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

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Leucistic Red Kite - 23rd Feb

One of the stand out birds at Gigrin farm, is the Leucistic Red Kite, a white morph of the normal Red Kite, quite an eye catching bird, and in amongst the throng of Red & Brown Kite outlines, the White one was the easiest to track through the camera lens.

Leucistic means that the colouration is mainly pure white and not the usual reds and blacks of a 'normal' kite. Leucism differs from albinism in that pigment is not entirely absent - in most cases it is at least retained in the eyes. This Leucistic individual is mainly white, and has blue eyes - not to be confused for Albino which means the lack of colouring evidenced by pink eyes.

Below are a few shots of the Bird from my visit.

Leucistic Red Kite

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Gigrin Farm - 23rd Feb

A weekend with my girlfriend in Shropshire and finally an opportunity to drive the short distance across the border and onwards into Wales to visit the very well known Gigrin Farm Red Kite feeding station. Having never been before, and having listened to my parents & sisters tales of the wondrous sight of such a large number of visiting Kites, I had to admit I was quite excited.

A light flurry of over night snow didn't dampen the spirits as we left a fairly bright Craven Arms and headed towards Rhayader. The 40 miles or so through some quite stunning scenery soon passed and a quick look around the Elan Valley dams prior to the 2 o'clock feed. A few Red Kites & Buzzards were spotted roadside, as well as a pair of Treecreeper on the walk to the Pen-y-garreg dam.

As usual when entering Wales there is always a chance of rain, and it wasn't long before the fairly bright sky turned grey and overcast, the temperature also dropping quite rapidly. Arriving first at Gigrin we headed straight down to pick our spot in the hides, already cursing the ever diminishing light for my photography. With 5 minutes to go till feeding time we were still the only people in the hides, enjoying some spec sized Kites soaring in from the mountain beyond.

The rumble of the tractor seemed to spring the place to action, with 30 or so Ravens descending from the trees in the hope of a free meal. The nearby trees surrounding the adjoining fields seemed to unload with Red Kites erupting from every branch. If I had to guess I would have said around 120 circled high above the feeding ground. With the rumble of the tractor the hide doors started to open on quite a frequent basis and we were soon joined by a lot of screaming snotty nosed kids. Perfect, just what I like in a Bird hide.

As I am sure for anybody that has visited Gigrin or another similar feeding station, the sight of hundreds of Red Kites descending from above to ground level is truly unforgettable. Joined by 15 or so Buzzards numbers estimated at around 450 Kites joined the party, circling and dropping constantly for a good half and hour before the numbers thinned out.

Luckily half an hour in a cold frosty hide soon thinned out spectators, with only a few left to witness the second coming, as the Kites dropped in again upon the remaining meat of-cuts. Below are a few shots I managed in some ridiculously poor light. I must admit photographing such a big bird at such close quarters was a lot harder than I thought, the movement, speed and distraction of other birds making it really hard to follow through the lens.

About an hour later I had to give up, Nat was froze and my teeth were chattering, I don't think I've ever let myself get that cold whilst out and about. The Kites continued to drop in on a now bare feeding ground. Joined by a flock or Rooks, and oddly 50 + Pied Wagtails.

So definitely worth the trip, and I would recommend to anyone for such a small entrance fee, a wonderful place to experience the joys of the Red Kite in its hundreds.

Red Kite

Buzzard

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South Coast & Rooksbury 10th - 13th Feb

After a couple of weeks of fairly bright weather, the rains returned, seemingly at weekends and lunch hours when I had time to get out. I did having watched it piss down for most of Saturday decided to brave it on the Sunday and take a drive down to the coast.

First stop Hatchet Pond in the New Forest a nice waterside car park allowing a good view of the pond without having to get wet, Mallard, Black-headed Gull and a couple of Herring Gull all present. From there I headed towards Sowley Pond, picking up a lone Red Kite, presumedly at the Southern most point of the UK range. 

Plenty of Chaffinches flew up from the roadside ditches but no sign of any Brambling. I passed several ploughed fields one covered in around 2000 Rooks, the other a mix of Lapwing and Pied Wagtail.

Arriving at Sowley Pond, I found my self a viewing gap from the road having a quick scan for some Mallard, Great-crested Grebe and around 30 Pochard. Quite a high count for an otherwise quiet lake.

Next stop on my wet whistle stop tour of the south coast, Lepe, not timing my visit very well as the tide was mere metres from the car park reducing the beach to a small sand pit. Plenty of Turnstones and Black-headed Gulls touring the car park, with the occasional flyby of a larger Herring Gull. I did have a rather amusing encounter watching the Turnstones flipping over pebbles before being scattered by an incoming Carrion Crow, who then proceeded to steal said stone.

With the tide reaching further in I headed the short distance around the coast to Calshot, by this time the weather having taken an even further turn for the worse. Having to park the car passenger side on to the wind and rain, I managed to make out around 25 Brent Geese and 2 Black-tailed Godwit feeding on a grassy area in front of the power station.

Giving up for the day I headed home the scenic route up the Test Valley, stopping at Mottisfont for a ganders on the bridges, the only bird of note, a male Kestrel perched atop a bank side tree.

Carrion Crow - Pebble and all!

Monday morning on the way to work, the car gives up the ghost just yards from the front door, lucky it wasn't the day before 40 miles from home. The garage say it will cost more to repair than what its worth so seemed like the kick up the arse I needed to look for a new motor. Which by Tuesday evening having found, looked around and test drove, I agreed to purchase. I've never spent £8000 quite so quickly nor I doubt I will again.

Using the truck as my daily commute, I did manage to get out on the Wednesday lunchtime around the lakes, but the wildlife seemed as scarce as the sunshine, so I made do with photographing the resident Mute Swans. Who still seem to be pretty happy with the presence of last years cygnet, although I am guessing in coming weeks he/she might find him/herself out on his/her ear.

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King Of The Lake - 17th Jan

Having calmed down a little from the visit the day before I thought I'd give the lakes another go in a completely contrasting day, it was dull, dark and very cold, and all the wildlife was nowhere to be seen.

A pair of Goldcrests greeted me by the first bridge over the Anton but both flitted about far too much to allow me to even focus let alone photograph. So I carried on around and sat down on the bench over looking the small lake. The resident Mute Swans rested out in the middle so I thought I'd have a play with the metering settings on the camera and try some nice contrasty shots.

The only problem with this is, being used to human visitors and I am guessing free meal tickets, every time someone sits down on that particular bench, the Swans gather for a feed and headed straight for me. A bit close for the telephoto and scuppering my plan. They left disappointed too as I never had anything to give!

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A Quiet Sunday Sojurn

As the year rolls on I thought it was about time to have a wander the other side of the A303 to see if the indifferent weather had brought in any Short-eared Owls. It hadn't as of yet, but I did have a lovely hour and a half walk alongside the Woods surrounding Bransbury Common and then out on to the Common itself, an attempt to cross the River Dever failed miserably as the usually crossable ford soon came up an above my wellies. Giving me a rather wet leg.

This wasn't the only occasion either as certain parts of the meadow next to it, traipsed around by cattle appeared to be just a muddy patch but soon found me knee deep in mud. Wildlife appeared to be enjoying a lazy sunday too, I could hear Red-legged Partridge calling from the next field and they came into view enjoying the sunshine in their covey underneath the shelter of the nearby hedge. I also suspect they were in hiding from the raptor fest above. 7 Buzzard, 1 Red Kite & 2 Sparrowhawk circled high above enjoying the warm conditions. None really coming close enough for a picture.

Quite a few Butterflies still floated about, all be it quite late in the year. Brimstone & Comma both seen alongside the track. Overall quite a pleasant walk and a nice way to spend a couple of hours outdoors.

Moonlight Bank

Comma

Buzzard

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A New One For The List

So it seems getting around to writing a blog post at the moment is about frequent as more than 2 days of sunshine in a row. I was looking back through what I had and hadn't posted lately, and realised im about a month behind. So here is a conscious effort to catch up. The following images where taken from the weekend of the 1st July. My last and latest venture out and about away from the comforts of the River Test. 

Nat was down for the weekend, so we headed off to the Thatcham Nature Discovery Centre & Reedbed's Reserve in the hope of maybe adding something different to the species list that seems not to have been added to much in the past 2 months or so and also the pleasure of visiting a new site which wasn't to far from home. Turns out we were pretty disappointed, proving more to be a outdoor adventure playground for the kids than a nature reserve, the lakes where surrounded on all sides by screaming and shouting children running here, there and everywhere. Coupled with dogs doing as they pleased on the paths. It wasn't long before we left in huff, questioning the mentality of the population of Thatcham.

There where however a few species of Waterfowl to photography on the lakes, and I did add a new species to the list, one that seems to have eluded me until this stage in the year. 4 Egyptian Geese present, taking the list up to 141.

Egyptian Goose

Greylag Goose 

Greylag Goose 

Moorhen

Pochard 

So having left with the sun shining and the rest of the afternoon in front of us, we popped in quickly to see how the Cricket team were getting on away to Burghclere, turned out the local farmers happened to be making the most of the good weather, cutting and bringing in the silage in the fields surrounding the cricket pitch. The arrival of 5 Red Kites proved far more entertaining than the cricket as they circled and called high above the pitch.

Red Kite

With plenty of rain falling in early july, the feeding stations around the garden seem to have been repopulated although none of the visitors stay to long for a photograph, although a Blue Tit did perch long enough for a picture. Another visitor to the lawn making the most of the softer ground has been the Green Woodpecker, who did pose for a picture Im fairly happy with.

Blue Tit

Green Woodpecker

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Goldies & Greylags

The hope of a Saturday morning lay in seems non existent these days, even when I want one Im still up at 7 am ish, a quick peep out of the window confirmed a frost and a clear sky, so off I trudged, along the footpath for a good wander around Middleton Estate and Longparish, I took off up Broadney path not a lot about except 3 rather cautious Roe Deer. A quick pit stop at the cover crop on the Middleway bend brought 5 or 6 Brown Hares chasing each other over the plough furrows. I did see 8 Fallow Deer emerge from the wood 2 or 3 fields over and make their way across the spring crop. A pretty uneventful trip down through the wood by Dick's cave and along Sugar lane into the village, not much seen but loads of birds singing, hidden between the branches in the bigger Oak and Beech trees.

A quick short cut through the village and Im hopping over the 5 bar gate and down onto the Halfwater, walking the river bank back to the house. Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, Mute Swan, Grey Heron, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Gadwall, Red Kite & Kestrel all seen, along with several Warblers signing away in the Riverside copses.

Back at home 2 1/2 Hours later, the sky now clouded over, I stand hidden waiting for the Goldfinches to land on the feeding station in the Garden, they've been frequent visitors since we put it up, and probably the reason the Sunflower seed feeder only stays full for a couple of days each time. In the 3 weeks or so we've been living there, I've found it really hard to photography them, they're a lot more flighty than any of the other garden visitors. So I was quite happy when they didn't spook and I managed to get a couple of nice shots.

Saturday evening came with a lapse in the afternoons rain, so Dad & I went off to have a walk around his other part of River the other side of the A303, there is a small Island (no more that 25ft long) in the middle of the River which probably had 5 or 6 nesting Greylag on it, a further 9 were out in the water meadows honking away.

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Good Friday Walk

Finally being able to spend a bit more time around the adjoining meadows and on the River banks near the new house now we have finally finished moving in, below are a selection of Photos of Birds from my walk around the Water Meadows on Good friday morning.

Long Tailed Tit - Bottom Of The Garden

Mute Swan

Red Kite  - One Of Two Circling The Meadow

Mute Swan

Mute Swan - On The Main River

Chiffchaff - On Branches Overhanging The River

 Now I'm not really a fan of shameless plugs, but I will stoop to a new level now, My personal Facebook seems to be getting inundated lately with all my Wildlife Ramblings and Photography, much to the annoyance of my friends I'm guessing, So I thought I'd set-up my own Photography page to share my sightings and images with the public as well as my friends.

So if you'd like to have a little look see and even "Like" my page I'd be for ever grateful!
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