Wild Boar in the Forest of Dean

Had an eventful couple of weeks with the wild boar as they start to become more active with their little ones.
The vast majority of wild boar births happen between late February to early March after a gestation period of around 4 months and this is a good time to see them as the little ones are very active, learning the ways of the world from mum.

This is the first year that they have been given the luxury of a closed season and this is vital as the piglets are dependant on the sows milk for around 3 to 4 months. Along with two colleagues, I actively campaigned for a closed season from January to June/July so that the young ones have a chance at life, but the main reason is that if a sow is shot, the little ones will starve to death without the support from the sow.
The Forestry Commission agreed to this, but instead of resuming the cull as and when the piglets are independent and able to survive on their own, they have chosen to suspend and review the cull in September.
There is a reason behind this and I hope that it isn't to try and discredit me and my colleagues as we will see a big increase in boar numbers between now and September as the little ones grow and venture further afield.
Whatever the reason I still stand by the fact that it is immoral to kill an animal with dependant young!

Its not always easy spotting the boar and this was my first glimpse of a sounder (group) after at least 5 miles of tracking.


Seeing them is one thing, but getting close to get a decent shot is another! I was creeping up to get a better look at the sow when I noticed movement in the reeds. A piglet was staring straight at me and this is usually where it all goes wrong as they give you away in an instant.


I was low to the ground, out of sight of the sow and it was just a case of waiting to see if the sow would either ignore the piglet, or come and investigate.

She came to investigate!


After watching me through the trees for a while she decided to come up for a better look!


Then she heard passers and also realising I was human she rounded up her young, disappearing into the forest.


I moved on to try and track down some more in a different location and it wasn't long before the tell tale signs started showing.

Boar poo - I try not to lye and roll around in this!


Then all of a sudden a sow stood up right in front of me!


I crouched down out of sight, but it was too late and she was gone. I was gutted, but when they are lying down in the bracken its very tough knowing they are there until its too late.
I decided to stay in the area for around an hour when all of a sudden I heard movement in the forest and it sounded heavy. I crouched behind a tree and watched as two sows and around 7 - 8 piglets came out into the open.
The sow knew I was there, but she must have decided that I was no threat and brought her little ones out to show me.


I decided to go back to this location today and sure enough, within 10 minuets I found them again. This time the sow saw me from the start, but as I kept my distance and crept up slowly she didn't seem to mind.
Its fantastic being in the presence of the wild boar and to be able to sit within a metre of them and their young while they are acting perfectly natural is a real treat.

Pics from today...









Respect these animals and their home and ypu can have some truly memorable experiences being around them.

PS: I didn't take my dog!

Rob

Maybe Next Time?

After around 3hrs of tracking in an area where I knew there were wild boar, I finally found them.
I hadn't seen or heard a single person and felt great as I managed to get into a fantastic position to grab some good shots.
Focusing on a open area where the sun was dappled on the forest floor as it cut through the trees, all I needed was for the boar to move into this area. This is where patience comes in as it is so easy to push to get close, which usually ends up with the wildlife being disturbed and you then miss your chance. It can take a while, but being patient usually gets you better results.
Then I heard voices in the distance and I was praying that they weren't coming my way, but they were. Out of the whole forest, two guys had decided to walk directly where I was camped out; I couldn't believe it!
I could picture the shots I was about to get, but instead all I ended up with was these.

This is the moment she heard them and rallied her young.


Then they disappeared into a dense part of the forest.


Talk about gutted, but that's how it goes sometimes. The sow was by far one of the largest I have seen for a few years and she would have made a great photograph; along with her little ones. I will find them again and hopefully I/we won't be disturbed next time.

Rob

A Trip Down South!

Along with a good friend (who was driving) I endured horrendous traffic, which meant it took four hours to reach our destination in Dorset and with heavy fog most of the way it appeared that we would probably be travelling back without the photographs we were after.
However, optimistic as always and nearing our location the sun broke through the fog and it turned into the perfect day for the rare reptile species we were after; the Sand Lizard!

NOTE: The Sand Lizard is protected under, Schedule 2 of the Conservation (Natural Habitats, etc.) Regulations (1994), and Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981.

With the help of some very trusting and friendly locals, it was only a few minuets before I was face to face with my first sand lizard. I must admit that I was shocked to have found one so quickly, but without the help of our local friends it would have taken a lot longer as they are so well camouflaged.

First find!


This was great, except it was not the best of shots due to the bush it was basking under, so we moved on.
I had never seen a sand lizard in the wild before, so as far as I was concerned this was about as good as it was going to get. How wrong I was as just around the corner our luck changed!

This fella was out in the open making the most of the blazing sun!


There were at least six lizards in one location and it was hard picking one to photograph.


The one thing that astounded me was the fact that they were all very curious and even came up to the camera!
The sand lizard, as mentioned above, is very rare and also extremely protected so the last thing I wanted to do was to disturb them. This concerned me on the way to Dorset, but I was gobsmacked at how relaxed these lizards were with our presence.


It's always nice to get two different species in one shot, but when I got up on this morning I couldn't of imagined that I would be photographing a sand lizard, with a ladybird walking around next to him!


We left this site and headed out onto some heathland where we saw a nice male adder. I missed this opportunity, but something even more special was just around the corner.
A male sand lizard!


We left the locals and headed to another spot where there was a chance of photographing another species, which I had not captured previously; Sika Deer.

Not knowing what to expect and ready for the stalk I followed my friend to some open grassy areas, surrounded by woodland. Now these deer are wild, they are not on an estate, or privately owned, so I was again wondering if we were going to succeed!
We spotted some on the edge of the woodland in the grassy area and proceeded to crawl towards them.

I photographed this fella at ground level and the blur in the foreground is grass.


At this point we were almost in the middle of the grassy area when a hind walked up to check us out!


Then two young stags started squaring up to one another!


As you can imagine, I took quite a few pics of these deer, but we still had one more place to visit before we left. The coast.

I'm not the best when it come to identifying birds, so if I have some of these wrong please let me know and I will correct.
And please note: Photo's taken from cliff top!

Bar-Tailed Godwit


Black-Headed Gull



Black-Winged Stilt


Little Egret


Not bad for 5 hours work!

Rob

bTB - Badgers and the Cull!

During the month of November 2010 I contacted my local MP, Mr. Mark Harper on the issue of bTB and my concerns regarding the proposed badger cull.
It took a while, but I finally received a reply. Not from my local MP, but from MP Jim Paice "Minister of State for Agriculture and Food."
He did have an answer for everything I threw at him, but he failed to "directly" answer many of my questions and concerns.
Maybe he thought I would lose interest and he could shut me up with a 6 page reply.
Wrong!
You can read the 6 page reply at the end of this post.
_________________________________________

Sadly the cull has now been given the green light in Gloucestershire and this is very disappointing as there is an alternative.
A vaccine is available, it has been trialed by Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust and it works, yet our Government is not interested in investing in a vaccination; instead they have invested in a trial cull, which will see free running badgers shot at night. Not all of these animals will be carrying bTB, so this means lots of healthy badgers "will" inevitably be shot!
For them to be able to establish if this trial cull works, they will need to eradicate all badgers from the chosen area and to make matters worse, the reason it has been labeled a trial cull is because they are not sure if shooting free running badgers is the most humane way to do it!
If you have researched bTB you will know that the bTB bacteria can lye undetected in the soil for nearly two years! Click Here
If they persist with their proposed cull, killing all the badgers in the designated areas will not solve the problem as the areas will also have to be sealed off while being cleaned and disinfected. Is this going to be possible on small holdings and at farms, which have large herds?
Also, how are they going to stop other badgers from taking up this new territory after they have eradicated all the badgers? After all that's what all animals do; search out new territory!
The shooting of just one badger at night could cause the entire colony to flee the sett in search of safer ground. What if any, or all of these badgers are infected with bTB! I don't have to spell out what would happen then, do I?

Some of the other concerns I raised were...
Routine testing
Pre-movement testing
Movement restrictions
Gamma testing
Removal of infected animals
Control methods in place for the movement of infected animals

Here is my reply from MP Jim Paice, dated 8th February 2011.
CLICK PAGES FOR ENLARGED VIEW









I will leave you with this....

DEFRA has invested over £16 million in badger TB vaccine Research and Development since 1994/95. So why is it that the badger cull vaccine deployment fund is only £250,000?

And....

Where did bTB come from? Was it the badgers who transmitted this disease to cattle, or did the cattle transmit it to the badgers?
It has been widely documented that typical farm conditions harbour bTB. Lets face it, the vast majority of cattle on our farms have to stand in their own urine and feaces, in damp, dingy, humid sheds and barns. These conditions are ideal for the bTB bacteria to survive!

Visit Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust for more information on the vaccine HERE

Please CLICK HERE to add your support for the badger.




Rob

If You Go Out In The Woods Today!

We already have wild boar, roe, fallow and muntjac deer in the Forest of Dean, but soon we could see more pretty impressive mammals roaming the forest!
Proposals are being put together, which if passed will see cattle, horses and ponies grazing parts of the forest.
One thing I will say is that they have mentioned fencing parts of the forest. I wonder if this was ever considered where the wild boars are concerned? I doubt it!
Personally I look forward to these proposals being approved as the sheep, even though a nusiance to motorists, did a bloody good job grazing the forest. Since the Foot and Mouth outbreak in 2001 we hardly have any grazing sheep in the forest, so it will be fantastic to see free grazing mammals like cattle and ponies taking over where they left off.

Click here for article

Rob

Look our for Hedghogs - They need our Help!

As the temperature drops, hedgehogs will start searching for a place to hibernate. However, underweight or sick hedgehogs will not survive the winter and as their numbers have decreased drastically over the years and are classed as an endangered species, we all need to keep our eyes open and be ready to help them.
I featured them in my latest wildlife column, so if you have any queries please read it here.
Ward's Wildlife


Also, here is a link to the British Hedgehog Preservation Society: (BHPS)

Cute baby hogs like this one will not survive hibernation during the winter, but we can help them!


Rob

The Fox!

It was a fantastic day on Sunday 24th July, so I ventured out to find the elusive wild boar.
Even though I had been walking for two hours and covered a lot of ground, I hadn't seen anything, which was not good.
I came across an area with very good, far reaching views in all directions and decided to see if the wildlife would come to me instead.
I found a nice tree to rest against and sat down with my back against it. This is when I tune into my surroundings - I hear more and usually see more like this as the slightest sounds can be picked up. I didn't hear the fox, but saw him from a distance as he made his way up the grassy verge towards me.



I was sure that he had spotted me when he walked into the verge and thought that was it, but I stayed put, hoping that he hadn't. I was right as he walked back out even closer!



Closer still and this time I thought he was definitely history as he was looking straight at me, but I stayed perfectly still as he carried on sniffing the air and the ground. He was quite close now!



I was resting my elbows on my knees while holding my camera, with my eyes and face covered. I was starting to wonder how close he would come!



I watched as he scanned around for any possible threats. Then he would walk a little closer and scent mark the area, not knowing that I was no more than 8 metres in front of him!





Then he saw me and was off like a rocket!



He didn't go far though and stopped to try and make out what I was. This is when I captured this image.



So, no boars, but one truly awesome encounter with a red fox. Well worth the effort!

Rob

Fallow Deer

Here are a couple of fallow deer I bumped into earlier. It was raining, but that didn't seem to bother them and I was lucky that they were not bothered about my presence either!
None of the images have been cropped, but the light levels were low and I bumped the ISO up to 6400, hence a bit of noise!


Melanistic Fallow Doe - (Dama dama)




Melanistic Fallow Doe - (Dama dama)




Common Fallow Doe - (Dama dama)