Moving towards winter 2016

The leaves are falling, the daylight hours are getting shorter it can only be late autumn. Although there are probably less bird species to see they are easier to spot with less foliage on the trees and if the paths remain reasonably dry some great days can be enjoyed.

We had a long weekend up in south west Scotland with our friends John and Karen, a lovely cottage near Dalbeattie was booked for three nights and we met up with them at RSPB Mersehead for an afternoon's bird watching before heading off to locate the cottage.

Many thousands of barnacle geese arrive from northern climes at this time of the year but our first bird was a lovely greenfinch...

The barnacle geese were all around in the fields...

Shoveler duck (male) out on one of the lagoons...

Easy to see how they gained their name!

The geese came in close now and again...

...and then as often happens with recently arrived migrants, something would spook them and thousands would circle round before landing again!

As you can see the weather was not too photo friendly!

Returning the next day the skies had brightened and a sweet robin posed nicely...

A yellowhammer too

If it wasn't for the intrusive twig!

Out at sea the sky was interesting...

Reed buntings showed well

A male pintail duck

Ken Dee Marshes is another great RSPB reserve in the area and we always pay a visit when we are in the area.

Plenty of common species show well and a the now uncommon willow tit has a stronghold here,

Blue tit

Nuthatch

Coal tit

Great tit

Willow tit

Nuthatch again

And another blue tit

Fieldfare in flight

Rather than head straight home on our day of departure we called at a little nature reserve near Lockerbie, red squirrels thrive here and come amazingly close with a little bit of patience. It is amazing how close the world of wildlife photography can be and within minutes of being there I realised two great Facebook friends were there, great to meet Stuart and Gill and we had a good chat between snapping away at the squirrels. Another gentleman who was using the hide introduced himself and so the circle of like minded wildlife photographers increases! Great to meet you Tony!

Anyway squirrel shots...

As usual a great trip with dear friends, virtual friendships made a little more real and a new friendship too.

Back home and reports of waxwings all down the east coast and heading our way, I got a report from a mate of them near Silsden and we dashed off to find them. We do not get these visitors from Scandinavia and Siberia every year, how true the stories of them being a sign of a cold hard winter to come are I don't know, but they are stunning birds.

Just my luck a grey and murky day but at least we had sightings and photographs.

I kept a routine check on the waxwings hoping for a brighter spell of weather

Finally a bright day arrived!

A red kite from my raptor watching...

More waxwings!!!

 

Although we have had some great sightings at my raptor watchpoint including, goshawk, hen harriers, peregrine, merlin, red kite, sparrowhawk, buzzards and kestrels recently not much has been close enough for photographs.

Some small birds are really comfortable there and one of my favourite photographs was this blue tit.

 The sun is usually setting when I leave the watchpoint giving me the opportunity to stop off on the way home to get a shot or two.

Splendid ends to splendid days, me and nature seem to get on quite well. The love of being out there in natural surroundings enjoying what the day brings is calming, peaceful and relaxing. The company of my friends at the raptor watch is treasured, learning is never over and I still have a long way to go to reach the levels of knowledge I aspire to...plus we enjoy a fair few laughs!!!

Many thanks to all who read the blog, don't forget if you do comment that they come to me first for moderationn

The latter part of Autumn 2014

As the year draws to a close the weather has generally become worse, winds have strengthened and rain has become more frequent, both combining to make walking less pleasurable and making wildlife photography more challenging.

 

Retirement has meant I can be more choosy about when to set off out, no longer the necessity to get out at weekends whatever the weather!

 

This time of year also sees free midweek parking at one of our favourite sites...Bolton Abbey in Wharfedale and we chose a rare sunny day for a walk through the woodland and riverbank trail.

 

It would be a poor day there without a dipper!

 

Light in the woodland was poor and I had to turn the camera ISO up to maximum to get a decent shutter speed, this unfortunately results in "grainy" or less clear shots.

 

A lovely little wren stayed in view for a while...

 

In one of the woodland shelters a family of wood mice feed well on the seeds left for birds, lightning quick raids can be witnessed as they pile up their larders ready for winter. Rarely do I have an opportunity for a decent photograph, on this occasion I was lucky...

 

Blue tits were very vocal and visible as we strolled along the leaf covered paths, the trees although now nearly stripped nearly bare let little light through..

 

A nuthatch descended to feed on a coconut shell filled with goodies...

 

We diverted onto a small lane in seek of better light as the skies became cloud filled, scanning round with binoculars we discovered a kestrel perched in a bush, a quiet and gentle approach got us near enough for a reasonable shot.

 

The following week I went to Leighton Moss RSPB reserve for a midweek visit, the first decent sighting of the day was a marsh harrier.

 

Soon after an otter surfaced in the distance...this had all the makings of a great day!

 

 

A fellow visitor alerted me to the presence of a bittern in flight, shame I was too slow to get a proper focus on the bird!

 

 

 

Robins always offer themselves as subjects by the paths as I moved to a different hide...

 

 

 

Snipe were feeding well in the pool edges, their long bill helps them extract small insects and creatures from the mud.

 

 



 

Shovellers are marvellously well named, this is a male...

 



Then a real treat as a normally shy and reclusive water rail appeared right in front of me...

 

The UK's largest land mammal the red deer also provided a lovely view before it was time for me to pack my gear and head home...

 

The following midweek I was looking after grand-daughter Isla as her secondary school were hosting pupil reviews in the evening the kids were excused attendance during the day. She loves nature and wildlife so we found ourselves back at Bolton Abbey on a cold but bright day.

 

Suitable attired for the walk we set off down the riverbank, a male goosander was our first sighting.

 

 

At the shelter and in good light a wonderful nuthatch entertained us with a variety of poses...

 

 

 

 

A sweet little coal tit joined us for a brief moment...as they do!

We spotted a goldfinch in maybe the darkest part of the woods on our way back...

 

 

My next walk was a canal towpath venture that I did not think out properly...the amount of rain we have had recently should have told me that wellington boots should be worn, not to worry my boots did eventually become clean again!

 

I was on the lookout for fieldfares generally classed, along with redwings, as a winter thrush they are usually to be found on bushes that bear berries although they will feed in fields if food is scarce.

 

When they first arrive they are really tough to get close to, this was the expected result from my first sighting of the day...

 

A fine male goosander was some compensation though...

 

Then spying fieldfare ahead I moved really cautiously until I was in a decent position for photographs.

 

 

I had seen brief glimpses of kingfishers in flight but with little time in hand I had resolved to return another day to seek better sightings. Back at my car and beginning to put my gear away I caught sight of movement out of the corner of my eye, turning slowly I was greeted by the sight of a kingfisher!

 

Slowly retrieving the camera from the car I got some lovely shots, maybe the best one only spoilt by twigs in the way, ah well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quite a strange and distinct difference with my next outing which was in freezing mist up on the moor!

 

Needless to say I saw little, except this beautiful young male grouse...

 

Later I was by the canal again, this time in wellingtons! No kingfishers this time but a lovely female goosander...

 

 

....and a beautiful female blackbird.

 

Very sincere thanks to all who view/read, please don't forget if you leave a comment that they come to me first for moderation before they appear on here.