Respect...

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?

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...

In morning sun.

Coot At Sunrise

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

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...

Canada Goose Gosling...

Gannet

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!

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

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

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...

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

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!

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!

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!

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

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.