Fox Cubs

The eagle pair I posted pictures of at about this time last year have moved their nesting site. To avoid disturbing the new nest, cameras will be set up in the autumn after this year's chicks have flown but in the meantime, my boyfriend came across this yesterday:

Fox cubs born on the 27th of March

Filming these foxes is part of a great Dutch project set up in the Oostvaardersplassen, a dry and wetland nature reserve and example of rewilding. The habitat is relatively new and the ultimate goal is to have wildlife corridors between this reserve and others of it's kind well into France and Germany! See more videos of the newborn cubs and find out more at Volg De Vos (Follow the Fox)!

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Antidote for wintery symptoms.

Icy drizzle, low clouds and grey skies - all the symptoms of an oncoming winter! Here's an antidote I've been working on this week for this contest:

Lagoon details: threadfin butterflyfish, flame angelfish and sergeant major fish.

Lagoon details: anthias, clownfish and flame angelfish.

See other t-shirt designs and vote here or read about how I made the water texture here!

Lagoon on a Riviera Tee

Lagoon on a Riviera Tee - the pattern is from One-Yard Wonders.

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Eagles Return

They're back! Their first egg was laid on the 17th of February. If you'd like a look at the chick stills from last year, click here or visit the Raptor Resource Project's blog here!

Two eggs and a newly renovated nest.

3 Chicks on the 4th of April:

The first chick hatched on the 27th of March and I'm glad to see they're enjoying sunny weather over in Iowa this year. This pair are amazing parents; this is the fifth nest they've raised and four of these had 3 eaglets, which is apparently rare. If you click the image above, you'll see the humungous fish they've caught for them.

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Lagoon

Lagoon



Lagoon details - click to view larger.

I love the versatility of vector graphics. For anyone who's looking to upgrade their software, I'm currently using Xara Pro 7 (update Nov 12: I've upgraded this to Xara Pro X which you can read about here!) which is a fraction of the price of the Adobe stuff and has a really usable interface. Apart from the layering and flexible editing of shapes that vectors offer, using the texture fills is addictive and they can be absolutely anything. The water in my design above for example, is made up of layers using a photo I took of sunlight reflecting off a bowl and I'm really pleased with how that's turned out!

You can see all the other 'fluid' illustrations here! 15% of proceeds from Lagoon go to the Coral Triangle Initiative!

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Forest & Sea ▪ www.etsy.com/shop/ForestAndSea

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The book of Enzo.

I've just finished this book:

It's one of the best I've ever read in which Enzo, a canine philosopher, examines and recounts his life's experiences on the eve of his death. Anyone who loves animals and thinking about the larger picture should try this book but, whatever you do, don't read the end in public...

A fitting reminder, especially today, of all the beautiful beings we coexist with on our planet!


All Creatures Great and Small, by Julia Cairns.

Do something to help your fellow earthlings on this Earth Day! I think I'll donate to Fauna & Flora International, a wide-reaching charity working to conserve threatened species and ecosystems around the globe.

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Hatching!

This Bald Eagle pair from Iowa are about to welcome their first chick of 2011:

It's so amazing to watch something like this live and is thanks to the Raptor Resource Project, a nonprofit organisation working to restore bird of prey populations in the Midwest.

Update 12th April:

I caught these stills of feeding time earlier. They really don't do the chicks justice though; they're still so wobbly and uncoordinated :) I'm glad they're ok with all the bad weather they've had in the midwest this weekend. I hope that none of you have been badly affected either.

Click to view larger.

More bad weather (19th April):
Ahhh, poor thing : (

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Forest & Sea ▪ www.etsy.com/shop/ForestAndSea

hand drawn nature on fabric, accessories & homeware