Last saturday my alarm clock went at 5AM.. After a quick cup of coffee I sneaked out of the house towards the hide I had set up next to the Kestrel nesting box. But.. the roe deer were grazing in between me and the hide so I moved really carefully not to disturb them.
And then all of a sudden I saw movement out of the corner of my eye...
A fox mother and her kit casually strolled by and went to the pond just 10m in front of me. Quickly I went down to the ground (in the véry wet grass, I might add!) and aimed the camera. Could only take a couple of shots of them before they wandered off again. With a few bushes between me and them I could crawl a bit after them.
They went into the pathway we always mow between the tall grass and the just sown in wild flower patch.. Suddenly the mother dove into the tall grass and was out of sight. But there was something going on and the kit went towards her to investigate. And than mom jumped out with in her mouth a massive mole. Immediately the kit went for the prey and a tug of war followed. With no tripod at hand (and no light yet!) I sat down and balanced the lens on my knees trying to hold it as still as possible. Gave the iso button a whoosh and hoped for the best.
In about 15 seconds it was all over but when the kit went off triumphantly with the prey, mom looked over her shoulder straight into my direction. She had known I was there all along.....
I'm compiling all of the 370 pictures I took in a sort of wobbly timelapse and will post it on my
facebook account account later tonight. Feel free to check it out.
Canon EOS-1D X Mark II
EF600mm f/4L IS II USM
ISO 1600, 1/640, f4 exp. comp -1/3
