Enjoy Natural Wonders at my Summer Art Exhibition

I've just finished a new series of paintings for my summer wildlife art exhibition which opens at my gallery in Thixendale, North Yorkshire, tomorrow.

 

This buzzard portrait is among the new paintings on show. The exhibition is designed to inspire wonder at Britain’s natural heritage - like hares that can run at 45mph!

It follows the year I spent filming owls, badgers, kestrels, stoats and weasels.

See these detailed pictures alongside my photographs and rare video footage of secret animal encounters.

Among the recordings are the wild stoat I filmed running through a maze - part of the assault course I made for it in my garden.

The story of how It persuaded a tawny owl pair to foster three tawny owlets will also be screened - and you can see the paintings they inspired too, like the one above.

My entire collection of oil and acrylic paintings, pencil drawings, limited edition prints and bronze sculpture  will also be on show.

And there are a number of exciting wildlife events for you to join in too:

Choose from:
Wildlife at Millington, 10am-12.00, Saturday 13 June, Tickets £9.50 A walk through ancient ash woodland, ponds and open pastures to see yellow hammers, redstarts, kingfishers and deer. Suitable for children aged 13plus and people of moderate fitness.

Gallery Wildlife Walk 1 pm, Saturday 13 June & 10am Saturday 27 June, Tickets £9.50 A nature walk through the breath-taking valley of Thixendale looking for the owls and other birds that feature in my paintings.

Falconry, 10am, Sunday 14th June Tickets £4 children £6 Learn to fly owls, hawks and falcons at this fascinating falconry event run by expert falconer Danny Carpenter. This event is suitable for all ages.
Also on: June 21st and June 28th

Slideshow by Robert E Fuller: 7.30pm, Saturday 20th June, Tickets £9.50 Amazing wildlife tales of rare and unusual sightings, including I trained a wild stoat to run an assault course in my garden and how I witnessed a fierce nest box battle between warring birds of prey.Groups are limited to 70 so book early to avoid disappointment.

Wharram Quarry M Flowers 1pm Sat June 27th  Tickets £9.50 Group size 15
A walk through a disused quarry with professional naturalist Michael Flowers. Find rare orchids, butterflies and birdlife such as redstart, spotted flycatcher, willow warbler, blackcap, whitethroat, chiffchaff, marsh tit, and treecreepers.

FOR KIDS: 
Build a Hotel for Bugs, 10am-11am Saturday 13 June, Tickets £4 children £6 adults
Children can build their own hotel for bugs out of bamboo and then take them home to encourage wildlife into their gardens. This event takes place in the stunning setting of wildlife artist Robert E Fuller’s private woodland where bugs draw flocks of garden birds daily.
Super Strong Animals, 10am, Sunday 14th June& June 28th  Tickets £4 children £6 adults.The chance to see and hold super powered creatures, including a polecat, a ferret, a mighty mouse and a super strong garter snake at this mini zoo at The Robert Fuller Gallery.

Night out in a badger bunker

Last night I stayed the night in my badger bunker - the stars were amazing & the badgers weren't bad either. I saw 8 different adults and 3 cubs.
Mum took two of the cubs foraging up the bank to one of the sett's outposts, chittering as she went. En route, she came across the boar and they started to groom each other. The cubs continued to rive about and playing - so full of energy.
Mum decided she wanted a bit of 'me time' and deposited the cubs into the nearest hole so she could enjoy a night stroll with the boar. But the cubs were having none of it. They were wide awake & followed the pair at a distance. She carried each back to the hole with great patience, until after the 4th time of disobedience she had to give one of them a bit of a scuffle.
Temperatures plummeted to below freezing last night, so I was a bit on the cold side and I was woken up by another cub, who had accidentally popped out of a hole in the middle of the night and couldn't find his way back - he sounded like a trapped piglet. But it was certainly good fun, so I'll be back again soon.

A Valentine Badger Bodge

Valentine’s day wasn’t the most romantic for me and the Mrs. It turned out to be the only day I could get together enough friends – and borrow a teleporter – to put up my new badger hide.
I’ve been working on this for months and it was fantastic to see it finally in place – five metres high in a tree opposite a badger set.
I have fitted it with double glazing and insulation so I reckon I can bear badger watching nights in all weather – although putting it in place turned out to be particularly freezing.
Perhaps I can make it up to my wife in the summer with a romantic sunset picnic up there – after reading my column on courting grebes for The Yorkshire Post, http://www.robertefuller.com/RobertEFullersite/wildlife-diary-feb09-grebe.htm, I think she was expecting dinner at the very least.

A grebe painting by me!

Anyhow, fellow wildlife lovers, watch this space– I’m hoping to photograph badger cubs in the spring and see them grow up.