Caldbec Hill

Saturday marked the end of my brief stay in East Sussex and, as on my previous visit, I used the return journey as an opportunity to visit the British Wildlife Centre near Lingfield, Surrey.

The day began at 0630 hr when I looked out of the bedroom window and saw this rather beautiful scene outside of Calbec Hill in Battle. Appropriately, this is one of a couple of sites that are thought to have been where the Battle of Hastings was fought back in 1066 AD. I had expected to blip a picture taken at the BWC, but found I couldn't pass over this atmospheric and historical scene.

I spent most of the day at the British Wildlife Centre and witnessed the feeding times of the Scottish wild cats, red deer, otters, red foxes, badgers and pine martens and the end of day owl display involving a tawny owl, a snowy owl, a long-eared owl, a barn owl and a European eagle owl. A couple of these talks were given by Izzy, who I had remembered from the previous year for her sunny disposition.

I kept popping back to one enclosure in the hope of seeing a water vole or its young. Some pieces of apple had been laid out for it on an inviting mossy stone, but the water vole stayed put until everyone was watching the owls' acrobatics before nipping out to scoff them all. I saw some adders, who also had young, and in a different enclosure saw a stoat eating an adder, which I hope was not a former exhibit.

I'd intended to drive back on minor roads until my sat-nav indicated that would take over an hour longer, so I used the M25 and the M4, and stopped for an hour in Hungerford in the evening to stretch my legs and get something to eat. I ate my kebab on a canal path and was rewarded with the sight of a kingfisher flashing past in the dusk.

During the day I had taken over 300 photographs at three different sites. This is why I haven't posted a blip for some days as I have only just completed the lengthy post-processing tasks. Links to albums of both visits are below.

L.
10.9.2014 (1320 hr)

Blip #1366
Consecutive Blip #228
Day #1605
LOTD #601

Alternatives:
Otters In Their Holt (Lily And Jake)
Pine Marten Run
Snoozing Fox
Stoat
Polecat
Scottish Wild Cat

British Wildlife Centre, 16 August 2014 (Flickr album)
An Evening Stroll In Hungerford, 16 August 2014 (Flickr album)

Lenses: Pentax 17-70 mm, Pentax 55-300 mm (Blip), Pentax 55-300 mm x1.4 rear converter, Sigma 70-300 mm

Lozarhythm Of The Day:
Tori Amos - Thank You (1992)
Tori Amos' interpretation of the Led Zep classic.

One year ago: Bowood 2013 #24