You don't see this every day!

[NB Phoenix]

Heard loads of commotion in the garden and a loud bang on the glass of the patio door. Talk about make me jump. Looked out side just in time to see a Sparrow Hawk take a Starling out of the air about four feet in front of me! Both dropped into the garden and I managed to grab my camera just before the hawk flew off with its lunch.

 

[Bullfrog]

Great picture - I think they call that pose "mantling".

 

I've seen that in our not very rural garden a few years ago. I was surprised how other birds kept harrasing the hawk. Didn't stop him finishing off the starling though!

 

David

[steelaway]

Heard loads of commotion in the garden and a loud bang on the glass of the patio door. Talk about make me jump. Looked out side just in time to see a Sparrow Hawk take a Starling out of the air about four feet in front of me! Both dropped into the garden and I managed to grab my camera just before the hawk flew off with its lunch.

 

 

 

Fantastic picture - you lucky sod

I missed a Kingfisher smacking a fish to death on a branch 3 feet in front of me and no time to get to my camera!

 

Alex

[carlt]

That is a fantastic shot!

 

Is the hawk a regular? If so are there any pellets about?

 

I err... dissect them to see what they've been eating (Bones isn't the only one with a mammal skull fetish, I just prefer them to have been ate, first).

 

I have two scientific firsts to my credit: first person to successfully produce wet spun trilobal carbon fibre and first to publish proof that kestrels ate earthworms.

 

I'm particularly proud of the latter as there are no known military applications for it (yet).

[cheshire~rose]

first person to successfully produce wet spun trilobal carbon fibre and first to publish proof that kestrels ate earthworms.

 

Wow how fantastic!

 

a brilliant picture too well done!!!

 

Carl......

 

I I have only just woken up and taken the first swig of my tea....... I misread that and was trying to work out how feeding Kestrels on earthworms got them to produce carbon fibre

 

I had an awful vision of kestrel battery farms

[carlt]

I assure you, all raptors, who take part in my experiments, are volunteers and free-range.

 

I was in Southend, yesterday, sat on the grass, in front of someone's house, chatting to a fox, about 4' away from me.

 

Being a simple country fellow, I'm more used to them legging it, at the merest hint of human presence. I think it was waiting for me to feed it.

 

Camera was safely in the glove-box of the car, of course!

[cheshire~rose]

I was in Southend, yesterday, sat on the grass, in front of someone's house, chatting to a fox, about 4' away from me.

 

Being a simple country fellow........

 

How wonderful!

 

Plenty of simple folk in Sarfend for the fox to learn from so I expect he felt right at home with you Carl I expect he was wondering where your white stilletoes were

[NB Phoenix]

That is a fantastic shot!

 

Is the hawk a regular? If so are there any pellets about?

 

 

Thank you, shame about the focus

 

We've seen hawks a few times in the gardens but no trace of any pellets.

[carlt]

Thank you, shame about the focus

If I'd had a chance at the shot there would be just a bird shaped blur in the middle because my hands were shaking so much.

 

I saw a family of otters crossing a stream, on the Dales (before they were 10 a penny, on the Witham) in the mid-80's. I took the photo and, despite having a decent camera, on a tripod, with a good telephoto lens, when I developed the shots there was one fuzzy fur mass sat on a rock, not a mother and three pups.

 

I've still got the photo and get it out to force people to acknowledge there are otters there.

 

Oh...and the white on white ptarmigan shot I took on Cairngorm.....

 

If I'd taken your photo I'd be picketing the RSPB offices until they took me on as a professional!

[NB Phoenix]

I've still got the photo and get it out to force people to acknowledge there are otters there.

 

It's surprising the wildlife that lives along the towpaths

 

[Lol]

having been a serious carp and pike angler for over 25 yaers I have spent long periods of time camped by the side of lakes all over the country, this allows you to completely melt into the surrounding nature and you see things that you only normally see on the best wildlife programmes

 

i suppose angling like this (sometimes for weeks at a time) is just what wildlife photographers do, unfortunately I have very few photos of some of the wildlife highlights i have witnessed but so what, some memories that spring to mind are:

 

the fight between a shrew and the biggest lob worm I have ever seen, it reminded me of a very old film I saw of a jaguar fighting with a huge python, eventualy the shrew ate most of the worm

 

a fight between two male hedgehogs with what i assume was a female watching, the noise from this was unbelievable with much squealing and grunting, eventually one of the men waddled off and the couple walked off into the sunset

 

a peregrine falcon swooping from very high into a flock of birds (not sure what some kin of small waders) that were travelling very fast and very low over Esthwaite in the lakes, the impact was huge withs a loud thwack and an explosion of feathers, like one of the birds had been shot

 

a weasel chasing a young rabbit in and ou of some bushes for over a minute before out of sight i heard a squeal so assumed a catch?

 

I have seen foxes catch both rabbits and ducks

 

whilst up a tree fish spotting in very clear water a great crested grebe came under the tree underwater at incredible speed jinking side to side chasing and catching small fish, the bird was an incredible silver colour as it was covered in a fine layer of bubbles and it left a trail of bubbles as if it was jet propelled

 

also in the water I have seen pike chase and catch fish and take ducklings off the surface, carp hoovering up bait...

 

all of these memeories are very vivid in my mind and I sometimes wish I could show them to people like this great photo does - nice one

[SteveE]

Heard loads of commotion in the garden and a loud bang on the glass of the patio door. Talk about make me jump. Looked out side just in time to see a Sparrow Hawk take a Starling out of the air about four feet in front of me! Both dropped into the garden and I managed to grab my camera just before the hawk flew off with its lunch.

 

Great picture.

I managed to get this of a female just after she'd knobbled a collared dove in the garden a couple of months ago.

">

SteveE

[NB Phoenix]

Great picture.

I managed to get this of a female just after she'd knobbled a collared dove in the garden a couple of months ago.

">

SteveE

 

Nice one Steve

[starman]

Great pic - saw a hawk to the same to a pigeon in our garden.

 

And here's another wildlife anecdote: we got up one morning at home to find one of our chickens badly mauled and in a terrible mess in the run and another vanished - obvious culprit would be a fox though these don't usually maul and leave half-alive their prey; they're clean-bite killers.

 

Anyway, marks on the egg box door suggested this was the means of entry so I put a quick hasp and staple on there. Next night we were woken by loud scraping and banging outside. I sent Starwoman out to investigate (naturally) while I watched from the bedroom window.

 

As she got near the chicken coop a badger ran out and away from under the hen house -- the villain exposed! Not quite the lovable creature of children's books, then.

[carlt]

It's surprising the wildlife that lives along the towpaths

 

This is obviously a faked shot, btw! You've gone to Oz to snap a wallaby by an Australian canal then pasted in an English nettle to try and fool us.

 

Nice try!!

[NB Phoenix]

This is obviously a faked shot, btw! You've gone to Oz to snap a wallaby by an Australian canal then pasted in an English nettle to try and fool us.

 

Nice try!!

 

It's all original Carl taken by me in England!