Aimless Wanderings of a Rambler.

For the past week the ponies have been off Bickerton for some much needed maintenance work to be carried out...unsure of the date of their return I ventured out anyway as the weather was good and my new boots needed a good test drive.

As the ponies were said to be off-site until further notice I turned my lens to anything, and everything, else that caught my attention. There seem to be many different species of butterflies around Bickerton attracted by the flowers of blackberry and gorse; I've found photographing butterflies particularly challenging as often I have to turn the auto-focus off and go manual as they like to get into the undergrowth...as soon as I have it in frame and focus it flies to the next flower and I have to chase it to start over. Here are my very few successful shots:

Gatekeeper Butterfly

Peacock Butterfly

The subject being photographed doesn't even have to be moving to be interesting; this old spider web stretched between a tree and bracken added a silvery effect to an otherwise typical woodland shot:

This white bracket fungus also stood out from the more earthly tones of the woodland surrounding it and added a prominent feature in the photograph:

There are many interesting shots to be had wherever you go; so long as you don't just keep your eyes to the path, good photographic opportunities are available everywhere. In the end you are only going to be limited by the range of your lens!

After wandering around for an hour or so I found the ponies; unlike the previous times I was not able to find the large group of six led by Taff, but instead found the two outcast males Jack and Col. They were far off the footpath and I had to traipse through heather being bombarded by grasshoppers which can jump surprisingly high; I'm sure I had one perched on my shoulder at one point! I picked the most open route I could find to minimise disturbance but it was still slow going.
These two are a lot more timid than the larger herd so I had to approach more slowly and announce my presence so as not to spook them. Unlike the larger herd who approach me these two kept their distance, although I was able to get a comfortable ten meters away without any indication of stress which allowed me to get these shots and assess if they were in good health.

 Col is the other grey gelded male; unlike Taff, he has a pink patch running up beside the left nostril which can be seen in the photos. He is dominant over Jack and is also a little more confident around people too.

 Jack, who I call White-Faced Jack, is the only chestnut male. However, as there are two chestnut females he is much easier to identify by his white face. He also has a small part of his mane missing which had to be cut as it was matted and attracting unwanted attention from flies.

Bessie also accompanied me today and found it great fun to bounce through the heather after me like the crazy thing she is!







Where The Wild Things Are...

Today there was a light rain although not enough for me to leave behind the camera. Again, Jack and Col still elude me but the larger herd was in the same spot where I found them last week. All seem fit and well except the fly bites which, I can say from experience, are pretty nasty!

Fflach and Mist

Taff

Ellie

Shy

Fflach

 Fflach seems to be a little larger around the waist compared with the first shot I took of her in my first blog; although all the male ponies on Bickerton have now been gelded it is possible she could have mated beforehand. On the other hand, all of the ponies have put on weight since being moved to Bickerton as there is a richer variety of flora but the weight gain is more noticeable in Fflach so there is a chance...something for me to watch as the weeks go by!

Shy and Sam

 Shy still lets Sam feed although she is slowly pushing him away, he's still got a bit of growing to do yet as he is still quite lanky compared to the other males. He likes to stay close to Shy and is also seen with Taff now and again; Sam, like Shy, is one of the more timid ponies at Bickerton but he is very curious about new things like the shutter on my camera!

Shy and Sam

 Today I was approached by the ponies. You can often get pretty close, usually within 5m, but it is quite rare for them to come up to you. So when Taff came up to sniff my hand it was pretty special, the other ponies followed suit and came in close but did not invite me to stroke them. Taff then started LICKING my hand! (as seen in the picture) I'm not sure why, considering there was no food involved, but he stayed there for a full five minutes before he lost interest and went back to grazing.

I think I've been accepted as one of the herd!

 I also took a few more photos of the cows, who also graze on Bickerton, and the wildlife which is often seen within the area. However, some things are just too nimble or secretive to get a good shot although they still provide you with worthwhile experiences and enjoyment. While wandering through the bracken in my search for adders, I almost trod on a rabbit which decided to spring into action and bolt through the gorse without a sound...I think I jumped almost as high as he did, it's lucky cameras include a neck strap! Anyway, I soon gave up looking for adders when I reached the clearing where buzzards are often seen flying low; there were none today but my attention was caught by a couple of magpie who were sounding their alarm calls and mobbing something with gusto. A quite large moth-eaten fox limped across the field and hid in the gorse cutting the magpies fun short, I missed him with the camera only by a whisker but hopefully I'll see him again and hopefully get a much closer view.

Lacewing

Gorse flower

Meadow Brown Butterfly

On my way back home from Bickerton I visited Barnston Monument and decided to stop and get some photos of this amazing bit of masonry!

 The monument reads:

"ERECTED IN MEMORY OF

ROGER BARNSTON ESQre

OF CREWE HILL, MAJOR AND BRAVET LIEUT COLONEL

OF HER MAJESTY'S 90th LIGHT INFANTRY, C.B.

AND KNIGHT OF THE LEGION OF HONOUR AND OF THE ORDER OF THE MEDJIDIE:

BY HIS TENANTS AND FRIENDS.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HE SERVED IN THE CRIMEAN WAR FROM THE 5th DECEMBER 1854:

AND WAS PRESENT AT THE SIEGE AND FALL OF SEBASTOPOL:

AND ALSO IN THE INDIAN MUTINY CAMPAIGN IN 1857:

IN WHICH HE RECIEVED A SEVERE WOUND WHILST GALLANTLY LEADING AN ASSULT:

AT THE RELIEF OF LUCKNOW ON THE 16th NOVEMBER 1857:

FROM THE EFFECTS OF WHICH HE DIED AT CAWNPORE ON THE 23RD DECEMBER 1857:

AGED 31 YEARS:

AND WAS INTERRED IN THE MILITARY CEMETERY AT THAT STATION."

May be more photographs tomorrow!

Bickerton Hill: Part 2!

I miss being in Cumbria immensely; just being able to go on a walk with mountainous scenery around lakes and forests, having that on the doorstep 'rain or shine' is great to have. Bickerton is a place that, until recently, I didn't even know existed! It is, as you say, 'off the beaten track' so much so that when I tell people of my work there I'm often asked the question "Where?" but it does offer the perfect distraction from Cumbria with its beautiful scenery and wildlife. 

I suppose the fact that it is out of the public eye can be seen as a blessing in some aspects; it is a very peaceful place to watch wildlife who seem pretty nonplussed about the rare presence of  people. I'm also pretty lucky that, so far, all the days I've been to Bickerton have been sunny; very good for taking photos!

Today all the ponies were loose making them a lot harder to find; this made photographing them more of a challenge but also more enjoyable as their behaviour was much more natural compared with being in the confines of the paddock. Only the larger herd of 6 was found with the two outcast males, Jack and Col, likely hiding away in the bracken away from Taff's fierce hooves!

 I was also lucky to spot a pair of long tailed tit, a species I had never seen in this area before until today; and also a buzzard circling low, jeering at the mobbing crows with its whistling cry.

Taff

Sam trying to nurse from Shy. Needless to say she kicked him!

Mist

Sam

FOR SCOTLAND!!!

Ling Heather

Oak Apple

Light Emerald Moth (I think our name: the 'minty stealth bomber moth' was much better)

Woodlouse Nest

Bessie lovin' the sun!

Bessie back home...

I think we broke her!

Going back to Bickerton tomorrow so may update soon! Maybe I'll even get a good photo of a Jay! *fingers crossed*