Fierce competition

Suddenly there are an awful lot more starlings and the sparrows don't like it at all. This poor little sparrow tried to get a meal and there IS room for two at the feeder...

"Cheep, cheep, leave some for me, please."

But the starling wasn't having any...

"No. Bugger off or I'll give you a peck!"

King of the Castle

Hang on, photographer... here's my best side!

Competition for the fox food!

We've had Flad, a hedgehog, ravens, jackdaws, starlings and other cats sticking their heads and beaks in the bowl to see what was left, but this was the first time a herring gull has ever swooped down for a snack!

More cubs

These were taken last night. It was almost dark when the vixen decided she trusted me enough to suckle a cub while I was standing at the window with the camera. She knew I was there. She stared straight at me, but didn't move. She knows where her next meal is coming from, doesn't she?

A cub drinks from Flad's water dish (well, plant saucer).

I call this picture Small Cub, Big Garden.

Doesn't he pose beautifully?

Wonder what's in this pot? (This morning, the pot was on the lawn so they must have been using it for football practice.) 

The cubs are so big now that there was only room for one at the milk bar!

And then there were... two? Three?

I was sitting in the kitchen chatting to a friend when something moved quickly in the corner of my vision. I turned and saw two fox cubs chasing each other across the lawn.

They ran, jumped, tussled...

...then drank some water from the birds' saucer.

Then they scooted through the bushes...


...and suddenly a lone cub that looked smaller and scruffier sauntered across the deck, stared at us through the glass and trotted off. I think this may be the runt, the one that scratched on the patio door the other night to try and get Flad to play. He was sleeping on the mat on the other side of the door. So my theory is that the two larger ones have teamed up and the runt gets left out. Aaah!

Sorry about the poor quality of the photos. It was nearly 9pm and they were at least 70 feet away. Oh, for a paparazzi lens!

On full alert

Something spooks Flad and the fox.

Danger over, back to normal.