Your best wildlife encounter

  • Hey Guest, Early bird pricing on the Summer Moot (29th July - 10th August) available until April 6th, we'd love you to come. PLEASE CLICK HERE to early bird price and get more information.
I've just returned from a "twitch" to see Short Eared Owl. A spectacular day on a frost covered hillside, views for miles where I watched three of the owls hunting within 50 meters of us. The views really where just out of this world and left me quite speechless.

It got me thinking to some of the many wildlife encounters I've been fortunate to half. Todays ranks up there with watching three white tailed eagles mobbing a golden eagle less than 100ft above our heads, basking sharks feeding in close off the coast of Rum and an otter mum and cub feeding on a piece of fish right next to us in Mull.

It never fails to delight and amaze me when I see roe or buzzard in the forest or track signs of badger and fox in the wild.

So whats your favourite wildlife encounter then?
 

Wayland

Hárbarðr
I think mine was lying in a hammock at Loch Achray, waiting for everyone else to turn up for a meet and seeing a family of otters, a bitch and two pups I think, patrolling the Loch edge and swimming to within a few meters of my hammock.

Fantastic experience as they seemed completely unaware of my presence.
 

John Fenna

Lifetime Member & Maker
Oct 7, 2006
23,109
2,847
66
Pembrokeshire
Being "tree-ed" by a female Wild Boar in Luxumbourg!
Walking in the woods I mnaged to get between her and her little stripy boarlets without even seeing them...until mama went crazy and rushed me....
I found it harder to climb down from the tree than I did climb up it!
The litle stripys were rounded up and marshelled off by mama, but I stayed up the tree for quite a while after I could no longer see or hear them.
Young, foolish and alone in the woods - older wiser and still shaking as I returned to the village!

Oh yes

And seeing a leopard hunting when I was on foot safari in South Africa
And seeing wild elephants in Thailand
Being charged by a Hippo in SA - it gave up the chase very quickly thank goodness!
Watching a pride of lions relax after a feed in SA
Detouring around a couple of massive Bull Cape Buffalo on foot safari in SA...after coming across them too sudenly in thick bush - luckily the wind was from them to us and they never noticed us. The whole area stank of their dung so we had not smelt them either!
Getting close to crocs in SA
I love SA wildlife!
Getting to about 6 foot from an owl decoy in Swyns wood - before it turned its head to look at me, thought for a while, then flew off!
Stalking Red Deer Stags with a camera in our local Nature Reserve - I have never yet got a decent picture yet, although I have got pretty close before spooking them...
 

Shewie

Mod
Mod
Dec 15, 2005
24,259
24
48
Yorkshire
Probably being passed at 30 yards by a mother black bear and her two cubs in Canada a couple of years ago.

The most surreal encounter was driving home at 4 am after dj`ing at a night club in Leeds. About a mile from home on a country lane, a fully grown stag jumped over the wall right next to me and ran along side the car for about 50 yards before turning and jumping back over the wall again.
 

HillBill

Bushcrafter through and through
Oct 1, 2008
8,141
88
W. Yorkshire
I was doing some pest control a bit back on some land i had permission on in North Yorkshire thinning down the Grey's numbers. I was wearing camoflauge the full works boots,trousers,jacket,gloves and hat.

One evening i was relaxing against a fence post just watching some rabbits playing around on a far bank, i felt something tug on my sleeve. It was a deer, not sure what though, thinking it was going to eat my coat. I turned and it tried to run away when it saw what i was but slipped in the mud and fell flat on its side, it got up and tried to shoot off and did the exact same thing, all this only 2 feet from me. I cracked up after the initial shock wore off :lmao: The deer bounded over the fence no messing, and stopped and looked at me from a good hundred or so yards away. I don't think he was too happy.

A very memorable moment.
 
...i felt something tug on my sleeve. It was a deer, not sure what though, thinking it was going to eat my coat. I turned and it tried to run away when it saw what i was but slipped in the mud and fell flat on its side, it got up and tried to shoot off and did the exact same thing, all this only 2 feet from me. I cracked up after the initial shock wore off :lmao: The deer bounded over the fence no messing, and stopped and looked at me from a good hundred or so yards away. I don't think he was too happy.

A very memorable moment.


I remember supervising a quaiifying DoE group in the hills north of Kinlochleven. I was hidden from view and watching the group through Bino's to make sure they took the correct path junction. Once I was happy they had, I stood up and in the scrape next to me were two stags laying up!!!

I dont know who s**t themselves the most!!!!!!!
 

Enzo

Tenderfoot
Oct 6, 2008
96
0
N,Lanarkshire
Mine is split between 2 day's that were about 2 month's apart.

1st day i was walking my dog when i heard a crow going nut's ( cawing very loud and swooping down to the ground and up to a small tree) so i ran over and ended up with a fox staring at me from about 3 feet away, Well it bolted with my dog behind it, (it got away) and when i looked at the ground there was a small baby deer lying at my feet sleeping, The dog came back had a smell at the deer off we went home .

Next day i went back and it was no were to be seen.
 

Enzo

Tenderfoot
Oct 6, 2008
96
0
N,Lanarkshire
2nd day

2months later at the same place with my brother, I was telling him about it and all of a sudden my dog bolted into the trees and i heard a squeal, we ran in and there was my dog standing over a small deer with the cum play face and the deer sh**ing it, my brother grabed the dog and the deer ran off.

I dont know if it was the same 1 but think so
 

FarPoint

Member
Jan 15, 2008
43
0
Toronto, Canada
My coolest by far has been when I was tree planting in northern British Columbia while in University-good money but hard work by the way.
We were in the Skeena Mountain range up near the Alaska border and happily putting in my trees in a remote burn area when I look up and see an 800 pound grizzly bear 20m away. He was also only about 4m away from another planter and no one had seen each other yet. As I watched, the bear looked up just as the other planter looked up, they both bellowed and ran like hell in opposite directions! I didn't have time to move a muscle.
In hindsight, it was scary business but a wonderful experience.
-Farpoint-
btw-we knew it was 800 pounds as unfortunately the dept. of Natural Resources in BC hired a hunter to bring down the bear for obscure reasons and he had it weighed.


-all those who wander are not lost-JRR Tolkien
 

Black Sheep

Native
Jun 28, 2007
1,539
0
North Yorkshire
photobucket.com
Few years back now after a nights beach fishing on the East coast near Whitby.

We were walking back up to where we'd left our car when a large Badger came out of the hedge on one side of the track, stopped took a long look at us as we did on him and then continued on his way. He could of been no more than 15 foot away:eek:

Still think about it to this day, just wonder if he was as surprised to see two blokes with fishing rod as we were to see him:confused:

Richard
 

mr dazzler

Native
Aug 28, 2004
1,722
83
uk
The most recent was seeing a kingfisher fly below road level, perectly following the shape of a ditch, a tiny flash of blue caught my eye and I watched it fly along for maybe 80 or a 100 yards, inches above the water and avoiding branches and other obstacles with radar like precision. It was a breathtaking display of highly skilled low level flying.
I also recently watched a green woodpecker feeding on ants in my back garden.
The biggest animals I saw were adult black bears in Canada, feeding on brambles
 

launditch1

Maker Plus and Trader
Nov 17, 2008
1,741
0
Eceni county.
...So many too choose from.Heres my favorites..Leaning against a straw bale in a field and a big ol' brown hare comes loping up to me stops about three feet away and we both sit there sussing each other out!Watching golden eagles displaying on The isle of lewis,also watching big flocks of lapwings and fieldfare's.Watching a family of little owls fledge and then hunting togeather near my house(5th year running now..)Same with barn owls.Many other fleeting moments involving stoats,red deer,foxes ect..Watching in excess of 20,000 rooks returning to their roost at buckenham in norfolk...,same with starlings at westhay in somerset....
 

Prophecy

Settler
Dec 12, 2007
593
32
38
Italy
Feeling the gush of wind on my face from a Morepork New Zealand Owl as it flew totally silent past my face no more than 1' away then continued to follow me through the forest...

Tracking and tagging day old Kiwi chicks...

Being barked at by a 6 point Sika deer...

Literally being pelted by scores of falling New Zealand's huge Puriri Moth...

Hearing deer foraging only 30 feet away in the forest...
 

Shambling Shaman

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
May 1, 2006
3,859
5
55
In The Wild
www.mindsetcentral.com
1st when I was at Kinloss I had walked up to the empty box compound to open it to find to baby/young stoats having a ruff and tumble in a puddle. Completely Oblivious. :)

2nd Last week went out to find out what was making an odd noise out side the house, found my self face to face with a stag and 8/9 hinds....:rolleyes:

Have had wildlife encounters in several city centers at various night clubs! but that something els.....:eek:
 

British Red

M.A.B (Mad About Bushcraft)
Dec 30, 2005
26,709
1,947
Mercia
Thats a really tricky question!

There have been plenty I didn't photograph. The one that I so terribly want to get is the local stoat hunting. We have watched it several times but its so quick I've never had a camera to bear :eek:

Most dramatic?

A couple of years ago I watched (and photographed) an American Bald Eagle (flow by a falconer) brough down by the mobbing action of a rookery. Incredible to see and I got some lovely shots of the most enormous and deeply p***ed off raptor after it finally rose again and flew back to its handler (who was absolutely terrified of his shrieking furious eagle)

Most "aaaaw"

A newborn roe deer last year - so tiny it couldn't move.away. I wanted to get better photos but it knew I was there and I didn't want to scent foul it or terrify it so grabbed some quick shots and moved off.

I do agree with Mr dazzler about woodpeckers too. I am lucky enough that greater spotted feed here evry day and greens two or three times a week - I have some lovely piccs but they still move me every time. I envy JohnnyP his lesser spotted piccs - one day!

Red
 
Feb 5, 2008
336
0
Datchet
I thought I wouldnt have much to add to this but thinking back I have had a couple of lucky spots.

My favourate was in my Canoe I heard a thud as a sparrowhawk took a pigoen or dove above me then watched as it bought it down on in a bushy area on the bank right next to me. I was able to get with about 5 feet of it while it got on with its dinner completly ignoring me.

2nd is when I had just moved to an area with woods next to my house so I was out exploring for the first time. As I walked along I saw a doe lying down just looking straight at me. When she realised I'd clocked her she stood up and walked off. Suddenly I was aware that all around me several other dear (approx 8) had just stood up and calmly walked off into the thick woods dissapearing very quickly.

One of my garanteed spots is a pool where the canal widens on the basingstoke canal. This part of the canal is spring fed and in autumn, winter and early spring the water is crystal clear and its like canoeing on an aquarium hundreds of fish of all sizes swimming under the canoe. This is one of my favourate places and I can sit here in my canoe for hours. If anyone wants to see this spot I'd be happy to point you in the right direction or even join you.
 

pwb

Full Member
1st when I was at Kinloss I had walked up to the empty box compound to open it to find to baby/young stoats having a ruff and tumble in a puddle. Completely Oblivious. :)

My favourite is a similar encounter.
I watched a family of young stoats playing in a shaft of sunlight in the doorway of an old farm building, full of fun and so quick. One ran right past me, never knew I was there.

Pete.
 

BCUK Shop

We have a a number of knives, T-Shirts and other items for sale.

SHOP HERE