Gigrin Farm..Red Kites.

At last I am getting back to normal following my trip to Wales.I have processed the many images I took and have selected a few more for publication.This post concentrates on the red kite feeding station at Gigrin Farm near Rhayader in central Wales.This is a location well known to bird photographers as it provides wonderful opportunities for images of these magnificent raptors. All the kites which visit daily at Gigrin Farm are native Welsh birds which are the product of many years of protection by dedicated ornithologists and conservationists.There is now a very healthy population of native red kites in central Wales and birds from up to fifty miles away visit Gigrin farm daily throughout the year for guaranteed supplies of meat

It really is paradise for bird photographers and there are so many birds present it is difficult knowing where to point the lens.There are a number of hides and for a modest fee of ten pounds I enjoyed an exciting afternoon's photography using three different lenses to capture the fast moving action.Gigrin Farm is one of a number of feeding stations in this part of Wales.If you are able to visit you will be guaranteed an exciting afternoon's viewing of these magnificent raptors.From Gigrin farm I moved on down to south west Wales to visit the island of Skomer to photograph the puffins and this will be the subject of my next posting. Thanks for looking in and enjoy the current wonderful weather which looks set to last for hopefully the rest of July.

Kites and Puffins

This week I have enjoyed a mini break in Wales.While the weather forecast was good for the beginning of the week,I decided to visit Gigrin Farm to photograph red kites and then on down to Skomer Island for the puffins. It was a long trip but was very worthwhile and I returned with some excellent images for the portfolio.I will go into more detail later when I have finished sifting and sorting the many hundreds of images I took.For now I am uploading a few images to be going on with and hope you enjoy this small selection.My next postings will show more of these delightful birds and the lovely areas of Wales where they can be found.Thanks for looking in.

Leighton Moss...Gulls

This week I paid a long overdue visit to Leighton Moss. The weather was settled and warm and there was always something to see and photograph.Most of the activity centred around the Public and Lillian's hides where I spent the afternoon.The black headed gulls were very busy attending to the many young birds that had now left the nest and were very photogenic as they posed in front of the hides.Apart from a fly by from a couple of marsh harriers it was generally quiet with most birds attending to their young.A quick visit to the Allen hide on the marsh found few birds apart from more gulls and a lone little egret.It had however been a pleasant interlude and images from the session are shown above.This next week I am hoping to venture into Wales to photograph red kites and puffins.I should hopefully return with some memorable images, so watch this space and thanks for looking in.

Bowland Mix

The weather has been more changeable this week with showers on most days.I have still managed a couple of trips into Bowland with one being early morning.There was plenty to see and photograph with the usual upland waders,curlew,lapwing,oystercatcher and redshank being in good numbers on the moorland areas.They would appear to have have had a successful breeding season with numbers of fledged  young about.Shown above are more images of curlew and lapwing together with images of the chicks.I have also included in this post images of oystercatcher, snipe and redshank which were posing nicely on the walls and roadside fences.Again all images were taken from the car so as to cause minimum disturbance to the birds.Also shown  is an image of a brown hare posing for the camera in a lovely meadow full of buttercups.Hope you enjoy this week's selection and thanks for looking in.

Curlew Country

June arrived and with it some long awaited warm and sunny weather.It has been a week of getting out and about with the camera to record the happenings in the bird world.My favourite part of Lancashire is probably Bowland with it's wonderful scenery and abundant bird life.I drove the quiet lanes and back roads of Bowland and used the car as a mobile hide to photograph the wildlife.An early morning session proved fruitful and many waders were on show,some of them with very young families.

The high moorland roads were the most productive and provided excellent views of curlews, lapwings,oystercatchers and redshank. Many meadow pipits,and pied wagtails were also on show as they perched on the roadside walls enjoying the early morning sunshine.For this post I have concentrated on the curlews and lapwings.Some of the curlews had chicks with them and they provided excellent opportunities for the camera.All the above images were taken using the car as a mobile hide which is an excellent way not to disturb these sensitive and special breeding birds of Bowland.Hope you enjoy my efforts above and thanks for looking in and let's hope there is more of this long awaited warm weather to come.   

Bowland..Ups and Downs.

This last week has been a bit up and down,what with the still cool weather and I am having problems with the car.The weather has been very nice over the holiday weekend and hopefully the car will be restored to full health by the weekend.I have managed a couple of trips into Bowland one very early, leaving home at 4.45a.m and one during normal daytime hours.

The early morning one was productive with a roe deer buck in flight across the fields as I disturbed  his peace and quiet.A lapwing chick soaked in dew and a little owl were nice to see.The great crested grebes had nested and I spotted three eggs in the nest as the parents changed duties.  Early mornings are very good for sightings of the numerous hares in Bowland . The daytime trip was also good  with my first sightings for the year of pied flycatchers with a couple of males singing at their Bowland nesting sites

The images above are not of my best but will serve as a record of my travels during the last week or so.Hope you enjoy them and thanks for looking in.Hopefully normal service will be resumed soon when I can get out more to capture the wildlife at this wonderful time of the year.