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.
Jeepers Creepers
The sun enticed a pair of Treecreepers out yesterday at my local nature reserve.
Both birds scurried up and down the trees looking for insects.
I managed a few photographs as they moved from tree to tree.
More later
The Uk's smallest birds
The Goldcrest and Firecrest are the smallest birds in the UK
Goldcrest
Firecrest
The Wren is a bit heavier and not as slim as the Goldcrest or Firecrest
Comings and Goings
The Sparrowhawk flies in again and catches a Goldfinch and disappears over the fence, I didn’t get the shot as I was working on my laptop.
I have decided to switch over from my Canon 500m lens to my Canon 300m f4 lens in order to get all the bird in the frame. It’s not as sharp as the 500m lens but it will be good enough. I should have kept the Canon 400m 5.6 lens, which would have been ideal for the job but I sold it to a friend of mine as I didn’t use it much.
I have a suspicion that the Sparrowhawk is across the road in a small wood watching the comings and goings of the birds at my feeding station and when the number of birds at the feeding station increases it makes its run. It’s had several attempts today with only one success.
With the window open and the screen in place all I have to do it wait (famous last words) all the birds have disappeared at the moment that could mean the Sparrowhawk is around.
Still waiting
More distractions
I should be doing some work but the Redpoll and Siskins keep distracting me.
More distractions later
More Redpoll Photographs
I could photograph Redpolls all day they are great little birds and some of the best birds to visit my garden.
The Nuthatch calling in
Lesser Redpoll
The Lesser Redpolls are making more frequent visits to the feeding station however they are only coming in very small numbers
and don’t stay long fearing they may become a victim of the Sparrowhawk.
More later
It’s all Down Hill
Well it is for my wife, she’s skiing in Austria for a week leaving me at home to sort out some furniture that’s going to France.
But first things first I will have to set up the flash as the day is going to be grim with strong winds and rain.
In-between working in the garage on the furniture I can keep an eye on the feeding station, I am expecting a bit of sunshine so fingers crossed, and hopefully Redpoll and Siskins will turn up.
But I am not the only one looking for small birds the Sparrowhawk swooped in scattering all the birds and landed on the fence on the far side of the garden. I managed a few head shots before it disappeared from view.
The visit from the Sparrowhawk made all the birds very nervous for the rest of the day.
Fortunately I still managed some nice shots of the Redpoll.
Siskins and Redpoll
Siskins and Redpoll along with Goldfinch, Bullfinch, Greenfinch, Blackbird, Robin, Dunnock, Blue Tit, Great Tit,
Coal Tit, Long-Tailed Tits, Chaffinch, Nuthatch, Wren, Collared Dove, Woodpigeon and the Sparrowhawk.
it’s all a bit busy in the garden.
All this activity is very attractive to one of nature’s biggest killers that Bastard Cat from down the road,
despite the cat deterrent being under the tree it still manages to kill the odd bird. The cat should be fitted with a bell on its neck.
Better still a brick on the back of the head often does the trick.
High Tide at Parkgate
High Tide at Parkgate on the Wirral attracted lots of visitors including me.
I did see two Short-eared Owls but at some distance and not worthy of a photograph, however the highlight of the trip had to be the Fox which was caught out on the marsh as the tide came in.
The Fox swam towards the shore to avoid the incoming tide only to be confronted with line of people with scopes and camera equipment.
The Fox stopped short of the bank and decided to wait it out before making its escape.
The Sparrowhawk is back
The Sparrowhawk is back and looking for prey, it seems to be visiting the garden more frequently today.
I didn’t intend to venture out with the weather being horrendous, strong winds and rain but I was hopeful that the Siskins
would put in an appearance at the feeding station.
I set up the external flash and waited in anticipation of their arrival only to be disappointed.
That disappointment didn’t last long, as the Sparrowhawk appeared in my view finder.
Siberian Chiffchaff on Burton Marsh
The results of Fridays visit to Burton Marsh to photograph the Siberian Chiffchaff could be better.
A return trip next week is on the cards to try and get some better shots.
