Monday at the Meadow

Mixed emotions , that’s the feeling today. I had planned a day at the Meadow Hide today , first time in a few weeks that there are no jobs to take care of , so a day to relax and just snap photos of the local wildlife. All was going to plan , up and dressed which is always a great start , kettle on and flask ready to fill and then I look out of the window. 

There sunbathing on the lawn is our new resident fox. Absolutely fast asleep curled up , ears occasionally twitching. She’s not in great shape with a classic early sign of mange , a bald patch around the base of the tail which we are treating with medication. She also has a bad limp on here rear leg. Again this is not uncommon with urban foxes , they have a great leap and can clear a normal 6ft fence with ease.

The dilemma is when to intervene if at all. We are administering medication which will hopefully help treat the mange. As for the limp , the fox will normally recover . She seems safe and relaxed in the garden so for now we will just keep an eye on her and hope for the best. 

So off to the meadow it is. It’s so peaceful here , no people , cars or traffic. Just the birds tweeting and the sudden flap of wings. Once again the paddling pool is very much the centre of attention. Small in stature but massive in terms of its ability to attract wildlife. One question I’m often asked is how you know where to focus the camera and it’s a really simple answer , on the water. If you want to attract wildlife , water really is your best friend. And you don’t need a massive pond or stream , the paddling pool only measures 1000mm x 1000mm or a square yard. Hardly any space at all.

Anyway here are a few images from today at the Meadow Hide….