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Taken at the weekend in the Forest. Not quite as spectacular eye colouring as the last one, but still a good looking snake. A pretty successful afternoon by anyone's standards - found 9 adders, 3 slow-worms and 2 lizards :)

Fallow Deer


Fallow Deer, Forest of Dean, originally uploaded by Ben909.

Fallow Deer (dama dama), in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. I'm sure there must be a more imaginative title for this picture somewhere, but I couldn't think of it.

Fallow Buck


Fallow Buck, Forest of Dean, originally uploaded by Ben909.

Sometimes you have to sit for hours to get to see what you're looking for, and even then you might see nothing. On other very rare occasions, something like this silently glides past you as if from nowhere when you don't expect it, and walks straight on by without even noticing you're there.

Adder (Vipera berus)

Tricky to get a good shot of this adder in the grass under a bush, but hopefully lots more opportunities to come as the weather warms up.
Vipera berus is a venomous viper species that is extremely widespread and can be found throughout most of Western Europe and all the way to Far East Asia. Known by a host of common names including Common adder and Common viper, adders have been the subject of much folklore in Britain and other European countries. They are not regarded as highly dangerous; the snake is not aggressive and usually only bites when alarmed or disturbed. Bites can be very painful, but are seldom fatal (courtesy of Wikipedia).

Infinity


Infinity, originally uploaded by Ben909.

This shot was taken from a similar spot to the last photo I uploaded. The major difference being that there's no land! I couldn't resist that small 'tweak' :)
I know it doesn't look like it belongs on the Forest of Dean blog, but it was taken from Awre which is technically within the Forest.

High Tide


High Tide, originally uploaded by Ben909.

This shot of the almost fully submerged putcher frame was taken at the end of an afternoon at the Severn at Awre during last light, looking accross towards Slimbridge and the Sharpness Canal on the other side. The long exposure has really masked the power of this tide, along with all the flotsam it carried with it.

Going Under


Going Under, originally uploaded by Ben909.

A long exposure taken during the incoming tide on the River Severn at Awre. I missed the Severn Bore today (and yesterday) due to work - saw a few surfers walking up the road though, which was a bit surreal.

Putcher Frame, Awre


Putcher Frame, originally uploaded by Ben909.

Putcher fishing is a type of fishing (usually of salmon) which employs a large number of putcher baskets, set in a fixed wooden frame, against the tide in a river estuary, notably on the River Severn, in England and South East Wales.
This was a bit of a rush job as the tide was coming in incredibly fast, but I'm quite happy with it. Only a few minutes earlier we were stood at the far end of the frame. This is a 70 second shot, which is a long time when your tripod is getting deeper and deeper in the water!