29th June - 1st July 2013..Home and away

A good few years ago I watched a wildlife programme on TV that was hosted by Bill Oddie, he expressed the view that we should all try to have a "local patch". Ideally containing a waterway and woodland, the key locations for many species, for those who live in urban areas it may be difficult but rarely impossible to find somewhere like that where you can walk often enough to notice and absorb the little changes in nature's behaviour that are so important.

With the choice of so many great areas near to home it was difficult to narrow down what would become my local patch, eventually I settled on an area not much bigger than a square kilometre. River, canal and woodland are all there and it is next to a moor, I'm lucky and it has paid large dividends with buzzard, red kite, kestrel, kingfisher, little grebe, roe deer, stoat and many many other wonderful creatures witnessed.

If I have only a couple of hours to spare I usually head here, so it was on Saturday morning I set out.

Sightings are difficult at the moment with heavy foliage on the trees but the sun was shining and it was pleasurable walking...I soon encountered swans, the lady of the family rather inelegantly having some weed dangling from her mouth..

I touched on predation in my last blog, one of those classed as a rascal is the magpie, they really are not any worse than many others and they do have magnificent colours when seen up close..

Two other non too popular birds are crows and rooks, oft confused as well...the easiest way to distinguish the species in my opinion is the beak colour...crow always black..

Rook, grey...

I took a break to enjoy a coffee from my thermos, sitting quietly I had some beautiful visitors as juvenile swallows took a break from their flying lessons...

One of my usual companions, the moorhen...

There is a small copse of immature trees in this section, always worth checking out and often frustrating as I hear lots and see nothing. Perseverance brings rewards though and today I found a willow warbler finding food for its youngsters..

A strident but tuneful song and no bird??? Often a wren, it was and for once I located it :-)

 A cheeky and chirpy chaffinch rounded off my walk, a good couple of hours...

Family stuff dictated a late start on Sunday and it was nearly lunchtime when we set off for Leighton Moss RSPB reserve. I knew good photographs were unlikely under the prevailing dull skies but it was dry, we had waterproofs packed just in case though!

We caught sight of a moorhen chick...

A young marsh harrier sailed past at distance..

And a little egret stalked the shallows...

A flock of black tailed godwits flew in, gorgeous birds with their brick red summer plumage..

We had a break for a snack and then made our way to another hide, black headed gulls were numerous and prominent..

Yes I know the head is more chocolate coloured than black but I didn't name them!

A juvenile..

The marsh harriers continued to appear and we had some lovely sightings through the scope and binoculars, just too far away for decent photographs on this occasion.

Right on the edge of what I consider to be the range of my camera I found great crested grebe..

Swifts were hawking busily, not a great shot though...

The afternoon and early evening had passed quickly and all too soon it was time for the journey home.

I had a couple of spare hours on Monday, I visited the river Wharfe and the sand martin colony...many attempts at flight shots resulted in frustration at the lack of quality...I resorted to hiding myself away near the nests, careful not to cause disturbance, at last I managed a decent photograph of one of these beautiful birds..

Christmas Eve 2011

The weather forecast yesterday promised a chance of frost, that chance quickly disappeared as a front of low pressure clung to our district. Unseasonally warm it may be but that also means damp and gloomy, a reasonable amount of light is needed for photography, more so when wildlife is the target.

My walk today was a local favourite and even when considered just as a walk without the wildlife prospects it rates highly.

Farnhill Moor is a splendid place to wander and it was there that I headed for first, a green woodpecker glimpsed recently was not in evidence despite a lengthy search and there seemed to little be little else around. A brief sighting of a treecreeper raised my hopes, a heavy shower shortly afterwards redressed the balance and I was grateful for the shelter of a boundary wall.

If birds were rated for their feistiness wrens must be near the top of the list, a fearful amount of noise can be generated from such a tiny body. Their colouring can vary quite a lot, this strident one was among the more lightly coloured ones but how well the pose demonstrates its manner!

The light was awful at this point and as I descended from the moor towards Bradley I took several dreadful shots of a distant kestrel. Great tits are usually seen in trees or bushes feeding on seeds, seeing a small group of them feeding on the ground was an opportunity not to be missed especially as the sun briefly appeared!

By the Leeds Liverpool canal for a while now, and the sunshine continues.

I spent a good while in a copse of trees near the canalbank, birdsong was tuneful, plentiful and the singers invisible!

Wandering on a grey squirrel posed nicely on the far bank.

Goosanders are a favourite of mine, watching them dive and trying to guess where they will surface is entertaining. The plumage is distinctive and the female is particularly striking.

By now the sunshine had retreated and the previous dullness returned with a vengeance, coupled with that a strong wind developed. Slow camera speed and a buffeting wind, hmmm not perfect methinks!!

This lovely swan flew past me, the sound of the wingbeats alerted me to its presence, the gusty nature of the wind shows in its feathers.

Back in Silsden I usually use the local beck to clean the worst of the mud from my boots before I head for a pint, as I tried not to fall in the water in full view of passing locals the raucous call of a crow rang out, almost like laughter.

Nearly time to put the camera and binoculars away for the day now but just as I passed close to the town's park some sweet chirping alerted me, a group of long tailed tits were feeding in a pathside shrub, it was nearly dark now and the photograph turned out better than I thought.

After a couple of beers it was time for home, a wash and change of clothes and then one of the few benefits of age.......Christmas Eve and the look of joy on our grand-daughters faces as they prepare for what we call the Santa Sleep, just brilliant and tomorrow will be a great day:-)

Many thanks to all who read my utterings, your messages and comments are much valued.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone.