Otter Watching

Yesterday I visited Leighton Moss to see what was about following the floods earlier in the week. You definitely needed wellies to get around the reserve as most of the paths were flooded.A quick look at the marsh pools and new hides yielded a nice shot of a passing little egret. I moved on to the main part of the reserve hoping to see some red deer stags later on. I firstly paddled through the floods to the public hide where I was to spend a couple of hours or so watching feeding otters. The otters were always very distant but were very active and eventually one did come just within range of the big lens and a couple of record shots were obtained.A couple of young grebes were present but otherwise it was very quiet.I finished my day down at the Griezdale hide hoping for a sighting of red deer. Roaring stags could be heard but nothing showed whilst I was there. Many coots were present and I enjoyed trying to capture the action as they panicked trying to evade some sort of threat.I have posted a few shots from the afternoon.Record shots of the otter, the grebe showing his paddle foot and an action shot and portrait of the coots. Thanks for looking in and enjoy the weekend.

High Tide...Rossall Point

Yesterday I visited Rossall Point at Fleetwood with Martin and Geoff joined us later to watch the waders at their high tide roost.It was a bracing day with strong and cool winds from the west but we managed to avoid most of the showers.It was a biggish tide which pushed the waders close to the promenade at Rossall. The sanderling,turnstones and ringed plover here are very approachabe and it is very enjoyable catching the action with the big lenses.Shown below are some action shots from the day which show mostly the sanderling in flight along the beach.Also shown one of the many dogs which can upset the roosting birds as they enjoy themselves running along the tide line.The close up image of a sanderling was of a bird which was on the promenade just a few metres away.The birds are very confiding and an interesting shot is shown of a group narrowly avoiding collision with an invalid scooter!! I have also shown the Isle Of Man Ferry on it's daily run from Heysham.Hope you enjoy the images and thanks for looking in.

Special Moments

As a wildlife photographer I experience many special moments but some are more memorable than others.Last week I visited Leighton Moss RSPB Reserve to have a look at the newly constructed Morecambe and Allen hides.On the way there I had noticed three young swallows being fed by the parent birds.I was able to park the car close to the action and take many images of the comings and goings.The young birds had fledged but were still dependent on the adults for a sufficient supply of insects.It was a sobering thought to think that very soon these young birds would embark unaided on a marathon journey to South Africa where they would spend our winter months.The odds on them achieving this are very slim and even less on them making the return journey.I enjoyed my short time with them and wished them well on their long journey.Hope you enjoy a few of my images from this memorable encounter shown below and many thanks for looking in.

Godwits Galore

This week I visited Marshside RSPB at Southport on one of the better days for photography with good light and no rain.It was fairly quiet down at the main Sandgrounders area apart from a couple of wheatears in the compound.Up at Nel's hide however most of the large flock of black tailed godwits were present and many hundreds were right in front of the hide.The majority of the birds were in winter plumage but one or two individuals still had their rich breeding colours and made excellent subjects for the camera.One or two other visitors also showed well and I have included images of a young lapwing,a woodpigeon,a waterhen and a redshank which all showed off their plumage in the afternoon sun.Hope you enjoy this selection of images and thanks for looking in and enjoy your weekend.

Snake and Owl

Managed a brief trip out this week in between watching some of the Preston Guild celebrations. The weather has been kind and perfect for the Guild processions. It also favored my brief trip into Bowland to see if there were any adders about.There was a brisk wind in the hills and it was a few degrees cooler than the lowlands. This may have accounted for the lack of snakes. I did however after much searching discover one basking close to where I had previously seen them. It allowed a close and careful approach and I managed some reasonable shots with the close up lens. Later I visited a well known location for spotting little owls and found one basking in the warm afternoon sun.It was wary and flew off to the nearby stone wall where a carrion crow came to have a look also.I returned later for a closer shot as it perched on the window ledge of it's fellside barn. Hope you enjoy my images below and I hope to get back to a more normal routine following the conclusion of Preston Guild celebrations. Thanks for looking in and enjoy the weekend.

Cocker's Dyke

Cocker's Dyke is a dyke draining Pilling Moss and runs out onto Preesall Sands between Pilling and Knott End On Sea.I had a walk in the area earlier in the week and yesterday returned armed with the big lens hoping for some shots of the many wheatears and a sparrow hawk that I had seen.It was quieter than my first visit but I did manage a few nice images of the wheatears that were still around and luckily the female sparrowhawk put in an appearance and I was able to grab a few images as she sped by.Posted below images of the very smart looking wheatears and the sparrowhawk that was hunting the coastline.One or two also of the view across Morecambe Bay to the Lake District. A lovely area and one to which I will return. Thanks for looking in and enjoy the good weather promised for the weekend and excellent for the beginning of Preston Guild. The Preston Guild takes place every twenty years and by the time of the next one I may not be around so I intend to visit some of the many events taking place.