Brian Rafferty Wildlife Photographer

Hunting Shorties

2012-01-24T21:50:00.000Z

I have become obsessed recently with photographing short eared owls. I have taken many hundreds of images on my visits to two locations on the Lancashire mosslands where the owls have been active during daylight hours. There has been a lot of unsuitable weather of late with many dull dismal and drizzly days . Occasionally though the sun has managed to put in an appearance and the owls have responded by coming out to hunt.

So it was yesterday, when it was a lovely sunny afternoon with little or no wind.I picked up Simon and we met up with Martin at the location where the owls had been showing. Not long after our arrival the owls appeared and for the rest of the afternoon we were treated to some wonderful fly pasts as they quartered the rough grassland looking for prey. We were joined by another party of photographers and we all clicked away as the owls performed for us.

I have selected a few of the many images I took of the action and they are shown above. I have concentrated on the owls in the process of hunting close to the ground as they looked for voles and mice. I have also tried to show images where the afternoon sun picked up the detail of the birds and gave a nice warm feel to the shots. I hope my readers enjoy these images as much as I did in capturing them and I hope to return again soon. Currently wet and gloomy weather has returned and I may not get out again for a few days.

Aerial Combat

2012-01-20T10:50:00.000Z

This week has seen me visiting a new site in Lancashire where short eared owls have been active. On my first visit I saw the birds but light was rapidly failing and I decided on a return visit . I returned the following afternoon when blue skies and lovely winter sunshine were the order of the day.

It turned out to be a good decision as three shorties were present and were very active through the afternoon.I took many images in the ideal conditions and was very well pleased with the results. For this posting I have concentrated on the frequent skirmishes that took place between the owls as they fought over this prime hunting area. The fights took place up above the rough field that was obviously rich in voles and mice and they gave me some nice opportunities to obtain shots of the action. I have posted a few images above of the sparring owls. None of the owls seemed worse for wear after these skirmishes and I have headed the post with an owl having a look at me after things had returned to normal.

I hope my readers enjoy these images and I will post more later when I have maybe added more to my portfolio. Currently the rain is back and it doesn't look promising for any more action until next week. Meantime thanks for looking and enjoy the weekend.

Lucky For Some

2012-01-18T14:30:00.000Z

Last Friday was the 13th of the month,I am not sure but I think it is supposed to be unlucky. For me however it didn't turn out that way.I had returned to the mosslands of South West Lancs where a number of short eared owls were still around. The weather had at long last settled down and frosty nights and bright sunny days followed the very disturbed wet and windy weather that seemed to have been with us for many weeks. These conditions were ideal for the owls to come out of hiding and begin hunting again.

I joined a number of photographers present and we enjoyed what was to be a red letter day providing many opportunities for some action images.It was quiet for a while around lunchtime but in the afternoon the short eared owls came out to play.They seemed to come at us from all directions and this made it difficult to estimate the numbers present. There definitely seemed to be four and possibly five but they put on a great display and we all " filled our boots " with hundreds of images. The bright and sunny conditions meant fast shutter speeds could be used to freeze the action.

I have posted a few images from a hectic afternoon's action and hope my readers get some idea of what it is like to be in and amongst these magnificent raptors. An excellent afternoon was enjoyed by all those present and the weather ,company and action from the owls made for an unforgettable afternoon. It had indeed turned into a lucky Friday 13th and one I hope to experience again before the owls return to their summer breeding areas. Thanks for looking in and I will be back soon with hopefully more action from the shorties.

Swan Lake

2012-01-12T10:55:00.000Z

The weather of late has been terrible.Most days have been wet and windy with very dull conditions and certainly not conducive to photography. I did however spend some time at the RSPB reserve at Marshside Southport, where it was more comfortable sat in the hides.The reserve was a mass of wildfowl with terrific numbers of pintail and wigeon.The very wet conditions had made it ideal for the ducks and godwits and large numbers were present.For this post however I am concentrating on the mute swan.

There were around half a dozen swans present and they provided me with some interesting photo opportunities as they preened and bathed in front of Nel's Hide.They really are beautiful and elegant birds and at times we do take them for granted.I have tried to convey some of this beauty with my selection of swan images from the day and shown above.

As I write the weather is showing signs of settling down and blue skies and sunshine have returned. I hope therefore to be out and about over the next few days as conditions are looking good for owl and wader watching. Thanks for looking in and hope you enjoy my selection above.

First Post...Happy New Year

2012-01-06T15:10:00.002Z

First of all I would like to wish all my followers and readers a Very Happy New Year.The year maybe new but the weather is certainly not !! It continues in a very disturbed mood with only the very briefest of brighter spells. It has continued to pour down with rain and more violent winds have lashed the country with Scotland bearing the brunt of the very stormy weather.

As I write after a promising start it is once more very dull with persistent drizzle but thankfully the damaging winds have eased. I have for the most part been confined to barracks and have been frustrated, not able to get out with the camera.However a couple of days ago the superb male sparrowhawk above visited my back garden and I was able to hastily grab some images before it departed. It was still raining and very dull and the settings on the camera were not quite right but I was reasonably pleased with the results.

I have shown above the better efforts as the bird posed obligingly on a garden post. It did of course come looking for a meal but this time left without catching any prey as all the sparrows etc had rapidly disappeared when the sparrowhawk appeared. Hope you enjoy looking at the images of this handsome bird and I hope normal service will be resumed as soon as possible when the weather finally settles down.

Last Post

2011-12-30T15:10:00.001Z

This will be my final posting of what has been an interesting and eventful year with the camera.This last week or so has seen some very depressing weather conditions.If it hasn't been raining it has been extremely windy and these conditions have been far from favourable for bird photography.I was determined however to get out to blow away the Christmas cobwebs and returned to the mosslands of South West Lancs hoping for more sightings of short eared owls.

On my first visit it wasn't too bad with less wind and dry, however there was much disturbance in the area that the owls favour for hunting.Many folk were out walking off the Christmas excesses but the major disturbance was a group of men hunting with hawks.They had two magnificent goshawks one of them was an unusual white variety. I understand they were hunting pheasants and they also had a dog to put up any birds present.The owls would be well aware of the hawks and kept hidden for most of the time but did show briefly when they had gone.

On my second visit the wind was ferocious and hammered across the site . I managed to find shelter in a belt of trees but it was still very cold and unpleasant.Mike accompanied me on this visit and his observational skills came to the fore as he scanned the area for any raptors present.Despite the horrible conditions we managed to see a variety of raptors but the hoped for owls didn't show.In total we had six different raptors as follows, kestrel,sparrowhawk,buzzard,merlin,hen harrier and red kite.The red kite was very distant but was a first sighting in Lancs for Mike and I.

I have posted images mainly of short eared owls taken on an earlier visit to this site but the hen harrier image was obtained on the second visit as described above.I have also posted one showing the white goshawk and it's owner as they walked across the rough grassland disturbing any wildlife present.The legality of use of hawks on what is a conservation area is currently being investigated. I hope to return to this location in the New Year when hopefully the short eared owls will still be around and provide a good start to another year of wildlife photography.Many thanks to my followers for looking in at my work and I hope you all enjoy a very happy and healthy 2012.

Season's Greetings

2011-12-23T10:30:00.000Z

Christmas is now fast approaching and the weather at the moment is not very seasonal. After a brief frosty and snowy day or two it is now more like Spring.Temperatures are in double figures and it always seems to be raining. On a better day last Sunday Kath and I had a walk in the Leighton Moss area.It was a sunny day and was warm in the pleasant and very welcome sunshine.

We had our sandwiches and soup on a seat overlooking the RSPB reserve and it was very pleasant basking in the warm sun. We were visited throughout our stay by tits and robins coming for seeds which had been left for them on nearby fence posts.The birds came very close at times and I just happened to have a telephoto lens with me and was able to capture some nice portrait shots of the visitors.

One of the visitors was a marsh tit,a lovely little bird which I had never had an opportunity to photograph and I managed some nice shots. The robin is an ever present bird when it knows there is food about and again this symbol of Christmas gave me some nice images. Coal,Great and Blue tits also visited and again I was rewarded with some nice portraits.

Some of my better shots are shown above..a couple of the marsh tit and robin and one each of a coal tit and blue tit.I hope you enjoy them,the robin is very much a bird in evidence at this time of the year and features on many Christmas cards. I have therefore headed this post with my own little Christmas Robin and wish all my followers a very happy Christmas. Thanks for looking.

More Favourites

2011-12-17T13:10:00.000Z

The weather is still very wintry and I can't summon up the enthusiasm to venture out with the camera gear. So I thought I would post a few more favourite images from previous months. The local marine lakes at Fleetwood and Lytham were the places to be in September and October of this year. There had been some very stormy weather,the remnants of an Atlantic hurricane,and this had driven birds to the Lancashire coast to shelter from the very disturbed weather out at sea.

The first of these birds was a full summer plumaged red throated diver which was found on the marine lake at Fleetwood. This lovely bird attracted many admirers and the local bird paparazzi turned out in force to see this bonny bird. Unfortunately the bird was not well and sadly died. It did however give much pleasure to those fortunate enough to see it and one of my images is shown above.

The marine lake at Lytham St Annes was the place to be in September and October when following more stormy weather a grey phalarope followed by a slavonian grebe spent time on the lake feeding before leaving when the weather finally settled down again. Again these birds provided some wonderful opportunities for the many photographers present during their stay.I have shown above two images of each of these fabulous little birds which were very confiding and gave great close up views.

Next up are a couple from Leighton Moss showing a preening teal and one of the many snipe present at the beginning of November. I had wanted images of snipe and the large number of birds present provided many excellent opportunities for portrait shots of these shy birds.The teal was preening and enjoying some welcome late afternoon sun and the snipe was also preening and showing off it's not very often seen tail feathers.

The images heading this posting are of birds going to roost against a setting sun.One of them shows thousands of pink footed geese crossing The Fylde on their way to the roost out on the sands at Pilling. The final image is of the many thousands of starlings which roost at Blackpool's North Pier and provide a nightly spectacle not to be missed at this time of the year. Hope you enjoy my selection and I hope to get out again before the end of the year. Thanks for looking and I wish all my followers a Very Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

Personal Favourites

2011-12-15T15:10:00.000Z

I have been frustrated recently as the very disturbed weather has meant I have been unable to get out with the camera. It gives me an opportunity therefore to post some of my personal favourites from what has been a productive and interesting year photographing the wildlife in Lancashire.

This is the first series and I have selected some of my images from the first half of the year. The early months saw good numbers of waxwings around locally and as usual they provided lovely subjects for the camera and a couple of my better efforts are shown above. Spring saw a trip of dotterel on the local fells and I made the long walk early one morning to capture these enigmatic birds. As usual they allowed a close approach and together with others who had made the trek obtained some intimate portraits and again a couple are shown above.In May I was definitely in the right place at the right time to see for the first time a pair of great crested grebes performing the weed dance. This was something I had waited a long time to see and I made the most of the opportunity taking a burst of dozens of images to capture the moment.An image of this unique event is shown above.

Also in May waders were on the way to their High Arctic breeding grounds and called in on the Lancashire coast to refuel for the long journey ahead. This was very welcome as the sanderling were now beginning to show their rich breeding colours and I was able to get very close to them as a high tide brought them close to the camera.A nicely marked bird is shown above looking for food on the sandy shore.

Early June and I visited a local peregrine nest site on a church in the middle of a local market town.That evening two young peregrines that had earlier fallen from the nest were returned to their parents having recovered from their ordeal. The parents gave great flying displays that evening against a blue sky in lovely evening sunshine.I grabbed the opportunity to get some flight shots of what is the fastest bird in the world.Again one of the better efforts is shown above.

My final entry to this post is of a barn owl which it was my great pleasure to observe and photograph with fellow photographer Martin very early on a warm summer's morning in July. A pair of barn owls were hunting close by and at times came very close and we made the best of this golden opportunity. I will post another selection of my favourites from the second half of 2011 at a later date. Hope you enjoy looking at these images again and thanks for looking in.

Owl Time

2011-12-06T12:15:00.000Z

My thoughts at this time of the year turn to owls,in particular to barn and short eared owls.A couple of recent trips had proved fruitless but I opened my account last week when returning from a day out with Martin to a wader roost at Morecambe. On the way back Martin showed me a little owl perched in it's roadside tree and I grabbed a few images from the car one of which is shown above. I later learned of the whereabouts of a number of short eared owls which had been showing well in South Lancs.

I was keen to see them whilst they were still around so Trevor and I duly arrived at the location on the mosslands of South West Lancs. Immediately we were watching three short eared owls quartering the large area of rough grassland and they were later joined by a barn owl.We were not alone and we enjoyed the company of a number of other local photographers.

The owls performed well until fading light late afternoon forced us to pack up and head for home.It had been an excellent session and although the owls never came really close whilst we were there,I still managed some shots with which I was well pleased . I paid another visit yesterday but there was no sign of any owls. There had been bad weather since my last visit and it had turned very wintry.Hopefully the owls will be back and I look forward to seeing these magnificent birds once again. Hope you enjoy the account and the images I have posted above and thanks for looking.

Another High Tide Surprise

2011-12-03T14:40:00.001Z

Back in October Martin and I had a nice surprise when photographing a high tide wader roost at Rossall. On that occasion a snow bunting briefly dropped in and we were delighted with some excellent views and images of this not too common visitor to the Lancashire coastline. This last week we enjoyed a similar experience when we visited a high tide wader roost at Morecambe.There had been more high tides and very strong winds in recent days and we visited this new location not knowing what might turn up .

Many hundreds of oystercatchers were gathered on the salt marsh as the tide advanced and we decided to walk along the shore to hopefully get nearer to the large roost. On the way there we suddenly spotted an unfamiliar bird on the roof of some nearby buildings and we were delighted when it turned out to be a black redstart.I had only seen one or two abroad and it was a new bird for Martin.We managed one or two shots before the redstart vanished and we decided to make an effort to find it on our return from the oystercatcher roost.

We enjoyed the comings and goings of the oystercatchers as the tide reached it's peak and we kept busy with the cameras trying to get some action shots. On returning to the car we picked up the black redstart again as it flitted about among the buildings of a leisure club. It was not easy to get our shots as this busy little bird was constantly on the move and eventually we lost it again.

Back at the car more waders were assembling on nearby rocks and we enjoyed the excellent views of godwits ,lapwings and redshanks .Also present was a female eider duck which had come out of the sea to preen and rest. What a good session it had been and I have posted above some images from the day of the oystercatchers,a nicely posed black tailed godwit and the female eider duck on the rocks. The post is headed with a couple of images of the delightful black redstart which had really been another surprise visitor on the high tide. Hope you enjoy my efforts above and thanks for looking in.

Feeding Frenzy

2011-11-25T12:50:00.000Z

This week I have made a couple of visits to the Pilling area hoping to see some owls.There are good numbers of short eared owls in the country but none have yet reached the Pilling area.A few years ago there were daily sightings of short eared owls and birdwatchers and photographers flocked to Scronkey near Pilling to see these magnificent owls at close quarters. I was one of the lucky ones and obtained some wonderful images of these special birds.Hopefully some may still arrive to delight us again.

Despite the lack of shorties my visit was made memorable by the sight of huge numbers of starlings feeding in the fields at Eagland Hill Pilling.These would be birds from the roost at Blackpool North Pier spending the day at Pilling before returning to Blackpool in the evening.I wouldn't like to estimate the numbers of birds present but it would certainly be many thousands and they kept me busy with the camera for a couple of hours as they moved around the area.I hope the above images give some idea of the spectacle at Eagland Hill but again it is something that must be seen to be appreciated.

I was lucky later with a brief sighting of a barn owl and a ringtail hen harrier near Scronkey but the light was poor and I was not quick enough with the camera. All in all though it had been an exciting couple of afternoons in the Pilling area made memorable by the activities of the vast flocks of starlings.Also shown above a shot of a couple of roe deer enjoying the afternoon sun. Roe deer are never easy to approach and those above were quite some way from the camera but they added some variety to the week's sightings. Hope you enjoy the images above and my account of another week in the Lancashire countryside. Thanks for looking in.

Seaside Spectacular

2011-11-18T10:30:00.000Z

Blackpool is a well known seaside resort and is famous for it's entertainment at the Tower and other nearby attractions.What is not well known however is the wonderful and very entertaining display which is currently showing nightly at the North Pier. I am of course referring to the spectacular starling roost which is taking place every evening around 4pm.

It has been my good fortune to visit Blackpool on two occasions this week to observe and photograph this fabulous spectacle. On my first visit the weather was very nice with a lovely sunset to enhance the spectacle.On my second visit it was not sunny and a cold and raw wind made it unpleasant to stand around waiting for the action.The starlings however gave a wonderful display and on each visit they flew around the vicinity of the North Pier for around half an hour. I don't know how many starlings were present but my conservative estimate would be around seventy or eighty thousand ... maybe a lot more.

It was indeed a seaside spectacular and a privilege to watch.Shown above are a few of the many images I captured but it is not easy to convey in pictures alone what a wonderful experience it was to see this vast throng of starlings performing their aerial displays before going to roost amongst the buildings and structures of Blackpool's North Pier. Hope you enjoy the images I have shown and if any of my readers are able to visit Blackpool it is a spectacle not to be missed.

More From The Moss

2011-11-12T11:30:00.001Z

Leighton Moss that is..I have made a few visits recently and just thought I would post a few more images from those visits.It has been very good recently with a nice selection of waders present on the shore pools.the starling roost building up nicely and some nice views of otters and deer.

The otters were seen from the Lower Hide but were too far away for decent images.Hopefully one day I will be lucky with a close encounter with these beautiful animals. I was lucky however with a nice close sighting of a roe deer,never easy to get close too and the young buck's image heads the blog.Red deer hinds also popped out of the reeds at the Jackson Hide to have a look at Martin and I as dusk was approaching.

Next week promises some decent weather and I will probably return to Leighton Moss to see what is out and about at this special RSPB reserve.In the meantime enjoy the various images above of marsh harrier,preening teal,greenshank,little egret,pheasant and the deer. Thanks for looking.

Snipe and Starlings

2011-11-11T12:30:00.000Z

This week I returned to Leighton Moss on a pleasant dry afternoon. There were surprisingly few cars at the Morecambe pools car park and most of the time there were very few visitors.I joined a fellow photographer from Penrith and we enjoyed some super views of the large numbers of common snipe currently on the shore pools.
We were kept busy trying to capture the behaviour of the snipe as they fed and preened within range of the big lenses.

I have shown above some of my better efforts and was particularly pleased with the ones showing the not very often seen orange tail feathers as they preened. There were between forty and fifty snipe on view and at times they came out and fed in the open but at the slightest sign of danger they would quickly return to the cover of one of the small islands at the Eric Morecambe hide.

I spent some time observing and photographing the snipe and as dusk was fast approaching I left to see if I could catch sight of the starlings as they came into roost.Itwas not easy to find the best spot to observe the starlings but I finally went up to the far end of the reserve and watched them from the roadside by Island Mere.The rain was beginning to arrive but I managed one or two shots before it became too dark. On one of the images above a mass of starlings can be seen with the four o'clock train to Barrow just visible below. All in all it had been an excellent afternoon session at Leighton Moss and I look forward to some better images of the impressive starling roost in the weeks to come.

Salmon Run

2011-11-05T21:20:00.000Z

This week I paid a couple of visits to a Cumbrian river to try and obtain some images of salmon leaping up one of a series of waterfalls and white water in the lower reaches of the river. The salmon fishing season had finished at the end of October and hopefully there would still be good numbers of salmon coming up the river to reach the spawning grounds in the higher mountainous upper reaches.

On both visits there were sufficient salmon leaping the falls to keep the cameras busy.Mike joined me for the first visit and Martin on the second. Neither had seen this spectacle before and conditions were ideal as we set up the cameras. It was not easy to anticipate when a salmon might come out of the water and reactions had to be very fast to capture the action. We did succeed and the results of our efforts are shown above.

We were pleased with the results and we also managed some images of other fish eating residents of the river namely goosander and grey heron both of which posed nicely for the camera. The only event which spoilt the afternoon session for Martin and I was the arrival of a party of canoeists who used the white water of the waterfall to practice their techniques and this was a signal for the salmon to vanish and we also sadly moved on. I may be back to see this wonderful spectacle a little later in the month when hopefully some salmon will still be coming up river heading for their birthplace high in the Cumbrian fells.

High Tide Surprise

2011-10-31T12:55:00.000Z

Last week Martin and I visited Rossall Point at Fleetwood to watch the waders roosting at high tide.There had been a series of ten metre tides and this combined with a good weather forecast would mean that Rossall Point should provide ideal conditions for some good photography. Ed Roper from the famous Wigan 10 camera club was already in position when we arrived and we had a nice chat before settling down to photograph the waders.

It was very quiet to begin with and only a handful of sanderling and turnstone were present. Thankfully as the big tide came in more waders were displaced from further along the coast and they arrived in good numbers on the beach in front of us.It was very enjoyable photographing the birds as they jostled for the best roosting spots as the big tide pushed in.The sanderlings in particular fluttered in the air before settling down to roost and gave some great opportunities for the cameras.

The great surprise of the day came as a snow bunting suddenly dropped onto the sand right in front of the lenses and we hurriedly took advantage of this wonderful opportunity to grab some images before it departed. It came back very briefly and gave us a few more chances before joining up with another snow bunting and they both headed up the coast towards Fleetwood. Snow buntings are uncommon visitors to the Lancashire coastline and we were definitely in the right place at the right time to take advantage of this great opportunity.

The tide was on the turn and we decided to move on to Blackpool to view the starling roost at Marton Mere. Again we enjoyed an excellent time at the mere and did witness thousands of starlings coming into the roost. Hopefully we will return to Marton Mere to obtain more images of this great spectacle and this will be reported in a future blog. Hope my readers enjoy the images above of the wonderful day at Rossall Point. The images are of the sanderlings and one or two of other waders present notably ringed plover and turnstone. The blog is headed by a couple of images of the bird of the day,the snow bunting which briefly graced us with it's presence.

Return Visit

2011-10-20T21:45:00.000+01:00

For this week's visit I returned to Leighton Moss where Martin,Geoff and myself had a good day with the cameras last week.I started off at the Allen and Morecambe hides and was joined by Dave Cookson and Steve Dolan who had been at Leighton Moss since the early hours but had not seen much. It was indeed very quiet and Dave and Steve decided to move to Fleetwood for the remainder of the day.I stayed put but went onto the main part of the reserve to see what was about.

It was a beautiful sunny day and there were lots of visitors to the reserve. My first port of call was to the grit trays hoping for a sighting of the bearded tits but none showed whilst I was there.A very nice buzzard however showed above the causeway as it enjoyed the ideal flying conditions and I managed a few shots as it soared off into the blue.Next I spent time at the public hide and was again rewarded with some shots of a sparrowhawk soaring overhead.On next to the Lower Hide for a hoped for sighting of the otters which have recently been showing well but I was out of luck again. However on the way there I spotted a group of red deer feeding in a field on the edge of the reserve.My timing was spot on as a magnificent stag suddenly appeared and I was kept busy with the camera capturing the action of this family group of red deer.

Later I returned to the coastal hides and by late afternoon the light was perfect and there were more waders present than there had been in the morning.For the next hour or so I enjoyed these ideal conditions and managed some nice shots of greenshanks,lapwings and one or two snipe that were still around.The sun had almost set as I left and starlings and fieldfares were coming into roost. Close to the car park were a group of roe deer but I was not quick enough with the camera before they were frightened away by two passing trains. All in all a splendid day with good weather and some memorable sightings of red deer. Images of the buzzard,sparrowhawk,red deer and waders at the Eric Morecambe Hide are shown above.Hope you enjoy my account and images from a super day at Leighton Moss.

Mainly Snipe

2011-10-17T15:10:00.000+01:00

Last week's weather had been very wet with days of persistent rain. At last towards the end of the week things began to improve and Martin and I decided on a trip to Leighton Moss. I had not visited " The Moss " for some time and was looking forward to a good day out. We later met up with Geoff and we toured the hides both on the main reserve and down on the coast. There was plenty of variety and in particular good numbers of waders were present at the Morecambe Hide.

For this post I have concentrated on the waders and particularly the snipe which were present in good numbers at the Eric Morecambe Hide. I had not seen snipe up close for a long time and this was an ideal opportunity to obtain some images for the portfolio. Also present were a few spotted redshank and again they presented great photographic opportunities as they fed close to the hide.Other waders included a good number of knot,a bird I had never seen before at Leighton Moss plus lots of redshank,lapwings and some black tailed godwits all feeding close to the hide. Martin,Geoff and myself were kept very busy with the cameras and we went away very pleased with the results.

We did have a look round the main part of the reserve hoping for a sighting of an otter but were unlucky as they had been seen prior to our arrival at the Lower Hide. A visit to the Griezdale Hide also proved fruitless in looking for red deer stags which could be heard roaring around the reserve as they warmed up for the rut. One bonus was a first sighting for Martin and Geoff of a couple of bearded tits as they visited the grit trays on the public causeway. All in all it had been a super day at Leighton Moss and I hope my readers enjoy the images above which are mainly of snipe with a couple of the spotted redshanks. More will hopefully follow when I visit again and maybe next time the red deer stags will be on show to delight the visitors.

Slavonian at Fairhaven

2011-10-08T12:58:00.002+01:00

The marine lake at Lytham St Annes came up trumps again this week with another uncommon visitor to the lake. A slavonian grebe had dropped in to spend a few day's feeding up before departing for it's winter feeding grounds. This followed on from the grey phalarope, another uncommon visitor which had recently delighted many obsevers and photographers during it's stay.

The slavonian grebe was another very approachable bird and once again was providing many photographic opportunities for the local bird photographers. I went along on the third day of it's stay as conditions promised to be better following more very disturbed weather. I spent most of the day in the company of other photographers at Fairhaven and we all enjoyed excellent conditions as the blue skies and sunshine eventually arrived.

The grebe was feeding well and most of the time seemed to be catching shrimps in between spells of preening and patrolling along a favoured part of the lake close to the RSPB Discovery Centre.It was a very enjoyable afternoon's session and I think all of the photographers present went home very pleased with the results. I have shown above my efforts and have mostly shown images from when the sun appeared, which helped to bring out the colours and highlight the wonderful red eye of the slavonian grebe. A general view of Fairhaven Lake is shown and also an image of local photographer Martin ,checking his images in front of the RSPB Discovery Centre. Hope you enjoy looking at my efforts with the camera. The Lancashire coastline is currently enjoying a spell of excellent birds visiting the area and I look forward to the next one.

Pictures From The Coast

2011-10-01T11:05:00.000+01:00

As mentioned in my last blog this week's very warm weather meant I spent a few days out with the camera. The super weather coincided with some big tides and the coast was my choice of destination to look for waders at high tide. I decided on a couple of visits to Marshside RSPB and adjoining coastline as I had previously enjoyed some excellent days there with plenty of variety in birds seen.

Both visits produced similar results as I firstly concentrated on finding and photographing waders as they roosted at high tide, followed by visits to Nel's hide at Marshside where the excellent afternoon light would be good to photograph the action in front of the hide. On my second visit I enjoyed the company of Brian Wilby, a friend who lives nearby, who I had not seen for sometime . Brian was keen to see the wader spectacular at high tide and I don't think he was disappointed and we enjoyed an interesting afternoon together. Also there were photographers, Dave Cookson, Steve Dolan and John Power and we all enjoyed the ideal conditions from Nel's hide.

I have selected a few images from many that were taken and hope the selection gives my readers an idea what a great variety of birds can be seen along the Lancashire coastline at this time of the year. The images from the roosts show some of the impressive numbers of knot present and an image I was pleased with of hundreds of oystercatchers dropping into the roost. Some nice close ups of feeding dunlin were obtained as the birds allowed a very close approach as they fed along the end of the old sand road out from Marshside. I was lucky to photograph three bar tailed godwits,one still in breeding plumage,as they paused briefly before departing for their roosting spot.The images from Nel's hide show black tailed godwits about to take off and a close up flight shot of one bird close to the hide. Finally a couple of wing stretching shots of lapwing and wigeon as they bathed and preened in the wonderful very warm and sunny weather. Hope you enjoy this selection and I look forward to more suitable weather next week when I can once more get out to capture tge action.

Afternoon Twitch

2011-09-29T17:10:00.000+01:00

It has been a busy week for getting out and about with the camera. The weather this week has been very warm and summery with temperatures way above the average for this time of the year.I began the week with an afternoon twitch to Arnside to see a buff breasted sandpiper that had turned up out on the salt marsh. This was a bird I had always admired and the opportunity to see one had to be taken. I checked the Internet Monday lunchtime to find the bird was still there so I set off for Arnside just over the border into Cumbria. There were serious delays on the M6 motorway going north but I managed to find a way around the jams and joined the motorway at Galgate. Eventually I arrived at the spot just outside Arnside and a quick look out across the saltmarsh confirmed the bird was being watched by a small group of birdwatchers.

The bird was well out on the marsh and was favouring a sandy area with small tufts of grass on which to feed. Jim Clift a Preston birdwatcher was there and he had been stuck on the M6 for two hours. The bird was soon found and although it never came near I did manage some images of this very rare visitor to these shores. This Autumn a good number of these birds have turned up with a couple of dozen together at one spot in Southern Ireland. These birds have more than likely been swept across the Atlantic in Hurricane Katia which brushed our shores with very strong winds and brought numbers of North American birds to our shores.

The images shown above are not brilliant but do serve as record shots of a bird I had long wanted to see. As I am writing this blog on Thursday the bird is still there in the company of another trans Atlantic vagrant , a pectoral sandpiper. I may have another visit if these birds stay which seems unlikely given the excellent flying conditions at the moment. Other trips this week have been to the high tide wader roosts on the coast and I hope to upload some nice images of the numerous waders I saw. Meantime thanks for looking.

Shanks and Egrets

2011-09-23T13:30:00.000+01:00

This week Mike and I visited Leighton Moss RSPB at Silverdale. It had been a long time since my last visit and I was looking forward to a good day out. The forecast was for more rain and the signs were not good as we drove up the M6 and could see the weather deteriorating as it made it's way in from out at sea. The rain did arrive as we approached Leighton Moss but it was light and patchy so we made our way to some of the nearby hides. It was very windy and the coots and pochard were riding out the oncoming weather on a very choppy lake. From the public hide it was also very exposed and there was not a lot of action. We made our way back to the cafe for a pot of tea and cake and on the way we were lucky to see a brief visit to the grit trays by two bearded tits. On arrival at the shop and cafe the heavens opened and a deluge of rain fell over Leighton Moss. The signs were not good and we were prepared to return home. However on setting off the skies began to clear and better conditions were on the way from the coast.

We therefore decided to stay and visit the Allen and Morecambe hides down at the marsh. It was to be a good decision and we were to enjoy some excellent views of the waders present. On arrival at the Eric Morecambe hide we saw a nice group of redshanks,greenshanks and spotted redshanks all busily feeding close to the hide. The greenshanks and spotted redshanks were wading belly deep and up ending like mallards to obtain food from the bottom of the lake. It was fascinating to watch and I obtained some nice images of this group feeding. Soon the light improved and we enjoyed some super views particularly of the greenshanks showing off thier nicely marked plumage. Egrets too were present and again presented some nice photographic opportunuities as did a lone black tailed godwit resplendent in almost full breeding plumage. It had been a nice ending to what had not been the best of days weatherwise and what was a welcome return to Leighton Moss. Images from the day are shown above of the greenshanks,spotted redshanks and egrets and one of the godwit lit up by the evening sun. Thanks for looking at the blog and I look forward to next week's big tides when I will once again be wader watching on the Lancashire coast.

One Of The Best

2011-09-17T11:43:00.011+01:00

The Juvenile Grey Phalarope that turned up earlier this week at Lytham St Annes has to be one of the best birds that it has been my privilege to photograph. So I make no excuse for showing a few more of the hundreds of images that I took of this delightful wader. It has now sadly moved on to winter further south. I understand that the grey phalarope winters in the Atlantic Ocean off the African Coast.

It is difficult to believe that this tiny bird can survive life on the ocean waves throughout the winter months returning to it's breeding grounds in the High Arctic during the Spring and Summer. During it's brief stay in Lancashire it gave much pleasure to the many bird watchers and photographers who came to see it.I hope it survives the elements in the Atlantic Ocean and makes it back to it's Arctic breeding grounds next Spring. I hope you enjoy the images above as much as I did in taking them and thanks for looking.

Pretty as a Picture

2011-09-16T17:30:00.000+01:00

Following last week's red throated diver another uncommon bird came to visit the Lancashire coastline. A juvenile grey phalarope was found on Fairhaven Lake at Lytham St Annes. This again was a casualty from last week's very strong winds and had dropped in at Lytham to refuel before continuing it's migratory journey. As is often the case with birds from Arctic regions it was very tame and was a photographer's dream and was often too close to focus.

I joined many others at Fairhaven Lake and we had a bonanza and many thousands of images must have been taken of this very photogenic bird. It was nice to meet up with local birdwatchers and photograhers and we enjoyed some better weather and at times the light was perfect for photography. It was still quite breezy and this put a nice swell on the water and with reflections from surrounding buildings made for some great opportunities for the many lenses present.

As I write this blog the bird has departed the lake and has not been seen today. It did however once again give much pleasure to those lucky enough to see it during it's brief stay and gave the photographers many lovely images to add to their collections. I have shown some of my images above and I hope my readers enjoy looking at this special little wader.

Good News / Sad News

2011-09-12T16:15:00.000+01:00

The good news was that last week a summer plumaged Red Throated Diver had turned up on the Marine Lake at Fleetwood and was giving excellent views. Mike and I were having a day's birding on the Friday and couldn't decide whether to go for the RTD at Fleetwood or travel up to Heysham where a Sabine's Gull was also showing well.Just before we set off I had a phone call from Paul Foster who was at Fleetwood watching the diver at very close range. So it was, an hour later, we arrived at the Marine Lake and could immediately see the diver showing close to the side of the lake. The light was not good following some persistent drizzle but it slowly improved throughout our stay and we had some excellent views of the bird.

The news had spread via the internet and a good number of local birdwatchers and photographers came to see the bird. At one point the diver disappeared and we all thought it had flown out to sea. As Mike and I were thinking of moving on it reappeared and once again gave wonderful close up views as it patrolled around the lake. It seemed unconcerned by all the attention and due to the way it was behaving gave some cause for concern. It drifted about lazily with it's eyes closed for much of the time and was inactive and didn't once dive to search for any fish that may have been about unlike the cormorants that were also present which would occasionaly catch flounders . I managed a nice shot of a cormorant with a flounder which is shown above.

Mike and I decided to move on and our next port of call was the estuary of the River Wyre at Skippool Creek. Here the tide was going out and waders were coming to feed on the exposed mud . There was a nice little group of waders present in one of the creeks containing a couple of greenshanks which I managed to photograph as they fed in the now pleasant afternoon sunshine. With this improvement in the light we decided to return to Fleetwood to see the diver again. More photographers were present and the diver was posing very close to the side and at times was almost too near for the camera to focus. Again some wonderful images were obtained in the much better conditions which showed off it's wonderful plumage to full advantage. The unusual behaviour of the bird continued as it scrambled out of the lake and onto the concrete surround and sat down to enjoy the pleasant late sunshine. With this we decided to call it a day and head for home after a super day out.

Now for the sad news...As suspected the diver was not well and I learned yesterday evening that it had been found dead on the Sunday following our visit on the Friday . This was indeed very sad news as although not feeding the bird appeared to be mobile and from time to time it would flap its wings which also seemed undamaged. It had however in it's last days provided some wonderful memories and images for those lucky enough to be in it's presence at Fleetwood's Marine Lake. As usual I have shown above some images of this fabulous bird and some of the action from around the lake on a day that will long remain in the memory.

More Waders

2011-09-05T12:20:00.000+01:00

Following on from my last posting I am showing some more wader images obtained during last week's high tides at Southport and Rossall. Most of the ones shown above are from Rossall Point at Fleetwood. At Rossall the waders roost very close to the promenade and at times the sanderling particularly came extremely close to the camera and were not put off by the human activity on the prom. Virtually all of these sanderling were juveniles recently returned from their birthplace in the high Arctic and probably from Greenland. This may have been their first encounter with humans and like many birds from the far North they can be very confiding.

Fellow wildlife photographer Martin and myself had a wonderful time photographing the birds and explaining to some interested passers by what they were and where they had come from. Most people had not seen the groups of birds roosting on the beach and went on their way ignorant of the long distance travellers that had made it to the Lancashire coastline on their very long journey from Arctic breeding grounds. Martin and I were reluctant to leave on what had been a very pleasant day's session with the cameras and enjoyed in some very nice late summer weather.

Most of the images shown above are of the very obliging sanderling which at times came too close for focusing !! A couple of images are shown above of turnstones one resting and showing the lovely colours of the plumage, and the other of a turnstone actually in the act of turning over a stone. Also posing nicely for the cameras were lots of ringed plovers ,the ones above are juvenile birds which were present in large numbers. A roosting dunlin also shows off the lovely rich colours of it's plumage.

Hoping my readers enjoy my latest selection of images and thanks for looking in. There are more very high tides at the end of this month and I look forward to returning to capture the beauty of the mass flocks of waders which grace the Lancashire coastline at this time of the year.

Wader Watching...Red Knot

2011-09-03T15:30:00.001+01:00

It has been a while since I have posted any images. This last week however has seen me back in business. There has been a series of high tides coinciding with some warm late summer weather, ideal conditions to revisit some of my favourite locations on the Lancashire coastline. I made two visits to the coast at Southport and one with good friend and photographer Martin to Rossall Point at Fleetwood.

There were good numbers of waders present particularly at Southport where a large wader roost provided me with many opportunities to capture some excellent images. For this first post I have concentrated on the Red Knot. Knot were present in very large numbers and packed together at high tide to form a large carpet of birds. Many of the birds were still showing signs of their red breeding plumage and one particularly handsome bird is shown above in it's breeding finery after which it is of course named. Most however were showing typical grey winter plumage but amongst them were some juvenile birds with lovely feather detail again shown in close up above.

The knot were disturbed from time to time by dog walkers and others who seemed determined despite my protests to walk right through the roosting flocks and send them all up into the air. This did however present opportunities for some impressive flight shots also shown above. As the high tide retreated so did the birds going further out onto the feeding grounds on the beach. I followed a group of birds and managed to get close to a mixed group of knot, dunlin and sanderling. Again close ups of these birds were obtained in very nice afternoon sunshine and I was very well pleased with the results.

I have shown above various images of the knot on the roost and in flight and hope they convey some of the excitement of witnessing one of Nature's great spectacles. Further posts will concentrate on the other waders seen during this week's high tides when I was able to get up close and personal with sanderling,dunlin,ringed plover and turnstone.... Watch this space !!!

Local Viewpoints

2011-08-12T16:20:00.000+01:00

This week I have not been out with the big lens photographing the local wildlife owing to very poor weather and other commitments. I did however carry a small compact camera with me and this week by way of a change I am showing some of the local scenery in this part of Lancashire. One super viewpoint not very far from home is at Jeffrey Hill on the northern slope of Longridge Fell. Here from the roadside you have a magnificent view across the Vale Of Chipping to the Bowland Fells to the north east of the lovely village of Chipping. This is a popular spot with motorists and on a fine day there can be few better views in Lancashire.

The second viewpoint demands a little more effort and a climb to the summit of Clougha Pike at just over 1200 feet. On the way up and from the summit there are magnificent views across Morecambe Bay to the Lake District Fells and across to the three Yorkshire Peaks of Whernside, Ingleborough and and Pen-y- ghent. Currently the heather is coming into flower and swathes of purple enhance the journey to the summit of this delightful Lancashire Peak. The images above show views of the Bowland Fells from Longridge Fell and finish with views from the heather covered slopes of Clougha Pike. If any of my readers have the opportunity to visit either of these viewpoints you will not be disappointed with some of Lancashire's finest scenery.

Deer Watching

2011-08-01T15:30:00.000+01:00

Last week I made a long overdue visit to Leighton Moss. I had heard that the red deer were showing well and so I arrived at the Griezdale Hide deep in the reed beds around mid afternoon. I could immediately see a number of deer both hinds and stags and all were lying down in the reeds and grass to shelter from the very warm afternoon sun. There was little activity until something spooked all the deer and I was treated to a magnificent sight as a number of stags charged across an open area and into the dense reedbeds in front of the hide. Needless to say I fired off a salvo of shots with the camera hoping to capture the fast moving action. The stags soon vanished into the reed beds and didn't reappear during my stay and so once again I had been in the right place at the right time and was pleased with the images I obtained.

The rest of my stay until early evening was spent watching the red deer hinds and their fawns which were feeding and showing well in an area to the west of the Griezdale Hide. It was a very pleasant scene as they chewed the cud and fed on the reeds and grasses close by. From time to time the fawns returned to their mothers for a feed , still dependent on mother's milk to help them through their early months of life in the reed beds of Leighton Moss. It had been a very interesting few hours spent at Leighton Moss and I returned home well pleased with the images I had managed to capture of these magnificent red deer.The stags in particular looked wonderful showing off their sets of antlers.These will be put to good use in combat in the months ahead when the reed beds at Leighton Moss resound to the sights and sounds of the annual rut. It was a privilege to witness and I hope I have managed to convey some of the excitement I experienced in my images shown above.

Return Visit

2011-07-29T11:55:00.002+01:00

This week with the continuing warm and summery weather I decided on a return visit to the Witherslack area of South Cumbria. Last week I had enjoyed my first look at Foulshaw Moss and its special wildlife so I was keen to return to this lovely part of Cumbria. The weather was cloudy until late afternoon and a walk up onto Whitbarrow Scar looking for butterflies proved fruitless. I had lunch down at Foulshaw Moss where a few dragon and damselflies where on the wing. I enjoyed photographing the large fly you can see above nectaring on hemp agrimony. It's identity eluded me until later at home when I think I correctly identified it as one of the horse flies. Apparently it is only the females that bite to feed on blood and the males feed mainly on nectar. We have all experienced the bite of a cleg which can swell up and be painful for a few days. I can only say I wouldn't fancy a bite from one as large as the one shown above !!

Around mid afternoon the cloud began to break up and I decided on a return visit to the Whitbarrow area to look for butterflies. I went to the opposite end of Whitbarrow Scar and visited Cumbria Wildlife Trust's Reserve at Howe Ridding Wood. Coppice management here benefits a number of butterfly species,including pearl bordered,high brown and silver washed fritillary by allowing sunlight to the woodland floor and encouraging plants to flower. Although the sun was out there were not many butterflies on the wing and I only managed sightings of common blues and a few dark green fritillaries one of which is shown above.

It was now late afternoon and I returned to Foulshaw Moss for an evening's deer watching. The red deer eventually came out of hiding way out on the moss and one of the hinds came much closer to the viewing platform where myself and fellow photographer Richard Witham were waiting for photographic opportunities. We exchanged traveller's tales,Richard having travelled all over the world in pursuit of his passion for wildlife and landscape photography. If my readers are interested they can view Richard's website at www.richardwitham.com We were pestered by a swarm of flying ants which attracted the attention of a group of swallows fattening up for their long journey south. The finale came as an osprey flew in to land in the group of pines still standing out in the centre of the moss. Ospreys are daily visitors to this area and will I am sure soon be taking up residence at this ideal location for their continued expansion from further north. It was a fitting end to another super day out in this beautiful part of Northern England.

As usual a few images from the day are shown above with the red deer, osprey,emerald damselfly and horsefly from Foulshaw Moss and dark green fritillary from Whitbarrow. I have also included images showing the views out onto Foulshaw Moss and the woodlands at Whitbarrow Scar. Hope my readers enjoy my account and images and many thanks for looking .

Witherslack Mosses

2011-07-15T17:35:00.000+01:00

For this week's trip I had decided to cross the border and explore the area around Witherslack in South Cumbria. This is a fabulous area for the naturalist and has some wonderful nature reserves managed by the Cumbria Wildlife Trust. I knew the area reasonably well having done some butterfly and plant hunting a few years ago. The very warm weather continued and it seemed an ideal opportunity to spend the day around the village of Witherslack which gives access to the nearby Foulshaw and Meathop Mosses and to the extensive woodlands underneath the magnificent limestone escarpment of Whitbarrow Scar.

I began the day looking for dragonflies at Foulshaw Moss and was kept busy photographing the delightful black darters which posed obligingly on the bankside vegetation bordering one of the delightful pools at Foulshaw. From here I went into the extensive woodlands at Witherslack to look for the large fritillary butterflies to be found there. I came across one or two clearings in the woods which had many brambles in flower and from time to time the fritilaries were visiting to nectar on the flowers. They were not easy to photograph but I did manage some shots of a mating pair which are shown above. Other butterflies present were common blues and dark green fritillaries.

For the remaining time I returned late afternoon to Foulshaw Moss. There was less activity from the dragon and damsel flies but red deer were beginning to come out of hiding way out on the moss. I had nice but distant views of the deer but was suddenly aware of a fox quite close to the viewing platform and making it's way out onto the moss through the rough grasses and sedge vegetation. I managed a couple of shots before the fox heard the camera shutter and rapidly vanished. Not long after that super views were had of a visiting Marsh Harrier which came fairly close and gave great views in the evening sunshine.

It was now time to make the journey home after what had been a wonderful day with the camera in this very special area of Cumbria. I was very pleased with the results and have shown above some of the day's highlights. I can't wait to return for more wildlife encounters in this part of Cumbria. I hope my readers enjoy the images posted above of black darter dragonfly , emerald damselfly ,and mating pair of silver washed fritillaries. The highlight of a wonderful day was of course the fox and the fly past of the marsh harrier both shown above and one or two of the magnificent scenery in this part of the world.

Close Encounters

2011-07-07T16:40:00.000+01:00

Just a few more from last week's visit to see a pair of local barn owls. They are a very special bird to see and photograph and Martin and I were very lucky to be in the right place at the right time.The images are very similar to my last posting but it is not often that all comes right on the day and you are lucky enough to obtain lots of images. Many of these were discarded but enough remained which I considered good enough to warrant a further posting.

So I hope my readers enjoy yet more barn owl images and I may return soon to try and improve on those shown above. For the technical amongst you the images were obtained using a 500mm .f4 lens coupled to a 1.4 X convertor giving me quite a reach and I was thus able to obtain some detailed close up shots of the owls.

Early Birds

2011-07-03T18:00:00.000+01:00

On another beautiful summer's day in the current spell of settled weather I had decided on an early start to hopefully see and photograph a pair of barn owls which had been providing excellent views early morning and late evening at a location not very far from home. I was at the site before six a.m. and was soon joined by my good friend Martin, a very keen local bird photographer and naturalist. We concealed ourselves at a convenient spot overlooking an area favoured by the owls for hunting.

For around an hour or so there was no sign of the barn owls and we thought they may have retired early following a good night's hunting. This thankfully wasn't the case and around six fifty a.m. they appeared. For the next quarter of an hour they patrolled around the area where we waited and we were treated to some fabulous close views of these enigmatic and very beautiful birds. We were kept very busy with the cameras and managed to obtain an excellent series of images.

Martin had to leave early and I stayed on for about another hour but the owls chose to hunt in areas out of camera range but it was still a delight to observe them on a beautiful summer's morning. Around eight thirty a.m. I decided to leave them in peace and head home for breakfast and to reflect on what had been a superb early morning with these wonderful birds. Some images are shown above, a selection of many I took, and I am sure I will post a few more in the days to come. Hope my readers enjoy looking at them as much as I did in capturing them. I must make the effort again soon and join the owls on their early morning hunting forays.

More Gannets

2011-06-29T15:45:00.000+01:00

Just posting a few more gannet shots from Bempton. These ones are showing the birds at their nest sites on the cliffs rather than flight shots. I couldn't get close to the sitting birds and for the most part they were in the shadow of the cliffs so images are not brilliant !! Also posting one or two more of the general scenery of this dramatic part of the Yorkshire coastline. More images will follow later of the other inhabitants of Bempton Cliffs.

Bempton Cliffs

2011-06-29T10:40:00.000+01:00

On Sunday Kath and I made the long journey to the east coast to visit the RSPB reserve at Bempton Cliffs near Flamborough Head. After a three hour journey we were pleased to find a parking place and have lunch before venturing down to the cliffs. Bempton is part of England's largest seabird colony with eight species nesting on the 400 ft high cliff faces. Bempton is famous as the only English gannet colony and the only one on the British mainland. The gannet is the most obvious bird you will see at Bempton and you cannot fail to be impressed as these large birds cruise along the clifftops and crowd onto their nesting ledges and provide spectacular viewing.

It is a dream destination for a bird photographer and provides endless opportunities to capture the constant action on and around the cliffs. So it was that I set out on my mission to bring back some memorable images on what was to be the hottest day so far this year. I joined the many visitors at the cliff top viewing areas and for the next four hours or so filled up the memory cards with hundreds of images.

In this first posting I have concentrated on the star bird, the gannet, but a further posting will feature the other residents such as kittiwakes, fulmars , guillemots , razorbills, etc..etc. It was not easy to capture the gannets on camera as they flew by ..sometimes at eye level.. and you had to be ready , focus , and fire the shutter and hopefully the results would be in focus and pleasing to the eye. Of course this is never the case and a lot of the shots have to be discarded but I did have a few decent images to show for my day's work. I have shown a selection above together with a couple showing the impressive scenery at Bempton and hopefully my readers will enjoy them as much as I did in trying to capture the action from this spectacular coastline. I will post more from the day out at a later date and show more of the residents of Bempton Cliffs.

Tern Return

2011-06-23T10:30:00.000+01:00

This week has once again produced very mixed and unsettled weather. It has at times been more like April than June with frequent heavy showers. There have however been brighter interludes and Tuesday was one such day. The afternoon promised some sun so I thought I would return to Preston Docks to catch up on the progress of the tern colony which is thriving at this location. On arrival there was yet another beefy shower but then the promised sunshine and blue skies eventually arrived.

Fellow photographers Martin and Geoff were already there and were enjoying the sights and sounds of the tern colony and were busy capturing the action. I set up the big lens and tripod and was soon into action trying to capture these elegant fast flying birds as they were kept busy attending to their families. Since my last visit a month ago quite a number of the terns have successfully reared their chicks some of which had left the security of their tyre homes. Other tern families have nested on the gravel and shingle which has been put down on the pontoons. All in all they are having a very good season and a good number of chicks and fledglings are doing well.

A very enjoyable couple of hours was spent capturing the action in and around the various nests and the images above show the comings and goings of the various tern families as they attented to their hungry chicks. One pair of common terns are still incubating their eggs and can be seen above exchanging nest duties and the three eggs can be seen beneath the parent. Most of the fish being provided for the young terns are presumably being caught from the nearby River River Ribble and appear to be small roach. Hope my readers enjoy looking at life in and around this tern colony and I will return soon to follow the progress and capture more of the action.

Pondside

2011-06-15T12:05:00.000+01:00

Yesterday afternoon summer briefly returned with very warm sunshine and settled conditions. I fancied a change from the birds and I visited a local nature reserve where I had not been before and found a couple of delightful little ponds. The ponds were well vegetated and looked ideal habitats for dragon and damselflies. At first only damselflies were seen and then their larger relatives appeared on the scene.

It was fascinating watching the behaviour of the dragonflies as they patrolled the ponds looking for mates and defending their territories from other dragonflies. The main species present was a Broad Bodied Chaser dragonfly..a handsome beast which posed very nicely for the camera on the pondside vegetation. The common blue and large red damselfly were also present in good numbers.

I have shown a few images above of the Broad Bodied Chasers, the blue bodied male and one of the female which can be distinguished from the male by her brown and yellow abdomen rather than the pale blue of the male. I have also shown images of a mating pair of common blue damselflies and a large skipper butterfly feeding on bramble. Also shown above are the delicate pink flowers of a flowering rush which was abundant around the ponds.

I must return to this delightful local nature reserve, not more than ten minutes from home, when summer returns and the dragons and damsels are on the wing again. It is currently raining again and the forecast is not good for the next few days.

More Peregrines

2011-06-10T20:30:00.000+01:00

Following on from my previous account here are a few more images from this week's visit to see a family of peregrines nesting on a church in a nearby town centre. It was a great privilege to see these magnificent birds at close quarters and to be able to record the event for us all to enjoy.

Hope you do enjoy looking at these wonderful raptors and I look forward to a visit next year when maybe they will be back to hopefully rear another town centre family.

Peregrine Evening

2011-06-10T14:40:00.011+01:00

Earlier this week I had planned to meet up with Paul to look for Long Eared Owls but poor weather in the East of the County meant a change of plan. I decided to visit a peregrine falcon site I had been made aware of not far from home. The falcons had made their home on a church in the town centre and from what I had heard were giving excellent views. I duly arrived at the church and could immediately hear the loud calls of the birds and could also see one or two long lenses trained on the building.

Unbeknown to me a few days earlier two falcon fledglings had fallen from the church and been taken into care and were to be returned that very evening. My timing couldn't have been better as there was much activity in and around the nest site as the anxious parent birds seemed to know that two of their young were about to be returned to their home. A number of onlookers including a few photographers were also present to record the proceedings.

I had not previously had an opportunity such as this to get up close to peregrines and for the next couple of hours or so I was in my element and managed to obtain some excellent results. I was particularly pleased with the flight shots as these fast fliers are not easy to capture in flight. It was a very interesting evening and the results are shown above with shots of the young birds and adults posing on the church building and some showing these magnificent raptors in flight.

I took around five hundred images but have edited that down to around one hundred which I think are good enough for publication. So there will have to be an additional posting to show some more from the evening. In the meantime I hope my followers enjoy the images shown above and I will post some more in due course.

Two Reds and a Moth

2011-06-08T11:58:00.001+01:00

The last few days have been a little frustrating with unsettled weather and trips that didn't quite go to plan. My first trip was with Kath to a site near Hawes in North Yorkshire where Red Squirrels can still be found. The weather was however against us with some very heavy rain as we crossed The Pennines. We decided to head back home but eventually it cleared up and we went to see if we could find some squirrels. Our luck was in and a couple of reds were around the feeding station deep in the forest. I managed a few images before the midges arrived and we decided to head home on what had been more like a Winter's day at times with temps down to seven degrees...quite cold for a summer's day !!

My next trip out was with Mike and we were to meet up with Paul at a site up on the Lancashire Moors where Paul had recently had excellent views of an hunting long eared owl. Before we left my next door neighbour called to say he had found an unknown creature in his garden. I went to investigate and found myself looking at a beautiful eyed hawk moth. I had never seen one of these before and brought Mike for a look before we departed on our owl safari.

We met up with Paul and went to the site where the owl had been giving good views as it hunted it's moorland home. On this visit we were unlucky ...we did see the owl but only briefly as it swooped down the road and away over the moorland not to be seen again....that is until our next visit when hopefully we may be lucky. The only sighting of note was a very distant red fox watching us from a moorland wall about six hundred yards away in rapidly failing light...hence the very poor record images above.

So all in all a little frustrating at times but that's how it goes sometimes. Still very enjoyable to be about and about in our wonderful English Countryside and we all look forward to more encounters with our special and varied wildlife. Hope you enjoy the images above..mostly record shots but hopefully next time I may have some quality owl shots to post !!

Seeing Double

2011-06-02T21:40:00.002+01:00

It has been a much better week weatherwise with more sunshine and warmer temperatures. Tuesday afternoon promised sunshine and blue skies so I headed out to the coast again to the RSPB reserve at Marshside, Southport. The afternoon did indeed turn out to be beautiful with warm and very welcome sunshine.

The pool in front of Sandgrounders Hide at Marshside on an afternoon such as this turns out to be a wonderful place to be with the big lens as there are usually a number of birds present very close to the hide and the light in the late afternoon and early evening gives perfect conditions for some wonderful images to be obtained. As expected there were some nice birds present mainly avocets, godwits and dunlin.

The still and sunny conditions gave some great opportunities for mirror images of the birds reflected in the water and I have shown this effect above with my images of the dunlin and shelduck. Black Headed Gulls and avocets were also paired up and the gulls were caught in the act of mating. I have rounded of the selection above with a portrait of a swallow which obligingly perched on a fence post close to the hide. It was a super session with excellent conditions and birds and I may post more from the day at a later date.

Arctic Bound

2011-05-28T15:20:00.001+01:00

In what has been a poor week weatherwise opportunities for getting out and about have not been good. So I am posting some more images of sanderling mostly in summer plumage taken recently on the Lancashire coastline.

The sanderling has to be one of the most delightful of our shorebirds as they scurry about the beaches looking for food.They eat small crabs,shrimps,shellfish,sandhoppers and marine worms that live in mud and sand or are washed in by the tide. On the Arctic breeding grounds they eat insects and some plant material,including buds,seeds and shoots. The birds shown above were very busy probing in the sand for food and came close allowing some nice portrait shots.

Hopefully next week may bring more settled weather.The birds above may by then be on their way to the breeding grounds. These lovely little waders breed high in the Arctic tundra - on the closest land to the North Pole - in Siberia, or in Arctic North America. The birds I saw are quite possibly heading for breeding grounds in Eastern Greenland. I wish them well and a safe journey.

Dock..Duck..and Swan

2011-05-26T11:45:00.002+01:00

Title sounds a bit like a pub name but it's a summary of my afternoon yesterday spent close to home. The weather this week has not been conducive to trips further afield and very strong winds and some heavy showers have kept me mostly catching up on jobs at home. However I did find time yesterday afternoon to visit Preston Dock where a number of common terns are nesting on pontoons in the former dock which is now an exclusive residential area . I had not been to see these terns before and it was a nice spot to set up the camera and await the action.

It was fun watching the terns,beautiful elegant birds and very graceful in flight. The terns have nested inside some tyres provided for them on the pontoons and it has proved to be very successful as this small colony has been there for a couple of years. Also nesting on one of the pontoons is a mute swan but it would appear that most of the eggs have been predated as only one egg remains from an original clutch of five eggs. Whether or not the remaining egg hatches is debatable but I hope it does.

After enjoying the session at the dock I travelled a few miles down the coast to where a drake garganey had recently turned up on the entrance pool to Newton Marsh. This handsome duck was still there but the light was not favourable to decent images and those shown above are published as record shots and maybe I can return when conditions are better and if the garganey remains. All in all it had been a very enjoyable couple of hours not far from home and I look forward to a return visit to see the terns feeding young in a couple of weeks or so.

More From The Coast

2011-05-22T16:57:00.012+01:00

As promised in my last blog I am showing a few more of the many images I took on last week's visit to the Lancashire Coast at Southport. More waders from the big high tide roost and a couple of the Curlew Sandpiper which was present at the nearby RSPB Reserve at Marshside.

Nearly all of the birds shown will soon be departing for remote breeding grounds on the tundra of Arctic Russia and Greenland. The breeding season is short and takes advantage of twenty four hour daylight and abundant food supplies in the brief Arctic Summer.Most birds will probably be making their way south again in August after what is hopefully a good breeding season. I look forward to seeing them all once again on the Lancashire coastline.

The images shown above are from the top... two showing the curlew sandpiper going into it's summer breeding plumage...one of two dunlin fattening up for the long journey...a mixed flock of dunlin sanderling and knot...three of grey plovers showing their spectacular black and white breeding plumage...and finally one of a posing ringed plover one of hundreds present at this spectacular roost.

Heading North

2011-05-20T16:30:00.000+01:00

This will be a two parter as this week I have obtained lots of images of waders on the Lancashire Coast. There were literally many thousands of waders pausing on the coast and feeding up prior to the long journeys ahead of them to their Arctic breeding grounds . The huge numbers of birds consisted mainly of sanderling..dunlin..and knot with a sprinkling of grey plover and bar tailed godwits.

For this first post from the coast I will concentrate on the sanderling which are now colouring up nicely in their breeding finery and provided many opportunities for close up portraits as they probed in the sand for food. I had gone to a stretch of the coastline south of Southport which is a favoured roosting site on big tides. There have been a series of big tides this week around lunchtime allowing me time to get into position and await the arrival of the birds.

I had a great time with the camera and at times the sanderling came almost within touching distance and were completely oblivious to my presence. I hope you enjoy the results of my efforts and next time I will post images of dunlin,ringed plover,grey plover,and a curlew sandpiper which was present at the nearby RSPB Nature Reserve at Marshside.

Rain Stopped Play

2011-05-16T15:05:00.000+01:00

A new week has arrived and with it a very wet spell of weather. The rain seems to have been continual for the last two days, not heavy rain but that very wetting kind of drizzle. This has kept me confined to barracks and has given me an opportunity to post a few more images from last week's encounter with the Great Crested Grebes at a local Nature Reserve.

They are more of the same with some close up portraits of these beautiful birds and ones where the wonderful red eye is shown. This is an adaptation found on grebes and obviously aids underwater vision when hunting their prey. I have also included one more of the weed dance which was one of those rare events when I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. I have also included an image showing the lake occupied by the grebes which currently has yellow flag iris growing around the area where the grebes appear to be nesting. Hopefully the rain will go away and I will be able to get out again and capture more images from the Lancashire countryside.

Closer To Home

2011-05-13T20:00:00.001+01:00

Following last week's excursions to Barbondale in Cumbria, this week found me nearer to home at a local Nature Reserve. I had visited the reserve last month and enjoyed nice views of Great Crested Grebes courting and mating. This week I had a couple of visits and spent a few hours in a hide overlooking one of the lakes favoured by the grebes.

The weather this week has been kind and although a little cooler it remained mostly dry with just a few showers. I soon caught up with the Great Crested Grebes and found that they were still in the process of nest building and performing their ritual courting displays. I got lucky on my second visit and for the first time witnessed the famous weed dance. This is when the grebes dive down and come up with beaks full of weed and dance across the water face to face. A spectacular performance and one I was lucky enough to capture for posterity on the camera. It was quality time spent with these beautiful and very elegant birds and it will remain in the memory for a long time.

As usual I have shown above a few of the many images taken this week. As well as the weed dance the grebes are shown head shaking, eating a small perch taken in front of the hide , and just posing for the camera at close range allowing me to try and capture some portraits of what is surely one of our most beautiful water birds. I look forward to more visits in the coming weeks when maybe I will witness the young grebes taking a ride on the back of the parent bird. I hope my readers enjoy my account of these memorable encounters and that my images do justice to these fabulous birds.

Barbondale

2011-05-06T16:00:00.000+01:00

This week has seen me make a couple of visits to the delightful Barbondale which is near the village of Barbon close to Kirkby Londale in Cumbria. Barbon Beck finds it's way down a steep sided valley to join the River Lune above Kirkby Lonsdale. It is normally a fast flowing mountain beck but this week the continuing high temperatures meant it was at a very low level. Just before Barbon village it enters a wooded section the upper section of which is very attractive to some special birds. This is ancient wet woodland and it is well known amongst birdwatchers as one of the best places to observe pied flycatcher and redstart. An elevated footpath follows the beck downstream and provides wonderful views into the woodland clinging to the sides of this steep sided valley.

I spent a couple of very enjoyable sessions observing and photographing the resident flycatchers and redstarts. Some nestboxes have been provided to supplement the many natural tree nesting holes and the birds have readily taken to their use. It is a good time to observe and try to photograph them as soon the trees will be in full leaf and observation will be difficult. It was still far from easy to get reasonable shots of these very active birds and my efforts are shown above. After spending time with the birds I enjoyed a wonderful ride over to Dent and back via some spectacular high level routes over the Pennines and back home via Sedbergh. This is a very beautiful part of Northern England and somewhere I will no doubt be returning to before the month is out.

Just A Few More

2011-05-02T16:00:00.000+01:00

Thought I would just post a few more images from last week's climb up Fairsnape Fell to see the trip of dotterel enjoying the current summer weather on the Lancashire Fells. It was a memorable experience as it always is when watching dotterel. This group of birds were very confiding and allowed a careful close approach and myself and the other photographers present had a field day with these beautiful birds.

I have posted a few more of both female and male birds and also a few more general shots showing the photographers and just how close we were to the birds. Also some landscape images showing Parlick Pike and Fairsnape Fell from across the Vale of Chipping taken early morning from Longridge Fell. Hope my readers enjoy my record of this wonderful day high up on the Bleasdale Fells.

Bank Holiday Dotterel

2011-04-26T16:20:00.000+01:00

The very warm and sunny weather we have recently enjoyed continued into the Easter weekend. It was that time of the year when dotterel pass through Lancashire on their way to breeding grounds in Scotland very often pausing to rest and feed on some of the higher hill tops. Pendle Hill has always been a favourite stopping off spot for dotterel but other hills are also used and so it turned out over the Easter weekend. Dotterel had been reported from Pendle but a trip of five birds had also appeared on Fairsnape Fell, not far away from Pendle and part of the Bleasdale Fells near to Chipping.

So it was that I left early for the hike up to Fairsnape Fell via Parlick Pike above the village of Chipping. It was indeed a magnificent morning with still some mist in the valleys but the sun was up and it was looking like another warm and sunny day. It was a hard pull up onto Fairsnape Fell but I eventually made it and immediately met up with three other birders/photographers on the summit. The dotterel were still there but on my arrival decided to fly off. Two birds were quickly relocated and we managed some nice close up shots before they flew off again. They had flown off down the southern slope of the fell and Ian returned to tell me his wife and Gary had refound the birds.

I made my way down again and after recovering from a spell of feeling unwell I was back in business photographing the dotterel which were very approachable and provided endless opportunities for the cameras. Gary,Ian and his wife left me to it but I was soon joined by three other photographers and once again we had excellent close up views of these fabulous birds. There was a trip of five birds ,two brightly coloured females and three duller looking but still very handsome males.

After taking many hundreds of images of the very confiding dotterel I decided it was time to make the long hike back to the car and enjoy the wonderful scenery on the way. It had indeed been a wonderful experience to spend time with these beautiful birds which in a few days time will probably be on their Scottish breeding grounds on the tops of the Cairngorm mountains. I have shown above a few images from the day but may have to post more later so I can share them with my readers. It was one of those red letter days long to be remembered when I am no longer able to make it to the high tops beloved of dotterel.

Waders and Wheatears

2011-04-24T20:10:00.000+01:00

Last week I visited the Lancashire Coast at Southport to witness the wader roost as it coincided with a very high tide of over ten metres. The weather was more summerlike with temperatures into the seventies but on the coast it was pleasant with cooling sea breezes and it turned out to be a wonderful session with many thousands of waders present on this stretch of the Lancashire coastline.

The vast majority of the birds were dunlin and knot and the flocks of knot were very impressive as they were pushed along the coast by the advancing high tide. Often on these big tides the birds rest and sleep but on this occasion they were feeding non stop no doubt taking advantage of the excellent weather and preparing for the long flights to the breeding grounds in the High Arctic. It was a fabulous spectacle and at the peak of the tide some of the dunlin came very close allowing some nice portraits as they continued to feed unconcerned by my presence.

All to soon the birds dispersed to other areas as more of their feeding grounds were exposed by the rapidly falling tide and soon they were well out of range of the camera but I had enjoyed a wonderful spectacle and I wished the waders well on their long journeys to their far away breeding grounds. On the way back along the coast I now had time to photograph the numerous wheatears I had seen posing nicely and just begging to have their photographs taken. The wheatears were newly arrived on the Lancashire Coast from their African wintering quarters and were feeding up prior to their departure for breeding areas in the hills of Northern England.

What a wonderful experience it had been and I hope the few images I have selected above convey some of the spectacle I enjoyed on what was also a wonderful day weatherwise .It is weather that looks like continuing for some time yet and will encourage me to get out and about with the camera in the coming weeks and hopefully post some more images from my wanderings Meantime hope my readers continue to enjoy my postings and I look forward to your comments.

Comings and Goings

2011-04-09T10:05:00.000+01:00

The weather has improved dramatically this week.It is more like summer as I write this with clear blue skies and very warm. I have therefore managed a couple of trips this week and returned with some images from a busy coast and countryside. My first trip was to the Lancashire Coast at Rossall Point to observe the waders over a high tide. The usual sanderlings were present and will soon be departing for breeding grounds in Northern Europe. One or two dunlin were with them and I have shown above the sanderlings warming up for their long flight and a dunlin coming into it's lovely breeding plumage. The highlight of my visit to Rossall was super close up views of a wheatear newly arrived from it's wintering quarters in Africa. On the way home I had a look in the Cockerham area and I was delighted to watch brown hares cavorting in the fields and some of them were leaping for joy as they enjoyed the fine weather.

My second trip of the week was to the Bowland area hoping for sightings of hen harriers but I was unlucky.I was pleased however to see a pair of stonechats on territory. Stonechats have not done well recently in Bowland and have also suffered with the severe Winter we experienced so it was nice to see this pair at home on the fells. I briefly had sightings of a group of the Greenland race of wheatears but the images I took were poor and when I returned later in the day they had moved on. The fells generally were quiet and only a handful of curlews and lapwings were on territory and I only had very brief sightings of red grouse.It is possibly just a touch to early yet for the high fells but I will return soon to this magnificent part of Lancashire. A small selection of images from the week are shown above with sanderling ,brown hares,stonechats and the splendid close up wheatear to round of a splendid week at this lovely time of the year.

Love Is In The Air

2011-04-02T12:12:00.001+01:00

On the day the earth moved.. (there was a minor earthquake in the Blackpool area).. I visited a local Nature Reserve where the Great Crested Grebes have been showing well as they go about their courtship. It was a cool and windy day but this didn't deter the grebes as they went about their preparations for the forthcoming nesting season. I spent about four hours or so in a hide overlooking the nesting area and from time to time was rewarded with some intimate portraits of these very elegant and beautiful birds.

As usual I took many images and have selected a few above showing the action on and around the nest site. Also present were goldeneye and little grebe which may be the subject of a future posting. It was a privilege to witness these intimate moments and I will soon return to watch the progress of this beautiful pair of Great Crested Grebes.

Where Otters Swim

2011-03-20T19:55:00.001Z

I seemed to have become obsessed with the Windermere Otters of late. Last week found me making a couple of trips up to Ambleside for hoped for further sightings. For my first trip I was with Paul Foster and after an early departure we were in position at Ambleside Pier around 7a.m. Despite the forecast for more dull weather we had decided to go and we were pleasantly surprised to find a beautiful day as we approached Windermere. It was indeed a magnificent day and we soaked up the very welcome Spring sunshine and enjoyed the magnificent scenery.

The otters had other ideas and only Paul had a brief sighting as I checked out the other side of the pier. I did have distant sightings of an otter hunting along the far shore of Windermere and we both decided on a walk out to where the Rivers Brathay and Rothay come into the head of Windermere. We didn't find the otter but enjoyed nice views of a group of goldeneye basking in the sun. We had another quick look at the pier but the otters had retired for the day and we went for a quick look around Grasmere before returning home.

As the forecast was very good for Friday I decided on one more trip North and this time I was at Ambleside Pier around 6a.m. after an early departure from Preston. Once again the weather was magnificent after an early sharp frost and hopes of otter sightings were high. I was very soon rewarded by my first sighting around 6.30a.m of an otter heading for the pier having returned from an early morning hunting foray. Over the next couple of hours I enjoyed wonderful views of the family of otters as they swam and played close to the pier and landing stages. They also swam out to hunt around the boats moored in the bay and could be easily picked out by their distinctive wakes in the water.

I was pleased I had made the effort of a very early start and had been rewarded with yet more wonderful views of these delightful creatures. After a welcome bacon buttie and coffee at the Pier Cafe I had a walk out to the area where Paul and I had previously enjoyed nice views of goldeneye but a pike anglers boat came into the area and succeeded in disturbing the birds. After that I had a trip over to the Langdale area and enjoyed exploring some back roads and noting places which look worthy of further exploration before returning home via the River Kent valley. Here I found some more delightful areas to which I will hopefully soon return. It had been a busy week with two trips to Ambleside and hopefully the images above of otters,goldeneye, and of course the magnificent scenery made it all very worthwhile and I hope my readers also enjoy looking at them.

Dipping and Dippers

2011-03-11T11:35:00.001Z

Paul and I had decided on a trip into Cumbria this week to see if we could see the otters which I was fortunate to see last week at Ambleside on Lake Windermere. On the way there we called in at a well known location where hawfinches are frequently seen. The hawfinches are seen early on and usually before 11am. We arrived in good time and there were already other hopeful birders waiting patiently for the hawfinches to arrive. We stayed for over an hour but there was no sign and this was to be our first dip of the day. Dipping is a term used in birding circles and is usually described as missing out on the bird you want to see . Other birds were however on show and we spent our time photographing nuthatch and bullfinch which looked splendid in their colourful plumage.

We then moved on further north to Ambleside and hoped for sightings of the otters which have delighted those lucky enough to have seen them in and around the pier at Waterhead. None were around and we popped into the nearby cafe for refreshments. We then had a walk around the lake and followed the River Rothay up towards Ambleside. This is an excellent river to see dippers and Paul and I enjoyed watching and photographing a pair which were nesting under a nearby bridge. We were not able to carry the big lenses and tripods to this location and the images we did get were consequently not up to our usual standard so we decided to return later with the car and the heavy gear.

On our return to the pier we had another good look for the otters but we understand they hadn't been seen recently according to staff working on the pier. So after this disappointment we drove back to the River Rothay and the dipper nest site under the bridge. It was some time before the birds returned and we both managed a few decent shots before it was time to think about returning home. One final look in at the pier but no otters although we did see a female long tailed duck which has been present on Windermere for a some time. So all in all we had enjoyed an excellent day out despite dipping out on hawfinch and otter and the weather had been kind during our stay in this delightful part of The Lake District.

I have shown above a few images of our day out, mainly bullfinch,nuthatch and dipper but have also included a nice grey wagtail which paid us a fleeting visit and a couple of jackdaws which inhabit the area around the pier hoping for handouts from the tourists coming down to feed the ducks and swans on the lake.

Ambleside Otter

2011-03-07T10:35:00.001Z

Just a few more from last week when I was in the right place at the right time. I enjoyed wonderful close up views of one of the otters which have been frequenting the pier at Waterhead Ambleside. This is the head of England's largest lake, Windermere and it is nice to know that otters are thriving here and elsewhere throughout the North of England . This particular family of otters have obviously not read the books as otters are supposed to be nocturnal and keep well away from man. These otters seem to revel in coming to see the people around the pier who are hoping for a sighting and they have delighted the lucky ones for whom they have put on a wonderful display.

Just how long they will continue to visit Ambleside Pier is not known so if any of my readers have the opportunity to visit this delightful part of The Lake District I would urge you to do so. As well as the otters there are some lovely walks around the head of the lake and you can always visit Ambleside with it's many interesting shops and various tourist attractions. So my final few images of the otter above show it underneath and around the pier at Waterhead . Also one or two views of the surrounding area.

Otter Watching...Windermere.

2011-03-05T13:15:00.001Z

My mission this week has been to see if I could see and photograph the family of otters that have become a tourist attraction on Lake Windermere at Waterhead Pier Ambleside. They have featured in the local press and a film crew from the BBC has also paid a visit. I first visited last Sunday on a lovely sunny day but didn't spend a lot of time searching for the otters.Instead Kath and I enjoyed a delightful walk into Ambleside and a visit to Stock Ghyll waterfalls. We did have a look for the otters but there were none about.I was determined however to spend more time in my quest and therefore left home early on Friday.

I arrived at Waterhead around 9 am and Lake Windermere was flat calm and the weather was dull and a bit misty. I waited around the pier for around an hour but nothing showed but just as I decided to try looking along the lake shore ,I spotted the wake of an otter making a bee line for the pier. I quickly got back into position overlooking the corner where most of the sightings have been. It wasn't long before the otter emerged from under the pier and for the next twenty five minutes or so was very active as it swam and dived looking for fish. I had been joined by three other people and we had fabulous views of the otter no more than thirty feet away. The pier is visited on a regular basis by a family of three otters,a female and two cubs from last year which are now fully grown. The otter we were watching was one of the cubs as apparently the female is blind in one eye but she or the other cub didn't appear. Maybe they have now gained their independence and will soon leave to set up their own territories.

The otter departed after about twenty five minutes and we watched it being mobbed by gulls as it made it's way back across Lake Windermere. I was very well pleased with my morning's work and it had definitely been worth the early morning trip to Ambleside. I spent my remaining time with a walk into Ambleside for lunch and on the way had excellent views of a pair of dippers gathering nesting material and building a nest under a bridge over the River Rothay. I returned to Waterhead Pier and spent more time with a group of hopeful otter watchers but none of the otters returned. By now the weather was turning gloomy with mist coming down and I decided it was time to return home after what had been a very memorable time watching a wild otter on Lake Windermere.

I have posted some images from this wonderful encounter with the otter and I may post some more at a later date. I hope my readers and followers enjoy looking at them. It was one of those very special wildlife encounters as wild otters are very difficult to see and photograph in England and are mostly nocturnal. It is only on the coasts of Scotland where sightings are more common in the daytime so I feel very lucky to have experienced these close up views of one of our special animals so close to home. Thanks Lake Windermere for a great day.

Mainly Wigeon

2011-03-02T17:10:00.001Z

After last week's invasion of rats, which thankfully seemed to have moved on, I have returned to do some bird photography. I have had a frustrating time this week trying to catch up with waxwings, which are still about but so far have eluded me. I spent a few hours down at Newton Marsh which currently is host to hundreds of wigeon,which provided me with some nice photographic opportunities.

I have posted a few of my efforts above. As well as the wigeon there were a few brown hares about enjoying this week's better weather and I have shown them above. There were also coots and waterhens and the one above was pretending to be a black grouse. The best bird on the marsh was a male merlin which was always too distant to photograph but has been more obliging for other photographers. I hope to get out and about again this week as the settled weather looks like being with us for most of this week.

Unwelcome Visitors

2011-02-25T11:20:00.004Z

The wildlife that I have seen and photographed this week has been very close to home. In fact too close...as a family of brown rats have taken up residence in my back garden. This was a very disturbing experience as nobody likes to have rats around. I am sure that they were first attracted to the area by a mountain of rubbish dumped in a neighbour's garden, which has been there for many months.

It was obviously a job for the experts and I called Preston Borough Council's Environmental Health Department. They sent round a chap to have a look at the situation and he returned later with a couple of poison bait containers which he placed in strategic locations. He promised to return in a week to see if the poison had been taken. Meantime I had to watch as a large family of rats made their home beneath a log in my garden.

After the initial " novelty " and having taken numerous images of my unwelcome neighbours I decided on a more proactive solution. A good friend whom I had told of my predicament said he had a point 22 calibre air rifle. I thought carefully about this possible solution and decided this was the way to go. My good friend duly arrived the following day with the rifle and ammunition and after a quick lesson we set up the rifle in my back lounge and opened one of the windows. I couldn't believe my good fortune when my very first shot killed a rat. We both had a few more attempts but we missed the target.

My friend left that afternoon and I set up the rifle outside a little closer to the rats. Again I was very lucky as my very first shot killed another. That however was it and more opportunities were missed but I may have injured one or two. Since then I have seen less rats and the attention of neighbourhood cats may have something to do with it. Also some may have now been poisoned and died. So hopefully the situation may now improve as today I have still not seen any more rats but only time will tell. A few images are shown above of the rat pack enjoying the hospitality of my garden and hopefully this will be the last time that I see them. I don't think anybody enjoys looking at rats so let's hope this is good riddance.

MSW and HOM

2011-02-19T11:25:00.000Z

Here I go again with these abbreviations !! This time they refer not to waxwings but to Mere Sands Wood and Hesketh Out Marsh,two reserves I visited on Wednesday. I hadn't been to Mere Sands Wood for a long time and was anxious to see if the kingfishers had survived the severe winter weather. I had arranged to meet up with Martin at the Rufford Hide which is the area favoured by the kingfishers.

It was going to be a pleasant day for a change and was looking favourable for photography. We were not the only photographers on site and we later bumped into Dave Cookson and Ian Whittle. We spent maybe a couple of hours in the Rufford and Redwing hides and from time to time enjoyed some interesting photography trying to capture decent flight shots of the flocks of teal that were constantly on the move. The light was better at the Redwing Hide and we enjoyed views of displaying goldeneye and great crested grebe.There had not been any sight or sound of kingfishers and nobody had seen any for a long time so they may have fallen victim to the harsh winter we have experienced, only time will tell. We then returned to the visitor centre and enjoyed time photographing the birds coming to the feeders. Finally we visited the Cyril Gibbon's Hide and joined Dave Cookson for an interesting chat.The birds here were distant and the light was not right and after a brief visit from a great crested grebe we headed back to the car park meeting Ian Whittle on the way.

Martin returned home to Preston and I decided on a quick look at Hesketh Out Marsh RSPB on my way home to see if I could get some shots of the barn owl which is seen here on a regular basis. I had a good look out across the reserve which at times can be quite bleak and devoid of birds.So it proved with only sheld ducks in evidence and a very noisy Eurofighter taking to the skies from Warton across the Ribble Estuary. Returning to the car park I noticed a distant barn owl hunting along a ditch and hurried to get nearer as the light was now fading. I did get nearer and manage a few record shots.It was a nice way to end what had been a super day in excellent company in this wildlife rich part of Lancashire. As usual a few shots are shown above of this very pleasant day out with teal, nuthatch, goldeneye and barn owl all performing for the camera.

WXWG - GGYr

2011-02-18T16:00:00.000Z

An odd title you must agree for my latest post !! This in fact is the identification of a colour ringed waxwing which I was fortunate to photograph in Ribbleton and Fulwood, Preston last weekend.I contacted Pete Marsh at Heysham Nature Reserve and Pete kindly passed on my photograph and information to The Grampian Ringing Group in Scotland.

I have been contacted by Raymond from the Ringing Group to thank me for the image and information. Apparently waxwing GGYr is one of 480 waxwings colour ringed in and around Aberdeen between late October and late November 2010 on their arrival from Scandanavia.The bird is a very handsome 4 year old male and was ringed in Claremont Gardens, Nellfield, Aberdeen.

This Winter has seen a big invasion from Scandanavia of these beautiful birds and I am pleased that I have been able to contribute information to the Grampian Ringing Group to help them in their work of tracking the movement of waxwings through the British Isles this winter. Their blog at www.grampianringing.blogspot.com is well worth a visit and is full of lots of interesting information.

Finally above you will see some images of this particular waxwing and hopefully I may see one or two more before they all return to The Far North to breed in the wilds of Scandanavia.

Worth Another Look....Waxwings

2011-02-13T17:20:00.000Z

It had been the end of November last year when I had last seen waxwings. Since then waxwings have spread far and wide through the country and there will be few birdwatchers and photographers who have not had the opportunity to see these fabulous visitors from Scandanavia.An excellent supply of berries this winter has kept them going through the severe wintry weather and they will now be thinking of returning to their breeding grounds in the far north of Europe.

I got news late last week that there was another decent flock of waxwings in the vicinity and I had decided to visit the area with Mike to see if we could find the birds. So it was on Saturday morning we met up on what was to be a better day weatherwise than other days last week. Mike had received news that morning of another group of birds which had been seen that morning and they were only a mile from home. We soon found the birds, around seventy in number,perched up in a lookout tree close to a decent supply of cotoneaster berries. For the next hour or so we had super views of the birds as they descended in typical waxwing smash and grab fashion to consume as many berries as they could in as short a time as possible. Suddenly they all flew off and we failed to relocate them. We then visited another site where they had been the previous day but again they could not be found.

Mike and I returned home for lunch and I decided on a return trip in the afternoon. I again visited the first site but there was no sign of any waxwings so I went to have another look at the second site and there they were !! This time there were around thirty birds and they may have been a separate group of birds from those previously seen. By now it was a very pleasant afternoon with some very welcome sunshine. I once again had excellent views and this time I was able to photograph the birds coming down to drink from a roadside puddle. It had been a splendid session with this enigmatic and very photogenic bird. As usual I have posted some of my better images from the day and hope my readers enjoy looking at this beautiful bird. This may be my final opportunity to see them before they return soon to their northern breeding grounds.

Mostly Pintails

2011-02-09T15:00:00.003Z

On what promised to be the nicest day of the week I decided to revisit Marshside RSPB at Southport.On my previous visit the foggy weather had restricted viewing and photographic opportunities but yesterday promised clear skies and sunshine. So it proved to be, very pleasant and Sandgrounders hide was busy with birdwatchers. The birds here were distant and a move to Nel's Hide was called for where the light would prove to be excellent for the hoped for flight shots of the waterfowl.

There was much more activity at this part of the reserve and good numbers of birds were present.The birds were mainly the commoner duck species such as wigeon, teal, tufted duck and pintail. There were also good numbers of shoveler, a very photogenic duck with colourful plumage and an incredible bill.I concentrated on the pintails which were also present in good numbers and provided a challenge to capture in flight as from time to time they passed in front of Nel's Hide.I spent a good hour or more trying to capture this action and some of the results can be seen above.

Whilst at Nel's Hide another birder told me that there was a good chance to see a barn owl at Hesketh Out Marsh which wasn't very far away. So it was that I finished of my afternoon session at HOM. A barn owl did appear but it was flying away and went to hunt on a distant part of the reserve and was well out of range of the camera. The local expert Colin Bushell appeared from his walk around the reserve and soon spotted a Marsh Harrier and Short Eared Owl flying near to the airfield at Warton. Again the birds were distant but still nice to see as they hunted in the last hour of daylight. The sun soon began to set and provided a colourful end to the day with a splendid sunset over the Ribble Marshes.

As the title suggests the images above are mostly of male and female pintails in flight and at rest. The colourful male shoveler shows of his plumage and amazing bill and finally a shot of the also very colourful sunset over the Ribble Marshes at Hesketh Out Marsh. A splendid end to a very enjoyable afternoon on the Lancashire Coast.

More Starlings

2011-02-04T11:10:00.001Z

I have become obsessed recently with the starling roost at Leighton Moss. I have visited on a number of occasions but have not yet got it quite right. I have either been too far away from the roosting birds, the weather has been very gloomy or the birds have gone straight into the reedbeds . I had another go yesterday and once more things didn't turn out as I had hoped for.

It was a very pleasant journey up to Silverdale with bright blue skies and sunshine and it was very pleasant driving slowly along the back lanes of Pilling and Cockerham observing the wildlife. On arrival at Carnforth where a stop was made to visit the excellent bookshop ,the weather had turned very cool and very windy heralding the approach of the next weather system from the Atlantic. After a warming cuppa at Leighton Moss I was in position close to the current roosting area near to Crag Foot at the southern end of Leighton Moss.

The starlings duly arrived slightly earlier than on previous visits owing to the approach of the stormy weather. The weather was not good with very strong and cold winds and the light was consequently very poor. Along with a few other gathered birdwatchers I stayed whilst the show was over and the starlings did indeed give quite a good display as they gathered and displayed close to the farm and cottages at Crag Foot. All in all not a bad afternoon and I was pleased with the results on the camera some of which are shown above. I am hoping to return again with possibly more favourable conditions before the winter roost finally ends.

February Flocks

2011-02-02T12:15:00.002Z

A new month had arrived and with it some slightly better weather. The gloomy foggy weather of previous days had been replaced with milder weather following overnight rain. I decided on another trip up to Leighton Moss to witness the starling spectacular. I took my time and went via Pilling and Cockerham which can be good at this time of the year as more and more geese begin to assemble prior to their departure for Iceland in the early Spring

There were lots of pink footed geese in evidence feeding in the fields around Eagland Hill and I understand that rarer geese have also been present with the pinks. I didn't look in detail at the goose flocks but I was more interested in some flight shots as they came in to feed on the wet and still frozen fields. A good number of whooper swans were also present in the area. As I drove into Pilling a large flock of pink footed geese came into land at Taylor's Lane in the centre of the village and provided more opportunities for some action shots.

I then made my way up to Leighton Moss to see if the starlings were still using the reedbeds there for roosting. After a warming hot chocolate in the RSPB cafe I was in position at the south western end which currently seems to be their favourite roosting area. A few small parties of birds trickled through and seemed to be heading to the far end of Leighton Moss. I decided to follow them but the appearance of a large flock near to the level crossing saw me staying put. I was joined by a few more observers and for the next twenty minutes or so we were treated to some nice displays as the birds settled for the night in the reedbeds close to Crag Foot. Again the starlings had performed well and hopefully I will return again this month for more encounters with the flocks of starlings. As usual I have shown a few images from the day of the geese and starlings but these cannot do it justice and it is something to be experienced first hand to really appreciate the great spectacle of these vast flocks of birds.

Starling Roost....Leighton Moss

2011-01-29T14:00:00.000Z

This week I paid a couple of visits to the R.S.P.B. reserve at Leighton Moss. The weather has been settled although still on the cold side. It has been bright with some good sunny spells providing good conditions for photography. My first visit on Wednesday with Mike was very quiet birdwise and it was strange to see the salt marsh pools adjoining the Allen and Morecambe pools almost devoid of birds.

We then visited the Public Hide and causeway area and again it was fairly quiet apart from numbers of coot and other associated waterfowl. We adjourned to the cafe for a warming cup of hot chocolate and then made our way along the road which overlooks Island Mere and awaited the arrival of the evening starling roost.Around 4.30pm they began to arrive in ever increasing numbers and for the next half hour or so gave us some thrilling views as they performed their aerobatics before settling down in the reedbeds.

For my second visit I was alone and had decided to try and photograph the birds from an elevated position up above the causeway.The farmer at Grisedale farm allowed me to go into his fields and hopefully I would get a different angle on the birds as they came into roost. However the starlings had different ideas and chose to roost at the opposite end of Leighton Moss near to Crag Foot. There didn't seem to be as many birds as previously but they did fly around in formation for twenty minutes or so.I was able to obtain some distant but interesting shots as the starlings performed against a backdrop of an orange sky as the sun sank rapidly in the west.

I have shown above some of the images I was able to obtain and hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I did in taking them. I am not sure how much longer these displays will last but if any of my readers have not witnessed a starling roost I urge you to make the effort as you will definitely not be disappointed by this amazing show put on by Nature for our delight.

In And Out Of The Fog

2011-01-22T15:20:00.000Z

Martin picked me up Friday a.m for a trip to see a high tide wader roost at Southport. The weather on leaving Preston was promising with blue skies and sunshine. As we arrived at Marshside a wall of fog greeted us and all of a sudden things didn't look good. We made the decision to carry on and make the walk out to the wader roost about a mile from the car park. Over the next few days there was a series of ten metre tides which usually concentrates the waders along this stretch of coastline and provides great opportunities for observing and photographing the thousands of waders that are very often present.

As we arrived at the roost area we could see some birds through the mirk and gloom and could only hope that the sun would burn off the fog. At times the sun was just visible but always seemed to lose the battle and the fog prevailed. Even so we did have some views of vast flocks of birds as they were disturbed by a dog walker and we did manage to grab a few images in the poor light. As the tide dropped back we decided to retreat back to the car. Driving back past Marshside we could see good numbers of waterfowl out on the marsh and decided to have a look.

It was a good decision as there were lots of ducks in front of Nel's Hide and we had the comfort of the hide to enjoy the spectacle. The light was still not good but from time to time it briefly improved to give us opportunities to photograph the pintail, wigeon ,teal and gadwall which were on show. It was very enjoyable for a time and both Martin and myself were kept busy trying for action shots of the many birds present. As we came out of the hide the fog was thickening up again but as we joined the main road home we were back into blue skies and sunshine again. Such is the unpredictability of our weather. We had however enjoyed the day out and had managed to return home with something to show for our efforts. The results of our day out in the fog are shown above, a couple from the wader roost showing some of the vast numbers of birds present and a few from in front of Nel's Hide at Marshside.

Whoopers and Bramblings

2011-01-22T11:30:00.000Z

Still a cold and very frosty week with some persistent fog towards the end of the week. Winter hasn't yet lost it's grip and I don't think there will be much improvement for a while. I did manage to get out though with the camera and caught up with some birds I hadn't seen for sometime. I hadn't visited Martin Mere for many a moon and I spent a couple of enjoyable afternoons there and enjoyed lovely sunny weather.

The whooper swans are always a delight to watch and I tried a few different hides to try for some nice flight shots as well as shots of the swans at feeding time from the Swan Link hide. I was quite well pleased with the results and some of my efforts are shown above. Bramblings have apparently been around for some time at Martin Mere and I joined other photographers in the Janet Kear Hide where a few bramblings visited the feeders from time to time. It was not easy to get the birds posing on nearby branches but I did eventually manage one or two reasonable images of these Scandanavian visitors. It would be nice to see the male birds in their wonderful full breeding colours but they still looked splendid in their bright orange outfits. Again my efforts are shown above.

Off To A Good Start

2011-01-12T10:50:00.003Z

Christmas and New Year were now behind us and I was looking forward to a return to normality. I seemed to have been in hibernation for weeks but a good forecast for Tuesday this week got me going again. Two birds I had not made the effort to see around Christmas were the Red Necked Grebe at Fairhaven Lake and the Iceland Gull at Preston Docks. Tuesday afternoon was looking good as forecast, so after an early lunch I left for Lytham St Annes.

It was indeed a lovely day and the temperature was reaching the dizzy heights of 7 Degrees and it almost felt Springlike as I arrived at Fairhaven Lake. The Red Necked Grebe was soon seen as it swam about at the eastern end of the lake close to the car park. There were three other long lenses trained on the grebe,two photographers from The Wirral and local bird photographer Michael Foley. For the next hour or so we were treated to some very nice views of this rare visitor to Lancashire.The Grebe at one point was fascinated by a swan's feather which it played with for five minutes or more and gave opportunities for some interesting shots. The very strong sunlight did make photography difficult at times when looking into the sun but it was a splendid session and we were all well pleased with the results.

On the way home I called at Preston Docks to look for the Iceland Gull which has spent many weeks at this location. There were no other birders there but I did manage eventually to find the bird out on one of the pontoons.It did later fly to my side of the dock and gave me some nice flight shots in the lovely afternoon sun. Well satisfied with my afternoon's work I returned home to view the results on the computer. A good start to the New Year and hopefully many more good birds will be seen and photographed in the months to follow. A few images of the Red Necked Grebe and a male Shoveler at Fairhaven are shown in and amongst some lovely reflections on the water surface . The Iceland Gull at the Docks also shows off his plumage on what was a very nice and welcome sunny day .

Still Looking Back.

2011-01-04T11:30:00.008Z

Just a few more of my favourite images from a busy year in 2010 with the camera. I will be back soon with some new images when the weather cheers up a bit and I am able to get out and about again. See you soon.

Looking Back...Personal Favourites

2011-01-04T10:39:00.010Z

Thought I would start the New Year by looking back at a few of my favourite images from a busy year in 2010 with the camera. Not an easy task from the thousands I took through the year. It was a very interesting year with very wintry weather to begin and end the year. My two most memorable experiences were a visit to a black grouse lek in the Northern Pennines and to end the year a close encounter with a fox in the snow at Christmas.

I am looking forward to more memorable encounters with the British Wildlife in 2011. I would like to wish all my friends and followers of this blog a Happy and Healthy New Year.The images are a mix of mammals and birds and may possibly require another posting. I have included Red, Roe and Fallow Deer..Red Squirrel and Red Fox for the mammals. The birds show Goldfinch, Barn Owl, Waxwing, Golden Plover, Black Grouse, Long Eared Owl, Dunlin, Sanderling and a Curlew chick. Thanks everyone for looking in and I will be back soon with new images for the New Year.

Christmas Fox

2010-12-27T17:00:00.003Z

I am posting a few more images from the three visits I made to my local Nature Reserve at Brockholes Preston in the few days prior to Christmas. It was a wonderful experience to see some beautiful wintry scenery and all very close to home . Very often we don't realise that beauty is all around us and constantly delights us through the seasons.

This Winter so far has been very special giving us a taste of real winter weather throughout the country .It has provided many opportunities to observe Nature at it's most severe yet at the same time at it's most beautiful and I hope I have managed to convey some of that beauty in the images I have shown.

The final images of the fox were a wonderful Christmas present. I came upon this hunting fox unexpectedly at the edge of woodland as I was returning home and of course the photographic gear was in my rucksack !! I retreated back into the woodland to reassemble the tripod and camera and found that the fox was still preoccupied with looking for prey. This enabled me to quietly observe and photograph this beautiful animal over the next ten minutes. I was very well pleased with the results from the camera in capturing this close encounter with a hunting fox in the snow. It was a wonderful way to end these Christmas visits to my local Nature Reserve.