14-16th December 2013, Airedale and Wharfedale short walks

There are times in life when a walk is refreshing for the mind, time to think and ponder with no distractions, and above all enjoy the sights and sounds of nature.

I set out on Saturday with no great ambitions of what I may see and photograph, the light was at best dull, the path by the canal was muddy and showers were more than possible.

One of my usual sightings, a mallard, I rarely walk without seeing them but when the light strikes the colours of the head of the male the colours can be stunning...

Add in a funny and bashful pose and you have a decent photograph!

Another regular for me is the moorhen, lovely quirky birds...

I was in good pondering form with thoughts overflowing my head and metaphorically tumbling around my feet as I wandered, slipped and slithered through the slimy mud which we laughingly call a path.

 

There was little in the way of wildlife to distract me, a gusty wind seemed to be keeping the small birds away from open spaces and an unwanted flight to somewhere else!

 

 

A chaffinch braved the wind...

 

 

Now bereft of unwanted clutter in my head and with my camera almost bereft of photo opportunities I decided to call it a day and head for a pint or two....little do I know of what nature can offer by way of compensation for getting out in poor weather...

 

 

Nearing Silsden and on the point of packing my camera gear away I spotted a bird struggling to make headway in the wind, the binoculars were raised and the result caused a hastening of pace. A beautiful kestrel was hunting even in these fierce conditions...

 

 

A magnificent sight and one another reason to make the walk worthwhile!

 

Nearing town a juvenile swan approached to see if I was offering food, I left it to consume its half eaten weed!

 

In similar conditions on Sunday we did one of our regular Wharfedale wanders, the gentle 4.5 miles do not take long and the relatively small effort can yield great rewards.

 

Today a fierce looking chaffinch came close to us...

 

In gloomy conditions this nuthatch at least nearly stayed still!

 

 

We saw roe deer through the foliage...

 

 

 

And by the edge of the surging water we saw a dipper, unexpected as we thought they would probably be up the less flooded side streams...

 

 

A similar walk on Monday brought few results, a few birds in flight but nothing much...

 

A great tit posed briefly..

 

 

And I found a robin for my Christmas and New Year message..

 

Many, many thanks to all my viewers and readers, may you all be blessed with a Merry, Happy and Peaceful Christmas and New Year.

 

Please don't forget that all comments come to me first for moderation.

 

Hopefully 2014 will be as spectacular and successful as this year for wildlife exploration!

 





7-9th December 2013, Airedale and Wharfedale wanders

Sometimes my area seems mired in poor light, dry it may have been and the walks have been worthwhile, photography in such weather becomes very difficult. Sharp images need a decent shutter speed and even with modern cameras and lenses this is hard to achieve in poor light. Without going in to too much technological detail there are remedies but photographic quality suffers.

Last weekend was a great example, mostly dry and not too cold but sunshine was rare and the colours around me seemed drab and grey. I had a wander by the Leeds Liverpool canal on Saturday, the male goosander did not seem too perturbed by my close presence...

A cute little robin posed nicely...

Before turning to confront me!

There were plenty of jays around, usually in flight though and this distant one was the only grounded specimen I found...

Another lovely robin graced me with its company...

A couple of kingfishers in flight sped by as I walked, and the light got worse and worse!

I managed a decent attempt of a goldfinch deep in foliage...

A female goosander...

And finally a swan as my walk neared its usual Saturday conclusion, the pub!

Jobs for home and family meant a very short wander on Sunday and my photograph of the day betrays that for this long tailed tit was the only thing I saw...and it stubbornly refused to face the camera, nice show of its beautiful colours though!

On Monday I had time for a few hours in Wharfedale, the river was too high for me to see dippers but I did see goldfinches straightaway...

Great tits were showing well...

As I walked I saw buzzard and red kite in the skies above me, entering the woods a couple of sparrowhawks ghosted swiftly away through the canopy.

Becoming frustrated at the light available for my photographs I decided to just sit and watch things for a while...bramblings flew past in flocks and all manner of tits and finches were enjoying the remainder of nature's foods.

Just in front of me and worth the effort of photographing it a treecreeper foraged...

And then a nuthatch came and settled for a while...

I found a robin searching for food...

And a female chaffinch fluttered down on to the path...

Plenty to see, the photographs are secondary to me, the main thing is to be out and witnessing the wonderful wildlife we have on our doorsteps...

Many thanks to all who read, don't forget if you do wish to add a comment they come to me first for moderation.

30th Nov-2nd Dec 2013, Kingfishers are back by the canal

I do try not to make plans too far ahead, disappointment has often awaited when I have, but the weather forecast for Saturday looked stunning and I didn't seem to have too many commitments. A lengthy walk up on the moors with some waterside wandering to finish was on the cards and then...one thing after another went wrong, my started was delayed and I opted for a simple walk by the canal.

Josie was heading for Skipton so a lift to our westward neighbouring village of Bradley was convenient, the canal is nearby, the sun was out and off I eventually strode. The local swans have done well with their cygnets this year, here a particularly elegant one...

I usually take a few "banker" shots of mallards just in case I don't see much else, occasionally I get one that cries out for inclusion...drying out after a good swill!

There are plenty of fieldfares about, they come under the heading of "winter thrushes" temporary immigrants from colder climes along with redwings. Newly arrived they are quite nervous and difficult to get near, in the coming weeks I will hope for some much closer shots than this one...

As I paused on this lovely sunlit corner blue tits zipped around the trees...

Checking ahead through my binoculars a flash of blue of a different hue alerted me to the presence of a much loved but not often seen birds...kingfisher!

It is quite difficult to watch them from a close distance for any length of time, they seem wary of too much eye contact and certainly don't like a camera with a large lens pointing at them for too long. Disturb them too often and you won't see them again because they will disappear back into the foliage of the trees and bushes. Watching from prepared hides is much easier as less of the human behaviour is visible, there are no hides on the canalbank so I have had to learn how to approach and stay quite near. Slow and gentle movement is necessary as is a minimum of noise...

Moving a little nearer...

This the male, the female has a reddish lower beak...here the female flies past me, I wasn't set for flight shots so this turned out quite well.

A few shots of the female....



By looking at them for short periods only, taking a few shots then looking away for a while I was able to spend a couple of mesmerising, memorable hours with these stunning birds.

Continuing the theme of accidental flight shots I was just focusing on this female goosander when it took off!!!

Not the longest of walks but the "wow" factor was quite high!

Sunday was dedicated to decorating, shopping and family duties, no "wows" ensued!

Monday was dull but dry, a few family commitments left me with time for another canalside exploration, no prizes for guessing where I headed.

A cute robin in full song shows the poor light quite amply...



A moorhen amply demonstrated the rather large size of its feet!

Goosanders were around in good numbers, here a female followed by a male..

With my eyes and occasionally binoculars trained on the water and its surrounds I almost missed one special sighting, luckily a noise down in the valley drew my attention and I saw this lovely kestrel perched on some wires, fortune and luck can be vital tools!



Carrying the binoculars paid a good dividend when I saw movement in a tree at the far side of the water, moving nearer I was able to see and photograph a female great spotted woodpecker.

And then confirmation that the kingfishers seem to have  returned to stay awhile...not as spectacular as the others but precious nevertheless.

Sometimes the many hours I spend in the search for wildlife can be frustrating, but isn't that how it should and has to be? A prize or reward earned too easily would never be treasured as much as one you have had to search hard and work hard to obtain. All too soon the canal will suffer its annual freeze and the kingfishers will disappear once more, while they are around I will endeavour to enjoy their delightful company as much as I can...plus there are lots of other beautiful creatures sharing their Airedale habitat.

Many thanks to all who view, commenters should be reminded that all comments do come to me first for moderation.

21-24th November 2013, A lovely few days in Northumberland

We enjoyed a brilliant few days with our friends John and Karen last year in Northumberland. The choice of destination for this year was easy, same place! Last year we had wonderful weather and some superb sightings of wildlife, lovely strolls on deserted beaches and some grand evenings in a comfortable cottage.

The evenings and the cottage could be relied on, the rest was down to fortune. We left Yorkshire on a very damp Thursday, flooded roads and a closure on the A1 meant detours and a slow journey to Warkworth, a few miles north of Newcastle. We arrived eventually and got settled in for the evening, John and Karen arrived too and we spent a very pleasant few hours discussing our plans and studying an ever improving weather forecast.

Friday morning and we were at Low Hauxley Nature Reserve in good time, the breeze was cool but the sky was bright and a mute swan sailed by on the large pond.

Wigeon were plentiful as we strolled around the reserve..

We had a while in a hide that looks over some habitat designed to attract all manner of wildlife..
a female pheasant strolled past...

A robin sang merrily...

Tree sparrows and blue tits were abundant...

A dunnock appeared...

A male pheasant unsurprisingly followed in the footsteps of the female...

And a goldfinch showed briefly...

We wandered down onto the beach, rather bracing but extremely pleasant...and a heron stalked the shallows...

Apart from a redshank which was rather distant there wasn't anything else about...

Back up in the reserve I was extremely fortunate when a little grebe appeared at close range for the camera....

 

 

We weren't sure of the identity of these but a friend confirmed them as female long tailed ducks, rather long distance shot..

 

 

 

 

We found a female chaffinch..

 



 

 

Some young swans came close by the large pond...

 



 

 

And eventually the sun went down on a grand day..

 



 

Another evening of fine food, an odd glass of wine or two and some planning ensued, Druridge Country Park and East Chevington Nature Reserve were our chosen destinations for Saturday.

 

 

The weather forecast was not as good and it rained early on, by the time we were getting out of the car it was dry though. The cold did not matter, we were well wrapped in plenty of layers of gear.

 

 

The first sighting was another female long tailed duck...

 



 

A rather long distance goldeneye...

 

 

 A large flock of geese flew overhead...

 

 

A chirpy robin sang for us...

 

 

Black headed gulls in non breeding plumage were numerous...

 

 

 

 Out at sea what was probably a black throated diver paddled and dived...

 

 

A female common scoter came in a bit closer...

 

 

 

 Delightful sanderlings marched up and down the beach...

 

 

 Another great day and the forecast for the following Sunday was encouraging enough for us all to decided to spend another half day of wildlife searching before our respective journeys home.

 

It was such an ordeal to consume more great food and wine, honestly!!!

 

We made our way a short distance to the south to Cresswell Nature Reserve, conveniently on the way home and well worth a visit.

 

On the way we stopped by the river Coquet in Warkworth, cormorants amazingly low in the water were hunting.

 

 

 An immature male eider sailed near...

 

 

 And of course, my ever present heron :-)

 

 

 Down at Cresswell the scrubland around the reserve produced sightings of male and female stonechat.

 

 

 

A pied wagtail fluttered around...

Redshank were in neighbouring fields..

Birds seen and identified here, not just by us but some knowledgeable locals too included black necked grebe, red breasted mergansers, teal, widgeon, lapwing and kestrel, all sadly too distant for the camera except lapwing which wheeled overhead.

 One last walk on the beach and the marching and comical sanderling...

 

And then sadly time for home, our goodbyes with John and Karen are as warm as our welcomes, such good friends are we all that we know there will be another time.

May it be as glorious as all the others, cheers mates!

 

Many thanks to all who look, don't forget if you do add a comment they come to me first for moderation.