Out and About..May 2019

I am now becoming more active and I have been able to get out and about during May.It has been a dry month and at times quite warm.There has also been a northerly element to the wind and this has slowed growth and activity particularly in the North of the country.Towards the end of the month some much needed rain arrived.The month is ending on a cloudy but muggy note.

I visited the local great crested grebes again to find that they are now incubating three eggs.I will not visit again for a while so as not to disturb the birds. Hopefully the young will hatch and fledge and I look forward to my next visit to see what progress has been made.A walk along the Lune Valley from Caton was excellent and I enjoyed nice views of a dipper which had a nest close by and a family of goosanders,six beautifully marked chicks accompanied by mum. A nice Little Ringed Plover was on view at RSPB Marshside and gave excellent photographic opportunities.Finally a visit to a wader roost at Plover Scar Cockerham was superb with many dunlin and Ringed Plover allowing a close approach and some nice flight shots.The sea wall at Cockerham Abbey looked magnificent being covered in Thrift and other flowers. I have shown images below from these outings and hope you enjoy them as much as I did when taking them.I have also visited the Lake District to keep up to date with the expanding population of ospreys and I will post images at a later date when the chicks have grown and keeping the parents busy with feeding duties.Also shown below summer plumaged sanderling at Rossall.

Thanks for looking in and I will be out and about soon to bring you more of our wonderful wildlife.

Stonechats.. Longridge Fell.

On my recent travels around Longridge Fell I have come across some stonechats.These beautiful little birds can often be seen perching in prominent positions and announcing their presence with their distinctive calls.They are a lovely little bird to photograph and I was lucky to be able to capture some nice images of the stonechats.The stonechat is the favourite bird of a birdwatching friend and I hope he has a look at my blog and enjoys my efforts with the camera to capture these handsome residents of the fells.

It is a lovely time to be out and about in our springtime countryside when everything is at it's best.This has been helped by the wonderful warm and dry conditions of late.Lots of insects and grubs this Spring to feed the many little mouths.I have also shown some images of a singing robin,willow warbler,curlew and lapwing.The curlew is sadly in decline due mainly to loss of habitat and farming practices.I must say I have noticed a lack of curlews this Spring in my travels.The final images show orange tip butterfly on a dandelion,bluebell and a couple showing the local scenery from Longridge Fell. Thanks for looking in and I will be back soon with more from my travels.

Great Crested Grebes

I think I have taken more images of Great Crested Grebes over the years than any other bird.Now that I am able to get about more I have been able to visit locations where I have previously enjoyed looking at and photographing grebes.It is that time of the year when they perform their elaborate courtship and mating rituals.I visited a location not far from home where there had been recent activity from the grebes.

The weather although cold was ideal for photography with brilliant spring sunshine to light up the activity.The grebes were nest building and mating close to a quiet country lane.It was possible to be concealed from the grebes and they went about their business without being disturbed.Shown below are a sequence of images showing the grebes mating,nest building and I was pleased to see on my last visit that one egg had been laid.

I will of course be visiting on a regular basis and hopefully more eggs will be laid and eventually the baby grebes will be seen out and about riding on their mother's back and being fed by their father.So if all goes well I will be able to bring you more images of these delightful birds.