Your Best 2007 Moment

[Rob T]

As this year comes rushing to an end I thought that now might be a good time to share your favourite, rarest wildlife moment of 2007

or


post your favourite wild life photograph not nesassary the best but one that you were pleased to get.


mine is easy

I had been in the New Forest photographing the rut in October, whilst on the way back to my car I spotted a white buck stripping leaves off low branches at the edge of a wood he stared at me for a while then carried on breakfasting. He moved into the wood and I followed him for a while but no chance of a clear shot, so I took a chance and left the wood and set myself up in ferns opposite a valley. Sure enough 5 mins later out he came walked up the bank posed for me and walked over the hill and vanished.



Regards


Rob

[Kymba]

Not strictly what i think you meant but my best wildlife moment of the year was, being asked to run my wildlife education centre for children in a local school and manage their woodland.
Hopefully during next year we will get it up and running.

[naturelover]

hi rob good one,was that the stag that got killed ?fantastic shot something you will cherish no dought.
My magic moment had to be the day a black cat ran in front of me straight into the road,he got swacked by a car and laid motionless i thought he was dead,i ran in the road and picked him up so nothing else would go over him,he came to in my arms whimpering with blood coming from his mouth,i thought well at least you can die in my arms instead of beeing crushed.
A car pulled up beside me and a young feller asked if he could help,he knocked on the doors around where the cat was found but no one answered,so he said i will run him to a vet,i was just about to give the cat to him and it twisted in my arms and jumped out and round the back of the gardens,i didnt recieve one scratch from that cat,we both laughed and he went on his way,i have seen the cat since and tryed to make friends with him but he wont have any of it,never mind i was just glad i was there when he needed help,thats my best day of 2007 and i will never forget it.

[cybershot]

This photo was taken in Minley Wood, Hampshire when I rose very early and took my dog for a walk after a night of heavy snow. Despite being bitterly cold it was magical knowing that, apart from the wildlife, ours were the first footfalls along those snow covered trails. It was the first significant snow for 10 years in the locality and by the end of the day it had all but disappeared. I spent some hours roaming the woods and fields of the Minley estate taking photos but this was one of the the best, and is my Christmas card this year.

David

[PMG]

Mine lasted a whole week staying in fabulous accommodation on the reserve at Minsmere......... walking out of the front door, crossing the busy little access road to the visitor centre and disappearing into the reserve: marsh harriers, bittern, white-winged black tern, avocet, hornets, Water Voles, warblers, Grass Snake and the one that surprised me most - 6 early season Death Cap fungi! Add the nightly mothing and id sessions and it was blissfull ..........

The only bit I didn;t appreciate was the daily occurence of afternoon thunderstorms which interrupted insect photography in particular.............

But was it heaven - you bet it was - would I go again - you bet I would

Pauline

[kml]

Mine would have to be watching the bottlenose dolphins of cardigan bay and the Common Dolphins and Porpoise on a boat trip from Ramsey.Very lucky!!
A great holiday again and look forward to going back asap (or as soon as the weather improves a bit).

[goosey]

Mine has to be in the summer at Haweswater in the Lakes. We had gone to see the Golden Eagle and took the wrong route. We walked miles up a difficult route before it dawned we had gone wrong – it was even harder coming down –steep and loose rocks. We eventually got to the viewing point only to be disappointed – the Eagle was a no show. All was not lost, on the way back we chanced on the best wild life moment of the year - seeing and being able to photograph a pair of Adders, a first for me – I was well chuffed!



We also bumped into fellow WAB member GME twice that day, once when he was going up the wrong way as we were coming down and once at the view point, at the time we didn’t realise the connection .

[Pigeon feather]

It has to be when a bluetit entered a nest box I had put up with a camera inside, it was lovely watching the bird inspecting the box, oblivious to me watching it!
Another firm fave is when I got to see our local Fox for the first time since we had a security light put up in the garden. I have taken quite a few pictures since then but one of my faves is one that I got last night where there's a stand off with the local tom cat, shortly after the photo was taken the cat promptly chased the Fox out of the garden!

[demicav]

For me seeing two Basking sharks at Lands end. I didn't expect to see anything of the kind and there they were on a bright clear day, fantastic. It's great to see animals in the wild like that.

[Wild-Woman]

I could write a list as long as my arm but for me it was seeing a Golden-ringed Dragonfly on Thursley Common for the first time with a whole bunch of WAB members.
I was, as they say, blown away. What an insect, what a great bunch to be seeing it with.

[NickCantle]

Oh, mine has got to be when I went home for the weekend on a walk with my Dad. We saw lots of fungi and it was great to be home again, even if it was for a short amount of time Anyway, whilst walking, my Dad spotted this little fella getting ready for winter. Of course I took advantage of the Sigma 105mm

Here he is.



Other great moments include;

Meeting Cybershot and Mikeakabigman and attending various forays and walks.
Finding Sarcodon Squamosus which is a considerably rare fungi.
Last but no means least, discovering the nectar that is Innis and Gunn. Cheers David

Nick

[Billy Wobble Dagger]

I have one favourite and one group of favourites.
My group of favourites is all the visits to the River Windrush and seeing the Water Voles going about their daily routines. Especially the young Water Vole and the moorhen chick coming face to face and neither of them knew how they should react. So cute.

My single favourite moment and I do apologise because it's not UK wildlife was seeing my first purple sunbird in Abu Dhabi. Beautiful.

And what do I want for 2008, Otters.

BWD

[coasty]

Well I guess it was the day we brought Pup home,,,See avator,,, The faces on my kids was great...Mind you the day I watched the Otter swim by at dawn as I stood fishing runs it a close second

[pressld2]

Getting my first real sighting of a kingfisher, on the Thames at Crossness...



My feet didn't touch the ground for at least a week!

Dave P.

[ChrisJB]

Not in any particular order:

1. Seeing my first wild Otters at Shapwich Heath in early April.
2. Climbing Whernside in the Dales, during a stunning temperature inversion.
3. Seeing the Eagle Owls in the Forest of Bowland.

Regards, Chris

[seamusagleann]

has to be seeing a golden eagle from a helicopter while on a fire training excercise...and of course joining wild about britain!! ....a wealth of british nature at my fingertips!!....thanks guys!!

[cannylad]

I have had a good year for wildlife watching some days that stand out include a seawatch at St Marys Island, when i saw my first Great Shearwaters as well as 5 Sabines gulls and 2 Grey Phalaropes as well as thousands of other seabirds passing North.

Seeing 5 different Ospreys in the County, 2 of them summered here, and watching a Fox family that took up residence on my local wetland, much to the chagrin of the local Rabbits.

[aestarte]

my best moment of 2007 was when we were in South Devon (Buckfastliegh) for three weeks and there was a family of buzzards, two adults and three babies, we got a treat every day and on our last day one of the adults did a fantastic fly by for us, stunning.
I also liked that photograph that was posted (I cant remember who by, apologies) of the sexy looking stag that was telling the person off, it was behind a fallen tree; I love that photo. Fi. X X X X

[Rob T]

Aestarte, That photo was taken by an extremely good looking freind of mine called Rob T


That was my 2nd favourite moment.


Rob T

[cybershot]

Originally Posted by NickCantle

Meeting Cybershot and Mikeakabigman and attending various forays and walks.
Finding Sarcodon Squamosus which is a considerably rare fungi.
Last but no means least, discovering the nectar that is Innis and Gunn. Cheers David

Nick

Hey that's blown it , and I told your mum we were showing you some good ol' fashioned south east hospitality and home cooking.

See you for a festive bevvy before you go home to Norfolk for Christmas

David

[aestarte]

Originally Posted by Rob T

Aestarte, That photo was taken by an extremely good looking freind of mine called Rob T


That was my 2nd favourite moment.


Rob T

LOL thanks for that. It is a fantastic picture, I remember I kept going back to it, lovely picture. Lucky you; patient you too. Fi. X X X X

[Cazzie]

Well my best moment of 2007 was joining WAB and getting to meet you craaaaaaaaazy bunch of wildlife nutters lol!

But I do have a fave piccy of the year and this was my first close-encounter with a little owl taken shortly after we moved to Yorkshire in April....



I was so chuffed with this shot that it's been printed and framed and now sits staring at me by my pc!

[mh68]

Its hard to single out just one, but my encounter with this fella below must rank near the top for this year.....



Mark H

[Cazzie]

What a cracking shot Mark! - no wonder you're pleased with that one

[The Black Rabbit]

Well, mine's a bit dull really, I suppose, but if we are talking within the UK, then it has to be our family of Blue Tits.

Me and my girlfriend got our first wee house together (not much to look at. I'll admit, but its home to us!).
She said she'd like a bird box in the garden, as I'd seen a couple of Blue Tits checking out the 'fake holes' on one of our drain pipes.
I went and bought one, and put it up VERY late - on March 16th.

Luckily, they moved straight in, and after just over 2 months watching, documenting, feeding and photographing them, on May 23rd, a wee face appeared for the first time at the box entrance. (I should point out here that by this time, I knew there were at least 4 young in the nest - and we could certainly hear them each time the male (generally) returned to the box with a morsel for the young).

This was the first of the young to peep out of the nest box opening.
It was the most inquisitive by some way, of all its contemparies.

It was a lovely early summer morning (there were one or two you know!) when this little one first took a look at the big, scary world outside its box.
It looked at the trains in the distance, the garden, the big lime tree and the little apple tree (wherein sat its father, calling it), me with my camera, and the big potato plants.
I took this particular photograph just as a flock of swifts flew high over the box, screaming - the young Blue Tit far below took a good look at them, cocking its head. That is exactly what this wee bird is looking at in this photo!

(And thats why I like this memory so much I suppose).

By the following day, all 5 of the