Life in the Landscape Archive

Mallard water take off. May Cairngorms NP. Anas platyrhynchos

Spring time Cairngorm Life on water, land and in the forests

Osprey with half caught trout. May Cairngorms NP. Pandion haliaetus

Ospreys, spray, trout and tallons

Brown hare running on one foot. Sunny August morning Suffolk. Lepus europaeus

Late summer hares, Norton Suffolk

By August the oil seed rape and many of the oats fields have been harvested and the brown hares move back into the game cover planted round the farms. These hares were photographed  early August in and around the game mix areas.

Brown hare pair June boxing close on early morning. June Suffolk. Lepus europaeus

Brown Hares, Summer 2015 Norton Suffolk

Osprey dripping water after failed dive. May evening Cairngorm NP. Pandion haliaetus

Ospreys fishing and behaving at Rothiemurchus fishery

Rothiemurchus fishery is the place to watch and photograph ospreys diving and catching fish. The small loch is away from the main fishery and has been landscaped to make it perfect for fishing ospreys, This year the hides have also been changed to make watching the birds an even better experience. All these images were taken in May, although there are slightly less dives than later in the summer there are long days with excellent light and fewer human visitors.

Click on the link for info on Ospreys at Rothiemurchus fishery

http://www.rothiemurchus-activities.co.uk/Activities.aspx

 

Brown hare sitting close at dawn, March Suffolk. Lepus europeanus

Spring Brown hares, Norton 2015

As the days grow longer the brown hares at Norton are easier to see. It has been a long wet winter and on surrounding farms hare have ben shot. The hares are nervous and shy but as time passes they relaxing a little. I will keep watching and adding images to this page.

Fox cubs in the Suffolk Landscape

Brown Hare, foot up, evening hay meadow, Suffolk. Lepus europaeus

Winter Hares at Halls farm Norton

Brown hares that were easy to see in October seem to vanish during November and the short days of December. They are of course still at Halls and Little haugh farms but as the weather gets colder and the days shorter Hares shelter more in field edges, woodland and hedges. Brown hares do come out in the fields to feed at the same time but at 6pm in December it is dark and they are only glimpsed in the sweep of car headlights. Running into February the light increases noticeably every day and the winter crops that have been dormant start to grow again, many of the “mole hills” in these fields turn into hares when seen through binoculars. The heavy clay Suffolk soil is saturated by weeks of rain, footprints become puddles in minutes, to avoid the wet and mud hares prefer feeing and resting in grassland on the farms. The images below were taken in the rough tussocky meadows behind the farm yard where hares can keep their feet out of the mud. Hares are starting to be seen in pairs in this meadow is a sure sign that March and spring is not far away.

Barn owl flying out of winter sunset. Suffolk. Tyto alba

Barn Owls living and hunting through a Suffolk winter

During the short days of midwinter Barn owls retreated into the darkness only glimpsed as occasional pale shadows. This winter there have been plenty of voles, Barn owls did not have to hunt for long each day.

Mid February and the days are longer, morning and evening Barn owls hunt the meadows around Norton Suffolk, this is sign that they are preparing to breed. The female Barn owl needs to put on weight late winter and early spring before laying eggs, the males have to provide much of the food the females need.

Most of the images on this page are of male Barn owls hunting for food that is taken back to the nest site to feed the females.

3rd Jan - Keeper beaters mud and maize

3rd January shoot at Norton