Autumn Colours

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

Rainy Day Birds

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

A Few From This Evening

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...

Little Brown Jobbies

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

Local Specialities

We've had some pretty lousy weather here for the past 5 days which has been very frustrating because I've been dying to get out with the camera!
The lack of photography has however given me the chance to look through some recent shots and I'd thought I'd share a few from a couple of weeks back on a sunny afternoon spent at one of my local stomping grounds...Etherow Park.

Etherow is quite unique because it is home to a couple of species that are pretty scarce around the north of England and visitors come from far afield to tick them off their lists.
I have touched on both the following birds before in this blog, but they are a couple of beauties and I make no apologies for doing so again!

Both of the bird species were originally imported into the UK in days gone by to satisfy wildfowl collectors, but escapees have bred in the wild for many generations and are doing rather well.

First the Egyptian Goose, which as the name would suggest is a bird of African origin.
These birds have seen had a steady rise in population over the last few years, especially in the wetlands of Norfolk.
There has been a single Egyptian Goose at Etherow for a number of years, but last winter the population increased when another pair flew in from somewhere...

Next the Mandarin Duck, a very colourful bird of Asian origin.
These amazingly beautiful birds have started to populate a wide range of territories in the UK over recent years and there is a very healthy breeding population at Etherow and also in and around the River Goyt through Stockport.

Mandarins have recently been seen on the River Tame in the neighbouring Greater Manchester borough of Tameside, and I also spotted a single bird at Poynton Pool in Cheshire a few months back...Good news indeed!

Finally a rather exotic creature that has bred well at Etherow and many other local waters at a near epidemic rate...The Terrapin.
The only time you spot these reptiles is on warm sunny days when they like to bask out of the water.

It really is a bit of a mystery to why my local waters have such an abundance of Terrapins (Red-Eared I believe) but maybe it's no coincidence that this population boom started in the late 1980's around the same time as the hit children's TV craze 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'!

Terrapins are very small and cute when youngsters, but quickly outgrow their tanks and develop into a quite large animal...

Mandarin Ducks

Back to Etherow this morning and with slightly better light than yesterday, I took a few more shots of the beautiful Mandarin Ducks.
I've been watching these Ducks for a good few years now, but today I witnessed the greatest number I have seen at any one time...20!

It's interesting to note that the species is in decline in it's native Asia, but they are increasing steadily in the wild here in the UK.
Latest estimates are of around 7000 birds in Britain, which is now about the same number as Japan.


The majority of the British population of Mandarin's is in southern England, with isolated pockets further North.
I count myself very lucky to live so close to one of the very few Northern strongholds for these stunning birds.

Although the male of species really stands out with it's spectacular multi-coloured plumage, I've always found the female to be a very beautiful bird in it's own right.
At first glance you would be forgiven for thinking it's just a grey, rather drab looking bird, but on closer inspection you will notice some very subtle colouration...The white ring around the eyes really stands out against the grey/brown head and there are olive green and blue flashes on the wing tips. The female is also the more vocal of these very shy Ducks and makes a rather pleasant 'croaking' sound.

Flying Visits

A prior family commitment made short my time for birding today, but I still managed a couple of flying visits to sites close to my home, late this afternoon.

Not the most pleasant of days weather wise with dark grey skys and the ever present threat of rain, but I really wanted to check out a sighting I had made Wednesday evening...

The sighting in question was of a rare visitor to these parts the Barnacle Goose.

This lone bird flew into Etherow Park about a week or so back and he seems to have made himself at home.

How long the new arrival will stick around for is anybodies guess, but Etherow has a habit of attracting unusual species of wildfowl and many of them decide to stay for good.

My other stop today was at a location even closer to my home which is home to a pair of Little Owls.

This pair show very well some days and not at all others...Today unfortunately was the latter!

These little Owls are to be the first species of a little project I've set myself for the year...In fact I've set myself two bird related challenges this year and I shall post the details of both at a later date!

Although disappointed at not seeing the Owls today, the walk back across the fields did provide pretty decent views of a group of 3 Lapwing who were digging around in the mud for morsels.

Always nice to see Lapwing in their traditional farmland habitat...