Thursday 19 September 2013

Two weeks of not much to see!

I endeavour to compile a worthwhile report at least once a week, occasionally nature or weather or a mixture of both conspire against me. The last couple of weeks have been a real struggle to accumulate enough photographs of what I consider an acceptable quality to publish, hopefully the damp and grey weather is now moving on and I can resume longer walks, much as I have enjoyed the short excursions when the weather has allowed.

In addition to the weather, the heavy foliage of summer still adorns the trees and some of my walks have accompanied by lots of birdsong from invisible singers!

A short wander on the moor brought a sighting of a meadow pipit..


And a buzzard which must have been perched quite close until we inadvertently disturbed it...


Another moorland stroll in a different area saw me find a grouse by the path....

An extremely hairy caterpillar (species not known) wriggled its way across the path...


The meadow pipit continues to be a willing model...


A glance through the binoculars confirmed this as a female wheatear, I mistakenly thought they had all migrated by this time...

A small copper butterfly completed my shots for that day...


I spent some time at my owl watch without gaining any photographs but I added to my knowledge again, as the leaves fall from the trees I hope to get more and better sightings, quite a lot of the sights through the scope and binoculars are of the tawny owls moving around in the foliage of their home tree.

A short walk by the canal and I saw a robin singing happily on a fence...

The grey heron was its usual accommodating self...

A lovely swan posed briefly before embarking on a very noisy take off...

 
 
 
We have grown some onions in the garden this year, we left one to seed and this is the beautiful result...

Another moorland stroll and I spotted a red admiral sunning itself...

One evening brought us a lovely clear shot of the moon...

And my final wander over the two weeks, by the river Wharfe in difficult light I saw a mandarin duck...

I was looking out for dippers but had the camera on a setting for a static pose when I snapped this one!

And finally when it posed it stubbornly refused to turn towards me...

Such has been this photographer's lot for the past two weeks, I am looking forward to a change of weather and fortune!

Many thanks to all viewers, don't forget comments come to me first for approval.

The blog should pass the figure of 20,000 views in the coming week, an audience I could never have imagined when I started the project, thanks to each and every person who has taken a look.

Thursday 5 September 2013

31st Aug-2Sept 2013, More research and a Leighton Moss trip

The research began early on Saturday and the camera and binoculars were packed and I was out before 6.00am. A quiet entry into the owl site was successfully achieved and I settled in to a good but not close vantage point for the little owls, a couple of unmistakeable views through the binocs before the sun was anywhere near high enough for photographs were early rewards, made my way silently through the fields hoping to see the tawnies.


The sky just before sunrise, tranquil and peaceful.

There was no sign of the tawny owls on this occasion and as I was now not too far from the canal I took the opportunity for a walk along the towpath.

My ever friendly heron looked surprised to see me so early!

Mist rose from the canal as the warmth of the sun arrived...

...and the water took on the beautiful soft colours and tranquillity of a late summer sunrise.

Back in the fields the early birds were out looking for food...a juvenile mistle thrush and a blackbird.



Another attempt at watching the little owls was somewhat ruined as a herd of unruly young bullocks took an interest in me, they were no threat and just being playful but they seemed to be taking it turns to come and inspect me so there was little chance of being un-noticed!

Time for home and an appointment in town beckoned, there would be time for another walk later in the day.

In early afternoon I ventured up towards the top of our local hills, pleasant wandering through lanes and fields, with the occasional challenge of the ancient squeeze stiles.


There was not much subject matter for my camera but the weather was warm and going was easy, nice to relax and just enjoy the exercise and fresh air sometimes.

Descending down a lovely lane I found a speckled wood butterfly..

I dropped down to the canal just in time to see a lovely fluffy duckling...


I had a good look for kingfishers but my luck seems to out with those at the moment, the grey heron however seems to look for me!




With the number of mallards in the area a number of crossbreeds occur, the lighter colours of this one are quite striking...

The swans have been quite successful with five of their cygnets surviving, this one came ultra close to investigate me!

Not a spectacular day but still a very enjoyable one.

Sunday was spent on necessary jobs at home, to be honest the weather was a little dull and would have done little to entice me out anyway.

A work related visit to Lancashire on Monday took me quite close to Leighton Moss RSPB reserve, a quicker than expected conclusion to business left me with a couple of hours to spare...an easy decision to make!

And what a surprise when my first photo opportunity was a heron!


A quick wander round some of the hides brought me a bonus as I found a red deer grazing in an adjacent field.


A chat to a fellow visitor disclosed that there were some good sightings down at the tidal ponds and we both headed off down there.

A curlew sandpiper and a spotted redshank, both relatively difficult birds to see so a real bonus to photograph them together..


There was a ruff...

A curlew sandpiper came in close...

And the black tailed godwits fed steadily...


Well worthwhile the short diversion and another great visit here.

The migration of autumn is almost upon us, birds will leave and others will arrive, I hope to continue getting out and photographing what I can.

Many thanks to all who read, support and readership continues to grow steadily.

Don't forget comments come to me for approval first, I really appreciate the comments too!