Wildlife Snapshots

BGBW IV

2012-01-29T21:08:00.000Z

Yesterday was a good day, even though I didn't get out snapping. The sun shone, a couple of nice walks with the dog, the first rabbits of the year were out and about and we added to our village tally of bird species with a pair of goldcrest peeping away from a conifer. Don't get me wrong I know they will have been around we just haven't seen them - no conifers in the garden.
It was also big garden bird watch day. I haven't kept note of entries from the last couple of years, but looking further back we seem to have much the same mix of species each year - just with some variation in numbers.

This year house sparrows topped the bill (no pun intended) with 9, and it's nice to know they seem to be at least holding their own. There may well have been more, but it's a struggle to count, especially now the bamboo has grown on.
Collared doves next on 8 - some years we have had up to 20 at a time,

then the ever hungry starlings,

greenfinches - again a good find given the problems they're having

and blue tits - all on 6.

It was nice to find a blackcap after a couple of barren years - Kay told me the other week she'd seen one around.

In search of snow .......

2012-01-20T20:30:00.000Z

It's hard to believe that the last time I posted about the UK was early November, but a combination of a holiday, lousy weather and other commitments (including walking the dog!) has meant photo trips have been limited. I failed dismally to snap the Slimbridge bitterns, and the tawny owl that took up temporary residence in one of Rich barn owl boxes. The foxes are around, but making use of the long nights to avoid anything but the trail cam, and there's just no roadkill to pull in the buzzards.

So last weekend I devised cunning plan and we went to walk the dog by the sea. Good chance to socialise her, you see - she's a rescue border collie, so has her issues! As there are no beaches to speak of nearby a trip over to Burnham on a day with a piercing wind turned out to be a good move. The wooden lighthouse is quite photogenic (or would be if you took the time to compose something arty),

and the dog behaved herself with some distraction from an increasingly soggy and sandy ball.

I'd swear I wasn't the only one keeping an eye out for the bird, but I knew the sky wasn't the best place to seek this little gem.

That said I was beginning to fear the high numbers of people may have put off even this tame creature, but in time ...bingo.

In classic snow bunting tradition it was really very tolerant of me and my lens, although the last shot is heavy crop - I'm not going to push it that far.

The only downside was it's choice of location. I wanted low angle views so there was no choice. Let's just say the dog wasn't the only one with a soggy ball - I had 2!

Florida

2011-12-06T21:41:00.001Z

A few posts to come HERE or some pictures HERE from a recent trip to Florida....

Here are a few tasters:

Owls at Aust

2011-11-05T23:37:00.000Z

A backwards day today. The forecast sunshine didn't materialise until midday, but that at least was the only saving grace of my failed attempt to see the local snow bunting. The sightings websites are great, but there is a major frustration in seeing reported sightings of birds at the start of the week that you know will be gone by the time you have the chance to try and see them.
When the sun did come out I had to make the decision whether to drive the long way round to Aust Warth to look for the short eared owls. With the old Severn bridge closed for repairs a journey of 10-15 minutes becomes a trip of 30-35. Still it looked like the sun might hold so I went.
Sometimes they appear earlier in the afternoon, but today it was the usual 4pm. I was sitting in the car listening to the football (I'd been there about 90 mins), hanging out of the window, when I suddenly realised I was looking at an owl sitting on a log. I never saw it fly in - for all I know it had been resting up in the long grass. Anyway we were then treated to a show by 2 owls (a third was reported) in reasonable, but dying light. In order to get some closer views I cranked up the ISO and hoped.
A few shots below starting with an experiment in black and white, and there are more on the website.

A lovely way to spend the last hour of the day.

While the cat's away ....... (2)

2011-10-24T21:21:00.001+01:00

After a quick bacon and egg butty at the cycle centre I had to decide where to go next. As I needed to visit Slimbridge it was a bit of a no-brainer, but I wasn't sure there would be too much to see. There were the usual residents :
a curious jackdaw

and a young woodpigeon

but not too much else in the way of wildlife. I wandered into the pond zone - from my childhood I've had a love of things aquatic, even to the extent of considering marine biology as a career. Instead I went another way, spent many hours fishing but never did learn to scuba dive. Still, like rockpooling, whenever I find dipping ponds, etc I find myself drawn to stare in. There were the usual snails ....

a few sticklebacks ( a heavy crop - but I'm quite pleased with this one with the spines clearly visible) .......

and even the odd insect perhaps egg-laying?

So did you guess the clue I posted yesterday? It's the egg shape just above the waterline.

As I walked up to this particular pool there was a distinct and frankly unmistakable 'plop'. Have you got it yet?

Go on - more 'eggs' and a tail! Yes a water vole (and poo).

Sitting around for a while it became clear there were at least two juveniles and an adult. I took some more shots, and had such fun I've been back a couple of times since. The background isn't the easiest for the most picturesque shits, but they were quite unconcerned by my presence if I stayed still. I couldn't believe they were wild, but an email exchange with a very helpful lady called Sue Porter confirmed they were wild visitors, although they had only known one was using the site. At one time on the Slimbridge site as a whole they had just 5 breeding pairs, now numbers are estimated at 300, and they are spreading out into the local canal.
You do need to be patient - like the voles at Cromford canal feeding comes in short bursts, but I can assure you you will never get closer views. At times I could have just scooped them out as they swam past, and the youngsters could be watched swimming underwater. It was a a bit like watching young grebes when they first try and swim - all energy and bluster, but not too much grace.
A few of the following shots are slightly cropped to remove extraneous vegetation, but the first couple for example are full frame. Love it.

More pictures on the website. I hope they don't get too popular and then disturbed, but they seem quite habituated to people and the last time I was there about half a dozen other photographers appeared when I was snapping. I'd been there about 3 hours by then though - sore knees!

From Mammals

While the cat's away ....... (1)

2011-10-23T23:28:00.000+01:00

I can't believe how long has passed since my last post. A combination of the weather, a dog to walk and other commitments has meant time out with the DSLR has been quite limited. I've got a lot of snaps taken with my little pocket digital camera on dog walks, and they will make the light of day in the end, but it was when Kay was heading north a couple of weekends ago, with the dog, that I grabbed the chance to get out and about again.

Starting on the Friday night I wandered up to Rich's field to see how his barn owls were getting on. They've had 2 clutches this year with 5 looking likely to fledge from the second. As usual there was nothing to see during the light, but as dusk really fell I heard the unmistakable hiss of a barnie, then a second. Moments later I had one of those 'never forget it' moments as the two owls flitted around me, like moths to a candle and only 10 feet over my head. I was standing in full view (nowhere near the nest box I should add), leaning on a fencepost, so they were obviously interested to see just what I was. One landed on another fencepost, but the lack of a moon meant it was just a white shadow to my straining eyes. Brilliant.

The next morning I was up well before the lark to go and remind myself how frustrating it is trying to watch rutting fallow deer on the Forest. I did get a few glimpses of deer in the middle distance, but none in photo range. At one point I saw the back of a deer a little nearer in the bracken and waited for the head to pop up. Then another back, and another. Still no heads - in fact not even a neck. Slowly the penny dropped. In my defence I haven't seen boar too often, and the bracken was quite high.

The owl theme continued. When I first arrived it was still too dark to try and head into the woods - no moon, remember? Hearing a few tawny owls 'kewicking' I tried a 'twoo'. Probably coincidence, but an owl flew overhead. Just call me the owl whisperer!

So there we go, instalment one and not a picture in sight. There are some, I promise in instalment 2 though. I think this might be my first ever snapless post, so here's a clue to what's to come - I'll be impressed if you get it.

Buzzard revisited

2011-08-18T21:51:00.000+01:00

In the weeks since my last morning with the buzzards we had seen them twice feeding on dead rabbits in the same area. Sadly there is a fair bit of myxy around at present and that morning whilst walking the dog I'd seen one of the rabbits out feeding in broad daylight, eyes fully closed. So I had fewer reservations about looking to try the baiting out again. Having found another fresh roadkill - very near where the other had been - I went back to the same field. I wanted to try and get some closer shots , but to get the right angle my last vantage point wouldn't work, as it was about 6 feet above the field. So this time I did use a hide, but my 'low level' one (home made from a cloche frame and less than 3 feet high).

The birds did seem more wary, not just the hide, but the rabbit was only about 20 paces away this time, probably half the previous distance. Eventually though one glided down from the big oak tree, not a single flap of it's wings until it landed.

It was a superb experience to watch this beautiful bird at such a close range - just right for full-frame shots too (although I'm frustrated that I clipped the wing in the first shot).

One surprise though was the number of wasps down feeding on the carcass. Never seen that before - although thinking about it you could see a few flying around on some the last set of pictures.

2 for the price of one ....

2011-08-05T22:49:00.000+01:00

The foxes are a longer term project, but for a while now I've had another idea in mind. Earlier in the year we put down a dead chicken in Rich's field with the trail cam on it. Over a few days we filmed a buzzard and a fox at the carcass, and of note to me was the fact that the buzzard was feeding in good light. The spot wasn't really ideal for photo's, although I have some thoughts about a snow or frost scene I might try for next winter.

The idea of putting down some bait for buzzards is hardly new. Dave Slater (see links) had some shots he'd taken from his hide, and of course at places like Gigrin Farm there are plenty of buzzards down with the red kites. However my time for photography is quite limited so I always saw it as a gamble. Near the village there are several fields where the short grass betrays a good rabbit population,

and when I started to hear the unmistakable mewing of the newly fledged buzzards in the area I thought it might be worth a bash. Then one day Kay had been walking the dog and told me about seeing several buzzards down in one field.

So there I was, up early on a Saturday morning cruising the local lanes for overnight roadkill. All I found was a long dead and tatty cat, which didn't meet my needs! I tried again on Sunday and there was a large and very fresh roadkill rabbit, duly scooped up into a bag.

I seriously doubted whether a hide would be tolerated so I found a spot on the edge of some trees where I could hide and put down the rabbit a reasonable way off in the hope I wouldn't put the birds off. For an hour or two my frustration grew, as I could hear several buzzards calling, but none too near, and none obviously moving. The rabbits were around though.

Suddenly l heard a different type of call, and more than that it was right over my head. Next thing I knew not one but two birds appeared on the ground in front of me. It was apparent straight away that this wasn't a vulture 'share the carcass' scenario, but very much a case of pecking order. The bird that won out did the classic mantling you see from raptors,

spreading it's wings to shield even a sight of the prey from the other bird which just sat around looking a bit sorry for itself. The single bird shots are all crops but they don't look too bad on screen, so click on them for bigger views.

After a fair while there was a sudden flurry of activity and the other bird dived in. By now the first had eaten a fair bit so it gave way.

At the end the bird tried to carry away the remains in a cloud of flies, but it was obvious this big rabbit was too challenging, and in the end the birds flew off. A third had appeared, but this one didn't come down to stay. Sorry a few of these shots are a little gruesome!

I decided to leave the remains and went off for a late breakfast. That afternoon the dog and I went back, and there was nothing at all to be seen, so obviously something had tidied up.

So in the space of a few weeks I'd achieved two planned sets of pictures - a nice feeling of achievement.

As always better views can be seen on the web albums HERE.

Definitely not badgers!

2011-08-01T23:11:00.000+01:00

When someone told me about an area of woodland within a walk (or short drive) from the village where they had seen badgers it sparked my interest. As so often around here it can be hard to find a spot where others (walkers or dog walkers) don't go, but within a few hundred yards of the described location I found a spot where there was a natural looking track between two slightly raised areas. I scattered some peanuts around and set up the trail camera. Next day nothing seemed to have gone, but the day after the nuts were missing, a pattern which continued over a couple more nights. Retrieving the camera I had a pleasant surprise - no badgers but a fox family - 4 cubs, still suckling, but old enough to have fun. They weren't there every night, but what was exciting was the fact that a couple of appearances were in the early evening.
This isn't a place you could use a hide. In fact there was only one spot where I could lie down between some plants and get a view of the area. However I have found that if you are low (I lie flat with a large bean bag - not so good for the neck though), draped in camo and the only real view the target will get is of the lens, then you can get often get some shots.
I had three concerns. I knew I would do a bit of feeding to ensure the foxes came, but I had to limit this to avoid any dependency. I wanted to avoid any habituation with people. I wanted to avoid giving my location away to others. There are enough people in this area who will target foxes, so I didn't want to put them at risk.
I have never seen anyone else there, so that's a start. One night when I had put down some food a fox appeared as I was walking away. It turned and fled, so no evidence of getting used to people yet.
The first night I staked out the venue I felt that strange mix of anticipation tempered with resignation that the chance of actually seeing let alone snapping a fox was limited. Suddenly a small shape wandered out of the bramble patch and with barely a glance around it settled down to a few peanuts. Bingo. This was my first shot from the site, and even if I didn't get any more I would be content. In fact it did stick around for a few minutes, enabling some more shots.

This isn't somewhere I can go that often, and even when I have gone then I've only seen a fox perhaps half the visits, so the next snap was a month later. The cub had clearly grown though ........

but it was a couple of weeks later when I next saw one, then two, that I felt they were really growing up.

They would come and browse the food, but even when I had put down a bit of dog food ( the night with the camera) they didn't go mad for it, again reassuring.
They would react to the birds flying over, and on the night when two appeared the one there first visibly stiffened and adopted a defensive posture. No actual fighting or growling though.

I don't think they clocked me as a person, they were too confident, but I know from looking back at the setup that the lens reflected the sky to some extent, so they would have seen something unusual.

Overall I'm quite pleased with the results so far, even though the light there isn't great and quite a few of the shots were taken at high ISO settings.
I hope the weather and my timetable allow one or two more visits, as from my reading we must be nearing the time when at least some of the cubs will move on.

Project 2011

2011-07-29T20:49:00.000+01:00

If you read the wildlife photography books they all say that to get the best shots you need to get to know your target, put your time in on one thing rather than just going out to see what you can find. Over the last couple of years I've put this into practice more than in the past - 2009 was Rich's field, 2010 was my woodland puddle, and for me both paid dividends, and pleasingly both were within a few miles of home.

For 2011 I had a new plan, closer to home than ever.

I'll explain more in the next post, but for now here's a taster, hopefully to whet your appetite!

The first to appear in front of the lens was a real treat. This was my best view yet of a green woodpecker - completely unexpected and not seen since.

More birds followed, blackbird

and as a reassuring pointer to the fact that the absence of a hide wasn't a deterrent a succession of normally shy corvids - magpie

a moulting crow

and one of my faves a jay. Well several in fact.

For once though birds weren't the target. The squirrels were a bit wary

and with the rabbit I finally felt I was on track.

Knowing rabbits were around got my mouth watering. And it seemed I wasn't the only one licking my lips ........

(Click on the pic for a bigger view - it really is licking it's lips!).

More to follow soon.

Orchid bees and bee orchids

2011-07-11T22:31:00.006+01:00

I'm acutely aware that I haven't posted much recently. Partly that's because life has been quite busy, partly because the dog means I'm not out with my 'real' camera so much (but lots of snaps with the pocket camera to come) and partly because I have a new project on the go - quite a lot of effort for not too much return so far, but like all such projects I live in hope! Certainly there will be some pictures to come in time.
Anyway I did take some flower snaps the other weekend. I'm no orchid expert, and I'm always taken aback by the variety of form individual orchid types can take, but I think these are all common spotted orchids despite the varying flower heads.

Some were growing in a local meadow (not Rich's this time, but Paul's), along with yellow rattle - the grass parasite that helps control the more rampant grasses that might otherwise swamp the flowers - ........
and this vetch - I think birdsfoot trefoil, but there were no seed heads to enable confirmation.
Over at Newport wetlands I found a vetch I recognised instantly - even though I had never seen it before - the grass vetchling. I first heard of it when Rich and Nic told me that they had found a specimen in their developing hay meadow. It's just as Nic described - typical pea flowers on the stems and leaves of a grass. Nice plant but tricky to photograph - tall and slim it's mostly fresh air!

The real aim of going to the wetlands was to see if 2011 was a better year for one of my real favourites - the last 2 hadn't been so good. Whilst snapping the grass vetchling a soft pink caught my eye, and sure enough it was my first bee-orchid for 3 years. With a bit more looking I found more, and eventually some I could snap with a more uncluttered background. Aren't these flowers just the bee's-knees! (Sorry).

I really do love them. Again they can be tricky to snap given the relatively narrow plane of focus macro lenses often have. Front to back it's a lot of flower to get sharp.
Larger pic's and a few more will appear on the web albums over the next few days, so do have a look.

Scotland: Farmland / Grassland

2011-06-23T20:35:00.008+01:00

Wo-wo-wo-wo-wo-wo-wo. To say it right you have to pronounce the 'o' as in 'or', and then say it as fast as you can. Any idea? Smallish bird, up high, diving down 20 feet? I hadn't heard one for years (and even then it had been on Speyside too), but now found myself listening to 2, maybe 3, all over one small marshy area. And there's the clue. Drumming snipe. No photo's, but who cares?
The surprise of the trip for me was a visit back to a country lane Kay and once visited years ago (cleanse your minds!). Back then we sat in the car and watched a lapwing with chicks, and I reckoned the time might be right to find something similar. As it turned out there was more to see than I expected.
I thought the fences would be a problem for snaps, but using the car as a hide it was surprising how I could work around them, or blur the wire out.
As well as the snipe there were oystercatchers, redshank and curlew along the fence lines.

I saw this curlew a couple of days in the same spot. Obviously nesting, but I didn't push it.
Mostly the curlews were pretty wary, but one chose to walk in full view - definitely my best ever views.
Corvids too are usually wary, but the car helped with this jackdaw ....
and the oystercatchers.

Evening brought out the game birds - red legged partridge ....
and the inevitable pheasants.
It was great to see quite a few lapwing around .......
and when I saw this one trailing a wing (click on the snap for a larger view) I knew it probably wasn't because it had a problem.
Sure enough after a few minutes a fairly well developed chick appeared. Only saw the one, but from my experience with the grouse there may well have been more scuttling around.
For a change there were a few mammals around too. The usual rabbits of course ......

some hares - a real treat for me as they are rarely seen where I live,
and to cap it all a few roe deer, including the buck in velvet which gave me one of my favourite snaps of the whole trip.
There were also yellowhammer, linnet and no doubt others I missed. I never thought this would have been a spot I wished I had more time to explore. I guess this is what most UK farmland would have been at one time, but all the set-aside schemes won't get us back there.

Scotland: Coast - A Bonx(ie) Tale

2011-06-16T22:39:00.006+01:00

Sandy McLennan's mention of Handa Island got me thinking. I knew the name, but also that it was a long way from Aviemore - right up in the north-west. It was the mention of bonxies that got me going though. I first (and last) had seen a great skua 20 odd years ago, and it left a lasting impression. Hardly our most decorative bird it made up for it in sheer steroidal bulk. Truly a heavyweight, with a bill to match.
The weather forecast for Thursday looked truly shocking, and to be honest the forecast for the north-west wasn't really much better. However I persuaded myself there were some windows in the rain and decided to go. With the first ferry over at 9.30 I made an early start - just as well. I did stop a couple of times, to watch briefly a black grouse (which flew away) and a diver (distant), but the journey took the best part of 3 1/2 hours. I arrived in the tiny harbour of Tarbet about 9 am, and it was at worst spitting gently.
Looking around I could see 3 red throated divers and some black guillemots in the bay (just too far out for snaps) and a rather cute common gull which posed for a minute by the car park. I never realised they had the same red eye ring I've seen on kittiwakes - not that you can see it on this little view!
Even the journey over to the island wasn't too bad, but when we got onto the island the heavens finally opened. Trudging up to the small lochan where the bonxies were said to congregate a lovely fog added to the atmosphere. The rest of the boat party headed on to the stack and cliffs where the guillemots and puffins could be found, but I decided to sit tight and hope things cleared up.

An hour or so later the fog turned into a mist and the rain slackened marginally. A bonxie flew round and landed 50 yards away, fairly near the path. I edged closer, and was delighted to find that it didn't seem at all bothered by my presence. I took a few snaps, but they were atmospheric at best!
Suddenly the air cleared slightly, the bird stood and then went into classic display mode, flashing those brilliant white wing patches to warn off competitors. Fabulous sight, and I just hoped the snaps would do it justice.

Finally the soggy weather seemed less of a drain, and I set off further around the island. It wasn't too long before I was trudging again though. There were a few gaps in the rain, and I managed a few other snaps.
I suspect this guillemot egg was probably predated by a bonxie, but it wasn't the only aerial pirate around. I never manged a decent shot of the pair of arctic skuas, but did catch a silhouette of that lovely profile.

At the cliffs the only half decent shots I got were of fulmars .....

but there were a few others - oystercatcher and thrift .....
meadow pipit .....
and some displaying eiders in one of the more sheltered bays.

I'm sure this would be a brilliant place to go on a nice day, when the restricted visiting hours would be a frustration, but frankly on this day by the time I got back to the ferry I was knackered! Still it was a satisfied knackered, and after all only a 3 hour journey 'home'!

Scotland: Woodland river

2011-06-14T22:46:00.006+01:00

Another grey day saw me head for the Moray Firth in an abortive search for dolphins, but whilst there I paid a visit to one of my favourite little spots - The Fairy Glen at Rosemarkie. A relatively short streamside walk through woodland is usually good for grey wagtails (depends how you define good!) .....
and dippers. The nest site had changed since I was last there. At the best of times it is a shady spot, but this time the ISO settings had to be jacked right up and even then I was surprised to get some non-blurred shots. The adults coming in with food often paused at the top of a waterfall ......

and one of them at least had the habit of washing the food before taking it to the nest. Don't recall ever seeing that before.

So poor light, and not the best angles meant the dipper shots were a bit disappointing, but the dolphins more so. I can count on the fingers of one hand the times I have been to Chanonry Point and not had a reasonable view, and with the crowds that attend each incoming tide now I did feel sorry for the folks who'd seen it on the tv and thought they just had to turn up. Not quite fair - some had been there hours, with all those with experience constantly saying "I'm sure they'll be in soon!" Whilst there I met Sandy McLennan, one of the local photographers hooked on the dolphins. Bemoaning the weather he mentioned that he had been planning to visit Handa Island. The seeds were sown for a long drive, some truly horrible weather, but one of my favourite snaps of the holiday. Then again that's another day, another post.

Scotland: High moors - The grouse was stalking me ........

2011-06-10T20:58:00.008+01:00

Driving along I heard the unmistakable call of a golden plover and pulled the car to a stop.

OK rewind, and be honest! I was driving as slowly as I could down the single track road, windows down looking and listening for grouse, when I heard a bird repeatedly calling. I couldn't see anything, and didn't have a clue what it was. So I pulled into a passing place and got out to walk back in the hope of seeing what it was.
After 10 steps a grouse shot out from the side of the road, wings partly spread and came straight at me, veering off only at the last minute. It went to the verge and stood watching me. In the background I saw another cross the road, but I focused on my friend, who now seemed quite settled.
I took a couple of snaps, but didn't want to distress it so I went up the road to see what the calling bird was. After a bit of searching I found a pair of golden plover, pretty, but sadly just short of full plumage. The more distant shots look better!

Wandering back I was surprised to see my friend still there, now nibbling some heather. Time for some more shots, then back in the car to see what else was around. Don't suppose I'll ever get so close again.

There were more grouse around, but I only got anywhere near one full plumaged male, and even that was at such an awkward angle from the car that I have had to crop hard just to straighten it up a bit!
One of the other grouse was calling so I sat tight in the car to see what happened. Surprisingly it too headed for me, although not with such enthusiasm.
Turned out it was more following its chicks than leading them, but they proved very hard to get decent views of, so this was my best effort.
Not too much else around, but I did see this red deer and as always meadow pipits were everywhere. Sadly the wheatears eluded me - I never seem to do very well with them.

As always better views and more shots on the web albums HERE

Scotland: The woods

2011-06-07T21:10:00.005+01:00

With the wind not letting up the woodland might have been somewhere to find a welcome retreat, and certainly there were some birds around - redstart, wood warbler, spotted flycatcher - in this lovely birch wood. However despite visiting classic caledonian woodland several times I didn't see the standard highland targets of crested tit, crossbill or red squirrel.
Back in some birch wood a severe scolding gave me a clue, and I watched the blue tits at this nest for a while.
The birds would take food in at the top of the split ........
then reappear at the bottom with a faecal sac.
At least they did until they got more used to me after which they just flew straight in half way down. Chaffinches were everywhere of course
the rarely seen robin (!)
and a young thrush. I think mistle, but happy to be corrected!
None great shots, and the woods weren't a highlight for this year. I know if I really want to snap crested tits I need to go back in winter - maybe next year.

Scotland : Lochs

2011-06-05T23:05:00.004+01:00

A rather wet and windy week in Scotland at the end of May. A friend's grandfather once summed up Scotland rather disparagingly as "nobbut hills and watter". The weather meant that realistically the high hills weren't really on the agenda (for the second year running), so let's start with the watter. An old favourite site soon produced the inevitable mallard family ....................

but that wasn't the target. Fortunately though I soon found the birds I was seeking - the fabulous Slavonian grebes. The light was tricky, swinging quite rapidly from sun to cloud and showers, but eventually I got some reasonable shots, much better than my feeble efforts last year.

Feeding - couldn't quite make out what this was -
and at last a decent portrait - bit of a crop, but still fine enough detail.
One bird showing much better this year than in the past caught me by surprise - ever tried to snap an osprey lying on the ground, using a bean bag and trying not to alarm the grebe in front of you!
These pictures and more will appear on the web album soon, where you can see better versions.

Just hang on a sec ..............

2011-05-17T21:33:00.020+01:00

If you're in a hurry, stop here! Sorry this is a long post, but it's mostly pictures, so not that bad really. The pictures below are all incidentals - not the target of the time out, but seen and snapped along the way.
To start a fledgling blackbird, trying to find it's way back into the hedge while I was hunting whitethroats.

Most, however have been a consequence of a new addition to the family - a 2 year old rescue border collie.
One thing we do now is walk! I have taken to bringing my pocket digital camera (in a pocket), and have been pleasantly surprised by the results, even if my requests to 'hang on a sec' aren't always welcomed! Compared to my usual macro lens the difference is that this takes wide-angle close-ups, showing more of the background. Not the shot for the classic detail, but I quite like them.

Slow worm

Rhingia campestris
Empis spp. Predatory species found in a hedgerow, most often prey in hand. The last shot shows what I take to be 2 mating empids and a prey fly.

I think a digger wasp. I'm no entomologist, so please correct any mistakes!
Ichneumon spp.
Green shield bug

Soldier beetle
Cricket nymph - pretty sure dark bush cricket, no idea which instar.

Ermine moth caterpillar webs

Unidentified caterpillar - please let me know if you recognise this one.

Holly blue

Speckled wood
Common wave (?)
Next some micromoths. some of these are surprisingly pretty up close.

Adela reaumurella clustering on a tree. I especially like the 'through the leaf'' shot.

Unknown spp
Unknown spp
Unknown spp
Alabonia geoffrella
Phyllobius pomaceus - showing blue green and gold green variants

and to conclude the now hatched larva of the green dock beetles I posted about a couple of weeks ago.
Thanks for sticking with it - just be grateful I didn't include the flowers shots!!

Ruby, Ruby, Ruby, Ruby ..............

2011-05-10T22:20:00.003+01:00

A post or two ago I wrote about the rather chaotic flight of our local cockchafers, but they weren't the only insects I've come across recently flying like that.
Whilst standing in a country lane, remote camera trigger in hand, waiting for a whitethroat to land on the target post I watched a hornet fly down the lane and swing into the hedge. A second later I was shocked by a bright pink ball of confusion that shot out the hedge, bounced around the lane and then seemed to disappear. My first thought as some kind of beetle, but on closer inspection I actually found a moth, although not the stunning pink I had first glimpsed.
Then again look at those stockings. Just a hint of pink maybe?
It flew onto a leaf showing a little more colour,
but it was when it surprisingly flew up and landed on my hand that I could finally confirm my first impression. I didn't get any pictures of it in flight, but my books say in the south the hindwings are pink, whereas in the north they are grey.
It's a Ruby Tiger - apparently not uncommon, and one I would love to find again. In the south.
And yes, that's the camera trigger in my hand.

Willow wren

2011-05-07T23:10:00.002+01:00

In addition to the blog I show my pictures on some picasa web albums. It allows you to see how many time shots have been viewed, and so I know I generally have a select audience! However 2 years ago - almost to the day - I posted a picture of a wood warbler, and started to receive many more comments than usual. In the end 89,631 people have looked at the picture. I was amazed, but in time found it was because it had been selected as a 'featured photo'. It wasn't a great shot, although I suppose the woodland and overcast conditions gave it a certain atmosphere. That was the only time I had ever tried to snap wood warblers, so I decided it was time to try again.
They can be frustrating, liking to sing quite high up meaning that lovely white breast is often cast in shade - if you can get the bird into any sunlight anyway, and in full song the head is thrown back meaning many shots are largely torso. I found one quite quickly, and it wasn't completely anti-social, although there was certain vampiric tendency to avoid the sun. So here are a few of the better snaps, but let's be clear, I'll be very happy if 89 people have a look!

If you want to see some better quality versions have a look at the web albums! By the way at one time, until the Revd Gilbert White came along, the name willow wren was given to what we now recognise as three different warblers - willow, wood and chiffchaff.
If you want to see some really nice wood warbler shots have a look HERE and HERE at Rich Steel's blog (always quality), or HERE at Chris Grady's album including some shots of birds with food.

The law of diminishing returns ......

2011-05-03T22:23:00.006+01:00

Last year I put a lot of time into my woodland puddles, and was quite pleased with at least some of the results. The redpolls this year were a step forward, and I just added another species when this GS woodpecker came for a bath.

However overall it's been a case of more of the same. The song thrush posed more attractively ....

but generally the added value has been harder to come by. With the dry spell I had to decide whether to start carting water up again, and I've decided to leave it. For now anyway.
A few more shots, including a few with higher magnification. I really wanted a closer shot of the goldcrest, but the best I managed had some bracken in the background as a distraction. The blue tit was cute though.

Things that go bump in the night

2011-04-30T23:24:00.003+01:00

My first experience of a cockchafer was on a biology field trip with school, probably 35 years ago. We went to Anglesey for a week (I think). One night the dormitory descended into chaos as a buzzing, blundering ball of confusion flew in through the window. Big and noisy it flew like so many beetles - straight lines, regardless of the environment! I don't have a great memory for things in general from back then, so clearly it made an impression.

Quite a looker, eh - the antlers and pointy bum are a nice touch. Perhaps like the camel, a creature designed by a committee.
This one was crashing around our house until I rescued it and popped it on the box bush outside the back door.

On sticks and stones

2011-04-29T22:41:00.006+01:00

I've been taking some more shots at my puddles ( to follow), but also grabbed the chance to take some snaps at a feeding station I set up nearby. I was hoping for something a bit hawfinch-like, but so far no joy. The trail cam has proved good way to keep track of what's feeding.
The niger seed has proved very popular with the siskins, but they are quite assertive little things and tend to fly straight onto the feeders. This one came in when I was packing up though and posed nicely on a branch (not a prop, despite how it looks!) as it hesitated whether to feed or not.

Meanwhile nearer home I went to try and snap a whitethroat. Again plenty around, but they were proving unpredictable perch-wise on the hedges. I did see one use the fence post though and so focused on that. No-go with me at the camera, but eventually using remote and camera unattended this one came in. Just a shame it didn't face the light.

One to try again if the sun comes back. Maybe I can plant a prettier perch.

Does my bum look big in this?

2011-04-29T12:03:00.003+01:00

I've never noticed green dock beetles before, but they are out in force here at present along the edges of Crick brook. The males are just small green leaf beetles (see last shot), but the pregnant females get these grossly distended abdomens. Bit small for my macro kit, but you will get the idea from these cropped shots.

An egg cluster.
Male and female inflagrante delicto. Again. Ooh err matron.
And the answer is, of course, "never my love".

Derbyshire

2011-04-11T22:35:00.006+01:00

Once more with a knack for believing the wrong weather forecast I headed for Derbyshire on what turned out to be another cloudy day. Last year Brian Davis commented on the fact that the water voles at Cromford ..... well, weren't. So I didn't have high hopes, but I knew dull light there was better than in a wooded valley, so I gave it a bash. Wandering along I didn't see anything, but then heard an unmistakable 'plop' behind me. I only saw ripples, but realised a vole must have been on the far bank behind the brambles until the strolling moorhen gave it a fright. Based on past experience I knew it was then just a waiting game, and eventually in one of the canal wall holes a face appeared.
In time it had a swim to a more photogenic spot for a light bite .........
then another swim, and it was gone.
I stayed a while, had another walk and prevaricated a bit too long before heading for Lathkill Dale. The moorhen were in grumpy mood
butterbur was a nice touch (an English first for me)
and on the far bank a small shape flitted from crevice to crevice.

Soon enough I found the purpose of the visit, showing quite well, but not apparently very hungry. This was a problem, because all the birds I saw were bejewelled with brightly coloured bling. Nice to watch, but not so good to snap. When feeding they stand in the water and can hide the rings, but this late afternoon it was just posing and preening.
They looked a bit like cheap wellies in this shot.
Distant shots were marginally less obvious (on this scale at least)
In the end I found that the one with the red ring didn't look too bad if I turned down the red saturation in Lightroom.
Interestingly trying the same with orange on the other bird just led to the bird changing colour too. In fairness the dippers have had a hard time of late apparently, so I guess they do need to try and keep track of them somehow, and colour rings are the easiest way.
So not as successful as I had hoped, and the ISO was cranked up most of the day, but still a cracking part of the world. As ever a few more shots in the web albums.

Should be living in a hole

2011-04-08T22:04:00.000+01:00

Mole from Brian's 'Wobblecam' Videos on Vimeo.

Red-necked Footy Arse

2011-04-05T22:10:00.004+01:00

Sorry to disappoint any Wayne Rooney fans, but despite the title this post isn't about him!
Anyone who has followed this blog from it's early days (HERE) will know about my childish delight in the old Orkney name for the little grebe. Back then I thought RNFA might describe a disease, but Wayne fits the bill so much better.
Anyway a few days up north saw me carefully misjudging the weather quite skillfully, timing free days to match cloud and even rain. A Met Office suggestion of some sun saw me scratching my head before heading off to see if I could find some adders. No sun, no snakes. When the macro lens is out in early spring it's not usually a good sign, but the urge to snap saw me successfully stalk a fly .....
and an as yet unidentified fungus.
However just after leaving the car park a friendly guy asked if I was there to see the grebe. The blank look led to the explanation that a Red-necked grebe was around. Meeting him again after my fly hunt and fungus chase he had found the bird, so we went for a look. At first it was well off, annoying the GC grebes, but eventually it came a little closer. No light and heavy crops, but you do get a feel for this quite attractive bird.

What struck me as a bit sad was it's repeated calling. Not as though it has much chance of a mate dropping in.
Doing a bit of googling afterwards it seems that a bird, and presumably the same one has been a regular at this site for some years now. The call was quite distinctive, and rather grating, Couldn't place it - bit like a bass water rail maybe, or more often the cartoon screech of car tyres just clinging to a sharp bend. Click here to go to a site where you can get some flavour of the call - especially towards the end.

More puddle pics

2011-03-28T00:36:00.005+01:00

A hint of sunshine saw me back at the puddles - now rapidly drying out - for some more of the same. A stunning male redpoll or two were the highlight of the day .........
but it was good just to watch the usual cast of characters in action.

Last year blcakcaps were regular visitors, so it was great to see one back again .......
Mean while at my woodland feeding station I have started to work out where all the seed is going to:

As always better quality shots on the web gallery HERE

Getting back on track

2011-03-21T22:39:00.006Z

After a few weekends back into the sad rhythm of wet weekends, coupled with a singular lack of success tempting something interesting in front of the lens I decided to go for a session at my woodland puddles ..........

After an hour or two snapping floating seeds Igave up and spent a while seeing if I could get a shot of the birds using the feeding station I have set up nearby. No joy there, even the chaffinches and my first nuthatch there avoiding the shutter. I took a step back, had a sit down and just watched for a while.
The light was swinging round by now, and most of the birds were carefully avoiding my props - with the exception of this goldfinch -
so I wasn't sure how quite heavily backlit shots would come out. In the end I was pleasantly surprised, and delighted to see some of my old friends back.

The vivid orange spot in two of the shots is a seed case, not the fishing float it appears!
As always better resolution posts on the web album here or click the link to the right.

Rorschach spawnfest

2011-02-24T21:44:00.009Z

Let's do the Rolf Harris bit. Can you tell what it is yet? Maybe like the old ink-blot test it'll tell you something about your psyche!

Playing around I thought it looked somewhat alien in nature .............

but yes, it's just a frog or three.
Each spring the ponds at the Nagshead RSPB reserve throb to the motorbike thrum of hundreds of mating frogs. It may not look too much at first .........
but a close-up of the blob in the middle shows a mass of frogs.
In terms of spawn this was early days yet. By today there is probably a mass more spawn, but for me it's the noise that's the thing to live in the memory. I took a stack of shots a couple of years ago, and took a stack more this year, although as seems to be the case of late the weather fell far short of what I'd hoped for. Rather than put up too many more of the (grey) same, a few pic's of one of the groups of 3 frogs 'glued together - a female sandwiched between 2 males.

In the shot below you can see how both the males have distended throats as they are caught in mid-croak, gently squeezing their resigned suitress between resonating airbags.

OK, a couple of standard shots to finish.

If you live nearby pop along and just follow the motocross sound - soon though, or you'll miss it.

Portishead, pipits, purple peepless

2011-02-15T22:18:00.003Z

Hopes of purple sandpipers were dashed, perhaps because the 'high' tide on Saturday was at risk of falling foul of the trade descriptions act, but there was a bonus in the form of a few rock pipits plus a chance to chat to the guys picking up a few codling. The sun wasn't quite right, leading to some slightly odd colour casts, but let's face it it's not like the plumage has too much colour to cast!

I say rock pipits, and common things being common no doubt they are. But having looked in my books I'm not sure I would be so able to tell from water pipits. Let alone Scandinavian rock pipits!

Bigfoot birding

2011-02-07T22:50:00.007Z

So there I was settled down to try and snap a few more birds at Rich's field, when an avian yeti appeared in front of the lens.
Until then I'd had a chance to snap a few more of the regulars, although the fawn coloured greenfinch still eludes me.

As you will surely have guessed the clue to the ownership of the feet lies in the grain the house sparrow is feeding on ......
Still this is not the most bizarre invader of one of my feeding stations. Many years ago when I first was reigniting my interest in photography I heard of a place in the Forest of Dean (I know a great woodland going cheap to anyone who'll take it off the Tory hands) where the mythical hawfinch could be found. I didn't have a hide, but put down some seed and hid behind a tree. You can imagine my surprise when this creature emerged!
The hawfinch did eventually appear, and this was a real spur to me - even if my camera kit fell well short of range!

One bit of sad news. Rich's barn owls reared several chicks to fledging this year, and I had a few lovely late evenings watching them flitting around the trees and fields. Sadly in October one was found dead 11km away alongside a road near Stroat. Many barn owls are lost this way, presumably a combination of their hunting style and the lack of suitable pasture leading to roadside verge use.
I had been worried how the parents had survived the winter, so set up my newly acquired trail cam on a roost site they often use - judging by the pellets. it was great to find that they were both alive and well despite the snow. Click the image for a larger view.

From Rich's Field

Was it worth it?

2011-01-11T22:29:00.002Z

I've written before about the micro-reserve that Rich and Nic have set up near our home. By this time of year the birds have got through a lot of the seed from the sacrificial crop (they start in early autumn - even late summer), and so R&N undertake some supplementary feeding. For me the advantage is that birds are coming to food in more open areas than the densely pack stems of the crop. Numbers of finches fell away during the snow, and with the milder weather haven't picked up again yet, but I thought I'd have a bash at snapping a few birds. Using my bargain (£5) Woolworths camouflage pattern tent as a hide after a while some birds did come down, of which the greenfinch and reed bunting were new for me in the field.

The trouble with my bargain (£5) Woolworths camouflage pattern tent is that it isn't long enough for me to lie flat. So there I was lying slightly downhill, arching my back to look through the viewfinder with the camera on a bag, my legs held, knees flexed, so my ankles were hovering over my back. Fine at the time, but boy has my back complained over the last 2 days! I know all the modern advice - keep going, it's only pain - not harm, etc. But it does hurt! Still I do quite like the potential of the last bunting shot, so I'll just have to get out some scissors before I try again.

Find the berries, find the birds

2010-12-30T20:46:00.005Z

When Kay decided to have a kip for an hour on Christmas day (full of cold and knackered after coughing all night) I did what any newlywed would do. I took advantage of the one sunny day forecast for the holiday period and headed out in search of some berries. I knew the rowans on the industrial estate had been stripped, but some brief visits to the garden from redwings and a fieldfare led me to look again at what other berries might be around. After driving round the Severnbridge estate for a bit I saw some small thrushes fly into some bushes. No idea what the shrub was, but it had small black berries and the redwings were tucking in. After a while it clouded over so I had another explore. the pavements were lethal with ice under the snow, but under a hawthorn largely stripped of berries some redwings and a fieldfare were eating the fallen fruit. They were pretty twitchy, but snapping from the car one relaxed enough to chase a lively berry almost under the wheels.
2 days later (now apparently known as 'Next sale day') I tried again, despite the crummy weather. Nothing at the previous sites, but I followed a few redwing flying into a small car park and found some pyracanthas, redwings and, to my surprise, a greenfinch. At first I thought it was on the berries, but then realised it was discarding the pulp and eating the seeds, bullfinch style.
Heading for home I found a patch where the snow was already retreating, with a flock of winter thrushes rooting amongst the leaves. Again the car was needed, and the fieldfares stayed out of view but in time some redwing came along. My 1DIII is having a new mirror box (?) fitted so all I had was the 400D - not the best in low light, and nasty pictures at more than ISO 200, but I did get a few just about sharp shots.

Some more of all on the web album.

At last - local waxwings

2010-12-18T07:40:00.001Z

Ok, there are shots of waxwings everywhere! However the chance to see and snap some 5 minutes from home with vibrant coloured berries led to a whole load more pictures, a few of which are below. As ever more on the web albums. The buzzard was a nice bonus and seemed to be hanging around the industrial estate, so one to log away for another day.

In the shot below you can just see the waxy red projections on the wing feather tips.

I expect this will be the last post before Xmas, so here's wishing you a good one.

Now they're everywhere

2010-12-09T21:15:00.008Z

There had been so may reports of big waxwing flocks in the North this year, that it was only a matter of time before they appeared locally. That was the logic, but it has come as a relief to see that they have now arrived in South Wales, and are being seen at many spots (although not in my immediate vicinity yet). Named for the waxy looking red tips to the secondary wing feathers they are one of those birds that just excite people.

A flock had been reported for several days in Monmouth feeding on what seems to be the tree of choice - a white berried rowan. Setting off in bright sunshine despite the forecast fog all was well until I reached ....... the fog-bound Monmouth. Not too bad, but enough to block the best of the sunlight. The birds were there though, just a bit grey and washed out colour-wise. During the day the sun broke through leading to some quite garish colours, before the evening sun produced a lovely warm glow and the third colour phase of the day.

It's only really in photo's that you see the way birds rotate their necks to twist off the berries.
It wasn't only the waxwings raiding the trees there - mistle and song thrush and blackbirds flitted around too, but they preferred the orange/red berries.

On this shot you can see something evident on some snaps of all the birds - as they put their heads right in among the berries they close their nictitating membranes (basically a third eyelid) to protect their eyes.
On Tuesday I had an appointment in Newport, and given that the retail park where I had seen the birds a couple of weeks ago (flying over) was just 5 minutes away I stuck the camera in the car on the off chance. And bingo. Backgrounds a bit less cluttered than Monmouth as the trees were smaller, and it was possible to make use of the relatively approachable habit of the birds to get some shots in the sun. Only had about 25 minutes (basically my lunch break) but it was enough.
And the closest view of a mistle thrush I'm ever likely to get.

Lots more pictures on the web album HERE

November, Schnovember

2010-12-02T23:16:00.007Z

I don't have too much to say about November. And not just this year. Looking back at past years it's never been much of a month for me, and 2010 was no different. The only thing of note was the switch from mild autumn days when butterflies were still (just about) on the wing ..............
to the onset of winter with a bang. We've escaped the snow, but the weather has largely been rubbish for pictures. Standing in a car park waiting for waxwings (what else would you find in a car park) the wind made the -4 degrees seem even colder. Especially when all we got was a view of a dozen fly over, around and away. Nearby the berries did pull in some blackbirds, and thrushes, but even the fieldfare and redwings skulked at the back through a maze of branches. Eventually got a few shots worth a blog post at least - can't go a whole month without posting something - and the thrush was quite cute.

Here's to December, something I can snap and some light.

Not just another waxwing photo

2010-11-09T21:09:00.003Z

Not often I do this, but you should have a look at these amazing posts from a blogger on Fair Isle.

CLICK HERE and HERE

The few times I have seen waxwings I have been captivated by them, so can only imagine how Tommy and his son felt!
Meanwhile those of us in the south west await our turn with eager anticipation, but I expect it will be a while yet. There seems to be plenty of food around this year. Watch those white berried rowans - seem to be a preference. A blast from the past below.

USA Canyonlands

2010-11-04T21:52:00.005Z

Just back from a trip to the States. Not a wildlife holiday as such but we did see some good wildlife (can't believe how big elk are), even if I didn't manage to photograph the condor (wrong lens) or the hummingbird (too slow, and not the chance to wait ..... and wait!). Did photograph some big holes and pretty rocks. Oh, and after 15 years finally got hitched (Vegas yes, Elvis no).

Uinta chipmunk

Bryce Canyon - a real wow, but get there for dawn
Zion Canyon - cracking place to go walking

Elk
Grand Canyon - self portrait. It's big.
More pictures in the Canyonlands web album HERE

Hornets

2010-10-08T23:54:00.004+01:00

The summer is the time I mainly end up snapping insects - not just the fact that there are so many around, but also the fact that not so much else is! When I heard that Rich had a hornets nest in an empty barn owl box I knew I finally had a chance of snapping an insect that had previously escaped my attentions. Trouble is the box was pretty high up, and the hornets didn't seem to use the nearby foliage to rest.
Brainwave - fruit. The plums? Nothing. What about the windfall apples? As I walked up a large yellow shape flew off and I realised my luck was in.Actually it wasn't that easy - there were a couple visiting, but only now and again. Still they proved to be very tolerant, not at all aggressive. Unless that is you were a careless flesh fly .......... Clearly a chunk of protein was a better bet than fruit.
I've put plenty more shots on the web album - 'latest pictures'. Mostly insects, including a fair few inflagrante delicto ...........

Woodland Puddles

2010-10-01T19:48:00.005+01:00

I can't believe how long it is since I last posted. I've been taking a fair few shots, mostly insects, and I'll get some up soon.
In the meantime here are a few shots from my spring project this year. I spent (too) many hours lying next to some woodland puddles, but was rewarded with some amazingly close views of a wide range of birds, drinking or bathing.
If you look on the web albums you'll find a whole set, but here are a few tasters:

From Woodland puddles

Islands and Highlands 5

2010-08-21T21:56:00.006+01:00

Enough islands. From Bass Rock we headed north to the highlands, but sadly the weather worsened. In this shot you get an idea. Beautiful when the sun was out, but mostly cloud, some real wind and intermittent rain.

The mountain tops were out of the reckoning, and even lower down we didn't fare so well.
Slavonian grebes were seen, but I didn't get any decent shots and they were looking a bit tatty anyway. Lovely to see the youngster though.
We did poorly with the local birds, although I had an eyeball-eyeball encounter with a crested tit that would probably have been too close for my macro lens!
There were quite a lot of common sandpipers around. This adult was unusually perched in a tree, but actually it was keeping an eye on at least one youngster scuttling around in the vegetation below.
Where we were staying we watched a small group of youngsters gain in confidence and finally start to fly around the small loch.
The sparrows posed nicely in the sun.
After a very rubbish day weather-wise - we went fishing and had a brilliant time, albeit with stockies - we headed up the next day to the Moray Firth for the dolphins. Again the weather wasn't great, but they put on the best show I've ever seen - and I've watched them a lot over the years. There were probably 15 or so around in various small pods at one point (you can see 4 in one shot below), and they were breaching so well that even I managed to snap a few in mid-air.
Remember the flying fish in the first of this series of posts? Well this is what it was all about - dolphin volleyball with salmon. We saw a few caught. I presume this breaks then up into better bite sized chunks.
To close, a birch wood robin, summing up our highland experience - a hint of sun, but mostly shade.

Have a look at the web album (links to the right) if you want to see some better views of the dolphin shots. Not great light, but you get a feel of how good the morning was.

Islands and Highlands 4

2010-08-11T23:13:00.002+01:00

From Seahouses and the Farne Islands I headed up to Dunbar for a trip out to Bass Rock the following morning. Arriving at the harbour I recognised several other faces - clearly the Farne Islands -Bass Rock circuit is developing! The aim was a boat trip out, to feed some Bass Rock gannets on the way, and hopefully, weather permitting, to land on the Rock.

The weather was reasonably kind (although it clouded over as the morning passed), a few birds came to feed at the boat (the fishing has been good this year, so the gulls outnumbered the gannets significantly, but it was still a treat to see them hit the water so near), and the spectacle of the Rock came nearer.

The largest gannet colony in the world, from a distance the birds provide a dusting on the bare rock.

Access when we landed was as high as the ruined chapel can see just above the lighthouse, and the birds were just phenomenal. These are big birds, but they are at your feet, all around you - the sound, the smell - quite breathtaking. In fact there are so many photography was tricky - always a bit of another bird in the way!

I feel I rarely get my best shots on the first visit to a venue - I'm still too green at this game, and need to look back at the snaps and consider what to do better next time, but here I only had the one chance. In hindsight I spent too long trying for some flight shots - it's not the best venue light-wise, and with the wind direction as it was the birds were flying in from the sun, tending to cast shadow on the head. Still in the end I got some snaps I was happy with.

I should probably have spent a bit more time on the nesting birds, but got some nice views of parents with chicks of all ages,

of the parents together (very easy to anthropomorphise here - sorry Brian - but there has to be some element of affection here surely).....

including the bill-fencing greeting as one of the pair returned ........

and the 'sky pointing' a bird would do just before take off.

Not all was peace and quiet though. Two birds started a scrap, then more joined in and the mud was soon flying before the target bird managed a get-away. I presume it had ventured into the wrong territory, but suspect it won't make the same mistake again.

I previously commented on the brightly coloured mouths of various seabirds. Not so the gannets - but just look at the size of that gob!

Inevitably gannet fever took over. I should have spent more time on the herring gulls also nesting on the Rock - like I say next time I'll do better.

It was a good trip, and a great experience, but it's not cheap and you need to be lucky with the wind and light if you are going to get the really best views - especially flight shots. I took way too many pictures as usual, but if you want to see some more, or just better views of these shots, click HERE and look at the latest pictures album.

Islands and Highlands 3

2010-08-06T23:16:00.006+01:00

The trip to Northumberland was mainly about the Farne Islands, but the boats return late afternoon, the sun is up a good few hours before they set off and the Sunday trip was cancelled due to high winds, so we had time to have a look around.
The first evening was about more than looking around. Some advice. If you head up that way at the weekend book accommodation ahead! Saturday evening was spent around Seahouses, Beadnall Bay, Bamburgh and Alnwick searching for somewhere to stay. In the end Kay and the internet were roped in, and we finally sorted out a place in Seahouses - but not a proper B&B, just a kindly soul who sometimes took 'overflow'!
On the Sunday the weather wasn't great. We wandered down to the harbour at Seahouses and spent a few hours trying to snap gannets flying down the coast from Bass Rock, skimming the waves. Not great snaps, and more gannets to come in due course, but you can see how they hugged the sea.
I never got my rock pipit shot, but a pair of quite confiding dunlin were a bonus, especially as the sun came out and lit the seaweed too.
In the evening we headed for the reserve along the beach from Beadnall to see the terns, but never actually got there. First we were hijacked into snapping a few swallows that were using the wind that tracked along the sand dunes to hunt. At times they were held stationary as they flew into the strong winds enabling some unusual opportunities to catch them in flight. Several times they flew by at head height (I was kneeling) just a couple of feet away - never thought I'd miss a swallow in flight shot as it was too close to focus. These were the best of my efforts. Have a look at a larger version on the 'latest pictures' web album HERE
I did manage to snap one tern though. This is a heavy crop, but it still looks small. That's because it's a little tern.
Monday morning saw an early start, and the Seahouses headland brought a Grady, some kittiwakes, fulmars and a meadow pipit lit by the warm sun.
In the harbour the female eider duck had a few ducklings in tow. No males around, but as they were already in eclipse plumage this was no real loss.
Monday evening I was off to Dunbar .............. but that's another post. A few more shots of most of these birds on the web album - just use the link above or to the right.

Islands and Highlands 2 - The Farnes

2010-08-03T23:41:00.010+01:00

Pulling into the harbour car park at Seahouses on the Northumberland coast proved a relief on two counts. First a chance to stretch my legs and get some fresh sea air after the long drive from South Wales via a 2.5 hour sleep in Rotherham on the way up. More important was the sight of good weather boding well for a run out to the Farne Isalnds. Buoyed by the Red Bull now flowing through my veins life was looking good.

This hadn't been the plan. I knew I wasn't going to get away early on the Friday night, so I'd decided to tootle my way up on Saturday, then out to the islands on Sunday and Monday. However Chris Grady had headed up on Thursday and relayed the news that the boatmen were wondering about the prospects of getting out over the weekend given the predicted winds. The forecast for Saturday looked ok, hence the overnight run, via Kay's folks.

Historically the Farnes are perhaps best known as the site of the lighthouse where Grace Darling rowed her boat to save some drowning sailors. There's still a lighthouse there, but now the islands seem to make the news because of the opportunities they offer for superb views of nesting seabirds.

Visits are controlled so that one island (Staple) is open in the morning and then Inner Farne in the afternoon, the aim being to minimise the disturbance to the birds. Boat trips include 'all day' trips to both islands, and these were the ones we went for - along with all the other birding paparazzi. If one of those boats went down the insurers would have to bump up the premiums to cover all those lenses.

Although the islands are busier now than when I last went some years ago they still offer a brilliant experience. You get off the boat on Staple straight into a puffin roost, whereas on Inner Farne it's the fun of being dive-bombed by arctic terns, whilst their youngsters scrabble around your feet.

You can get caught up in this and almost neglect the other birds - shags, guillemots, razorbills, sandwich terns, kittiwakes - but you shouldn't, despite the desire to just get that decent puffin flight shot (and no I didn't get it!). Many people missed the ringed plover nesting right next to the path near the jetty, walking straight past - too much to see to be able to look.

Day 2 saw the wind pick up as expected so we were diverted to a landbound day - more of that to come - but we did get out again on the Monday, albeit with a delayed landing on Staple, round the back door, and a heavier dose of cloud.

As I said in the first of these posts I won't laden the blog with dozens of pictures - you can look at the image galleries via the link on the right, but I've included a few more to whet your appetite.

Points of note:

- seabirds seem to have vividly coloured oral mucous membranes (ooh, err missus). Orange for razorbills, red for kittiwakes, yellow for puffins. Why?

- puffins can hold multiple fish like sandeels at the one time. you can see how the jaw hinge is wide to allow for this, but how do they catch them all?

- the puffins run the gauntlet of black-headed or lesser black backed gulls when they come in with their catch, being mobbed or even unceremoniously dumped upside down, but it was amazing how many kept most if not all their catch despite this. Sometimes they would just dive into the nearest burrow to appear cautiously a few minutes later, check the coast was clear and sprint to their own.

- Shags are pretty in close up. Their chicks are from your nightmares!

- terns are fun to watch but tricky to get lit well (must buy a flash) - and I do wish there was some microchip device that prevented the bling having to be used. It really spoils the line of those legs, and I can't yet bring myself to start trying to photoshop the rings out.

- watch where you sit on the boat when the weather is choppy. On our second trip out we were threequarters of the way out when a wave broke fully over a couple on the back corner of the boat. They only had light rain gear on and were pretty soggy. Heading from Staple to Inner Farne they stayed in the same spot - at least they were heading in the opposite direction. Sadly the sea is a fickle master, and incredibly the same thing happened to the same couple in the same spot. No-one else, just them. On the final leg, the trip back to Seahouses they shifted to the other side. You've guessed it. Another drenching, and I got a fit of the giggles. Like a kid. Couldn't stop. They didn't see, fortunately, but I just couldn't help it. Thank God the wind and spray meant my hood was up and my head tucked down. [In the unlikely event you're reading this I'm sorry, although I have to say you both took the drenchings surprisingly well. But seriously you must have pissed off Neptune in a big way some time in the past].

Last point aside - go there. It's great, even if you're not into photography. That's my say on the Farnes over. And I even resisted the temptation to mention the auks and Mordor.

Islands and Highlands 1

2010-08-01T23:10:00.005+01:00

It's been a while since my last post, but I can only plead memory problems as the cause. Not that I have forgotten to post, but a trip away left me with so many gigabytes of pictures to sort through that at times it's seemed almost overwhelming!

To those who follow a range of blogs like myself the increasing popularity of the Farne Islands and Bass Rock to folks with wildlife photography as a hobby is all too evident, so I'll post the majority of the pictures on the web album and just a proportion here to illustrate a tale of hits and misses, near-drownings (on board!), grey, grey skies and as Rich Steel so aptly described it 'puffin fever'.

We have cute

cheeky

romantic

action

and horror.

It doesn't end there, with glimpses of Scottish pipers and flying fish.

More to come over the next week - and apologies to those who have seen enough seabirds elsewhere recently to last them a lifetime!

Worts and all

2010-06-29T23:22:00.006+01:00

I couldn't resist a trip back to check on my flycatcher family. The good news was that the adults were actively hunting, and clearly feeding chicks. Sadly the nest hadn't transformed into a good site for photography, and the one or two pictures that were even vaguely usable at low resolution didn't show any insects.
A new perch was in use, and more user friendly for snaps. I won't see the family again now, but hopefully all will go well for them. Judging by the vuvuzela hum of insects in the background there should be plenty of food. (I think I nearly mentioned the world cup there - sorry!).

Nearer home I had to look twice at this bird before realising it was a juvenile bullfinch. A first for me.

One surprise near the flycatchers was what I'm believe is a golden-ringed dragonfly. In my minds eye I had never pictured this as a Forest of Dean species - always thought more of upland areas.

Staying on the insect theme in a meadow near home a common blue damselfly

and in the garden a mullein moth caterpillar had decided to leave the mulleins (verbascum) alone, and was tucking into this figwort (balm leaved?) - not a mullein, but same family - Scrophulariaceae, which sounds more like a disease than anything.

A local woodland hosted centaury

and, I think, hairy St John's wort (happy to be corrected on that one, but it seems the best fit - just not over hairy).

Southern Marsh orchid ....

and pyramidal orchid at Newport wetlands - no sign of any bee orchids. Don't know if I'd missed them or they just hadn't shown up this year.

Also at the wetlands self-heal.

And last but not least back to that local meadow (thanks Paul) for a lovely example of a common spotted orchid.

Mine, all mine!

2010-06-22T23:07:00.003+01:00

I don't get to spend a lot of time in the field really. It's a bit better at this time of year when I can get in 3 or 4 hours at the weekend before Kay has even stirred, but generally it does mean I tend to pick up a lot of the birds I snap from internet reports (often passing comments) or from tip-offs from friends like Chris Grady (see links to right for an increasingly impressive collection).

However I do find my own birds and this year I have been really pleased to track down a spotted flycatcher nest, as mentioned in a previous post. On Sunday there was a nip in the air despite the sun, and one bird was mainly on the nest - I'm not sure it would still be incubating, but there wasn't an awful lot of feeding activity going on. I did find a feeding site though and although it didn't seem to be the most favoured it was reasonably lit, enabling me to grab a few shots. So often the Forest is surprisingly dark.

Although the first impression is of a slightly drab little thing they have a real appeal if you watch them - dainty and nimble (if you can apply that to a bird?). Didn't get the 'insects in the beak' shot, but maybe I'll get another go when they are feeding more actively.

As always better quality versions of the shots in the web albums HERE

A bit late to start, but worth a go

2010-06-18T23:27:00.006+01:00

I thought I'd probably blown my chance of snapping the woodland migrants this year - except maybe the spotted flycatchers, but that nest isn't at all well sited for photography. However a tip about a pair of redstarts led me to the Forest and a fun few hours trying to get them in camera range - the female (not brightly coloured, but very cute) was already primed, the male took a bit longer to join in. As the nest was way up in a tree there was never going to be a chance to catch them by finding a favoured branch near the nest hole, so the pictures are largely at ground level, and not so pretty as these by Steve Round . Still I like them enough, even though as Chris G pointed out they are looking a little bit the worse for wear (he looks at pictures with a more forensic eye than I do - I'll learn in time!). All that feeding takes it's toll.

Meanwhile on returning home I found the forest had come to our garden in the shape of a male and juvenile great spotted woodpecker. Despite it's size the male was still carefully breaking up food for the youngster. We've since heard the female was doing the same in a neighbours garden. Not great quality pic's - handheld in lowish light. I knew that 'post' would provide a photo-opportunity of some kind in the end!

As always some better resolution versions of the pictures HERE

Big mummy long legs

2010-06-11T23:53:00.000+01:00

I never envisaged a situation where I would post several pictures of a crane fly. But this one actually made me jump. It's pictured here sitting on a buddleia. If you know your plants you will realise that this was actually quite a big crane fly. In fact Tipula maxima has the biggest wingspan of any true fly in the UK (winglength 20-30mm). So once I realised it wasn't a small sparrow that had interrupted my gardening over the fence I nipped back for the camera. She (pointed back end) was actually quite attractive as long as you avoided the face ("nice personality"). The fingers on the last shot aren't clumsy framing, just an attempt to portray the scale, although not sure it really works.

Large red damselfly in the garden.

Dull day, deep shade, so I'm pleased this Nagshead marsh tit feeding at the nest came out as well as it did. Truth is I ditched dozens of other shots - playing with the remote camera trigger again, which definitely allowed the birds to be more relaxed than when passing birders were watching them.

Spotted flycatcher nest building - time to go back and see if they are feeding young. I suppose it's too much to hope that some magical subsidence has lowered the tree by 8 feet - it's not like Springwatch you know!

To end a few orchids from local woodland - two rather poor shots of early purple ....

and a couple of what I believe to be common spotted, although the flower head on the lower specimen looks completely different.

As always some 'bigger views on the web albums HERE

Here's a clue - it's knot Dartford

2010-06-03T23:33:00.009+01:00

You may not believe it, but I often think a bit about what I'm going to say on the blog before I start typing. We've just had a few days away on holiday, and I thought I'd start with a little photo quiz. Can you guess where we went?
First a general snap just to give a vague sense of location .................

Then a couple of pictures of species named for the location ........

and finally a snap of one of it's best known (former) inhabitants.

Trouble is my insect identification let me down, so if you know your moths you'll be scratching your head at this point!
The answer is Jersey - St Ouen's Bay, Jersey orchid and Gerald Durrell (My Family and Other Animals was an all time favourite of mine). When Kay pointed out the moth I knew it wasn't the 'tiger' we normally see and I said authoritatively "It must be a Jersey tiger." Except it's not. They have lines not blotches. I think this is a cream spot tiger - still pretty, but kind of spoils the start to the post!
St Ouen's Bay is a fabulous expanse of sand. I'm not the world's best sunbather given my celtic origins, and even though there was a bit of cloud about I left Kay to it and went to have a peer in some rock pools.

There were a few fish, etc, but it was these creatures that caught my attention - moving singly or several 'bonding'. Some kind of rock pool mollusc I think they may be a form of sea hare - if you know please tell me by using the comment facility.

The gulls were tending to be a bit twitchy, although as the tide came in they settled and started crabbing pretty successfully.

As ever though the best views came from the tamer ones seeking a share of our lunch.

Anyway, while I was down fossicking I noticed a couple of little shorebirds, which gradually came nearer, working the waterline. As usual the little buggers wouldn't stay still, and I didn't have the easiest camera kit to use (I don't usually take the fast lens away on holiday) but eventually I got my first ever views, let alone snaps, of summer plumage knot. Perhaps the best days sunbathing I've had. [Although there was that evening skinny dipping with the Scandinavian girls in Greece ....................]

So I thought that would probably be it. This wasn't a wildlife holiday after all, and the views of some good sized mullet in the marina were probably the only other sights I'd get.

However, in the cafe there was free internet access and the Jersey Birds website (thanks guys) mentioned some heathland birds that saw me up early for the last 2 mornings to try and see, and hopefully snap a bird that has been on the wish-list for some time now. As it turned out the weather the first day wasn't great - but I did see some. Day 2 saw more sun, and although the lack of a tripod proved a fairly bad decision I also got some snaps worth posting. Not the dunnock, although it was kind enough to pose against the gorse .....

not the meadow pipits either ....................

but these little guys. My first Dartford warblers. I couldn't work out at first what was going on. I thought I'd found a nest as there were definitely a couple of adults catching caterpillars. But there were more than 2 adults. Then they all moved off? Eventually the penny dropped when I had a brief view, and sadly a bit of a ropey snap, of a youngster. It seemed to be a small group of several adults with young that stayed mainly hidden in the dense gorse bushes.

While there I met a friendly guy from Paisley who told me about the 'orchid field' at St Ouen's. As I had seen but not snapped some marsh harriers down there too, I did the sums and decided I could make a quick visit before Kay stirred. I found the Jersey orchids, and some southern marsh orchids, complete with cricket. The harriers were too far off, but they can wait for another year.

Botanically the wall pennywort, or navelwort, seemed to be growing everywhere.
Lastly I found this behind the dunes at St Ouen's. I haven' a clue what it is. If you know please leave a comment, as I hate nameless pictures!

As always some of the shots can be seen in more detail HERE in the web albums

- click on latest pictures.

Mistle Thrush

2010-05-12T23:53:00.004+01:00

It's a shame there wasn't sunshine as the views of the mistle thrushes foraging amongst the daisies had real potential. Still nice to see, as was the youngster waiting patiently on the picnic table to be fed.

Incoming ...........

2010-05-04T23:21:00.003+01:00

The blog has been fairly quiet recently, but that's because I've been putting a lot of the time I do have into one particular project which I'm not quite ready to reveal yet. As always I keep thinking I can do better, and weather permitting I feel there are some potential improvements to be made on the work so far. So watch this space ............
I did have a change of scene last weekend though, visiting the seaside where I finally got some half-decent shots of a wheatear

and then I had a wander up to the local coppice where the starlings and (I'm sure) the woodpeckers nest. Plenty of likely looking holes, but no sign of any action as yet. I did find a few whitethroat in the local hedges, although the pictures were disappointing. My main camera is out of service at present - hopefully temporarily, just waiting for the quote, bit worried - and with the old 400D, whilst it does the job, the focusing really isn't good against a jumbled background. If you know whitethroats you will be familiar with the territorial flight where the male flies up from the bushes, singing away and then sort of parachutes back down. This one though adopted the lazy approach and just perched on the telephone wires!
And finally a shot taken 50 yards from my house as the sun was going down while the rain clouds rolled in. Sometimes I forget how lucky I am to live where I do, but moments like this remind me. Mind you, you can't see the Council depot 100yards to the left!

Breakfast Bar

2010-04-13T22:58:00.008+01:00

I'm sure many of you feed the birds as we do. A wooden arch originally intended as a seat has become the site for our sunflower and nijer seed feeders attracting the usual suspects.
However every so often we have a visitor. He may come most days for a week or more, then, presumably as the birds wise up he disappears for a while. Occasionally he'll catch something from the feeders, but more often it seems to be the slightly dozy bird on it's journey in that will catch his eye .....
Check down ...
to the left ....
straight on ...
to the right ...
up..., hang on
into action ...
I missed the action shot and this time he also missed the great tit, but other times he was more lucky. Kay isn't over happy that the mushroom was doubling as a plucking post, but it makes for good views (if not very good handheld shots in the fading light!).
Then he's off again.
To finish let's remember it's Spring and revel in the sun, the blackthorn in bloom against a cloudless sky and recall the story of the birds and the bees. (What is the story of the birds and bees? No-one ever told me).
I know we shouldn't anthropomorphise, but tell me you can't hear Barry White in the background as this loved up pair rewrite my usual impression of aggressive coots.

Videos

2010-04-01T22:53:00.003+01:00

I've posted a couple of short videos on my Vimeo site recently. Taken with a pocket digtal camera Panasonic TZ7 I'm quite pleased with the results, all things considered.

Adder, settling to sleep from Brian's 'Wobblecam' Videos on Vimeo.

Water rail from Brian's 'Wobblecam' Videos on Vimeo.

You Dancing?

2010-03-29T23:12:00.003+01:00

At present there seem to be lots of Great Crested Grebes posing nicely for photos showing their famous weed dance. I've seen it a few times - mostly at quite long distance, although once in my fishing days I had a good view at a small reservoir near Warrington. In terms of pictures the smaller the water the better really, as they seem to me to tend to be a bit shy.
After a morning watching the adders in the Forest I moved on to a spot Chris G had mentioned, to see if I could get any views of the grebes, dancing or not. Well it turned out not, but I did get some nice views. As this pair were already nest building and, if you look closely, mating (see below) it may be that they got their bonding out of the way a while ago. Or maybe I just wasn't there at the right time. Still I'm not grumbling, as these are miles and away the best shots of great crested footy arses (for anyone who's been with me from the beginning of the blog!) I've managed so far in my fledgling snappery.
These last few shots have an almost painterly quality. Relatively underexposed there seems to be some noise, as though the ISO setting was much higher than my standard 400.
To round a good day off I went to have a look at a long tailed tit's nest in the failing light. For the first time I used my new remote trigger for the camera, allowing me to sit well away from the nest, but still get some pre-focused shots. The low light means the quality is iffy, but the set-up worked as well as I could have hoped.

As always check the web albums for better quality views

Adder additions

2010-03-25T22:47:00.004Z

Some more shots of adders enjoying the sun on Sunday as much as I was. There were at least 4 alongside a well trodden path at a nationally known birding site, but most people were completely oblivious to their presence - even to the one with the mountaineering pretensions halfway up a a gorse bush!
Despite the excellent light it proved remarkably tricky to get any decent shots with that wonderful forked tongue protruding.

As always better resolution shots in the web albums - just click the link to the right.

Adders

2010-03-19T18:45:00.003Z

Still struggling to get some decent adder shots, but these are a step forward at least. As always better views in the web albums, along with some more (and dare I say it better) shots of the water rail.

Never ignore a muddy puddle!

2010-03-09T00:03:00.005Z

I've posted before about my love of t'internet, and I really do wonder how I ever got by without it in the past. Take this weekend for example. I'd seen some sightings on a website, followed through with pictures from another, googled a venue and directions, checked to see that the weather was cloud heading in from the east and decided to head west into darkest Glamorganshire rather than try for frogs in the forest. I reckon it might still be a bit cool this year for them, but who knows.

Anyway I arrived at the venue and knew where to go from the sightings page. First glance wasn't hugely inspiring - a bit of a muddy puddle. Actually that's not fair, there was an area of mud in the middle of a small pond surrounded by reedmace. No sign of the target, and at first some doubts about where I could go to snap it/them. The pond wasn't very big so a few steps down I was peering into the reeds when a small, skinny chicken like bird shot out the back into the trees. Cursing mildly under my breath I looked again at the pond, the light and found somewhere to tuck in and wait. Shortly two water rails appeared at the back and drifted away again. Fingers crossed. I only ever saw one at any time after that, but the light shone (mostly) for a couple of hours and I got some snaps. At times the rail was so close I couldn't focus, let alone frame it. They are busy birds and many pictures were just a bit blurred even at 1/800th sec, but I was pretty pleased with the views I finally ended up with. Well worth the welly full of water (I didn't go in too deep, but ended up kneeling in the water with one knee for too long. As well as a very chilled knee when I stood up all the water that had wicked into my trousers ran into the boot. Still, I got the angles!).

(Bit frustrated with that last shot. I'd framed the one before to get the reflection but when it moved I didn't reframe enough - it did happen quite quickly - and snipped the crown off the reflection)

As you can see the moorhens eventually plucked up the courage to make an appearance as well.

These pictures are definitely better viewed HERE in the latest pictures album.

Use the slideshow feature for best views.

Back home, new bird, old friends

2010-02-21T21:58:00.006Z

It seems ages since I last posted about home turf. In fact there hasn't been a shot on the blog from home since December. That doesn't mean I haven't been out and about, but ....well you know.

To start, a couple of rather poor shots, but they mark a first for me. Looking out of the bedroom window a few weekends ago I saw a little egret fly past, along the line of the road Not the flight shot shown here - I was actually looking down on it. On a walk that day I kept bumping into and disturbing what I presume was the same one - always too far way for a decent shot, but nice to see. Unfortunatley the little stream and the path run next to each other. Perhaps a future project, within walking distance.

Otherwise my time over the last 3 weeks has mainly been in the Forest. Each year in late March or April I spend some time there, but this year there were reports of hawfinch at Speech House and Parkend earlier than usual so I thought I'd pop to the spot I've seen them in the past to see if they were there.

As always the first down are the chaffinches and the tits - coal first, then blue then great. Nearly always in that order. (Will I ever take a decent picture of a great tit?)

The robin sometimes breaks the pattern and comes early, but always shows at some stage.

The wren was a surprise - first I can recall, and the treecreeper a lucky bonus.

The woodpigeons are a bit twitchy, but look fine when they do come, though the jay was too nervous and stayed at a distance, making some very unusual clicking sounds as it did so.

The nuthatches didn't appear until the third weekend, but then they came in numbers - at least 3, and, knowing birds, probably more.

And the hawfinches? Perhaps too early after all, although on the first day I did strike it lucky with two short visits.

Not the best light - I rarely seem to have good light when I see them - but you get a really good feel for the size of that bill

and look how thick it is.

I've looked at the times on the photo files and I reckon it was down for a total of 3 minutes spread over two occasions - about 0.003% of the time put in.

Would I do it again? Of course - maybe even next week!

For better versions of the pictures click HERE and check the Latest Pictures album

- use the slideshow to get larger pictures and a better background.

Yellow crowned night heron

2010-02-19T23:18:00.003Z

There are more pictures from Florida on my US blog HERE, Or if you just want to see the snaps follow the link to my web albums (latest pictures) and use the slideshow feature for best views.

Florida Ospreys

2010-02-12T23:48:00.005Z

For those interested you can see only the shots of ospreys HERE (Latest pictures or USA) or see the pictures and read about them HERE

Some more USA pictures

2010-02-08T23:21:00.001Z

Before I start to post the pictures from this years trip to Florida I thought I should really finish those from last. So click HERE if you want to see a few pic's of American wildlife, and keep an eye out for the next batch from 2010.

Arctic Blast

2010-02-01T22:57:00.007Z

While the UK was wracked by the winter storms of January I was over in Florida, indeed in the Keys - as far south as Florida goes. You lucky b*+$%£r I hear you cry. Well not quite.

Instead of this

we had this.

Instead of this we had this.

Instead of this we had this (yes, the wind was blowing from the right of the frame).

Okay, let's be honest we had all of the pictures above, but we had the same weather front as the UK, as evidenced by the TV headlines below. Key West had it's coldest recorded temperature ever (admittedly only 5C, but when you've packed for the beach you end up wearing most of your clothes!). They referred to it everywhere as THE ARCTIC BLAST.

The fish were dying in the sea, and not just the little ones....

also nurse shark, barracuda, bonefish.

It was so unexpected, and sad. Mind you the herons had a grand old time.

Anyway, some pictures will follow when I've finished sorting through the few thousand snaps, but here are a few from the tail end of 2009 that never got posted, including a rather timid bittern. My finger hovered over the camera on a hair trigger as the swans approached, but it came to nothing in the end.

A Berry Merry Christmas

2009-12-21T23:17:00.004Z

A late year trip up to South Yorkshire saw the birds mopping up the berries, even before the prompting of the snow. Most of the images, and all the bullfinch shots were taken at Potteric Carr NR in Doncaster, where yet again the bitterns and water rail also apppeared - but that's another story ...............
Bullfinch (sorry there's a lot, but this is only a sample of those I took - well who could resist a chance like this?!)
Blackbird
Song Thrush
Redwing
Fieldfare

As always better quality shots HERE in the web albums

Barn Owl Leftovers

2009-12-11T00:02:00.005Z

After too many years I finally got to do something I had read about as a kid. Growing up in the industrial town of Widnes my chances of seeing a barn owl were pretty limited, but this year I had the pleasure of watching Rich's owls raise a brood (and possibly a second - he thinks at least one made it). I know at least one owl is still around because there is a perch it uses, where pellets can be found.
I'll admit, from a distance they look like something else, but close up you can see the fur and small bones.
A soak in water to loosen it up (gets a bit smelly then) and then pick it apart. I didn't have any tweezers, but I managed with a couple of watchmakers screwdrivers to dissect out some bones from at least 3 rodents (from 3 pellets, I hasten to add), and artfully laid them out on some slate!