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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'Among The Reedbeds'

Having only ever had a taster of the Somerset levels from a brief Saturday visit earlier in the year and with no autumn holiday previously booked, it seemed like a great place to get away too for a few days as a change of scenery without having to travel too far. My previous visit to the RSPB’s Ham Wall reserve had been late on a March afternoon and although promised much, the weather came in and sightings were at a minimum. So having the opportunity to visit again with a bit more time on my hands was a promising prospect.

Unfortunately the weather was very similar to last time with most afternoons grey and overcast, although this time the wildlife on show was a lot more obliging. Working a 9-5 weekday job doesn’t often bring the chance of visiting reserves during the week. But oh how I wish I could do that more often, there were hardly any people around and those that were, were there for the wildlife and not to walk the dog or keep the kids entertained like the usual weekend crowd I encounter.

It didn’t take too long as I entered the reserve before I got a glimpse of a Somerset levels specialist, a very brief flyover by a Great White Egret, always an elusive tick in north Hampshire. It seemed like I was gorging myself on reed bed dwellers as a few minutes later the first of at least half a dozen Marsh Harriers wheeled its way over the tops of the path side standing reed.

With Marsh Harriers in my sights and well within camera range, I quickly headed down to the Tor View hide, situated smack bang in the middle of the reedbed. With great views across the levels to Glastonbury Tor and almost a 360 degree vantage point, it was the perfect place to scan for Harriers.

As the afternoon went on Marsh Harriers of different ages both male and female glided effortlessly over the rows of reed. Hunting and hovering like beautiful angels of death, hanging motionless in mid-air as they sought out prey. I longed for some better light, it never came, but I really couldn’t complain about the great views these majestic birds of prey were giving, all just metres out from the hide.

As light levels dropped even more and the prospect of tens of thousands of Starlings starting to arriving to roost, the adult female was joined by a stunning creamed capped, slate-blue winged male, who happily alarmed the resident Teal as he joined the fray. Dropping down low enough on occasions so I could capture his cracking plumage.

The Marsh Harrier wasn’t the only species making regular flights over the stands of reed, Ham Wall is a great place to see Bitterns and I was not let down from the Tor View hide as several made extremely short flights from one stand of reed to the next. Appearing only inches above the cover as they swiftly disappeared amongst the next band, it was real if you blinked you missed it kind of birdwatching and It took me a little while to get a clear shot as anticipating the movement was the biggest challenge.

There was plenty of other waterfowl on display throughout the afternoon, with Great crested Grebe, Tufted Duck, Shoveler, Teal, Mute Swan and plenty of Cormorants alongside the ever present background exploding soundtrack song of the Cettis warbler. I even managed to catch the thousands of Starlings coming into roost, unfortunately they didn’t feel too much like performing and dropped down into their roosting spots with minimal fuss. There is always next time!

All in all a nice couple of afternoons spent enjoying some of the levels finest species. I can’t wait to get back there again soon and hopefully in some better light to enjoy the awesome aerial displays of the Marsh Harriers and maybe catch a better view of the Starling murmuration.

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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2013 Calendars For Sale

Martin Clay Photography - 2013 Calendar 

Longparish (My Local Patch) - 2013 Calendar

As I am sure many other photographers and blog readers do at this time of year, is produce a calendar full of their best shots from the year. As christmas approaches rapidly, I too thought this might be a good idea for the coming festive season, I feel my photography has really taken off this year and having seen some great wildlife in some great locations, sharing it with people in the form of a Calendar seems like a great option.

So I have setup a calendar full of my favourite and what I feel are some of my best shots from 2012 taken of Birds and Mammals all around the country. Also having spent a fair bit of time on the local patch I decided to create another Calendar option for the more local buyer, featuring only Wildlife and Landscapes shot in and around the village of Longparish in North Hampshire.

I have done a little bit of research into what I should be selling them for, and I had decided upon what I think is a fairly reasonable price of £7.99 for a custom designed Slim A3 Glossy Wall Calendar - 148 x 420mm. Equipped with Wall Hanger and allowing plenty of room for writing out those important dates ensuring you don't miss the love ones birthdays.

Now I appreciate the likelihood of me selling any outside of my own family is pretty slim, but on the off chance any body is interested in purchasing one, two or a dozen, maybe to adorn the office wall, cover over the cracks in the kitchen paintwork or as a gift for parents and grandparents this christmas.

You can get yours exclusively through my online shop at www.martinclayphotography.co.uk - where you can pay via PayPal in just 1 or 2 clicks. And if your feeling particularly flush peruse my selection of high quality prints also available at a touch of a button.

But if I've wasted 2 minutes of your life I apologise now and shall wish you a Happy New Year for 2013!

Online shop - www.martinclayphotography.co.uk

http://www.facebook.com/MartinClayPhotography Up to date pictures and sightings, prior to me getting around to writing these blog posts, As mentioned previously I am currently running a competition over on my Facebook page so please feel free to have a look and enter. 

New Website - Launched November 2012

Now I'm not one for overly plugging myself but I would like to share with you something that I am very proud of. Since June I've been working on and off on creating my website, to showcase my photography and share a little bit more about me.

Now some of you may know I work as a Graphic Designer in my day job for a large Electronics retailer, a world a million miles away from Wildlife, however it does give me a lot of the skills needed to produce a crisp clean and visually appealing website.

Again these are my own views, but having spent a fair bit of time checking out various other wildlife photographers websites and Professional photographers websites, I would like to think that I have created something completely different and something that completely reflects me and my personality.

So without further a do I shall share some visuals. Or if you want to see first hand, please check it out for yourself at www.martinclayphotography.co.uk

Welcome to Martin Clay Photography 

As my photography is not at a level that can be wowed on its own I thought it needs to be showcased in a way that takes the pressure off of it a little bit. All the visuals on the website as mentioned have been designed and drawn digitally, and different visuals appear on every single page throughout the site. Each page has a different header, which will change with the seasons, so at the time of writing this you can see is currently Autumn.

Working a lot with digital design, has also enabled me to pick up a few web design skills, and I have utilised these to build the website from scratch, customising everything exactly how I wanted it. I have also integrated a fully functioning PayPal shop in the hope that someone, somewhere, someday will purchase one or two of my prints just with the click of a button.

Wildlife Galleries 

Puffin Gallery 

Mammal Gallery

Apologies if I sound like I am bragging, thats not at all my intentions, I just felt like sharing some of my work that Im really proud of. Please feel free to contact me with any comments or criticisms/suggestions I'd love to hear any feedback you might have.

http://www.facebook.com/MartinClayPhotography Up to date pictures and sightings, prior to me getting around to writing these blog posts, As mentioned previously I am currently running a competition over on my Facebook page so please feel free to have a look and enter.