A.J. Dixon Wildlife and Nature

Twitter

2011-12-30T16:06:00.001Z

Just a quick heads-up to let you know that I've set up a Twitter account to run along side of this blog and the main website...

If you should wish to follow and you're more than welcome to, it's @ajdixonphoto

I hope everybody has had a good festive period and I'll be back in 2012...Thanks!!

Oh here's a photo of a Grey Heron, for no other reason other than I like them...

All the best for the New Year.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-22T16:54:00.000Z

I'd just like to wish everybody a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year...Thanks for visiting!

A Cheeky Visitor...

2011-12-13T17:56:00.000Z

On the bird table!

House Sparrow

2011-12-05T17:13:00.000Z

After a second day of zero sunshine, I decided I needed to look through some old shots to remind myself why winter is my favourite season for photography...

I have always felt there is something quite special about the winter light and when the sun is low in the sky, I feel it always gives the subject a lovely warmth that is often lacking from shots taken in the sometimes harsh light of summer...

Formby Reds On The Up!

2011-12-04T09:26:00.000Z

Heartwarming news from the National Trust regarding the plight of the Red Squirrel at Formby Point on Merseyside...

Formby has been for many years one of the last English strongholds for our true native Squirrel, but a devastating outbreak of Squirrel Pox in 2008 left the animals on the brink of extinction at this important site.

The good news is, against all odds, the Red Squirrel has made a remarkable fightback and after a very successful breeding season, 2011 numbers are up 60%.
Long may it continue...

Red Grouse In Snow

2011-12-03T16:27:00.000Z

Following on from the other days wintry post, I thought I'd share a couple of shots of Red Grouse taken on a very cold but sunny morning in the Derbyshire Peak District...

Frozen Planet

2011-11-30T17:39:00.000Z

Myself like many of you I'm sure, have been captivated for the last few Wednesday nights by the BBC's latest brilliant wildlife series 'Frozen Planet'.
This amazing Attenborough presented masterpiece is set in the harshest environments on earth, namely the Polar regions.

In the winter of 2009-2010, Britain suffered arctic-like conditions for long spells as temperatures plummeted to as low as -20 degrees.
During this period, I was out and about with my camera, documenting the affect the weather had on wildlife and today, inspired by 'Frozen Planet' I thought I would share a few images...

Sheep in blizzard

Grey Heron

Greylag Geese

A Robin Is For Life And Not Just Christmas...

2011-11-27T17:41:00.000Z

It's only 4 weeks until Christmas and of course there isn't a bird that signifies the festive period more than the Robin...That is if you don't count the Turkey that is!

Like a lot of people, the charming little Robin is a favourite of mine and I can never resist taking a photo of them whenever I get the opportunity.
To celebrate the humble Robin, I've chosen the bird to be the subject of the latest portfolio in the 'Showcase' gallery on my main website... http://www.ajdixonphotography.co.uk/showcase

Red Deer In Red Mist

2011-11-20T19:52:00.000Z

The goal today was to capture some shots of Red Deer, so I set off just before dawn and arrived at my moorland location just as the sun was rising.
It was a beautiful start to the morning and I was treated to the rather pleasant scene of the sun rising from behind the hills where a light mist was rolling in...

All the signs were that this was going to be a nice morning of photography and all I had to do was locate the Red Deer!
As I scoured the landscape for the Deer, it became apparent that the mist that was rolling down from the hills was getting a lot denser and the early promise of good light was evaporating quickly...

By this time, the mist could no longer be called mist as it had become thick fog and visibility was down to only a few yards.
There wasn't going to be much chance of photographing Deer in these conditions, I thought to myself...It would be impossible to even spot them, let alone get pictures of them!

I was at this point ready to call it a day, but the visibility was so bad, it would have been treacherous to attempt to walk back through the fog over the moors, so I decided to sit it out until the light got better.
Eventually, the sun made an effort to break through the fog..

One thing to remember about the moors, is weather conditions can change in minutes and a short time later the sun had won it's battle and the fog had reverted back to a rolling mist.

Looking into the direction of the sun there was a wonderful golden misty glow and I surveyed the landscape through my lens hoping to pick up some sort of focal point so to capture the atmospheric scene.

I could hardly believe my luck when I spotted up on a hill, through the dreamy golden hew, three Red Deer Stags perfectly silhouetted...

It was the kind of shot that I'm always on the lookout for and I often find that shooting into the sun can provide some stunning effects.

I've been successful using this technique with a number of species before, but never with Deer.
All in all a pretty decent mornings work despite at times feeling that it was going to be fruitless.

Brothers In Arms

2011-11-16T18:16:00.001Z

According to his various news feeds, Andy Rouse one of the worlds leading wildlife photographers, this week embarked on a new project for 2020 Vision...
The criteria is for Andy to photograph Red Kite and on Monday he paid the first of several planned visits to Gigrin Farm in Wales.
Gigrin is a wonderful place that myself and of course hundreds of other photographers visit every year and seeing a few of Andy's images from the day prompted me to look in my archives at shots that I have taken at this location.

It's not just Red Kites that are attracted to the Gigrin feeding station, there are also good numbers of Common Buzzard that wouldn't pass on the opportunity of a free meal also, so I thought today I'd post something a little different from the usual close-up and show you a shot of the two species flying in tandem over the landscape...

Shag

2011-11-15T20:03:00.000Z

Juvenile Shag that I saw on West Kirby Marine Lake a couple of winters back.
I just had to remind myself after Sunday's disappointing trip, that there are more often than not some very nice birds to see on the lake.

The Wirral...One Of Those Days!!!

2011-11-14T18:09:00.000Z

I had a choice to make yesterday...Stay fairly local and photograph Red Deer or drive the 50 or so miles to the Wirral and capture some coastal birds.
Having checked the forecast for both locations for a few days leading up to Sunday (bright sunshine) I decided on the Wirral.

I left the house at around 6.30am in darkness and the longer the journey went, the more I noticed that there was a distinct lack of any hint of a sunrise!
On arrival at my first planned stop at West Kirby, I was greeted by a very gloomy looking scene.
In fact not just gloomy, but very cold and windy too!

On the rocks by the Marine Lake, there were various waders roosting which included Turnstone, Dunlin, Knot and Redshank.
Unfortunately without flash and with a shutter speed of 10s at iso1000 I wasn't able to get any decent shots before the birds departed for the shore.

By the time I made it down to the shore, the light had improved enough for me to get some sort of photography out of the trip and with my Wellingtons sinking deep into the very boggy sand I made my way towards some distant feeding Shelduck...

I didn't attempt trying to get any nearer the Shelduck, because there was a real risk of quicksand and I had already prised my boots out of the sand several times up to then!
I next headed (on much firmer ground) on the fruitless venture of trying to capture some feeding Redshank.

Missing out on the Redshank didn't annoy me as much as missing the Little Egret that had taken to feeding at the spot where I stood photographing the Shelduck!
To be honest, the morning was turning out to be a very frustrating one indeed and despite there being large numbers of birds on the beach, getting close to them was becoming a real problem.

The one highlight at West Kirby yesterday as always, was watching the large flocks of Knot lifting to the sky every time something spooked them...

The sad news is, that on a 5 hour shoot at one of my favourite and most productive locations, the best I could do at getting close to a bird was this Herring Gull...

After spending a very cold and frankly disappointing morning at West Kirby, I decided to move down the coast and try my luck at Parkgate.
Parkgate despite being a birdwatchers paradise is a place where no small amount of luck is required to get decent images and it isn't always the most photographer friendly location.
The trouble with Parkgate is the more interesting subjects are usually quite a fair distance away in the scrapes.

I only stayed an hour or so at Parkgate and after missing out at West Kirby, there was a little consolation after I spotted a distant Little Egret...

By now I had just about had enough for the day and after receiving a phone call telling me how sunny it had been back home, I decided it was time to head back there.
I did however very nearly give into the temptation of stopping off at Burton to try and photograph a reported Glossy Ibis...Sometimes though, you just know when your lucks not in and when to cut your losses!

Shall We Have A Robin?

2011-11-11T19:10:00.000Z

Well it's Friday, I haven't taken any new photos this week and I really like Robins!!

Dark Peak Grouse

2011-11-06T16:11:00.000Z

I was up and out at first light this morning for a first trip in several months to one of my favourite locations, the Dark Peak region of Derbyshire.

The ice on my car windscreen was a bit of a giveaway, but I'm experienced enough to know that clear Sky's and sunshine don't make things any less harsher at one of the most remote and hostile places in Britain...It was bloody freezing up there!!

I was hoping to capture the elusive Mountain Hare today and walked deep onto the moors to an area which is always a decent place to spot them...Sadly I had no luck though, despite finding plenty of tracks in the soft peat bogs.

One creature that was a lot easier to find was my old favourite, the Red Grouse...

Did I say easy to find? They can be pretty aloof too when they want to be...

Unless of course you start to get too close...

Interested in photographing Red Grouse? Then please visit my website... http://www.ajdixonphotography.co.uk/page11305.html

A load of Bull...

2011-11-05T08:48:00.000Z

We all know how frustrating it can be when trying to photograph a subject in poor or flat light and the same can be said when the light is good and there is nothing of note to photograph!!

Sometimes you just have to make the most of things and grab what you can and this is exactly what I did with the image below...

It was taken on moorland in Derbyshire last Autumn and I had got up there early with the intention of photographing Red Deer.
It was a cold morning with a light dusting of frost which evaporated into a mist as the sun rose and looking straight into the sun made for a beautiful golden glow.
Sadly, there were no Deer present at this time, but all was not lost and I settled on capturing the only other creature around...A Bull!!

Making A Splash!!

2011-11-04T08:11:00.001Z

Female Goldeneye

Up Close & Personal...

2011-11-02T16:43:00.000Z

As a general rule, I tend to like to include a bit of my subjects environment in my wildlife pictures, but every now and again I can't resist zooming in and capturing the finer details, especially with the smaller subjects.

Here's a couple of images that emphasize this point...

Nuthatch

Blue Tit

Lapwing

2011-11-01T16:54:00.000Z

A few shots taken on Sunday of a very obliging Lapwing...

Speckles In The Sky...

2011-10-31T18:00:00.000Z

Yesterday morning at Marshside, looking out towards Marton Mere (not to be confused with Martin Mere) and Blackpool, I was treated to a preview of an amazing spectacle which would occur later in the day at dusk...

A flock of around 30,000 to 40,000 Starlings were darkening which was already at that time in the morning a very dull sky.
Reports from Marton Mere suggest more than twice this number of birds performed their amazing display at dusk and I'm kicking myself that I didn't hang around to witness it!
I'm not too downbeat though because over the next couple of months, these displays are fairly commonplace at this location.

I felt quite privileged to be present at this smaller daytime display and even more so when several thousand Starlings landed about 100 yards from where I was watching...

I was treated to a close and very noisey flypass...

Why Starlings perform theses incredible mesmerizing feats has always been somewhat of a mystery and has baffled scientists and ornithologists for years.
It really is one of the true wonders of nature...

More Whoopers

2011-10-30T19:59:00.001Z

A couple more Whooper Swan images, taken today at Martin Mere in bright midday sunshine...

Whooper Swan

2011-10-30T07:17:00.001Z

Last week, the first 500 Whooper Swans arrived from Iceland to spend the winter at the WWT centre at Martin Mere in Lancashire.
These birds are the first of up to 2000 Whoopers which are expected to take up residency at the site.
Thousands more of these beautiful Swans will settle at other sites on the coastline of North West England and many other locations around the UK.

I love this time of the year when Migrant species leave the harsh environments of the far north of Europe and lower Arctic to descend on our 'warmer' shores.
Other notable species that arrive in Britain in great numbers to escape the bleak conditions include Pink Footed Geese and on a good year Waxwings.

I fully recommend a visit to Martin Mere at this time of year because the scene played out by the masses of Whoopers is nothing short of spectacular and there probably isn't a better place in the UK to get close up views of the birds before they make the long flight back to Iceland around March.

Happy Grazing

2011-10-29T09:48:00.000+01:00

Young Red Deer on a crisp morning...

Autumn Colours

2011-10-27T16:58:00.000+01:00

Autumnal tree canopy captured at Etherow Park, Greater Manchester...

Following On...

2011-10-25T19:33:00.000+01:00

Well last night's image of a dead Grey Seal Pup certainly provoked a certain degree of feedback.
I'm pleased to say that the general reaction was of a positive nature and I'm glad that most understand my reasons for posting the image.

Being a wildlife lover, I of course gain no pleasure from photographing or witnessing that sort of dreadful scene, but I do believe that sometimes it is necessary to highlight certain issues.

Like I said last night, I don't want to go into any great detail on this particular subject right now, because I believe that there are many out there who know exactly what I was talking about...I may revisit the subject in a more general manner at a later date though.

I thought I'd leave you tonight with a couple of altogether happier images of the way I'm sure we'd all prefer to see these beautiful animals...

Respect...

2011-10-24T16:37:00.010+01:00

The heartbreaking sight of a dead Grey Seal pup at Donna Nook....

Not by any means a pleasant image and one I thought long and hard about publishing.

To be honest, it's not really the kind of image I would normally have taken, but I did take it and I did so for a very good reason...To highlight what can happen to a wild and vulnerable animal when not given the respect it's deserved by humans.

The first rule of photographing wildlife should always be The Welfare Of The Subject Comes First!!

Sadly, there is no other place in Britain where I have seen this rule broken so many times than at this Lincolnshire Seal colony.

The lengths some so-called photographers will go to get their 'shot' is not only disturbing, but quite frankly disgusting.

Sorry for the rant, I'm not going to go into any great detail on this matter. I know there are many great photographers who have the up most respect for their subjects and environment that read my posts...This is really aimed at the ones who perhaps don't.

Where's Mummy?

2011-10-23T07:17:00.005+01:00

A light hearted image that I took at the globally important Donna Nook Seal colony in Lincolnshire a couple of years back.

We're nearing that time of year when the Seals will be descending on our shores to breed and in the next few days I feel I have to get certain issues off my chest regarding the etiquette of photographing these beautiful animals...

Mallard...

2011-08-06T07:43:00.000+01:00

In morning sun.

Coot At Sunrise

2011-07-18T17:11:00.002+01:00

Obviously not taken recently, due to the lack of sunshine!

It was actually taken a couple of winters ago on a frozen lake somewhere in Lancashire...

Natures Colours

2011-07-17T08:31:00.006+01:00

I was looking through some nature shots in my archives and thought I'd share them with you.

Not a great deal to say about them other than it's a bit of a mixed bag taken at different locations in different light conditions...

A Little Bit Of Cuteness...

2011-07-12T21:44:00.003+01:00

Canada Goose Gosling...

Gannet

2011-07-11T16:37:00.005+01:00

Due to my recent photographic inactivity, I've missed out on a number of seasonal highlights and I can't help feeling a little disappointed that this year I haven't visited the Gannet colony at Bempton Cliffs on the North East Yorkshire coast.

This site is without doubt one of the best places on earth to see these spectacular Sea Birds at close quarters...

A visit in late may or early June is recommended because the birds are very active in courtship and nest building activities, not to mention some amazing aerial displays...

Freshwater Monsters!

2011-07-10T09:21:00.002+01:00

In the pecking order of British wildlife it is debatable who owns the crown of top predator.

Foxes, Stoats and Weasels are perhaps the top mammals while Birds of prey all have their own special skills that would make them contenders.

Underwater in the freshwater fish kingdom there is only one winner though...The Pike!

Since childhood, I've always had a curious fascination with these supreme hunters and as a child I always enjoyed hearing the many myths and legends surrounding these fish.

I find it strange but not altogether surprising that some people seem to have a naive fear of the Pike.

Firstly, as fish go the Pike with it's pre-historic looks is quite a scary looking creature compared to other fish in our waters.

Secondly, some of the legends are actually true! Yes the Pike does sometimes eat Ducklings, as well as Water Voles and just about any other fish that crosses it's path...Including other Pike!

The Pike has always been a persecuted species in the UK...

In the past I've seen anglers cut them off their lines for fear of handling these large tooth 'monsters'.

The owner of a large fishing lake close to my home used to blast basking Pike with his shotgun fearing they would destroy too much of his stocks.

Thankfully this man eventually realized that there is a place for Pike and the lake has now become a well respected Pike fishing venue.

So why do I hold the Pike in such high esteem?

Well I guess for some of the same reasons that some people fear them, with the exception that I believe for these are the exact reasons they should be respected...

The Pike is a true wonder of British wildlife.

Little Ringed Plover

2011-07-09T06:27:00.002+01:00

Once a very rare spot, the Little Ringed Plover has become something of a success story in recent years. Although still almost exclusively confined to the reservoirs and gravel pits of England and a few small areas of Wales, UK breeding numbers are now around the 1000 pair mark.

These beautiful little Waders arrive on our shores in March and have usually bred and migrated by early July.

Blue Tit Portrait

2011-07-07T17:03:00.002+01:00

I was just looking through some old shots, that I took a couple of years ago and thought I'd share an image of one of Britain's more common garden birds, the Blue Tit.

These charismatic and busy little birds are a firm favourite of mine and I expect many others...

Meadow Rabbit...

2011-07-04T16:57:00.003+01:00

A couple of posts back I shared some shots of Rabbits taken at a picnic area close to the River Goyt in Stockport.

You may recall I mentioned a wild flower meadow which is the usual place to spot these creatures in this particular area and this reminded me of a shot I took a few years ago of a Bunny hiding amongst the wild flowers.

I've always been quite fond of this picture because it proved very tricky to get somewhere near the effect I was after and I must have shot 50 frames to achieve it!

I was trying to focus on the Rabbits eye which was easier said than done because I was shooting through tall grass and flora.

Everytime I thought I had the focus right, the auto-focus would decided otherwise and it became a very frustrating business!

In the end I switched to manual focus and got this shot...

Ok, it's not by any means the greatest photograph in the world, but I like the colours and everytime I see it, it reminds me of the troubles I had getting it!

Moorhen Family

2011-07-03T14:52:00.007+01:00

This morning I visited a small pond which is covered in Lily pads and home to a pair of Moorhens and their brood of 5 youngsters.

It was a lovely morning, the pond was bathed in bright sunshine and the youngsters seemed to enjoying themselves exploring their surroundings...

The parents while still keeping a watchful eye on the little ones were busy collecting materials for a new nest site, right in the middle of the pond...

Bold Bunnies!

2011-07-01T18:39:00.008+01:00

Wildlife is always all around us, but so wary is it of human beings it can quite easily go unnoticed.

There is an old saying about siting still and quiet in some wild place and within 15 minutes everything will return to normal...That is nature will carry on with it's business.

A good case in point occurred on my travels this morning...

I took a walk to a spot along the River Goyt close to my home which is usually a good vantage point for species such as Kingfisher, Dipper and Grey Wagtail to name just a few.

To gain access to this spot, I have to walk by meadows full of tall wild flower and grasses before passing through a mowed picnic area by the rivers edge.

The tall meadows play host to a variety of species and are a favourite feeding place for Rabbits because of the excellent cover it provides against predators such as Foxes and Buzzards which are plentiful in this area.

I arrived at the riverbank at around 8am after spending two hours trying to motivate myself to actually get out with the camera!

After spending 20 or so fruitless minutes scanning the river for the before mentioned target species I decided to try my luck elsewhere and headed back towards the picnic area which I had walked through before.

To my surprise the place had come to life and a dozen or so Rabbits were spread around busily feeding on the plentiful Clover flowers that were thriving on this patch of maintained land.

The Clover certainly was proving irresistible to the Bunnies, because these usually most timid of creatures were so intensely eating that they didn't seem to mind my presence and even allowed me to get within a few feet of them on open ground!

Ring Rust!

2011-06-26T21:02:00.003+01:00

Photographing wildlife as well as giving me great pleasure can also leave me with a great sense of frustration.

With this in mind, I wasn't expecting much from my first trip out with the camera in a very long time and I must admit I was very rusty!

It's easy to forget some of the basic rules when you've not been playing the game and today was a very hit and miss affair.

My predicament wasn't aided by me forgetting to take a tripod and having to get by using a 500mm lens handheld.

For this 'comeback' outing I decided to play safe and visit a small pond a few miles from home which I know is a favourite haunt of a Grey Heron...A bird that some of you may recall is a favourite of mine.

Happy New Year!

2011-06-19T07:59:00.005+01:00

Apologies for being 6 months too late and sincere thanks to all who have contacted me and encouraged me to post during my inactivity.

The main questions people have been asking is what I've been up to and why haven't I been taking photographs...

Well the simple truth is I just haven't felt like it.

Without trying to get all deep and philosophical...

For me, my photography is a form of escapism and it gives me opportunity to wander off on my own and be alone with my thoughts...I find a great peace being alone with nature in some isolated place.

In recent months, I guess I haven't been at peace with myself and therefore lost my motivation.

In the last couple of weeks I've started to become interested again...I've been looking at the work of other photographers and I've been trying to come up with ideas for a project that will hopefully inspire me to get back out there.

Thanks once again for your well wishes and support...Hopefully I'll have something new to offer very soon.

This is after all a photography blog, so I guess it's only right to leave you with a photograph.

I don't think I've shared this one before...

It's a sunset which I titled 'Last Light at Lyme Park' and I was fortunate enough to win the Talk Photography 'Trees' competition with it last year...

Seasons Greetings

2010-12-29T09:30:00.002Z

It's been a while and after a fairly prolific start to 2010 with the camera, the last few months have seen my photographic outings become less frequent.

I hope to get out a bit more in the new year, so until then may I take this opportunity to thank everyone that has visited this blog as well as my website and wish you all the best for 2011.

Waxwing Invasion

2010-11-14T18:34:00.003Z

My local area and many parts of the UK for that matter has seen a large invasion of one of the most welcome of winter visitors, the Waxwing in the last couple of weeks...

I spotted a group of five of these stunningly beautiful birds, last Tuesday and after being seen off by the local Magpies, they returned in greater numbers (around 30) over the next few days.

Reports of Waxwings in Greater Manchester are growing daily and with what appears to be decent berry crops in the area, hopefully the birds will be around for many weeks to come.

Misty Sunrise

2010-10-21T19:55:00.004+01:00

Wildfowl pictured last Sunday down the Vale...

Ready For The Rut

2010-10-10T10:48:00.004+01:00

Red Deer at Lyme Park in Cheshire are readying themselves for the Rutting Season.
The bellowing has started and there is evidence of the 'digging' behaviour, so it's only a matter of time before the Rut really gets going...

The Famous Grouse

2010-10-03T08:13:00.006+01:00

The usual mixture of four seasons in one day in the High Peak yesterday morning and a first visit in over a month to see the Red Grouse.

The golden rule when walking in this region is to be prepared for anything, but nothing could have prepared me for the sight of a Weasel drinking from a small pool only yards from where I had parked my car...Needless to say, he didn't have the manners to wait as I hurriedly unpacked my camera equipment!

This was my first trip out with the camera for several weeks, due to a combination of family commitments and ill-health and I must admit that I felt a little rusty...
I had forgotten the golden rule about being prepared for anything...Forgetting my wellington boots meant I was limited mainly to the crude paths that wind through the region because the moors were at their most boggiest!

Despite being a little disappointed about missing a few shots of smaller birds, I did alright with the target species for the morning, the Red Grouse.
There were very good numbers of the birds about, but they did seem even more jumpy than normal.
I had no luck with the females yesterday, but there were one or two males that allowed me to get close...

Winter Photography Workshops

2010-09-21T16:53:00.005+01:00

I'm please to announce a couple of new Workshops for this upcoming winter...

Following on from the popular August Red Grouse Workshop, I'll be conducting a number of Winter Red Grouse Workshops where I'll be sharing my fieldcraft knowledge and techniques on getting close to these very shy birds.
The Workshops will take place in the stunning surroundings of the Derbyshire Peak District at what I regard to be a very reasonable £45 for a minimum 4 hour session.
The second Workshop will take place in Cheshire and the focus will be on another shy creature...The Red Deer.
Price again for this one will be £45.

Both Workshops will be taking place between October 2010 and April 2011.

For more information please contact me via the main website... www.ajdixonphotography.co.uk

Full details of these and other Workshops are also available on the site.

WeBS

2010-09-19T10:24:00.011+01:00

I was asked a while back if I would monitor the water birds at Reddish Vale as part the 2010 WeBS survey.

WeBS is The Wetland Bird Survey and collects important information on the population, breeding and environment of UK water birds.

In their own words..." The principle aims of WeBS is to identify population sizes, determine trends in numbers and distribution and to identify important sites for water birds."

The WeBS survey covers almost every area of the UK and data is collected by hundreds of volunteers from across the nation.

My allocated area of Reddish Vale isn't exactly the most glamorous, but is still none the less important amongst the grand scheme of things.

My first count was taken this morning during very heavy rain and despite the unpleasant conditions it was still rather enjoyable.

One thing I personally like about WeBS is the emphasis isn't just on rarer species such as Avocet and Bittern but recognizes the importance of our more common water birds such as Mallard and Coot.

No images from today's count because of the heavy rain, but I'll leave you with a selection of water birds taken from around the UK in better weather...

The End Of Summer

2010-09-17T19:07:00.008+01:00

As much as I love the spring and summer months, there is always a part of me that yearns for the colder months of autumn and winter because of the rich bounty of wildlife that they bring.

Although there are many joys to behold in the warmer months with new life and migrant birds a plenty, the business time of the year for my photography has always been the period from late September to May and I'm starting to get a buzz of anticipation already.

I spend a great deal of time in the winter visiting coastal locations and one of my favourite areas is the Wirral and Dee Estuary.
For me, there is no better time to spot birds in this part of the world than the colder months, so I thought I'd share with you a taster of some of the areas birdlife with a few shots taken last winter...

Redshank

Turnstone

Shag

Common Blue Damselfly

2010-09-14T18:51:00.010+01:00

Following on from yesterday and another member of the Dragonfly family is the Common Blue Damselfly.
These electric blue beauties are like their name suggests a common sight on Britain's waterways, but they never fail to catch your eye.

After reading up a little on this species, I found that they like to perch on plant stems and leaves, often in numbers and always facing the same way. A fact illustrated in the image below...

On the day I took these shots, there were good numbers of Damselflies at fairly close quarters so I decided to have a go at trying to capture them in flight....Not by any means an easy task and after several attempts I concluded that this shot was likely to be the best I was going to get!

Dragonfly

2010-09-13T18:23:00.007+01:00

Over my years of watching nature, my attention has rarely strayed from birds and mammals, with the exception of Butterflies which I've always had a fondness for.

It comes as much as a surprise to myself, as well I'm sure as it does to certain people who know me, that recently my Insect interest has broadened and I've developed quite a strong liking for Dragonflies.

Up until this summer, I have never really given these wonderful creatures the attention they deserve, but I feel by overlooking these marvels of the lake, I have spent a good number of years missing out.

I'm not sure what sparked this new found appreciation of the Dragonfly...I must say that this summer has been a good one for spotting them and I've never seen so many as I have done this year.
There have been lots of times over the last few months, when waiting for birds to photograph my attention has been drawn to these huge Insects.

On last weeks visit to South Yorkshire, I couldn't believe the numbers of Dragons that were flying about...Hundreds of the things!

I'm certainly not by any stretch of the imagination an expert on these Insects, but after narrowing the search down I've decided that this particular species of Dragonfly is likely to be the Ruddy Darter.
Of course I could be wrong and the Ruddy is very similar looking to the Common Darter, but I just feel that the deep red colouration makes the Ruddy the more likely...I would of course welcome any information from anybody that knows a little bit more than my very basic knowledge on the subject.

I was quite pleased to witness a pair of these beautiful creatures mating...A truly fascinating experience watching them contort producing some incredible geometric shapes...

Old Moor

2010-09-07T17:08:00.007+01:00

On Sunday, I drove over into Yorkshire and to the superb Old Moor RSPB reserve.
The original plan was to visit the Ribble Estuary, but after reports of Bittern and Water Rail at the Yorkshire site I decided to try my luck.

Unfortunately Bittern and Water Rail are probably 2 of the shyest birds that can be found in the UK and almost inevitably the search was fruitless!

Still a very pleasant afternoon, although perhaps a little quiet on the bird front.
Highlights were good numbers of Little Grebe, Ruff, Redshank, Lapwing, Teal and Greenshank...

All Quiet On The Local Front!

2010-09-04T14:45:00.008+01:00

Everything still seems to be a little quiet on the local front, so tomorrow I'll probably head to the coast to try and capture some Sea Birds and Waders.
Over the last few days, I've ventured out a couple of times locally, but there has been a distinct lack of photo opportunities.

My old friends the House Sparrows are always a welcome sight especially when there aren't a lot of other species about...

I came across this solitary Greylag Goose on a quick visit to the Vale last night...

At another location this morning, birdlife was scarce, but at least there were plenty of Rabbits about...

The Elusive Kingfisher

2010-09-02T16:48:00.004+01:00

One of the most popular UK birds without any doubt is the beautiful Kingfisher.
I have spent a number of years following the fortunes of the resident Kingfishers at the Vale throughout the seasons and after a scare earlier in the year, following the harsh winter, I'm very pleased to say that they appear to be doing pretty well again.

The thing about the Kingfishers of the Vale is that they are extremely difficult to photograph.
Don't get me wrong, Kingfishers are never easy to photograph, but the favourite perches of the Vale birds are all in very camera unfriendly locations and spread over a vast area of varying habitat.

To top it off, quite frankly I've never had a great deal of luck with these birds either...I could talk all day about the countless hard luck stories I have about the Fisher King and the 'shot that got away', but I'm sure that everybody that has ever attempted to photograph these stunning birds has countless tales they could tell, so I won't bore you with mine.
:) Well at least not today!

On Sunday I had a very close 10 minute encounter with a young male Kingfisher. but frustratingly he spent most of the time ducking and diving behind branches and leaves.
It was as ever a wonderful experience none the less, despite not being able to get a clean shot at him...

Geese In The Mist

2010-09-01T17:26:00.010+01:00

A mist rose from the Mill Ponds and spread across the Vale on Sunday morning, producing a rather beautiful scene...

I love these misty mornings and the light produced by the combination of mist and the hazy rising sunshine can be breathtaking sometimes.

I was a little disappointed not to be able to capture anything exciting swimming through the mist and I had to settle for the Canada Geese...

The light wasn't too shabby after the mist had lifted and the calm water allowed for some nice reflections...

The Cruelty Of Nature

2010-08-30T11:10:00.007+01:00

The little Cygnet that I've been following throughout the summer is sadly no more.
Something happened between Saturday night and Sunday morning and the poor little fellow has not been seen since.
It's almost certain that a predator such as a Fox or Mink has made off with the youngster, perhaps catching the parents off guard because of a twist of fate...
On Friday another Mute Swan arrived and our very aggressive and territorial Cob spent all day chasing the newcomer off and then the next two days defending an area away from the Pen and Cygnet...Leaving the youngster vulnerable to attack.

It's a real shame because I had high hopes of our little Cygnet making it to adulthood and he really was getting on so well...Nature can be very cruel sometimes.

Keeping A Low Profile...

2010-08-22T13:35:00.008+01:00

August is perhaps the most frustrating month of the year for photographing wildlife on my local patch.
Food is plentiful so birds don't feel they have to come anywhere near us humans in search of a meal and the spoils are so rich in the summer that many can pick and choose when to feed and remain out of human sight altogether.

To make things worse for the wildlife photographer, vegetation is at it's peak and finding anything to photograph can prove difficult in the lush greenery which covers the English countryside and woodlands.

During these months, the best option is to concentrate on water birds, both the wildfowl and sea varieties.
Woodland birds are a nightmare in the summer because the leaf canopy usually makes even the strongest summer light poor, so I usually choose bright leafless winter days for these birds.

One bird however, isn't a stranger to hiding in thick vegetation whatever the season and when visiting sites with reed beds, it's always worth having a good look for them.
The Grey Heron, like it's close relative the Bittern is never happier when patrolling a reed bed, but unlike the very shy Bittern, thankfully they do like to spend time in the open as well...

In A Flap

2010-08-21T19:29:00.005+01:00

A few common Waterfowl species giving their wings a workout...

Canada Goose

Mute Swan

Mallard

Still Cute!

2010-08-16T19:01:00.006+01:00

He's now 2 months old and still exploring his world...
Although he still doesn't like to stray too far away from Mum & Dad...

May I present to you our little Cygnet...

Still looking very cute when I popped in to see him yesterday.

Sunday Down The Vale

2010-08-15T15:57:00.010+01:00

The sun was out this morning after a few days of what was at times torrential rain, so I decided a first visit for a couple of weeks to the Vale was in order.

I had a very pleasant morning photographing some of the more common, but none the less photogenic species.
There are certain species that a lot of photographers overlook because they feel that they are too common and therefor not very exciting.
I've never fully understood this logic because even the most numerous everyday species can be an excellent subject if you capture it doing something unusual.

A point in case maybe is this shot of a Black-Headed Gull from this mornings session.
He wasn't doing anything other than standing on a post overlooking the main Mill Pond, but I still fired a few shots at him anyway...He was fairly close and you never quite know what you will get.
After a few seconds the Gull opened his beak as wide as he could to yawn and I managed to capture this portrait which I'm sure you will agree is a lot more interesting than it would have been if he hadn't of yawned!
One nice thing about photographing the more common birds is a lot of them are used to humans and quite often are even curious of us.
This Blackbird seemed to be the curious type...

It's actually quite curious to why certain animals are curious of us and when you point a large lens at them ,some run in fear and some come for a closer look.
Like this Grey Squirrel...

It was a day of curiosities and this normally very shy Magpie was on the cautious side of curious and spent a full five minutes edging closer towards me, stopping every now and them to assess the situation...

What is Happening With The Red Grouse Study?

2010-08-13T20:48:00.005+01:00

Quite a few people have asked me recently"What is happening with the Red Grouse Study?"
Well the simple answer is it's still ongoing!

Just to elaborate slightly...
I haven't stopped studying the Grouse of the Derbyshire Peak District, in fact I've made a good number of trips to the moors in the last few weeks and I have hundreds of shots of the birds.
The truth is I'm looking at the bigger picture and I've been compiling an article on the birds which will hopefully be published in the near future.

It wouldn't be wise to publish everything I find on this blog, but I will do a brief update soon.
In the meantime, here are a couple of recent shots of a male...

Feeding Grey Squirrel

2010-08-12T17:00:00.005+01:00

Because I have championed the plight of our native and fast disappearing Red Squirrels on many occasions, it may seem unusual that I also have a soft spot for their American Grey cousins.

Red Squirrels have sadly been vacant from my local area for 30 years or more and the Grey Squirrel in that time has been a regular and for me welcome sight.

The 'Tree Rat' as it is called by many of the local unbelievers is a truly wonderful, charismatic and very cheeky creature that is always a pleasure to watch.

I spent 5 minutes yesterday watching this Grey performing all manner of acrobatics while feeding on berries in a Hawthorne Tree...

What Have They Done To The Rain?

2010-08-10T17:18:00.011+01:00

If anybody out there (and I know some do) still have their doubts about the validity of the hosepipe ban that was introduced to North West England last month, please read on...

Last week I posted a couple of shots I had taken last year at the Ladybower Reservoir in the Peak District and I apologies now for reposting them, but I feel they are relevant.
On Sunday, I visited my favorite spot on Ladybower for the first time in a couple of months and I was shocked at what I saw.

Here is the scene taken last year of Ladybower towards Castleton...

Here is the same viewpoint taken on Sunday...

A scene of Ladybower towards Howden Dam taken last year...

The same viewpoint taken on Sunday...

I've been visiting Ladybower for many years and I've never seen it so low.
The story is the same at the majority of the regions reservoirs and even after the rains we had last week, there seems to be little or no impact on water levels.
I suggest it may be many months before there are any real signs of recovery.

So if you meet any 'Doubting Thomas' (and I have met a few recently) who question United Utilities decision to introduce the ban, please direct them to this post, or better still tell them to visit their local reservoir...I'm sure they will find it an eye opener.

Surprise Mountain Hare

2010-08-09T16:23:00.010+01:00

One of the most wonderful things about photographing wildlife is of course that you never know what you're going to find...
Over the last week, I've been conducting a number of Red Grouse Workshops in the Dark Peak area of Derbyshire and on yesterdays final trip we encountered one of England's rarest mammals...The Mountain Hare.

Having spent many hours last winter, trying to find and get close to these exceptionally shy creatures, it came as a huge surprise to be able to get fairly near to one on open moorland with a minimum of effort...

The Mountain Hare, although fairly common in the Highlands of Scotland is only found in this area of the Dark Peak in England and they are not at all easy to find.
They usually bolt as soon as they see you, but yesterday's Hare which was a youngster in summer coat seemed fearless.
I'm quite sure that we could have got even closer to this Hare, but after getting a few shots we decided to leave him be and carry on pursuing the Grouse, which were playing very hard to get.

The Mountain Hare is notably smaller than the much more common Brown Hare and is Britain's only true native Hare.
They are thought to have been around since the Ice Age, with the Brown Hare being a relative newcomer in comparison after being introduced by the Romans.

The Mountain Hare retains it's brown summer coat from May until October, before it transforms into it's white winter coat which is perfect camouflage against the snowy backdrop of the high Peak District habitat.

I photographed this Mountain Hare below, last April just as his winter coat was starting the change to the summer one...

Daily Mail

2010-08-07T11:31:00.003+01:00

The Daily Mail Newspaper are today giving away a free version of the book 'I-Spy On A Car Journey' which features 4 of my bird photographs.
Next Week the Daily Mail will be publishing tokens to collect other books from the series including 'I-Spy Birds' which contains 13 of my images.

The Daily Mail which has a circulation of just under 2 million copies sold daily, also ran a television advertisement last night on the ITV, Channel 4 and Sky Television networks featuring my photograph of a Magpie in the snow.

Postcards From The Peaks (2)

2010-08-06T19:07:00.008+01:00

I've not been out much in the last few days, so if you don't mind I'd thought I'd share a few more shots of the Dark Peak area of Derbyshire.

First Light At Ladybower...
An early morning shot using a ND Filter of the Ladybower Reservoir from Derwent Valley.
Sunrise At Cave Dale...
Another early morning effort, this time the location is the spectacular Cave Dale near the village of Castleton.
I used a red Skylight Filter on this shot to give the scene an eerie feel...Which is the feeling I always get at this place when alone early in the morning!

Castleton...

A vista from the beautiful village of Castleton, featuring the lovely limestone cottages which are a feature of this part of Derbyshire.

Winnats Pass At Dawn...

The other day I posted a view of the Hope Valley from Winnats Pass, so I'd thought I'd show you a shot of Winnats itself.

After a climb to the top of one of the peaks, I set up my camera and took this shot just as the sun was beginning to creep over the hills...Providing some interesting light and shadow effects.

Brown Rat

2010-08-04T06:59:00.005+01:00

They say you're never more than a few feet away from a Rat, although it's not often you actually see one, especially in the daylight hours.

The Brown Rat aka Common Rat, Norway Rat, Sewer Rat or Wharf Rat is widespread on every one of earths continents except Antarctica.
They are thought to have originated from China and have spread to the four corners of the earth over the centuries.
The first Brown Rats in Europe are thought to have arrived sometime in the middle ages.

The Brown Rat is a very good swimmer both above and underwater, but unlike it's cousin the Black Rat isn't much of a climber.
Brown Rats are burrowing animals and live a complex labyrinth of tunnels that are painstakingly excavated.

The Brown Rats diets consists of just about anything edible, but it's favourite and most natural food is cereal.
They really aren't fussy though and thrive on human waste, as well as less appetising products like paper, cardboard and electricity cables!

Like most people, I'm not a great lover of Rats and certainly wouldn't want them in my home, but over the years I've come to respect them a little bit more than I used to.

On my my photographic travels, I encounter Rats at a number of different locations and habitats.
By far the most common place I see these Rodents is around bird feeding stations at nature reserves...Especially the ones that are viewed from hides.

Rats are on the whole very shy creatures and will normally do anything to avoid human contact.
All they really want to do is eat, sleep, reproduce and be left alone to go about their business.
It's a shame really that they carry a arsenal of deadly diseases, because if you ever encounter one long enough to watch them close up, they really are quite fascinating little animals.

Postcards From The Peaks

2010-08-03T19:36:00.009+01:00

Following on from yesterday and after some very nice comments, I'd thought I'd share a few more images from the Peak District.
I do count myself very lucky to live only a few short miles from what I regard as one of the most beautiful places on earth and while I wouldn't regard myself as a landscape photographer, I do like to try and capture the scenery from time to time.

The first two images are of the Ladybower Reservoir in the heart of Derwent Valley.
The interesting thing about these shots is the first was taken in April and the second in May...All be it April 2009 and May 2008.
What I think is interesting is the huge difference in colour as the last throws of winter transform into early summer...

A few miles from Derwent Valley is the village of Castleton and nearby is the spectacular Winnats Pass.
I climbed to the top of Winnats early one spring morning a few years back and captured the view overlooking the Hope Valley just as the sun was rising.
On the hill in the distance you might be able to make out the chimney of the cement works...

Although the heart of the Peak District is firmly in Derbyshire, it does touch the counties of Lancashire, Yorkshire and Cheshire.

This image is of that famous tree I told you about a while back and was taken one early winter morning in Lyme Park in Cheshire on the edge of the Peaks...

Colours Of The Moors

2010-08-02T19:43:00.009+01:00

I spent a couple of hours in the Derbyshire Dales this afternoon, walking in the moors above Hathersage.
The village of Hathersage itself is a beautiful little place and legend has it that it is the the birth place of Robin Hood's right hand man Little John.
In fact the parish church has a elongated grave in the cemetery which is said to be the final resting place of the English folk hero.

The moorland itself is typical of the Dark Peak area and the landscape is dominated by large limestone outcrops...

The moors are at their most beautiful at this time of the year with the purple heather in full bloom...
Today was very typical of the Peak District and the early afternoon sunshine soon gave way to much more threatening conditions...

The Moorland habitat supports a diverse array of wildlife and today's highlights included this lovely female Stonechat and she was posing very nicely for me on a sprig of heather...

It's always worth scanning the hundreds of rocks that litter the landscape, because the birds of the moors like very much to secure good vantage points to oversee their territories and this Meadow Pipit was doing just that...

Rainy Day Birds

2010-08-01T11:52:00.007+01:00

Here are a few shots from a rather wet early Sunday morning shoot around Etherow Park in Stockport.
Because of the heavy rain, I didn't venture too far around the reserve, so I mainly encountered some of the more common residents...

Great Crested Grebe

Greylag Goose

Mallard

House Sparrow Reflection

100 Not Out!

2010-07-31T07:36:00.004+01:00

Well, here is post number 100...
I must admit I'm surprised to have got here so quickly, because before I started this blog my main concern was finding the time to actually write it and finding something to write about!

I must say it's been a lot easier than I thought it would be.
I've found it's just a case of going out, taking some pictures and then talking rubbish about them...Simple!

Anyway, I've been thinking about what would be a fitting way of marking this milestone and decided that the best thing to do would be to post my favourite photo of the year so far...

Now so far this year I've traveled many miles around England and Wales photographing a vast variety of different species.
It seems strange then that my personal favourite image of the year was taken only a few miles from my home and is of one of the most common birds in Britain...The humble Robin.

Robins are the most charming little birds...Bold, brave, cheeky and I've always found them irresistible to photograph.
One day early in April, I was walking back to my car after a mornings photography session when I spotted something moving on the top of a high wall.
As I neared, I noticed it was a Robin, head down and totally ignorant to my presence.
I was a bit tired after a long morning and nearly didn't bother stopping...After all it was only a Robin!
There was a line of bricks partially obscuring the bird, but I became intrigued to know what was keeping him so occupied because I'd stood there for a good few seconds and he didn't look up once.
I decided I might as well get one final shot of the day, so pointed my 500mm lens at him handheld.
He still didn't look up, I still couldn't see what he was up to and my handheld camera was starting to get heavy!

I did one last focus check and steadied my camera as best I could before making a whistling sound.
The Robin looked up and straight at me revealing what had been keeping him so busy for the past couple of minutes...

Thanks once again for stopping by and following my blog.

The One That Got Away!

2010-07-30T17:12:00.003+01:00

If I were to name the one bird that has given me the most trouble trying to photograph over the years it would have to be the Jay.
Jay's are incredibly shy and very wary of man and in particular one man...ME!!!

Here's a shot from one of my typical Jay encounters earlier this year...
I spotted him and tried to get myself into a position that offered good cover and a good chance of a shot, but the trouble was he spotted me before I was quite set.
All I got on this occasion was this one shot...At least he had the courtesy to fly off in my direction!

Alien Invaders

2010-07-27T16:28:00.007+01:00

Back in June, I touched upon the problem of introduced non British species into our waterways and in particular the Terrapins at Etherow Park.

Well Etherow is just one of many local waters to contain these creatures and Reddish Vale is another.
The other day I spotted a very young Terrapin basking on a floating log in one of the ponds down the Vale...

Whether or not this youngster had been freshly dumped into the pond or is a result of successful breeding between already established Terrapins I'm not quite sure.
The other thing I'm not sure of and perhaps I'll have to do a little research on the subject is the effect that these reptiles have on the Eco system.

This particular pond is fairly small, but as a good stock of small fish which are a good source of food for the resident Kingfishers, as well as the Terrapins.
Terrapins are also known to attack young wildfowl and I wonder if the death of a young Coot I spotted on the pond a couple of days earlier was a result of these alien invaders...

The sight of another exotic species and I guess an altogether less harmful creature in the pond made me chuckle...

I was sat quietly by the pond, hoping for the Kingfishers to turn up, when a two young children with small fishing nets turned up looking for Minnows and Sticklebacks. The Kids were accompanied by their parents and the four threw pieces of bread into the water hoping to attract the small fish.

After about 30 minutes or so, the father declared that "The pond was polluted and there were definitely no fish in there". Now of course, I knew that this wasn't true and the presence of Kingfishers and Terrapins on the Pond is proof enough of good fishing. The family then walked off the wooden jetty where they had been looking for fish and left the pond rather disappointed.

Less than a minute after they had left and from beneath the jetty where they stood, a huge Koi Carp came to the surface!

Dipper

2010-07-25T08:37:00.007+01:00

Wherever you find Kingfishers in my local area, there is a good chance that there may be another beautiful little bird that thrives in freshwater streams and rivers...The Dipper.

5 out of the 6 Kingfisher sites that I know of locally are also the home to Dippers and when I came across this female bird feeding in a stream earlier this year, I was particularly happy to see her...

The reason I was so happy is I noticed that this Dipper was a ringed bird and I happened to be present at her ringing early in 2009.

I met up with members of the South Manchester Dipper Project at a location close to my home, just as the guys were freeing the bird from a mist net that they had set up on the stream close to the Dippers nesting site.

The bird was carefully placed in a specially designed bag and we then proceeded to the car park where the group carried out some important checks on her.

The first job was a quick examination to check that she was in good health and she passed this with flying colours.

Next the Dipper, still in bag was weighed...

Then came the most important part, the ringing its self.

A steady hand was required for this and I was full of admiration for the amount of speed and skill on display here...

All done and a final health check before the bird was returned to the stream...

The thing that struck me most was how calm the Dipper remained throughout the process, showing no sign what so ever of any distress.
Again a glowing testiment to the talents of these ringers.

Return Of The Fisher King

2010-07-24T11:04:00.004+01:00

A few weeks back I told you about what appeared to be the sad demise following the harsh winter of the Kingfisher at Reddish Vale, a place that has been a stronghold for these stunning birds in recent years.
Well has it happens, the very next day after making that post I spotted two birds flying over the main Mill Ponds at the Vale!

I didn't want to get too excited, so I remained open-minded about this sighting and indeed returned a number of times in the next few days only to be disappointed.
Then a couple of weeks ago, I saw the birds again, but after returning the next couple of days, I drew blanks.

The good news is I have visited the sight on three occasions this week and I have found 2 very active young Kingfishers each time.
Not only that, it appears that the birds are well settled here and are using the areas of the Vale that have been used traditionally by Kingfishers in the past.

This morning I managed to get a fairly close view of one of the birds and hopefully this will be the first of many more to come...

Ghosts Of The Forest

2010-07-22T16:31:00.004+01:00

A seldom seen creature of Britain's forests and woodlands is the Fallow Deer.
Despite being one of the countries largest mammals these shy animals remain amazingly aloof and are very wary of human beings.

The best chance of spotting Fallow Deer is early morning, just after dawn or the hour or so before sunset in the evening.
The best places to look for them are areas of good grazing grassland close to densely wooded areas.

The Deer never seem to venture too far from the edge of the woodland and if disturbed will quickly vanish into the trees...It's uncanny how a fairly large herd can disappear almost ghostlike seemingly without trace!

Good cover is essential for getting near to Fallow Deer and here are a couple of shots taken early on a beautiful spring morning of a Doe emerging to feed from the woods.
Unfortunately, my cover wasn't quite good enough and she soon spotted me!

Boy, Haven't You Grown!

2010-07-20T19:33:00.007+01:00

I paid my first visit for a couple of weeks to see how our little Mute Swan Cygnet was getting along and I was pleasantly surprised to see how much he'd grown in the short time since I last saw him.

Still looking very cute, the most noticeable feature is his neck, which has taken an altogether longer profile.

He's still spending most of the time closely following his parents around, but once in a while he'll venture off a few yards to explore his surroundings...

A Few From This Evening

2010-07-19T19:53:00.006+01:00

I managed to finally drag myself out into the miserable English weather earlier this evening after nearly going stir crazy due to lack of photography!

It was actually quite a pleasant day at times today, but by the time I finally managed to get out of the office, the gloom had descended.

I decided to pay a visit to Etherow Park and quickly located the House Sparrow colony I photographed the other week.

The light was fading fast, but I was lucky enough to get a few shots away...

The rain soon started to fall and photo opportunities were fading with the light.

It was as they say "nice weather for ducks" although this female Mallard didn't seem to care all that much about it...

A flock of Canada Geese came flying towards me in the poor light.

Shutter speed was low, so I focused on one bird and panned around on him has he came past.

I've always enjoyed taking slow shutter shots of wildlife in motion and this one although not quite as slow as I would of liked, didn't turn out too bad...

Talk About The Weather

2010-07-18T19:54:00.003+01:00

Just over a week ago, United Utilities the company that supplies household water to the North West Of England announced a hosepipe ban because of a severe lack of rain in the region.
The reservoirs are very low in this part of the world so I guess the action is understandable, but inevitably ever since the water shortage was announced, it hasn't stopped raining!

For somebody who likes to get out and about with the camera as often as possible, it's all getting to be a rather frustrating business.
Now I'm not one of those fair weather photographers and I don't mind a little bit of rain, but the light hasn't been brilliant and the few times I have ventured out in the last week it seems that the wildlife has decided to stay in!

Well I've had enough and with forecasts of more gloom to come in the next week, I have set myself a challenge to get out and find some wildlife to photograph.
I've decided I'm not going to sit around moaning about the rain, I'm going to get out and embrace it...Starting tomorrow!
Or I could I suppose post some more old images from my archives...No, no I'm going to get out, get wet and get some new images for you.

Watch this space...

Storm clouds gathering over Manchester

Fighting Back!

2010-07-18T09:57:00.004+01:00

Some heartwarming news reported in the press this week concerning one of England's most endangered mammals the Red Squirrel.
Our true native Squirrel has been a very rare sight in recent years because of the Squirrel Pox virus which is carried by the non-native and now far more widespread American Grey Squirrel and is confined to only a handful of locations in the north of the country.

One of those locations is Formby Point on Merseyside and I told you back in February about the desperate plight of the species there and at the time the situation look very bad indeed.

Well I'm very pleased to say, that I and many others underestimated our Reds and these little beauties are staging what can only be described as a miraculous comeback at Formby.
Numbers dropped from around 1000 to only 100 or so Squirrels in 2008, but a culling of Greys and the quarantining of infected Reds has seen the Formby population double in the last two years.

There's also good news for Welsh Reds as well, with the population booming on Angelsey and the Greys now all but extinct on the Island.

Playing Around With Light

2010-07-17T05:18:00.005+01:00

Just to follow on from my last two posts...

On that beautiful spring evening I took the Red Deer shots, the light was so lovely I hung around and waited for the sun to set.
I have taken the sunset at this location many times before and I must of photographed one particular tree hundreds of times.

In fact, this must be the most photographed tree in British nature photography because it has been the subject of award winning images from pros such as Ben Hall and Geoff Simpson as well as helping yours truly to top prize in a competition early this year!

I'm sure many of you will be familiar with Ben's famous image of Red Deer under this tree at sunset because it has been used by the RSPB in their Birds Magazine on a number of occasions.

Anyway, I just wanted to make one more point about the use of light following on from the Mute Swan post from the other day...

One tree in the setting sun...
Same tree in the same setting sun, but this time I positioned myself a few feet further to the left...

As you can see, the results are rather different and the light paints two very different pictures with a lot more subtle variations in colour in the second shot.

Red Deer Hind

2010-07-15T20:12:00.008+01:00

Well the weather is still pretty miserable here at the moment so I hope you don't mind me digging into my hard drive again.
Here are a few shots from a set I took of Red Deer Hinds in Cheshire back on a beautiful spring evening in April...

Photographing wild Deer is always a challenge and something I enjoy very much.
I suppose it brings out the 'hunting' instincts in me, and as somebody who is 100% opposed to hunting, I mean this in the nicest possible way.
I guess you could call it 'the thrill of the chase'...Finding the Deer in the first place can sometimes prove impossible and then you have the dilemma of getting close enough to them to get a decent image.
I'll be the first to admit that I do get a bit 'Ray Mears' when Deer are the target and camouflage clothing and a lot of skulking around in long grass is usually the order of the day...

Early Morning Swans

2010-07-14T17:31:00.007+01:00

The most important aspect of photography is of course light and without light you simply can't take a photograph!
Different light conditions can be the difference between a good and bad photograph and sometimes the right light can make for some quite magical images.

Some Landscape photographers chase light to the point of obsession and have an uncanny knack of knowing where the best light will be at a particular place, at a particular time of year.
A bit nerdy then?
Well no, I don't think it is really...I think all photographers of all genres can benefit by studying light a little more closely.
I think it's especially important to the wildlife photographer and even more so if you're like me and you rely 100% on natural light.

Over the years I've learnt by trial and error where the sun will rise and fall at my regular locations and this is particularly important when you have a shot in mind that you would like to try and capture...It's no good waiting 12 hours for that Golden Eagle to fly by carrying it's prey, only to realise when it's too late that you're shooting straight into the sun!
Sounds very basic, but it happens and I would say it happens to all of us from time to time too.

In April, I payed a few visits to Poynton Pool in Cheshire to photograph amongst other things Mute Swans.
On my first visit, I walked around the lake to the far side so the sun would be behind me and this allowed me to get some rather pleasing shots.
On my way back I noticed the sun over the top of the trees and thought that this might be quite interesting at sunrise when the sun starts to break through the trees.

I waiting a couple of days until the forecast was favourable and returned early in the morning and waited for the sunrise.
A beautiful almost misty light soon developed and to my delight 5 Mute Swans decided to fly by...

I'm not 100% sure or not whether this was the effect I was after but I must admit I'm quite happy with the results.

A little bit more predictable a lot easier to pull off was this silhouetted Swan...Just a case of waiting for the bird to swim into the right position (just before the reflected sun) and then firing away!

Lake District Red Kites

2010-07-13T16:47:00.007+01:00

There was some great news reported on the BBC's North West Tonight show last night about the re-introduction of Red Kites to the Lake District...

90 juvenile birds are to be released over a three year period, starting with 30 youngsters in a couple of weeks time.
The young Kites have been bred at a site in Rockingham Forest in Northamptonshire and have been transported to a holding pen at their new home in Grizedale Forest in the Lake District ready for the big release day.
After the release, the Red Kites will continue to be fed until they have learnt to fend for themselves and special care has been taken so that the birds will not become accustomed with human contact.
All the birds will be tagged just like the one below so progress can be monitored.

It really is another great effort by conservationists who have worked tirelessly over the last 20 years or so to re-establish the Red Kite as a common sight in Britain...Up to a few hundred years ago the species was widespread.

Lessons have been learnt from the great success of the species in Wales, thanks in no small part to the team at Gigrin Farm in Powys.

Birds Of A Feather

2010-07-12T18:57:00.010+01:00

The weather has been a little bit grim today, so I've been looking through some old images and came across this set from last year...Well only just!
These shots were taken at West Kirby on the Dee Estuary on New Years Eve of last year.
I remember it to be a very cold winters morning, but we had some beautiful sunshine early on.

I love to visit West Kirby in the winter months when the tide is high, because if you're lucky you can witness some amazing scenes as thousands of Waders and Sea Birds arrive en mass and sit patiently on the rocks for the sea to go back out and reveal a feast of crustaceans on the wet sands and mudflaps.

On this December morning there was a flock of around 5000 Knot as well as good numbers of Dunlin, Redshank and Turnstone.
Every now and again something would make the birds restless and that was the cue for some wonderful sights...

Little Brown Jobbies

2010-07-11T14:30:00.008+01:00

The plan for this morning was to have a walk around Etherow Park in Stockport and see what was about.
I was expecting to have a card full of Water Fowl shots, but as it happens, I didn't really get that far around the lake...

The reason being, is not far into my walk I encountered a flock of one of my favourite little birds, the House Sparrow and I was mesmerized for the next hour or so by their antics.

Who would have thought not so long back that the humble House Sparrow would find it's way on to the RSPB's red list, but sadly that is the case and these much loved little birds are now declining at a alarming rate.

What makes this more shocking is the fact that the House Sparrow really is the ultimate 'people bird'.
These little beauties have lived side by side with man since the dawn of civilization and have learnt to adapt and make good of the waste that us humans discard.

The House Sparrow is an often overlooked bird and I guess that is because folk are over familiar with them.
It is a bird that we are use to seeing in our gardens and in the countryside, so perhaps a lot of people wouldn't give them a second look.

Just another boring House Sparrow...
Any truth in this statement?
Well for anyone who hasn't taken the time to sit and watch these birds for any length of time, then I guess they would say yes.
For those of us who have then it's definitely an almighty NO!

For me the humble, cheeky, noisey little House Sparrow is by far the most entertaining watch in the bird world...Thoroughly enchanting creatures.

So if you've never took the time to watch them closely, next time you get the opportunity please do so...You won't be disappointed.

Also please spare this thought...
If the current rate of decline continues, in a few short years the House Sparrow will be about as common as it's cousin the Tree Sparrow which is now a very rare sight in our gardens and rural areas.
Treasure them, you never know what you've got until it's gone.

Male House Sparrow

Female House Sparrow

Juvenile House Sparrow

Canal Life

2010-07-10T17:29:00.012+01:00

Since I started this blog back in January, I have posted images from many different locations and habitats from around the UK.
It may seem strange then, that it has taken so long to do a post about one of the most important of my local habitats, the canal network.

In the coming weeks, I'd like to share with you some of my favourite places along my local canal network and also the wildlife I encounter on route.
I would also like to explain a little bit about the history of the waterways around Manchester and their impact on the world as we know it today.

For now though, I'll just give you a little taster...
There are two canals close to where I live...The Peak Forest Canal and the Macclesfield Canal.
These two canals meet at a junction at the village of Marple.
From Marple you can take the Peak Forest Canal to Buxworth in Derbyshire to the south or to Manchester in the north via the junction with the Ashton Canal.
Via the Macclesfield Canal it is possible to join other canal networks at Stoke-On-Trent and the Midlands beyond.

Today I was at a stretch of the Macclesfield Canal near High Lane which is a few miles south of Marple. The canals in this area are quite rightly regarded as some of the most beautiful in Britain and are very popular with Narrowboaters and pleasure seekers...

The canal offers a vast variety of flora and fauna and this area is rich in many wild flowers which attract many insects like this Painted Lady Butterfly...

In the grass at the side of the canal towpath there is plenty of clover in bloom at the moment and clover is a big favourite of the Bees...

There's plenty of birdlife to be seen and I couldn't resist a shot of this scruffy looking Robin...

Finally for now, perhaps the most common sight on the canal and every other body of water for that matter...The Mallard!

Clumsy Heron!

2010-07-09T20:10:00.010+01:00

I came across this Grey Heron recently, stood on a mooring in the middle of a local lake.
I watched for a good 15 minutes while the bird waited patiently for his next meal to swim by...
After a while it looked like he was on to something...

Steady, this really isn't the time to lose your balance...

Too late, there goes his meal as well as his pride!

Puffin Marvelous!

2010-07-08T17:57:00.011+01:00

There was some brilliant news reported in today's newspapers and on BBC television this morning concerning one of Britain's most popular birds the Puffin...
After a catastrophic decline in recent years, the population of the birds at England's largest colony at the Farne Islands has risen by 10% in the last 2 years.

The Puffin population rose steadily between 1970 and 1990, but a population boom between 1990 and 2000 saw the species peak at around 56,000 pairs.
Something occurred between 2003 and 2008 that sadly caused a 30% decline in these beautiful little creatures...

There were many theories to the reasons behind this dramatic fall, but nothing was conclusive.
It was feared that a shortage of food was to blame, especially the Puffins favourite the Sand eel, but these fears have now been proved to be ungrounded and there is said to be plenty of food available.
In an effort to pin-point the problem, researches fitted large numbers of Farne Island Puffins with GPS tags to monitor feeding habits.
The data collected from these tags revealed some very interesting findings...

It was thought that birds on the Island flew over 60 miles out to sea in search of food, but it was discovered that the majority (up to 75%) of the Puffins were travelling a much shorter distance of around 20 miles to an area of deep sea known as the 'Farnes Deep' to forage.

The data also showed that some birds took straight direct routes to the foraging area, while others took a much longer circular journey.

I thought the most interesting finding was regarding the Puffins diving habit...
It was thought that the bird would dive to a depth of around 5 metres in search of Sand eels, but the data revealed that the Puffins were actually reaching depths of around 25 metres.

Finally, a few Puffin facts for you to digest...

The Puffin stands only 12in tall.
Puffins spend up to 8 months per year out at sea.
Puffins usually live for 25-30 years, although the oldest recorded ringed bird was 37.
Puffins pair for life.
Puffins use the same burrows every year.
The female bird lays just one egg and both parents take turns sitting on it.
The Young stay in the burrow for 45 days before leaving home in the night to avoid predators.
A young puffin spends its first three years at sea before setting foot on land.

Avocet

2010-07-07T17:52:00.009+01:00

Following on from yesterdays post about the success of the Common Buzzard, I thought I'd talk about another success story, but one in altogether different circumstances...The Avocet.

The Avocet is the symbol of the RSPB and in their own words "Symbolises the bird protection movement in the UK more than any other species".

The Avocet returned to our shores in the 1940's after a long absence.
Because of a huge conservation effort and strict protection methods, their numbers have steadily risen annually.
The UK can now boast around 900 breeding pairs with up to 3500 individual birds wintering here.
We're very lucky here in the North West of England to be blessed with a number of sites which support good numbers of Avocets.

Most of the North West population of these birds is situated around various RSPB reserves, thanks mainly to the superb work the organisation has done in managing the habitat at these reserves and a lot of effort has been made in regards to tailoring the surroundings to meet the Avocets requirements.

The Avocet favours wetlands and coastal lagoons with shallow water which allow the bird to wade through looking for food.
The Avocets diet includes insects and crustaceans.

Moving away from the water, they also have a liking for digging around in mud for worms.

Common Buzzard

2010-07-06T18:38:00.007+01:00

Ask most people who don't have more than a passing interest in ornithology, what is Britain's most numerous bird of prey and you would have to excuse them for saying it would be the Common Kestrel.
It often comes as a huge surprise for these people when you tell them in fact it is the Common Buzzard.

It's also very surprising just how many people don't even know that the UK is home to Buzzards and a lot of people seem to have this childhood image of Buzzards circling the dead or dying, just like in the old Westerns!

Buzzards were persecuted just like many other Raptors in the 1800's and the UK population faced extinction.
They made a comeback in the 20th century but again faced a major threat to their survival in the 1960's due to farmland pesticides that were making the birds infertile.
The banning of such pesticides has meant a population boom since then and British Buzzards now number over 40,000 pairs.
You're likely to spot Buzzards in just about every habitat these days and one reason for their success is their excellent hunting skills.
No small animal or bird is safe from the grasp of these superb predators and a few weeks back, I watched a Buzzard make light work of a young Rabbit...

So the future looks rosey for the beautiful Common Buzzard and land owners are now beginning to understand the benefits of having these splendid birds around.

After all, I guess you could regard them as natures Gamekeepers...

Swallows

2010-07-05T20:00:00.005+01:00

Perhaps no bird signifies the British summer quite like the Swallow.
Every year from March these beautifully graceful fliers arrive from Southern Africa to breed on these shores, only to make the long and dangerous journey back to the sunshine around October.

After the cold winter months, the first Swallow of the spring is always a momentous day and a sign that warmer weather is just around the corner.
I get a lot of satisfaction from watching Swallows...Their mesmerizing aerial displays can leave you almost in a hypnotic state and trying to second guess which direction these supremely fast birds will take next is a task nigh on impossible!

Sadly, Swallows like so many of our migrant birds are in decline in the UK and a major factor is the same old story...Loss of habitat.
Thankfully this is not the case at a farm down the road from my home...
This farm offers perfect surroundings for these lovely birds and the farmer, I'm pleased to say cares very much about the plight of the birdlife on his land.

Every year Swallows return to this farm in large numbers and nest in the barns and outbuildings.
They are a familiar and very welcome sight during the summer months, swooping low across the fields and resting briefly on telephone lines...
I'm pleased to say that this year appears to be another bumper season for my local Swallows, with plenty of young despite some losses to the local Little Owls.

Modern building techniques don't really do much to help Swallows and new building regulations now insist on vents covering the soffits which have traditionally been used by the birds.
Fortunately our local farmer is only too aware of this problem and all his buildings have plenty of access points for the Swallows.

I payed a brief visit yesterday morning to see how this years batch of youngster were getting on and I was very pleased to see these fledglings at the side of the farmhouse...

Evening Surprise

2010-07-04T18:28:00.006+01:00

I returned to the same farmland spot again last night and spent some time by the River Goyt.
I had a relaxing time at the waters edge watching Trout rising and Swallows and Swifts competing for flies.

It really was a glorious summers evening and as I made my way back to the car, the sun was casting long shadows across the fields.
In the shaded area of one of the fields, there was a movement in the long grass and the many Woodpigeon, Magpie and Crows became restless.

Soon the reason for the birds restlessness became clear and a beautiful Red Fox made her presence known.
This was a true countryside Fox and unlike many of her city counterparts was very vary of humans and no sooner than she spotted me, she skulked off into the long grass.
An all too brief but none the less memorable encounter...

Morning Glory

2010-07-04T06:31:00.005+01:00

A few more images from yesterday mornings session...

An early start normally means there is a good chance of seeing Rabbits who are very active in the first hours of the summer sunshine...
The hedgerows are always bustling at this farmland location and this Dunnock must have had young close by judging by the amount of insects collected in its beak...

Posing nicely in the sun was this Song Thrush...

Still plenty of Youngsters about and not quite ready for this years Christmas cards was this juvenile Robin...

Treecreeper

2010-07-03T17:11:00.008+01:00

Not all that uncommon, but certainly one of the hardest to spot little birds you're likely to come across is the Treecreeper...
Hard to spot because of their small size and brilliant camouflage, the Treecreeper is somewhat of a oddity amongst birds.

These woodland specialities spend their time hopping from tree to tree where they tend to land low or even the very bottom, before winding their way up the top in a slow spiral motion.
There is a very good reason of course to why the Treecreeper does this...Quite simply, food!
Treecreepers feed on the many grubs and insects that live on the bark of trees.

This morning I came across an adult and four Juvenile birds at a spot near my home and had to make the best of the low light conditions which tend to hamper shots of this species...

The Fisher King

2010-07-01T21:10:00.006+01:00

Almost 2 years ago to this very day on a sunny morning at Reddish Vale, Stockport I witnessed along with a couple of other people one of the most amazing sights I have ever encountered while watching wildlife...6 Kingfishers lined up together on some shrubbery in the middle of the main Mill Pond.
It was a very proud day for me as we watched the two adults and healthy four offspring sitting there in the sun.
A proud day because I had spent hundreds of hours watching these birds over a magical two year period and this was indeed as good as it gets.

It would have been almost unimaginable a few short years earlier that you would see this most beautiful of birds thriving in such a place...Pollution in the River Tame that runs through the Vale like so many of the waterways of Greater Manchester at the time was very high and this success story owes a lot to United Utilities and many local folk who put in time and effort to clean up the area.
Stockport actually is a little bit of a hotbed for Kingfishers and now boasts many good locations to spot these wonderful birds.

Although I have watched Kingfishers at many locations, I have never felt such a affiliation like the one I felt for the birds of the Vale.
For over 2 years I spent up to 8 hours a day of my spare time observing these birds to the point of obsession!
In sunshine, rain and snow I would sit quietly with my thoughts hoping to capture even the smallest glimpse of a Kingfisher...Many fruitless days were spent waiting for this most frustrating of subjects, but a few unforgettable seconds from time to time when the birds would be active made it all worthwhile.

Although the rivers and waterways in my local area are now probably as clean as they've been since the start of the industrial revolution some 200 years ago and Kingfishers are thriving all over the Borough, it saddens me to tell you that the resident Reddish Vale birds are no more.
I last saw one at the start of January 2010 and although there have been reports of the odd one flying up the river it seems that the terrible winter we suffered at the beginning of the year took it's toll on this population.

I do hope to find time in the coming months to photograph birds at other local locations, but somehow I don't think it will be quite the same...

The First Six Months...A Thank You!

2010-06-30T19:50:00.008+01:00

June has been my most prolific month for posting since this blog began back in January, thanks mainly to the many new arrivals that this month has to offer.

When I started this blog, I did wonder if I would be able to do it justice with regular postings...

My main concern was finding things to talk about, but I needn't have worried...Nature throws up something new and exciting every day.

I've also discovered something new about myself since starting this blog...I can't half ramble on!

Apologies for that then, but amongst all the rambling, I hope I've provided at least a few points of interest and better still I hope I've managed to inspire some into taking a closer look at the wildlife that surrounds them...For me this is the most important thing.

The proudest point in my photographic 'career' came last year and it was having my work published in a children's bird book...The thought that seeing my pictures (and those of some much better photographers than myself) might inspire some young child to develop a life-long love of nature is something that fills me with great happiness.

That really is the point of this blog really...To do my little bit in regards to making people aware of nature and the importance of conservation.

So here we are now, 6 months down the line and still going strong and I must say I've really enjoyed doing this...It's been good fun mainly and from messages I've received and comments posted I'm happy that some of you enjoy it too!

I'd just like to say a huge thank you to everybody who has taken the time to read the blog, look at the pictures and post comments...It means a lot to know that somebody is out there!

Finally, the last images from June and the last from Sundays visit to Pennington Flash.

I thought it was only fitting to end the month with more of what has been the theme of the month...New life!

Mallard Ducklings to be precise...

Juvenile Pied Wagtail

2010-06-29T21:00:00.006+01:00

Another Highlight from Sunday's visit to Pennington Flash was the sight of 4 juvenile Pied Wagtails who were busy feeding at the edge of the main Flash...

Rooftop Lapwings

2010-06-28T21:09:00.011+01:00

A strange trait and I guess you could call it a phenomena is the curious tale of the rooftop Lapwing...

This behavior is almost exclusive to Lapwings of North West England and Greater Manchester in particular.
Large flocks of Northern Lapwings gather (sometimes many hundreds) from the summer months till the following March for daytime roosts on industrial buildings in the urban suburbs of Manchester.
They seem to favour big factory roofs and in particular those made of corrugated asbestos, but also have a liking for large supermarkets.

A study about the Northern Rooftop Lapwing by Greater Manchester Bird Recorder, Judith Smith was published in British Birds in January 2000 and highlighted some likely reasons to why these birds act in this manner.
Some of the key points of these findings...

The roofs offer greater protection from ground predators such as foxes which are a constant threat at their traditional roosts on farmland and fields.

The roofs provide warmth due to rising heat.

There are greater ambient temperatures in urban environments.

There is good shelter on the sills and ventilation outlets.

Loss of fields and open ground due to urban developments are a possible factor.

Large roofs with good all round vision are usually chosen.

Asbestos corrugated roofing is commonly used, likely because it offers greater insulation and the gritty nature of this material offers greater grip for the birds than corrugated metal.

The need to conserve energy in a safe environment especially in the winter months could also be an important factor.

This rooftop roosting behavior isn't exclusive to the Lapwings of Greater Manchester...Their close relations the Golden Plover have also taken to this practice in recent years!

Lapwings roosting on a factory roof in Audenshaw, Manchester in July 2008...

Lapwings

2010-06-28T17:47:00.006+01:00

After Saturday nights Golden Plover, Sunday brought another encounter with a member of the Plover family...The Lapwing.

Pennington Flash was the venue for Sunday mornings birding and the Flash is always a good place to spot these wonderful birds.
I've told you in the past about the sad decline of UK Lapwings especially in their once familiar farmland habitat, but that was only half the story...
Lapwings are equally at home in farmers fields, high moorland, coastal estuary's and large inland bodies of water.
Pennington Flash is the latter and offers a rich variety of habitat which is perfectly suited to these birds.

It's always a lovely sight to see Lapwings gathering over the Flash, more often than not mobbing other birds or bullying them away from prime feeding spots.
The Lapwing is also know as the Peewit in reference to it's distinct call and feeds mainly on worms and insects.
The soft vegetation around the edges of the Flash are perfect hunting grounds for these fine looking birds.

There are good numbers of juvenile Lapwing scattered around Penny at the moment which is very promising.
The young are fairly easy to identify due to their paler colour and much less pronounced crest...

Lapwings are also one of the easiest birds to distinguish in flight, due to their rounded wing pattern which has a very distinctive black and white colouration...

One of the things that makes the Lapwing a firm favourite of mine is quite simply...They are just such beautifully photogenic birds!

Last Night On The Moors

2010-06-27T19:23:00.010+01:00

Summer on the Moors of the Peak District has a distinctive purple flavour to it...
In the next few weeks the landscape in some areas will be transformed into a sea of Purple Heather, but there is at the moment a taster of this colouration with the first Thistles coming into bloom...
Last night wasn't a good night for spotting Red Grouse, but there were plenty of other Moorland birds around.
Evenings like early mornings are a great time for watching wildlife and the birds were very active and in very good voice.

One of the most numerous birds on display was the Meadow Pipit, although as usual you had to look carefully into long grass for them...

Highlight for me last night and always a pleasure to see was the Golden Plover...

Red Grouse Study (6)

2010-06-27T13:36:00.005+01:00

Last night I had a very pleasant walk up on the moors to one of my favourite Red Grouse sites.
It was a very warm summers evening and probably as hot as I've ever been in this normally very bleak location.

Unusually there were not many Grouse about and I only got a fleeting glimpse of a distant female bird flying off into the sunset.
Well actually, that's not entirely true...I did find another female bird, but sadly she must have been found by a predator first.
All that was left was a carcass, her bones picked dry by a unknown bird of prey...
Although Red Grouse are (as I've pointed out before) superbly camouflaged in this moorland landscape, they are also unfortunately slow, clumsy flyers and very easy pickings for any potential predator that spots them.
This part of the Peak District is home to Marsh Harrier, Sparrowhawk and even the odd Red Kite...Sadly the Red Grouse is no match for any of these formidable foes.