British Wildlife Calendar 2017

Looking at the time of year I thought it was about now that I should bring back the blog. It's been brought back quite a few times and will probably be brought back again in the future as finding time to write is always so hard.

So anyways some new content. Well looking under the bed in the spare room this morning I realized I still had a handful of my 2017 Calendars in stock. When I say a handful I mean under 10 so here is a short write up featuring this years shots.

If anyone has started their Christmas shopping already and needs a small stocking filler, these are great little gifts. And a bargain at £7.00. Local Delivery/Collection is Free. Or I can post for a £1.00

More information or to order you can visit my websites 'Online Shop' here: British Wildlife 2017 Calendar

As always my Calendar features shots of totally wild British birds and mammals photographed throughout the past year. I always try my best to include an even mix or birds and mammals if I can relate them to the month in which the photo was taken. Here is this years selection.

January 2017 - Great spotted Woodpecker - Taken from my pop up hide around my garden feeders.

February 2017 - Brown Hare - Frosty winter mornings were perfect for catching up with the local Brown Hares.

March 2017 - Great crested Grebes - An early spring trip to the Somerset levels brought a morning with a Great crested Grebe pair on a small lake.

April 2017 - Yellowhammer - My local population were looking stunning as they came into breeding plumage.

May 2017 - Eurasian Otter - A close encounter of the Otter kind whilst holidaying on Mull.

June 2017 - Atlantic Puffin - Some Puffin therapy from a couple of hours spent on the Isle of Lunga.

July 2017 - Roe Deer - With Summer underway, the freshly harvested fields became battlefields for the annual Roe Deer rut.

August 2017 - Kingfisher - 4 Years living by a river and finally I manage a Kingfisher shot.

September 2017 - Red Kite - You never know what species will turn up in the garden when the camera is out, this Kite landing in a tree was a little bit of a shock.

October 2017 - Reeves' Muntjac - Alert as ever, my closest encounter to date with the Muntjac.

November 2017 - Wigeon - I have never had the pleasure of photographing these magnificent ducks up close until a chance visit to RSPB Greylake.

December 2017 - Short-eared Owl - No year would be complete without a shot of these awesome Owls, taken around midday on a grey December day.

As mentioned above for more information or to order you can visit my websites 'Online Shop' here: British Wildlife 2017 Calendar

If you are a social media user, Feel free to follow me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for up to date sightings & photographs, any 'Comments or Criticisms' are welcomed.

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Shropshire - 23 - 24th Feb

Whilst in Shropshire for the weekend and prior to my trip across the border for Red Kites, I made an early morning jaunt up on to the Long Mynd in search of Red Grouse. The roads up were pretty icy and its always reassuring when the road signs read something along the lines of don't use in winter. But my new car powered its way up and around the single track bends on quite a steep accent no problem, and I reached the top in no time.

The temperature at the top was a good 4 or 5 degrees colder than in the bottom of the valley and a keen wind blew across the moorland, window down I drove at a crawling pace, ears pricked to pick up the call I was hoping for. Within about 50 yards of the gliding club entrance I soon heard the distinctive 'chut!chut!chut!chut!chut!chuttt....' call. A quick scan an I could see a Cock Red Grouse stood upright against some very similar coloured heather. A stealthy approach on foot didn't allow me any closer as the bird rocketed off from the heather with its fast-whirring wingbeats. 

Giving up on the foot approach I stuck to the car, seeing and hearing 13 or  14 cocks calling from fairly near the roadside. One did come close enough to the car for a shot through the window, but I left via the Church Stretton end feeling pretty unfulfilled  Plenty of Meadow Pipits and Skylark also on the top with the occasional Pheasant popping up out of the heather.

Red Grouse

After visiting Gigrin on the Saturday, Sunday morning we headed up towards Shrewsbury, to Venus Pool, the weather was bitterly cold and overcast so we never spent to long in the hides, the highlight being a pair of Great-crested Grebe displaying and sharing weed not to far from the hide. A pair of Shoveler slept on one of the islands along with c.40 Lapwing and c.60 Snipe, several pairs of Gadwall and Pochard on the water.

The woodland hide and feeding station was very busy as it was on my visit earlier in the month, plenty of Chaffinch, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Greenfinch and a couple of Great Spotted Woodpecker all visiting in the short period we sat watching.

All in all a fairly productive if not frustrating weekend with the weather.

Blue Tit

Great Tit

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Langford (Grebe) Lakes

With the day off work on monday and the weekends floods subsiding long enough to contemplate going out for the day, Nat and I headed off down the A303 to Langford Lakes to see what was about. The answer to that question was pretty evident straight away - Not alot!

Tufted Ducks and Canada Geese seemed the only birds to grace the water throughout the reserve, with even the usual Coots and Mallard fairly scarce.

Tufted Drake

Angel Wings? Canada Goose

2 Bird species however didn't appear to be lacking in numbers, I counted 17 Chiffchaffs in the time we spent at Langford, and I did manage to get a fairly decent photography of a singing Chiffchaff from the window of one of the hides.

Singing Chiffchaff

The other was Great-crested Grebe - on the 3 lakes they're were 12 birds, 9 Adults and 3 youngsters - definitely 4 pairs. 1 Pair still sat on a nest and another with 3 hungry youngsters. I don't remember ever seeing so many. Whilst watching the singleton Grebe from the camouflage of the hide, a Kingfisher landed on the branches a mere 10 ft from the windows, a blessing usually, but in this instance a nightmare as no matter how many times he returned to many branches obstructed a picture.

The Grebe chick (Out of Shot) proceeded to wolf down this fish whole!

Still on the nest.

Grebe family.

The singleton.

Not the most thrilling of days but shouldn't complain to much - I thought I'd share this pic I took on friday morning, before the rain returned down at Rooksbury.

"There is nothing, absolutely nothing so much worth doing as messing
around in boats." - Ratty (Wind in the Willows) this little chap might
need a boat if it keeps on raining.

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Relaxed Rooksbury

With Spring officially here and some scorching weather descending upon the UK last week, I took a trip down to Rooksbury Mill on friday lunchtime, basking in gorgeous sunshine. The normal dark and dingy lakes now crystal clear and as calm as a millpond. Half a dozen pairs of Tufted Duck & Gadwall are paired up on the smaller Barlows lake, and joined by 4 outcast Mute Swan Cygnets. The Grey Heron was also stood in his/her normal spot beside the River Anton.

Mr & Mrs Gadwall

Mrs G in a bit of a flap 

Gadwall Female

Grey Heron

The sound of the A303 was drowned out by the gorgeous chorus of singing birds, most noticably Chiffchaff and Wren. Whose song really seems to become more prominent and noticable at this time of the year, well I think it does, I also have found it extremely hard to get a decent photograph of a Wren in the past, so I couldn't believe my luck when this little fella landed in-front of me and started singing his/her heart out.

Wren

Mid Song

Taking the short path over the streams out on to the board walk and the bigger Mill lake, I spotted a couple of Coot milling around near the lake edge, and the Great-crested Grebe out in the middle of the water, with the sun positioned perfectly behind me, and the shadow from the trees behind hiding any of my own, I crept down and sat on the bench by the waters edge, and waited.

Great-crested Grebe 

Great-crested Grebe

Great-crested Grebe

Monster Coot? 

This part of the lake seems to be adorned with surface weed, which Im guessing is the main attraction for the Grebe whence feeding, just a pain for photography as it was preventing some cracking reflections. Another thing that really did surprise me as when the Grebe swam over next to a Coot, 

in-comparison it looks a lot smaller, now for some reason I've always thought of a Grebe in all its elegance to be somewhat one of the bigger waterborne birds in the UK. I now feel a bit stupid, and like I don't really pay attention to the species I am photographing at all.

Also I've been thinking more and more lately, how my photography has kind of hit a wall, I feel im now pretty proficient with my camera skills, but need to change the composition and how I construct an image, so Im gonna try to make a more conscious effort to make the subjects shot a little more engaging mainly by getting lower or more on the same level. Also maybe in the past I've relied heavily on editing to boost the image, I think a little more natural look and feel maybe more suitable

Spring In The Step

With the weather pretty indecisive last week I only managed to get down to Rooksbury Mill the once, everything seems to be paired off, and the arrival of a second Great crested Grebe looks good for this springs nesting. A few shots taken on Tuesday lunchtime, in some really bright conditions. I love how the sun hits the water and sparkles around these Swans!

Mute Swan

Mute Swan Sparkles

Mallard Duck

Water Vole

Sunny Sunday!

Waking up to some gorgeous sunshine on Sunday morning was a much better feeling, loading up the gear and heading down to Steeple Langford to the Wiltshire Wildlife Trusts reserve at Langford Lakes, a new location for me and only Half an hour drive from home.

Plenty to see and all 4 hides were empty. 4 Great-crested Grebes the highlight also spotted on the water Tufted Duck, Pochard, Shoveler, Gadwall, Mallard, Coot, Cormorant, Canada Goose, Little Egret, Goosander and a rather large flotilla of Gulls, with plenty of Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Common Gull, Herring Gull and a rather distant Mediterranean Gull. I'd imagine the roost to grow even more later on in the day.

The smaller feeding station proved quite busy, with Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Chaffinch, Greenfinch & Moorhen stopping by. Also seen around the reserve Blackbird, Dunnock & Wren.

All in all a pretty good reserve, quiet, easy to find, and loads of new work undergoing for a scrape and new hide. Considering its close proximity to home, I was impressed with the location and the wildlife.
A great place to see Grebes.

Tufted Duck - Drake

Tufted Duck - Duck

Great-crested Grebe

Great-crested Grebe 

Great-crested Grebe

Tufted Duck - Drake

Robin

Blue Tit

Chaffinch - Male

Long-tailed Tit 

Long-tailed Tit

Moorhen