longer remember by whom), I was told that when you find a bee on the floor, apparently unwilling or unable to fly, it often means, simply, that the bee has run out of fuel.  It has spent too much time harvesting pollen, searching for a mate, or getting up to whatever else bumblebees get up to, and it's misjudged either the amount of energy it's used, or the availability of opportunities for replenishment...often, they've just found a way into a house, and run out of energy trying to find a way back out.

With no fuel, the bee can't fly, and will soon die.

What the bumblebee really needs in this situation is sugar...and this is easy to supply!

Honey is perfect, of course, but if you don't have honey, then golden syrup is equally good...failing that, a simple mix of sugar and water works fine too.  All you need to do is put whatever bee-fuel you have on a spoon, and place it in front of the bee...the bee will gratefully help itself, once it realises what you are offering!

After 10 or 15 minutes, the bee will have recovered enough to fly, and will be up and off to resume its life.

Bees are critical to human survival, as I'm sure you're aware.  Without bees, we can't pollinate the crops that feed us...and bee populations are currently collapsing under the onslaught of chemical pesticides and whatnot that are used so extensively nowadays.

The ongoing survival of the human species is arguably a fairly low priority for the majority of life on Earth...it seems self-evident that virtually every other species would be better off without us...but on balance, it feels better to save the bees, for the sake of other species, as well as the bees themselves... 

...and my conscience tells me it's the right thing to do.

Thus, upon first understanding the plight of stranded bees, maybe more than 20 years ago, I established the International Bee Rescue Service, as we call it around our way, and we've been saving bees like this ever since. 

On warm spring and summer days, the familiar rallying cry of "International Bee Rescue!" can often be heard around these parts, prompting those present to initiate the appropriate response protocols...hence, when I found the Queen bee this morning, I didn't have to think twice what to do...

Leaping into action, I immediately set up a protective perimeter around the bee (yep, 24 is back on again!), and called for assistance.  I gently picked up the bumblebee on a failed delivery card, and took it outside, whilst Anna prepared the bee-fuel, in this case, sugar water.

Here you can clearly see the bee's proboscis as she enthusiastically slurps up the sugary juice:

spoon fed

Sure enough, after fifteen minutes the bee was rejuvenated and went on her way...

During those minutes, as we were waiting to see whether she'd successfully revive, I remembered that one of my challenges for the year is to Rescue an Animal...

And as Anna pointed out, this is a queen bee, so we actually saved the whole colony. 

Mission Accomplished...and Challenge Completed!!

B-)


PS Correction to yesterdays post...the bees I photographed on the cotoneaster were not White-tailed Bumblebees, but were in fact Tree Bumblebees (bombus hypnorum)...

Sorry 'bout that (Anna's fault, obviously, she's the professional ecologist around here...).

Day 168 - Wild Boar Chase

brown sheep of the family

We went looking for the boar today, with mixed success...

The day was grey and overcast for the most part, despite the optimistic forecast from the BBC...but as the afternoon waned, the sun came out and it warmed up nicely.

We wandered off down the lane, camera in tow, to see what we could see.

Almost immediately, I spied a brown or grey animal sheltering under the hedgerow, in a field full of otherwise bright white sheep. 

Fortunately I had the zoom lens with me, as they were a long way away, two fields over, and my deteriorating eyesight could only make out a blurry shape.

The photo clearly shows it was just a sheep (also, nice bokeh).

(after this photo, the camera decided it had no battery left, so I changed to my phone...when I rechecked upon arriving home, the camera battery was 94% full...doh!!)

Further down the lane and across the fields, we came across another set of tracks, coming from more or less the same place as yesterday, but heading off in a different direction.

There seemed to be two sets of tracks at some points, one set much smaller than the large.

Here are more of the larger footprints;

As you can see, compared to Anna's tanned hand, this is fairly large.

This lighter is 8cm long, and is about the same length as the fore hoof.  The spur indentations are another couple of cm to the right.

We're estimating that this print belongs to a large male.   For reference, a male boar would typically weigh somewhere between 100 and 175kg...I'm less than 90kg, and Anna's around 50kg, so it's two or three times the size of her, and maybe twice the size of me...this thing could be huge!

The track ran out when it reached the road, although we did find a potential day nest in the ditch under the hedgerow...

On the way back I stopped to grab a better snap of one of these beautiful red trees, over next door's gate.

ornamental hawthorne

The whole of the verge is riddled with ants nests and mole tunnels (must try to get a shot of a mole, we have loads in the garden and round about, at the moment), making mowing harder work than usual...and when mowing this morning, I inadvertently chopped the top off a busy ants nest...oops!

I had exposed a lot of eggs, causing quite a stir amongst the ant colony, and was still feeling guilty about it.

no eggscuse

This was the best of a poor bunch of photo's I took with the decent camera just after the offence was committed.

Using the viewfinder would have meant lying with my legs sticking out into the road and my face in uncomfortably close proximity to a seething mass of angry red ants!   So I just guessed, and took a few hopeful shots.

Checking back this afternoon, as we returned from our walk, they'd got most of the eggs back underground...phew!

As we got back into our garden, there was a hen pheasant hanging around, and I got a few poor shots on my phone.  

meep meep

I can't believe I was this close, with the decent camera around my neck, and the zoom lens on, and I used my phone to take the shots, thinking the good one was out of juice...argh!

Oh well, lesson learned!

More on the developing boar incident as we have it...

:-)