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Red Squirrel
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I left Kildare straight after I had breakfast and shot off down to south Wexford. The weather was fantastic in Kildare when I left. I navigated to Raven Point via a shortcut to avoid Wexford Town. The weather was cloudy when I got there. Doh! I hate ISO 400 on my 350D, let alone shooting under the cover of trees. My plan was to shoot Red Squirrels and I wanted great light for this.
I wandered about the part of the wood where they are to be found. Donned in my camo, I was getting odd looks, as usual. I had my full gear and my hide was bagged and hanging beneath my camera bag. I met two wardens who were doing some work and they told me where they?d just seen some squirrels. Ahh ? the sun was out. Maybe I was in luck?
I went over and heard one almost immediately. My way to find them is to walk slowly and quietly while listening. They?re too small to eyeball in the trees. But they can make a racket when they pick apart a pine cone like a cartoon character eating a cob of corn. I heard a pined cone crashing followed by some scratching on a tree. There was a Red. I watched it for ages. It?d go up to the canopy, grab a cone, come half way down to a limb, sit there and dismantle the cone to devour the seeds. Bits of wood would fall from the tree ? the sound being my telltale to locate the Red. It shot off across the trees like a monkey so I set off.
I walked the 3 KM to the end of the wood down to the east end of the Wexford slob. I watched some waders off in the distance ? low tide revels a huge beach followed by a mud flat. I wandered along the wall of the slob. But I went too far. A Kestrel (I think) flew in hunting over the field in front of me. It did a U-Shape hunt in front of me and spent 2 minutes right over where I?d just been. I could have had a full frame shot of an Irish bird of prey. DOH!
I wandered along back up the coast and took a few landscape shots. I got back to the car at around 17:00 and headed over to Kilmore Quay, hoping to get a sunset shot. I had some fast food while waiting in the car and got my shot.I was back in the Raven again on Saturday for a few hours. Using my 1.4x and with a bit of luck, I got a closer shot of a Red Squirrel, detected by hearing the falling debris. I got to see a few of them on Saturday. I got one nice shot from far away with a soft light behind it. It was then I noticed Id knocked off my IS on the lens. Doh! Maybe it?d be OK, with some luck.
When I left the wood I bumped into a bird spotter. Friendly bloke. He shared with me a nesting site location for some Peregrines. Cool. I won?t share it publicly to protect the birds.
On Sunday I set off with a mate to check out the nesting site. A cliff wall with jagged rocks. Well away from the road and it?s one of those places you wouldn?t know was there unless you looked for it. We checked it out and found a likely hole in the cliff. Lots of bird droppings about and some crows but no falcons. It might be worth checking out later in the Spring or Summer. Back to the Raven for a quick walk. It was too windy to hear a thing and there were too many Sunday tourists around making noise. I?d have no luck today!
I left Wexford this morning and took a detour via Portlaoise to try find a location for a later visit. I was greeted by a pleasant sight just off of the N80 ? Dunamase Castle. WOW! Never heard of it before. I spent an hour or so there taking some shots. The light was harsh by now but maybe the polariser would help a bit. I?ll process them later.
Oh … a photo …
Red Squirrel from Saturday morningThis was shot at 400 plus 1.4x. It’s a slight crop.
I do admire your tenacity in getting this shot,
even at the expense of looking like the local militia-
lovely colour and composition-It may sound churlish,
given the circumstances,
but is there a slight bit of softness?
It could be the compression,
I dunno-well done for the capture-
j
The elusive red. Well done for getting the shot Aidan,
and fair play to you for the diary of your time at the Raven.
Makes interesting reading. The image may be slightly
soft as Joseph mentioned, but the colours are fabulous
and your composition is spot on.
Nice work indeed.Rob.
It’s a great shot, well composed and captured, the only nigle is the softness that was talked already, if you had this Pin Sharp it would have been a show stopper imho.
Cheers,
Rod
Very nice shot and a nice account of your adventures. Just a word of advice Aidan as regards the peregrine nest site, this is something all wildlife photographers should be aware of, it is an offence under the Wildlife act to photograph any bird or protected wild animal at its breeding place or place of rest unless done under licence, a licence may be applied for under section 23 of the wildlife act and can be applied for by writing to National Parks and Wildlife Service, Ballybay, Co. Monaghan. The following are the contact details of the NPWS staff in Ballybay that will be dealing with Wildlife licensing Caroline Henry ? 042/9748703 or Rose King – 042/9748753. It’s something that there has been a bit of a crack down on in the last couple of years and even I need to apply for a licence, which reminds me to re-new mine soon, it expires the 12th of April. Its a real pain in the ass but the welfare of the wildlife is more important than us getting nice shots and for this reason it needs to be regulated.
Thanks for the heads up John. Will deffo do this if there’s any sign of activity from the road side. Is there anywhere online where there’s a collection of this stuff I can check out. Don’t want to do anything harmmful or get meself arrested.
Tried applying a bit more sharpening (more than I usually do) to try make up for the softness. Don’t think it helps.
No, I think it does help it Aidan. I would suggest cropping from the edges to make the squirrel bigger in the photo, placing the squirrel on the bottom left third, with the diagonal branch running to top right. ie losing a fair bit of the tree trunk on the left side.
You could also try a ‘selective colour’ adjustment layer – choosing the reds, and increasing the red tones of the squirrel’s fur.Thanks Ross,
Here goes:
I think I might be getting to the point where it’s cropped too much and lack of detail becomes more apparent.
Hi Aidan.
If you’re down this way over some weekend again give me a holler. I knew these little blighters were in Raven Point but they’re about as elusive as the Yeti. I can’t guarantee combats, hides, etc :wink:
Love the photo BTW.
Great shot Joe. Reminds me of the cute cartoon depictions of squirrels the chubby cheeks and the tail up his back.
Love itTerry
Thanks folks.
Will do Mr. Wonka. I often end up going places on a whim so notice may be short !
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