Time for some furry things. Updated 2/7/12

Sat and watched a pair of stoats chasing a young rabbit in the rain this afternoon and so i thought it might be good to add some of my furry shots.
First one is a poor quality shot from years ago but is the only one i have of a stoat atm so i'm wanting to get something better soon.

And from one of the smallest too the biggest, Red deer stags having a early morning battle.

Then the girls get there handbags out.

Next up is a Yorkshire Red Squirrel from a private wood Nr Hawes up on the Yorkshire Dales.

The next two are from when i've been waiting for Barn Owls and a bonus has turned up.

A Brown Hare early in the morning.

And a Red Fox from late in the evening.

Even later on an Otter.

Click on any pic for a larger version.

Well here is the update:-
So back to the Stoats location from the day before, it didn't feel like a great morning for it with a cool wind and a bit of drizzle but you don't get the shots from sitting at home watching TV.
I decided to take a bit of tinned dog food for bait and a small squeak caller to see if i could get them to pose for the camera, so a few smokes later the first one comes shooting out of the brambles. Far too quick for me to get a shot of but after a while i could make them out moving about in the hedge and then this one popped up. 

Another Barn Owl update

So i have a new location nr York, sometimes everyone you know has seen Barn Owls but never gets any shots of them so when a friend of mine at work mentioned i should get myself down too a place he knows i was a bit sceptical.
The next night i was in the car and off for a look so i left the camera at home and just wanted to spend a bit of time watching for any signs of them. Within the first 5 mins i had seen the first bird out hunting and the light breeze was perfect for them. I just sat in the long grass and then watched the Male bird come straight down track i had just walked and only banked off too the left when he spotted me. I stayed for longer than i should of and watched both birds take back 6-8 kills each within the space of about 2 1/2 hours so it was obvious the box had young being fed.

2nd night and the camera was coming with me and even the weather was being nice, i knew where i wanted to sit but this meant walking past the box that's on the other side of the field. of course the Barn Owl knew i was there no matter how quite i was trying to be. As i said in my previous Barn Owl blog, sometimes Barn owls can be quite tolerant of people and the location was perfect for them so i sat and waited. And i waited and waited a bit more, first hour in and still no sign then i spotted one coming back to the box from the other direction.
 This did make me chuckle to myself and is for me a big part of bird photography, not getting any shots that night seemed to double the excitement of the next night and what a bit of patience might bring. 
So trip number 3 and no photo's yet, as i walked i could see one bird out and after a couple of mins the other came out to hunt together, i managed to get to my spot and the birds where preoccupied with hunting so i was set up.
 First past was the male

Technically the above shot is maybe the best I've taken, 700mm of lens and a slow shutter speed 1/125sec
with a target not much bigger than a large orange so i was more than happy for a first shot.
It must of been my lucky night as the sun went down with a nice warm light and the darker female came to sit on the breeze right in front of me.

The last shot of the night was the main reason i chose my spot with the light coming in from the left and a flight path back to the box.

Just a couple more shots i would like to get from here but i'll be back when that happens.

Garden Catching up !!!

Barn owls have taken over most of my time when the weather isn't crap so the good news is that i'm up to 5 regular places too see them.
 A brief catch up on some of the birds from my garden.
3 finches Gold, Green and Bull

Time for a new perch soon but i might start feeding these less, sunflower seeds are costing me a fortune !!!


The Mother Red Legged Partridge brings the young into the garden most years so time to get down low and snap the bundles of fluff.

It's not often i do too much planning for shots in the garden but we were getting regular visits of a pair of Jay's and these are super alert birds and not easily fooled. So i had the perch but needed to put it somewhere that would allow me to shoot from the garage and through a garden gate with a nice background.
Backgrounds have been top of my list for getting better at and can make a huge difference to a shot, a reverse of Landscape photography where you need some nice foreground interest.

Jay

Next update will be after i get back from Mull so lets see if i come back with anything worth posting.