With the trap camera out for a couple of nights, we found out who were eating our apples.
We had expected the deer and perhaps the fox, but who would have thought we had a badger.
A grey squirrel decided to take up a vantage point in one of our Scots pines.
A roe deer with her two young fawns wandering around our lawn in the middle of the day.
Call Taggarrrt! Therrre’s been a murrrderrr.
Shortly after catching the murderer in the act and putting the phone call in to Maryhill Police Station, the murderer disappears into the deep, dark forest, taking the body with her.
Taggart arrived swiftly and expertly starts the investigation of the little evidence that is left behind on our lawn.
Taggart confirmed in a press conference this afternoon that a female pheasant, positively identified by its distinct down feathers, has been brutally murdered by a yet to be identified hungry female goshawk.
The wildlife highlight of our two week stay in kastellorizo was, without a doubt, the loggerhead turtles frequenting the harbour.
It was just wonderful watching the loggerhead turtles swim in the harbour, both during the day while wandering the quay, or at night while having dinner on the quay side. At one point we could see three heads coming up for air, so the locals are probably right that there are four loggerheads frequenting the harbour.
What is surprising is how territorial these turtles are. When another one comes anywhere near them when there is food involved, the speed with which they chase each other through the water is just unbelievable.
A visit to my mum and dad’s alway provides great opportunities to shoot the great spotted woodpecker that frequents their garden. Two images of the woodpecker taken during a brief visit on a very dull Sunday morning, taken in-between catching up over a couple of coffees with cake and chatting to my mum, dad and sister. Shot at high iso, so very chuffed with the results.
This is the second year in a row that we have baby robins in the garden. Inquisitive and less shy than their parents, the baby robins sit around long enough to let me go inside, grab my camera and go back out to take a few shots from different angles while he watched my from his perch, before he flew away, following his mum in search of more food rather than being deterred by my presence.
This year’s fledgling is aptly christened Wee ‘Rocky’ Robin in view of his attitude and wonderful expressions.
The elephant stampede through the little village of Pinnawala can be witnessed several times in a single day when the elephant orphans are moved from their grazing grounds to the river and back.
We arrived when the elephants were feeding on the higher ground. We admired the baby orphans being fed with a bottle and the larger elephants feeding on the greens laid out for them on the plains.
Then we headed to down to the river, sitting on the terrace overlooking the river with a fresh mango juice. It wasn’t long before the stampede through the village started and the herd of elephants trampled into the river for a cool down.
Watching the elephants visibly enjoying the paddle in the river and spraying themselves with water was just wonderful. And the couple of mischievous little ones trampling about was just fantastic. And it was nice to see that apart from just two of elephants, absolutely none of the big herd of orphans were chained.
When we go back to Sri Lanka, we will, without a doubt, return to the orphanage for a lunch overlooking the river, as it was the highlight of our holiday. Absolutely magical.
This photo of a baby elephant paddling in the river is a taster of our visit to the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage which was probably the highlight of our two weeks holiday in Sri Lanka. Watching the stampede of a herd of baby elephants running through the village to the Pinnawela River, and seeing the sheer joy of these orphans paddling mischievously in the river was just amazing to watch.
