Great shots, did you just wait for them to come to you? I cant imagine it was easy just getting the camera pointing at them.
Cheers for the comment.
Its far from easy, but my fieldcraft/skills from sneaking up on Butterflies/Snakes/Lizards probably help some.
Heres how i go about it - The Bank Voles are more wary than the Wood Mouse, whilst the Wood Mouse will eat in the open, the Bank Voles tend to "smash an grab", but any movement from me, and these little creatures will take off fast. I watch the rockery, from my kitchen window, i let them gain some confidence, by not disturbing them straight away. I wait for them to take off with some food for their storage/stash. This gives me a couple of minutes to quickly get out into the garden, to take up position(approx 2 feet/60cms) from where i know they will emerge from their tunnels under the rockery. I crouch down low, camera on and wait! When they return, they will not come out at 1st, but once they get used to a large dark object(me!) in front of them, they will eventually come out to feed. The camera shutter scares them at 1st, but they soon get used to that noise. Any movement/noise from me, and they will be gone in a flash, but they will return...eventually.
I sometimes set up 2 or 3 old paint cans next to the rockery, they are positioned at various angles, these can be sat on when I have to wait for some movement/action from the Rodents!! I can only crouch down low for so long! before the cramps start to work on my feet/knees! I suppose if I was smart, I would set up some sort of "Hide" that way I would be more comfortable...and warm!
I really like these and I'm very envious. There are a family of rats I often see swimming in or by the lake n the valley near where I live, but whenever they are active it's either too early before sunrise or too late after sunset for me to get a reasonable quality image. I think I either need to camp out with a tripod and hope they keep still enough for a longer exposure or get a faster lens!
Lovely shots, and I think you are lucky to get these in your garden. If I put out some nuts for the local wildlife the only shots I would get would be of the resident grey squirrels who would clear them all out before anything else got a look in...
Cheers Tim, Whilst i live in a Suburban location, i do have an area beyond my garden fence, that consists of a mini woodland haven, which means i get a nice selection of wildlife all year round. These Voles and Mice make their way through tunnels/holes in the fence to get to where the food is at! I even had a Weasel thrash through my garden a couple of years back!
I also have some greedy Squirrels/Wood pigeons to contend with myself, but the trick is to crush the peanuts up to almost powder form, that way they cant gulp it down as quick!
These Voles/Mice are very common, i would think that most people will have them in(or near their gardens) all you need is a garden shed, and a bird feeder, and one day whilst watching the birds feeding on seed, you will catch a glimpse of a mouse/vole scurrying off fast, with the seeds that have fallen from the bird feeder/table.
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