In Search of the Elusive FOD Boar II

Arriving quite late on Friday night there was just enough time for a recovery beer then its off to bed for a early 5.30 start. This will be the seventh day over a number of weekends I've been searching for the Elusive Forest of Dean Boar to trying to get the image I was after

Day One - Saturday

Its still dark as I leave the house and head off into the forest, passing the old colliery I spot a male boar rooting amongst the vegetation on the side of the road, its a narrow road at this point but I manage to turn the car around and head back to where the boar is busy getting his breakfast. Boar have very good hearing and smell but poor eye sight, its senses my presence either the cars engine noise or the side lights and makes a bolt up into the forest, I can hear him snorting which they do when alarmed, its not as you would think a threat. As I'm not likely to see the boar again I carry.

Arriving at my location I am always amazed to see at such an early time cars parked with presumably people walking in the forest at first light. Previously at this location I've seen Fallow Deer which are always more difficult to photograph in the wild rather than parks, its also good at the right time of year for Nightjar, Stonechat and over the last couple of years over wintering Great Grey Shrike. 

Its now around 8.0 am and its been quite apart from the odd Buzzard and a few sings of boar damage so I head off to another location close by. No sign today of the large buck Fallow Deer sporting a magnificent set of antlers seen on may last visit so I call it a day and head back to the car, then suddenly I see running amongst the oak trees is a little humbug piglet, then another larger animal, I remove the 1.4 TC as they are too close and swing the 500mm into action, but it struggles to focus and I miss the shot of a young sow...doh, this is completely the wrong lens !

One duff image !...

Day Two - Sunday

Today I've arranged to meet up with RW who has some recent sightings of boar and also Fallow Deer. We arrive at our location and head off down a track into the forestry, within a short distance whilst chatting a big male boar appears out of the forest, stops on the track, takes one look and promptly disappears into the small plantation on the other side of the track..first miss of the day.....play attention !

We are now some way into the forest and on the side of the track is a young boar rooting for a meal, crouching down we grab some shots, then a sow appears slowly crossing the track, followed by the sub adult and a piglet, I manage some thirty images with the 100-400mm lens before they all disappear into the tree plantation, what a good start !

A new location for me, there are signs of extensive boar activity all over the area, we sit and wait to see what my turn up, a buck and doe Fallow Deer slowly walk towards us, the doe senses something and they are both gone, I need to brush up on stalking skills !. We continue a little further and discover someone camping enjoying the delights and solitude of the forest, smoke drifts from the camp fire close ground in the cool morning air, ghost like through the trees, its not suprising the area is absent of our target species.

Female / Sow Wild Boar... 

Yearling Sow...

Sub Adult Boar....

I'm up to may waste in bracken in an area that looks like boar are resident, over so often I stumble on a boar at no more than a metres distance, it grunts and make a bolt for it, the bracken is so dense its pointless looking a further so we make our my way to a path leading up through the forest, there are signs of boar activity every where.

At the top of the track is newly erected Forestry Commission shooting tower was discovered used to cull the boar located in an area with considerable boar activity as you would expect, I'm told they bait the animals to bring in to range which are then shot

In the past shooting wooden shooting towers have been vandalised by pro-boar supporters, this particular tower is constructed from steelwork with all the relevant fixings welded so as to remain tamper proof.

Strategically placed to act as tower security was this Trail Camera, I didn't search extensively but its unlikely to be the only camera installed, I'm sure the First Commission are more sneaky than that !