After yet another successful year on the Odds & Sods thread, initially started I think by Hazy, it might be wise to kickstart the 2023 thread off.
Thank you to those who have contributed to last years thread, and there has been very interesting odds and sods in "Odds & Sods 2022" that aren't enough to place into a dedicated thread, which you can look back on the following link:
https://community.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/f/all-creatures/278729/odds-sods-2022/1417300?pifragment-4285=76#pifragment-4285=1
What better for me, and as yet, I've not ventured far, ewe know what I mean, with this lassie on Baddesley Clinton estate yesterday....
Mike
Flickr: Peak Rambler
Great shots Ed. Particularly through a window. You must have a good window cleaner ...
The Memsahib and I went for a seven mile walk to recce the route for a walk she has to lead in a month or so. We encountered some usual and not so usual wildlife enroute.
Unfortunately, I took an old bridge camera with me. Great zoom, but lousy images. A lot of post processing was required, with some heavy duty sharpening.
First off, a Jackdaw hiding in the grass.
A really wild cat, sunning itself on a car, while sticking its tongue out at me.
Now for some really odd wildlife, spotted on a fence just south of Wellingtonia Avenue, as we headed up towards the ridges.
The odd wildlife didn't run away as we approached it.
Anybody want to hazard a guess? There is a house on the other side of the fence. The shoes look fairly new, and there is a single left silver high heel further along.
Back on to firmer territory. Two Roe deer in a field just north of Horse shoe lakes.
Taking some zoom shots.
This lazy cat was sunning itself in a house bordering and overlooking the left of the field. Half way into our walk I thought 'I could join you, kitty, and have a nice kip in the wan sun'
Swinging round a bend in the Lower Sandhurst road, we joined a footpath to Horse shoe lakes and thence Moor Green Lakes. This put us orthogonal to the Roe Deer. The male decided to stand.
A good stretch and stick tongue out at photographer! Seriously, all these animals sticking their tongues out at me.
There wasn't much to see on Moor Green Lakes or Manor farm restoration. However, these two were resting in some reeds on the Blackwater river near...the smelly sewage works.
When in full spate, which happens very rapidly after torrential rain, these reeds will be a couple of feet under water.
We crossed the Longwater road into Fleet Hill farm: the nature reserve ready part of the nascent Longwater Road Nature Reserve.
Not much happening here. It was nearing lunchtime. The birds were either nest sitting or off on feeding grounds. This mute swan was tending its nest. 7 years ago, this was a quarry, and the lake was where gravel was extracted. I christened this lake 'Stone Crusher' lake, as there was a machine to crush extracted gravel at its east end, which fed a conveyor belt under Longwater road, and then about a mile to the Eversley quarry over in Hampshire.
Zooming in yields a Mute swan tending its nest.
Heralds of an early spring. Surprising, considering the wet, soggy, cold March we had.
Finally, as we trudged up the long hill towards our finishing post of St James Church (where we started 2 1/2 hours early), we encountered a bench. The Memsahib threatened me with extended GBH with extreme prejudice, if she didn't get to sit on it. Whilst sitting on the bench (so close to our finish line), she pointed out this little fella, gamefully wandering on the footpath.
Fearing it would be squashed underfoot (it was a relatively busy footpath), I rescued it and placed it on an Oak tree. My ancient bridge camera has a very vague focusing strategy which I have never worked out or conquered. Should have taken my 80D and long lens. Serves me right for not doing so.
90% luck, 5% field craft, 5% camera skills.
I caught this encounter in the garden today. I don't think they were seeing eye to eye.
https://youtu.be/U0VlwmGGNp0