Stonechats On Ice......Beetle Feast

As promised in my last post I will now reveal what the stonechats were catching from the hole in the ice on a local lake. When I first saw the male bird catch something from the water I thought it was a small fish and as I didn't have my binoculars with me it wasn't obvious what it had caught. As time went on however and the birds caught more I realised that they were catching Great Diving Beetles .
These large beetles are common inhabitants of still water and are fierce predators  attacking anything that moves including frogs and fish.They carry air supplies with them but when this has been used up they have to return to the surface to replenish supplies. So this is what was happening at this hole in the ice and the stonechats had been quick to seize an opportunity to obtain food in the very difficult conditions for survival during the current spell of Arctic weather.
It did in fact remind me of tactics employed by polar bears as they lie in wait for seals at their breathing holes in the Arctic ice. It was a tactic that paid off and during my stay both male and female stonechats must have caught around nine or ten of these large beetles. It was fascinating to watch and I hope some of the images I obtained and shown above convey what was very interesting behaviour. I am not sure if this has ever been observed before. At least one of my followers is very knowledgeable about stonechats and will no doubt enlighten me.
I can only hope that this clever behaviour has managed to help the stonechats to survive the recent severe weather. It is now very slowly improving and hopefully the worst is over but no doubt many creatures will have perished.As always however survival of the fittest ensures that many will survive to look forward to times of plenty in the months ahead.

Stonechats On Ice

Last week I revisited a local area where I had previously seen  stonechats and I was determined to obtain some decent images of these beautiful little birds. The severe wintry weather was still with us  and I hoped the birds had survived the Arctic conditions. I know that stonechat are very likely not to survive in prolonged cold spells such as we are currently experiencing. The birds were indeed still around and I was able to obtain some wonderful images of both male and female stonechat as they perched and posed on the vegetation surrounding a largely frozen over lake.
I spent the next hour and a half with the birds as I realised that both birds were visiting a hole in the ice to obtain food. What I observed was amazing behaviour as both birds fed from this hole in the ice. What they were feeding on was a revelation as they extracted their prey from the water and I will keep my readers in suspense until my next posting when I will post more details and images from this memorable visit to my local patch. Meanwhile I am posting a few images of the birds on the ice and posing in the afternoon sun on bankside vegetation.

Going For Gold

Access to the countryside has been severely restricted owing to the Arctic weather we are currently experiencing. Anywhere away from main roads is like a skating rink and to take the car to the usual birding areas would be foolhardy. I have therefore this week been exploring local areas  on foot and have enjoyed some great opportunities to capture some nice winter landscapes as the snow and severe frosts have made for a winter wonderland.
It has also been excellent for bird photography with brilliant light and birds searching for food in the extreme conditions. I had noticed on a New Year's Day walk that a patch of teasels was attracting a trio of goldfinches eager to extract the seeds and allowing a close approach. However on this occasion I was only armed with a small compact camera which wasn't suitable for bird photography so I vowed to return after the holiday to see if they were still around.
Yesterday I returned on a fabulous sunny and very frosty afternoon and after walking through woodlands I arrived at the open area near to the River Ribble where I had seen the goldfinches. They were not there but I enjoyed myself photographing a stonechat which was enjoying the afternoon sunshine. Later I returned to the teasel patch to find three goldfinches greedily feeding and extracting seeds from the teasel heads. I spent the next half hour or so taking hundreds of images of these beautiful birds as they posed for me atop the teasel heads.
It was a wonderful experience as the birds allowed a close approach and were completely unconcerned by my presence. I had only previously photographed goldfinches on or around bird feeders and always thought that one day a better opportunity would occur. This was that day and I enjoyed it to the full. I was reluctant to leave but the frost was beginning to bite and I had a long trek back through the woods with cameras and tripod etc. I will probably return soon  and hope to post more images of the resident stonechat. Both the goldfinches and the stonechat had really brightened up my day and proved that you don't have to go too far to enjoy the beauty of our winter countryside. I have posted a few images from the day but hopefully more may follow if the birds remain in the area.

Happy New Year.......Nice and Icy

It was nice to return to normality after the lengthy Christmas and New Year Festivities. Kath and I decided on a walk from Scorton despite the very icy conditions underfoot. After a coffe at The Barn we set off to find that the side roads and pavements out of Scorton were treacherous with sheet ice.
We eventually managed to find our way along the top lanes towards Nicky Nook and joined the other walkers determined to enjoy what was a fabulous sunny winter's day. Once we got off the lanes and onto the open fell the going became easier and we made the short climb to the summit of Nicky Nook pausing briefly to enjoy a warming flask of hot soup. Family groups were out enjoying the winter conditions and some children were on the ice of the pools on the moorland tarns which we thought unwise but they survived and along with a number of dogs were having a wonderful time.
Towards the top it resembled an Alpine scene with blue skies and snow and the views as always were magnificent, north towards the snow covered Lake District Mountains and towards the east the Bowland Fells also snow covered. The scene westwards was much greener looking across the Fylde towards the sea and Morecambe Bay. We turned round at the trig point and headed back down the same route to the icy lanes again and eventually made our way back safely to Scorton. We passed one motorist who had become stuck on the icy road and had to be pulled to safety by a Land Rover. It was nice to get out again and enjoy a walk in such beautiful surroundings and not very far from home. It looks like the very cold weather is here to stay so I may not be able to venture too far in the early part of the New Year.
A Very Happy and Healthy New Year to all my readers and I look forward to reading of your various exploits. I have posted a few images from yesterday showing the wintry landscape above Scorton and Kath and I enjoying our nice and icy walk.

Last Post.....A Visiting Rarity

I was confined to barracks again making preparations for the New Year and clearing away the last of the snow and ice from the paths. After lunch I settled down with a coffee and was very surprised to glimpse a redwing. This was a bird I hadn't seen in my garden for a very long time and I hurriedly grabbed the camera and waited for the bird to reappear.
It did eventually show itself but was very shy and the very poor light didn't help matters. It was taking shelter from the fierce easterly winds behind a holly tree and was obviously interested in the few dozen berries remaining on the tree. It stayed around the garden for a good hour or so and I did manage one or two shots to record the event. It may return tomorrow when conditions may be better for photography and I will be waiting. If it doesn't this will be my last post of the year so I will take this opportunity to wish all my followers a very happy and healthy 2010.

Season's Greetings

Just thought I would do a quick upload before getting involved in the Christmas Festivities.
It has not been possible to go out this week owing to the extreme wintry weather we have been experiencing. There have been some nice sunny afternoons following heavy overnight snowfalls but the roads have been treacherous and I didn't want to risk getting stuck in some remote spot and unable to get back home.
So my activities with the camera have been confined to the back garden and I have tried to capture the typical Christmas Robin in the snow. A couple of my efforts are shown above together with a couple of the snowy garden. I hope all my readers have a wonderful Christmas and I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and best wishes for the New Year.

Owl Be Seeing You

It has been some time since I had an addition to my blog.  The very wet weather in November had prevented me from venturing forth with the big lens. With December came more settled but colder weather and as I write the first snows of Winter are here with very frosty nights but bright and sunny by day. I was therefore tempted out this week in pursuit of owls and harriers that I had heard about in the Bowland Fells.
On my first visit I did see both hen harrier and short eared owl but very distant and certainly not within camera range. I returned again to find that both species were not about, probably they were feeding elsewhere in the vast expanse of moorland where I had been searching. However all was not lost and on a brief walk I discovered a hillside barn where a little owl was enjoying the afternoon sunshine. This sunshine was brief lived as frequent and heavy snow showers were being driven in on a bitterly cold easterly wind. I quickly grabbed the camera and managed some decent shots from behind an adjoining stone wall. The owl left the barn and posed nicely for me on another stone wall and made a nice composition in the brief sunny interlude between snow showers. I was well pleased with the results and left for home as the weather worsened and brought in the first significant snow to the Bowland Fells.
I may hopefully return before Christmas to see if there are any Short Eared Owls or Harriers about and may have some more images to upload but if not I would like to take this opportunity to wish my readers a Very Happy Christmas and Best Wishes for the new decade in 2010 and many thanks for following what I hope has been an interesting account of my adventures in the Lancashire countryside. The images above show the little owl and the surrounding fell country of this very beautiful and very special part of Lancashire.