Garden Foxes (2)

Part 2 of my series of the Fox family currently in our garden. Originally we thought there were only three cubs, but one evening there were four on the lawn, accompanied by Basil. They were very excited, chasing each other around and play fighting. We have always fed Basil our food scraps which are mainly chicken leftovers and bones. I also put out peanuts which the Foxes and Hedgehogs like. But I decided it would be a good idea to get some dog biscuits, which the cubs soon discovered.

I am able to sit or lie on the floor to take the photographs without a hide, which makes things a bit easier, although at the early stages, any movement and they would be off, especially when they started coming up on their own.

Turtle Doves

A few Turtle Dove images from my trip to Bulgaria last year. Sadly a bird that used to be quite common in the UK but is now scarce. Great to see them and to get some reasonable photos.

More added to my website: Steven Round Bird Photography

Azure-winged Magpies

Another species from our trip to Extremadura last year is the Azure-winged Magpie. A really smart looking bird that I had been hoping to get some good shots of. When we arrived at the hide it was very gloomy and raining, the first shots taken were not very good at all. Fortunately after an hour or two it started to brighten and the shots improved. Eventually having full sun on them.

Like our Magpies at home they are quite difficult to compose in the frame, their tails always being a problem and to have the whole bird in the frame makes them quite small on these web images, so I did a few close ups of head and shoulders so you can see how smart these birds are. There are more on my website.

Great Crested Grebes

Here are a few images of Great Crested Grebes, taken back in March. It's often difficult to get right down to water level to get the shots that I like to achieve, but this site allowed me to do that. With the distant reedbed giving a lovely contrasting colour to the deep blue water, these shots are just what I wanted.

Chatting on the Moors

I have spent some time recently on the moors in North Wales. Two of the typical moorland species I've been photographing are Stonechat and Whinchat. This is an ongoing project with lots more images to come, here are a few taken so far.

Male Stonechat

Male Stonechat

Female Stonechat

Female Stonechat

Female Stonechat

Male Whinchat

Male Whinchat

Male Whinchat

Female Whinchat

Female Whinchat

Female Whinchat

TV Programme

Since I returned from Scotland I have been very busy with various projects and haven't really progressed as well as I would have liked with processing images. The next few weeks should see a lot of images added to my site and a few more blog posts.

One project I have been involved with is working on a BBC TV programme called Urban Jungle. This is one of a three part series of half hour programmes which will be shown later in the year. It's aimed at getting people more involved in the wildlife on their doorstep. I spent a day showing presenter Rani Price how to take photographs of urban wildlife.

Having not done any TV work before, I was a little nervous at first, but was soon put at ease by Rani and the team, headed by producer Ged Clarke. It was a thoroughly enjoyable day with plenty of pictures taken and plenty of sunshine for a change. I'm not sure whether I am looking forward to seeing myself on television, but I think I did okay. Many thanks go to Ged for the opportunity to do the programme.

This was the last shot at the end of the day. Rani had rushed off to catch her train, so here's sound man Rob, Producer Ged and cameraman Paul.