Hogs and Hawks

I have been getting back into the Forest of Dean again this winter but it is only just becoming light early enough to find the wild boar before all the cyclists, dog walkers and traffic send them into cover. I saw this mature female with her family from the road and then predicted where she was heading for. Thirty minutes brisk walking later they appeared just where I had hoped and even stopped to pose for me.

This week I also re-homed some orphaned juvenile hedgehogs. Rescued last autumn and fed up over the winter by Joan at West Midland Hedgehog Rescue these youngsters would have had no chance of survival without her help.

I have photographed many species of raptor but have not until now really got to grips with Goshawk. This year I intend to change that and with Paul Melton Hawks I managed to get some lovely images of this charismatic bird.