Conservation and Shooting.

some great shots there Ade, the sika deer one is excellent!
 
Cracking set Ade the Sika and fawn just take it for me though.
With the Lagomorph a close second :thumbs:
 
I like watching the morphs as well, we seem to have a few as well, which is a sign that the land isn`t being dogged.....:thumbs:
 
Kingfisher1.jpg
 
Dozy sod.


Hare3.jpg
 
Your getting some crackers at the mo mate, love the sika with her young and the kingfisher is spot on. I must have a hunt about for kingfishers about me :thumbs:
 
Rovers_Andy said:
Me likey, the lighting is really nice on this Ade :thumbs:
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Andy, I could not take you along today. We have a few thousand new guests appearing soon and the keeper is apprehensive to say the least.
 
Young Lapwings, boy are the parents good...........:thumbs:



JuvenileLapwing1.jpg
 
And a jay sat on a badger sett escape...........:D


Jay1.jpg
 
Me and my Hare obsession but another 2 great shots. The kingy isn't bad either! ;)
 
phildaintith said:
the last image and the rabbit do it for me - great shots
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Rabbit, RABBIT?........................:nono:

u8myufo said:
Stunning shot Ade :clap::clap: Just had a troll through you latest pics and they are all good stuff. Well apart from them common Bt`s :D
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Just got back from work mate, seen your pm and will give it some thought. Certainly if the woods are too dense, then they become very dark and unattractive to many birds. Sunlight needs to get through to the floor to promote insect life etc etc. I have thinned one of the woods over the last year, it was thick with young ash saplings, we tend to leave dead wood to rot naturally where we can, that promotes larvae and insects, again good natural food for your birds.

Though on the subjects of cuckoos, I have no experience of them I`m afraid, but if other bird populations improve, then I would assume they may return.The thinning of woodland is a long and arduous task though, I am no expert feller and only trim the small stuff, one should never work alone(although I`m always guilty of that) and leave the heavier stuff to the pros.Perhaps organise a working party, contact the owners and see if they would let you "have" the wood as a local nature reserve for the local children etc...........:shrug:
 
I had an arrangement with a local supplier of firewood, he felled the trees without payment and took SOME of the wood to be used as firewood. Plenty of wood was left in place and we ring-barked some trees to create standing deadwood. It worked very well, opened up a few glades, let light through and like you say encourage wild flowers, invertebrates and associated birds to flourish. I received a bit of money from eWGS to achieve a 70% canopy over three years.

Incredible shots by the way. :thumbs:
 
Just seen this thread - some really good stuff here Frac. :thumbs:

When I was shooting, like many shooters I was a member of BASC- the British Association Of Shooting and Conservation. I lost track of how many arguments I had with people who thought the two things didn't go together at all.

The most commonly shot game species in this country is undoubtedly pheasants, which aren't even an indigenous species at all - they were introduced here by the Romans, probably from China or India. They're incrediby bad at rearing young which is why the eggs are taken away and hatched in incubators. Most shoots probably shoot less than a half of the birds they actually release in any given year .A couple of times we had misguided people coming along to disrupt shoots. many of them wearing RSPB badges and refusing to accept that the RSPB aren't opposed to the shooting of reared game birds anyway.:shrug:

Pheasants don't survive harsh winters at all well - in fact if it weren't for game birds being released, a few succesive harsh winters would see them, all but extinct in this country.

Shoots plant all sorts of cover crops to aid in keeping the birds on the land and providing cover, and that same cover encourages and sustains many forms of wildlife.

Good thread Frac - and nice to see the two things working hand in hand!
 
No worries Cedric, glad you found it. Most shoots don`t even shoot 50 %, the rest either make it, get knocked over or provide food for predators.

For the record the idiot "keeper" from last year shot 12%.........:lol::lol::lol:...That included buying 250 dead birds from a neighbouring estate for a 300 bag let day.
 
LOL. AS long as the Guns were happy I suppose. :lol:
 
Been up to the shooting estate this morning, didn`t see a single buzzard, nor have I for weeks...............:suspect:

Nipped up to the non shooting estate, saw a pair straight away close up and another pair up over the moors.

I think I may have to do some digging,I do hope my fears are misplaced.
 
fracster said:
Been up to the shooting estate this morning, didn`t see a single buzzard, nor have I for weeks...............:suspect:

Nipped up to the non shooting estate, saw a pair straight away close up and another pair up over the moors.

I think I may have to do some digging,I do hope my fears are misplaced.
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Disappeared from here too over the last 5 or 6 weeks. Usually count on seeing 7 or 8 on a walk.
Lucky to see one now.

I read a post on another website by someone saying he had a walk on a Borders grouse moor recently. No raptors to be seen. Not even a kestrel.
 
arclight said:
Disappeared from here too over the last 5 or 6 weeks. Usually count on seeing 7 or 8 on a walk.
Lucky to see one now.

I read a post on another website by someone saying he had a walk on a Borders grouse moor recently. No raptors to be seen. Not even a kestrel.
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Strange you saying that,thinking about it, I have not seen one sparrowhawk this year,very few Kestrels and fewer buzzards.Those three are our most common species as well Dougie.............:shrug:
 
I've not seen high numbers of Buzzards for while, over winter we had up to nine over the woodland alone but I just see the odd one at the moment. Kestrels and Sparrowhawks are still active on the reserve and I see them daily.
 
fracster said:
Strange you saying that,thinking about it, I have not seen one sparrowhawk this year,very few Kestrels and fewer buzzards.Those three are our most common species as well Dougie.............:shrug:
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Last week I saw a sparrowhawk here. That's the first this year. They were quite common until 2 years ago.
Kestrels have gone too.

Peregrine pair remain and bred successfully again this year.

About 10 miles north of me kites are common, but they never come here. Cannot figure that out because there are loads of small rodents.

Lots of other species have declined but over a much longer period.
 
I wanted this shot for ages, the kingfisher standing on a stone on the banks of the stream, rather than being perched on a branch. Bit of river grass behind it, but that is how it goes.



Kingfisher4.jpg
 
YoungPeregrine3.jpg


Spotted this on the moorland bracken, anyone know what it is?


Dunno.jpg


And forgot about this one, from a week or so ago.


Sikastags.jpg
 
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Jesus, Ade.
I am lost for words. 11/10.

Do you ever push your D300 beyond ISO 800?
 
arclight said:
Jesus, Ade.
I am lost for words. 11/10.

Do you ever push your D300 beyond ISO 800?
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Only if I really have to for shutter speed Dougie, it is ok at 1600 and acceptable at 3200, but a lot better at 800.
 
Another great set from today Ade :thumbs:
looks like you caught the pere pup mid-rouse :D
 
fracster said:
I wanted this shot for ages, the kingfisher standing on a stone on the banks of the stream, rather than being perched on a branch. Bit of river grass behind it, but that is how it goes.
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Ain't life a b**** - you get an infuriatingly great shot of a kingfisher, where no-one else will notice nor care about the grass behind, and then have the gall to complain about it ;) :thumbs:

:bang:
 
Cobra said:
Another great set from today Ade :thumbs:
looks like you caught the pere pup mid-rouse :D
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The adults were baiting it into flight Chris, i`m sure you know the routine,Mama with food that she won`t let drop, the young has to go and get it, and boy does she scream about it.Superb to watch and listen too,superb to witness, these birds are very special............:thumbs:
 
Snap_Happy said:
Ain't life a b**** - you get an infuriatingly great shot of a kingfisher, where no-one else will notice nor care about the grass behind, and then have the gall to complain about it ;) :thumbs:

:bang:
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Sorry Nigel, but I have watched these beggers for years, I didn`t want a shot on a branch, wether real or planted, I really wanted that one shot of a river bird on a river bank stone,I like it,but I think I can get better.............:)
 
Cracking Kingfisher shot Frac - the others aren't so dusty either. ;)
 
Cheers Cedric, any idea on the "Dunno" bird?

Mrs Frac reckons meadow pipit.
 
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erm... I'd say Tree Pipit or Meadow Pipit, probably the former, but I could well be wrong. :shrug:
 
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