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.