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.
The End of the World
2012 the end of the world came and went without much disruption which is a good thing.
I can carry on taking photographs.
2012 has been a good year I have been able to photograph a wide selection of wildlife.
In January frequent trips to Wales to photograph Snow Bunting and Short eared Owls took up most of my time, capturing some memorable images along the way.
To attract the Snow Buntings seed was scattered on some driftwood. A small group of Snow Bunting regularly patrolled the beach stopping off at the feeding station.
Short eared Owls hunting over the fields on an industrial estate
After placing some posts in the field it was just a matter of time before one of the Owls decided to land on one of them.
I also started my blog in February with a visit to my local Nature Reserve to photograph the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
In February the Siskins returned to my garden after a long absence but I struggled to get any better shots of them.
By mid- February I was making regular trips to photograph more Short eared Owls however I was struggling to get close to them.
Taken with 500m lens and x 2 converter
On the 20th of Feb I was at Leighton Moss in search of the Glossy Ibis although the weather was not at its best I decided to give it a go.
Early morning view from the public hide
I eventually found the Ibis in fields just outside of the reserve and managed a few shots in between the rain showers.
Also in February I photograph a tearful Kestrel as it came to terms with the fact that the Mouse escaped.
On to Pastures new to photograph Dippers
At the end of February I visited Mere Sands Wood Nature Reserve to photograph the Bittern or as it turned out the Bitterns.
They gave me and many other photographers some great views from the Lancaster Hide.
March was a great month for me with lots of different species photographed:
Treecreepers, Buzzard, Short eared Owl, Crossbill, Stonechat, Goldcrest, Wheatear,Meadow Pipit, Skylark,
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker,Hawfinches, Little Owl, Nuthatch, Chiffchaff
Treecreeper at Moore Nature Reserve
I eventually managed to get better shots of the Short eared Owls
Cossbill Magic in Suffolk
It was a long way to travel but it was worth every mile
The Crossbills came down from the trees to drink, giving me a great opportunity to get some shots.
Back in Cheshire the first Stonechats of the season graced my camera.
11 of March I spent the next 3 days photographing short eared Owls
Late afternoon and the Owls are out hunting
Two nice Goldcrest turned up at my daughters
On the 17 of March I returned to the Short eared Owls to get some shots of them on posts
Some of the first migrants to show up were Wheatear
Along with Skylark I also got some shots of Meadow Pipit
By March the 23 the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker had started to dig out a nest site
I was seduced by the Owls again returning for some more shots
By 26 of March I was on my way to photograph Hawfinches.
and Nuthatch burying some nuts
I visited a site for the Little Owl
I finished the month of March with my first shots of Chiffchaff
The April Gold Rush
I noticed that the Goldcrests seem to be spending most of the day in the garden. In set up the camera and waited.
I visited Moore for a few hours to get some better images of Chiffchaff
The Mole and the Woodpecker
The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker scattering wood chippings at its nest site
Siskins are back again
Better shots this time
Nice to see the Bullfinch
This Ring Ouzel turned up at one of the reserves I visit
I returned for some better shots of the Ring Ouzel but it had moved on so I turned my attention to other arrivals
Singing in the rain
Willow Warbler
20th of April saw a big influx of Blackcaps at Moore Nature Reserve
Taken on a family trip to Whinfell Forest Penrith Cumbria at the end of April
May another great month
Grasshopper Warbler at Moore Nature Reserve
Cuckoo time
Common Lizards are not easy to photograph
Sunbathing Common Lizard
Pied Flycatcher
Liitle Ring Plover
A great little bird
Whitethroat at Moore
Female Blackcap
Redstart
Cuckoo
Goldcrest
Hunting Kestrel at Moore
Sedge Warbler at RSPB Conwy
Pied Flycatcher at Gilfach farm
Redstart
Red Kites at Gigrin Fram
Turkey Trip
Burial tombs at Dalyan River
Stork
Reed Warbler
Little Grebe
Great Crested Grebe
Reed Warbler
Cemlym Bay Nature Reserve
Sandswich Tern
Common Tern
Arctic Tern
Little Grebe
Reed Bunting
Reed Warbler
Whitethroat
Yellowhammer at Moore
July
Grasshopper Warbler
Kingfisher
Little Grebe
Grey Heron
Yellow Wagtail
Corn Bunting
Green Woodpecker
Kingfisher
Sedge Warbler RSPB Conwy
RSPB South Stack
Stonechat
Stonechat
Raven
Chough
August was the time for Foxes and Kingfishers
Spotted Flycatcher
September
Fallow Deer
Garden Spider
Fallow Deer
Mute Swan
Tufted Duck
Marsh Harrier RPSB Burton Mere Wetlands
Little Stint
Red Deer
October and the Sparrowhawk visits the garden for an easy meal.
The Red deer are getting ready to rumble
Kestrel hunting at Tatton
Hobby at RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands
Stonechat
November
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Buzzard
Back again
First Brambling of the year
Great Spotted Woodpecker
December
Firecrest RSPB Conwy
Fieldfare
Fieldfare Fest
Back on Frodsham Marsh it’s a Fieldfare fest, with the last of the sunshine this week forecast, time to bag up.
Some of the berries having been rejected are now worth eating
Frodsham Marsh
Back on Frodsham Marsh the Fieldfare and Redwing are feeding up on the Hawthorn Berries, as the temperature drops and the ground is frozen hard the birds fly in, wave after wave to feed.
Fieldfare feeding on Hawthorn berries
The Redwing are in competition for the best berries
Lots more in the folder
Red Berry Day
With hundreds of Redwing and Fieldfare around Graham and I decided to take of few hours break and visit Frodsham Marsh.
Fieldfare
It’s amazing how quickly the berries disappear; the large flocks soon ravage the Hawthorn and move on.
The local Blackbirds too are getting in on the action
Redwing
Fieldfare are here
Hundreds of Fieldfare on the berries but they can be hard to get close to
More in the Fieldfare folder
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