Hello and welcome
I have always had a keen interest in wildlife and the great outdoors;
I was an Angler for over 30 years but gave it up a few years ago to
concentrate on photographing wildlife. I lived in Runcorn; Cheshire a
short distance from the M56 that gave me great access to the Wirral,
Northwales and Lancashire, with some great countryside on my doorstep
I didn't have to travel too far in search of wildlife and photographic
opportunities.
Some of my wildlife photographs range from as far afield as Cuba,
Antigua, Saint Martin, Saint Lucia, Dominican Republic, Tuscany ,
Corfu, Turkey, Spain, Portugal.
I now live in the Charente area of western France.
Firecrest
I have been waiting for a break in the weather so I could make the trip to the RSPB reserve at Conwy to photograph the Firecrest.
It took me some time to get the shots due to nature of the site and the tiny bird being very active.
More in the folder
Sorbus aucuparia
Commonly known as the Rowan or Mountain ash is one on the most important trees along with Hawthorn to winter feeding birds.
Waxwings are one of the most exotic birds to be attracted to them.
Other interested birds being the Mistle Thrush, Blackbird and Starling
Waxing Lyrical
The Waxwings are here again, it’s been four years since they came over in large numbers. The lack of berries in their own realm has brought them over here. Our crop isn’t very good either, many trees have no berries; any Waxwings will soon strip the few berries that are around and then move on. Some of the usual spots are barren making it difficult to predict their movements.
You wouldn’t want them in the back of your neck
With poor weather conditions and some jobs around the house today I am not able to get out and photograph Waxwings.
However I am able to point my camera towards the garden.
First to arrive are the Jays collecting nuts and seeds (Taken at 800 -ISO).
Later in the morning the Sparrowhawk arrived and perched it the tree but I could not get a clear shot (800-ISO).
Some more pruning is required but at this rate I will have no tree left.
I’ll be back
Not quite like clockwork, the Sparrowhawk is back.
This time I managed a shot through the open window but on a dull day.
It must come right one day
The Buzzard
It’s been a few years since I last had full frame shots of a Buzzard but it’s been worth the wait
Couldn’t manage to get all the bird in the frame using the 500m
I missed opportunities during the day to get some shots and thought I had missed my chance
The shots came at the end of long day waiting for them to arrived
More in the folder
A Visit from the Sparrowhawk
More visits from the Sparrowhawk it seems to call in the morning and late afternoon
The bird turned up again as I was having a cup of tea whilst watching a pair of Jays feeding in the garden.
The Sparrowhawk sat on the lower branches whilst the Jays sat just feed away.
Great Spotted Woodpecker
I had a trip out to photograph Buzzard and ended up with a Woodpecker. Not the species I wanted but that's how it goes sometimes.
Have to try again
Trick or Treat
The weather forecast was for a mixture of cloud and rain, accompanied with strong winds, so I decided to stay at home and catch up with some image processing. Not a task I get great pleasure in. As I ploughed through my images I set up the camera on the tripod and pointed it towards the feeding station through the window (I never get good images through glass).
I do feel as if I have been tricked, as the weather turned out quite good in the morning but by the time I realised it would have been ok to venture out it was too late in the day.
At 9.00am a Sparrowhawk arrived scattering all the birds from the pear tree and then sat in the lower branches enabling me to get some very grainy shots.
After it left a Jay turned up and I got some more grainy shots of that
Tricked again, If only I could have taken them from outside I think they would have been ok
I decided to move into the garden to try and improve on my shots
The photographs of the Jays are better but could be sharper
Goldfinch
This Greenfinch doesn’t look too well
If the Sparrowhawk returns it could be in for a treat
The Greenfinch managed to survive the day
Coast
This time of year I always make frequent visits to the coast. One of my favourite places being the Wirral and the Dee Estuary from Leasowe to Burton Marsh.
I started at Leasowe on the horse fields to see what migrants if any had arrived. As I walk down the path I came across a small flock of Fieldfare nervously feeding in one of the fields, I took a few shots and then tried to get a bit nearer but as I approached they all scattered as a Sparrowhawk swooped in.
I searched the other fields to see if they had landed with no luck. After checking the shoreline for waders I left.
My next stop was Meols, as the tide goes out the waders move in. You can get some interesting shots.
I spotted this Little Egret feeding on small fish in the remaining pools
More in the folder
Noisy Oystercatchers are regular visitors to the remaining pools probing the sand for any morsels of food
On the shoreline Knot can be found feeding with the Turnstone.
Probing deep into the mud, Curlew are another Species the frequent the area
On to Burton Marsh my last port of call, to see the pair of Ruddy Shelduck feeding with a flock of Canada Geese.
I took a record shot of the distant birds and left for home