Feeding Time

By way of a change this week I visited a local beauty spot where a feeding area is set aside for the numerous small birds in the vicinity.I hadn't visited this spot for a few years and had forgotten how good it is for bird photography.You can sit in your car close to the action and obtain some nice shots of the comings and goings.The weather was still unsettled with gales and yet more rain but a few brighter interludes helped the proceedings.The birds visiting were the commoner small birds attracted by seeds and food left by visitors to this picturesque part of Lancashire.I have shown below some of the many images I took of Great Tit..Blue Tit..Coal Tit..Long Tailed Tit..Robin and Nuthatch.It was a nice way to spend a few hours not far from home and return pleased with the results. Hope you enjoy my efforts and thanks for looking in.

A Welcome Return

Most days since New Year seem to have been depressing with very grey and gloomy weather.We are currently in a cold snap with many parts of the country suffering heavy snowfalls and much disruption to everyday life.Lancashire has come off lightly with very little snow but the gloomy weather is still with us as I upload this latest posting.Yesterday however brought a welcome return to brighter weather with sunshine but it was still very cold.Also making a very welcome return to Preston was a party of waxwings.The waxwings had been reported on Monday as five in number in the Corporation Street area of town.I had to visit Preston yesterday so took along my camera just in case.I went straight to the location and spotted some waxwings on the cotoneaster bushes which still had lots of berries.Cotoneaster seems to be the least favourite berry for waxwings but is currently all that is available.I was pleasantly surprised to eventually discover that there were fifteen waxwings and they came to feed on the berries very close to where I was waiting.I enjoyed some excellent close up views of these beautiful winter visitors and the best of the images I obtained are shown below.It would be nice if they stay awhile but I think they will quickly move on as they will soon be heading back to the breeding areas in Northern Europe.Thanks for looking in and let's hope for some warmer weather.

Wader Watching

This week has seen some high tides along the Lancashire coast and I made a couple of visits to a favourite high tide wader roost near Southport. A half hour walk is needed to reach the area and it's remoteness means the waders are not disturbed too much as they rest during the high tide.This week it was very quiet and the weather was cold but dry which was very favourable for the camera.I spent a very enjoyable couple of hours either side of high water and was able to capture some nice images of the waders coming and going to their roosting sites. The vast majority of the birds were knot but there were also good numbers of bar tailed godwits,oystercatchers and grey plovers.I am hoping to get closer to the birds on the next series of high tides and maybe obtain a few close ups of this fascinating group of birds.

Blogging Again

It's nice to be posting again after a very depressing and gloomy beginning to 2013. I was becoming frustrated not getting out with the camera.I decided one afternoon last week to visit a location not far from home where barn owls can be seen. The light was very poor but a barn owl did show for a while and I managed some images shown below.The head on shot was very pleasing when the barn owl came for a look at me and I fired off a salvo of shots,one of which was reasonably sharp and heads the post.Another outing was to look at some very different birds.A number of ring-necked parakeets have been present in the grounds of Lytham Crematorium for a number of years but I had never photographed them.A sunny day on Saturday was an ideal opportunity to catch up with these exotic residents and again the images are shown below.Finally a trip out yesterday,when more gloomy weather returned,resulted in the images showing some of the large numbers of pink footed geese present on the mosslands around Pilling. Nice to be back in business and hopefully I will be out and about again soon as brighter weather is promised for the rest of this week. Thanks for looking in and a Happy New Year to all my followers.

The Last Post

This will more than likely be my last post of 2012.The weather is still very disturbed and it is unlikely that I will venture forth until the New Year. Despite the wettest summer on record I have managed to get out on a regular basis and have enjoyed some memorable outings with the camera.I will finish off with yet more owl images.This time the short eared owl features as it hunts over the rough grasslands where plentiful supplies of field voles have kept the owls busy for a number of weeks.A typical hunting area is shown together with close ups and more distant images of the owls as they quarter the rough grassland.Thanks everybody for looking in and I wish you all the very best for 2013.

Winter Whoopers

As the year nears it's end I thought I would post a few images of whooper swans which I have come across on my travels this winter.As the swans were arriving from Iceland a small party dropped in at Leighton Moss R.S.P.B.It is unusual to see whoopers at Leighton Moss and their presence was not welcomed by the resident mute swans.The whoopers were harried and pestered throughout the day by the mute swans and eventually departed. They would probably have headed south for the Lancashire mosslands to join the hundreds already present at places like Martin Mere. The other group I came across were feeding in flooded fields at Cockerham Moss.This large group consisted of around 400 birds and was present for a number of days. They too moved on but are possibly still around the Pilling area as good numbers are still present in the Eagland Hill area.Shown below the whoopers at Leighton Moss under attack from the mute swans and the big flock at Cockerham Moss with the snow covered Lakeland Fells as a backdrop.Thanks for looking in and hopefully I may manage another posting before the end of the year.

Season's Greetings

It doesn't look likely I will be able to do a weekly blog as usual owing to the pending Christmas festivities.So I would just like to say thanks to all my friends,fellow photographers,and followers of my blog for looking in regularly and commenting on my efforts at wildlife photography. I wish you all a very happy Christmas and best wishes for 2013. Let's hope for more sun and less rain next year.I hope to resume normal service as soon as possible.