Fifty Years On
On the 24th May 1973 I sat for six hours in my hide, in the Forest of Bowland, photographing my first pair iof Kingfishers at the nest.It was a magnificent moment and I enjoyed every moment in the company of Britain’s most colourful bird.
On the 24th May 2023 I was in my hide, less than a mile from the earlier site, and once again I was enthralled by the comings and goings of Kingfishers. In those fifty years I have repeated the experience at least thirty times for you can never get enough of those halcyon birds of summer. www.facebook.com/gordonyateswildlife
A visit to my local Sand Martin site had dozens of them digging out their nesting tunnels. They are quick moving birds and from the camera aspect the best photos are some time off yet when their young are leaning out of their tunnels.
While many of our garden birds have left to breed in the woodlands we still have up to four Redpolls coming to feed several times a day. There are two pairs and the males have very impressive areas of red feathers. On the other hand our resident male Sparrowhawk has only been once in the last month when he perched on the Nest-box before he was seen off!! www.facebook.com/gordonyateswildlife
With nine out of ten Long Tailed Tits nests being predated it is some years since I have monitored a successful nest. This year I have only found four nests and already three of those have been destroyed by either Grey Squirrels or Crows. However, the fourth one was in gorse bushes and when I checked it this week-end young Long Tailed Tits were all over the gorse! I took what photos I could and was also rewarded with a photo off a cock Linnet as a bonus.
Global warming has been blamed for many of the present crises in wildlife including the predicted extinction of Adders in the next ten years. I have been familiar with our nearest colony of Adders for 62 years and as recently as six years ago I found 14 during one morning’s inspection. However, this April I visited three times and only found one female and one male Adder. Is it more than a coincidence that during the whole of this period the population of Buzzards has exploded and, of course, Buzzards love to eat Adders? www.facebook.com/gordonyateswildlife
Those of you who followed me on the Little Owl last year will know that this male Little Owl was due to lose his nest-site due to the barn being converted to a house.It was with disbelief as I drove past it last week to find the male on the roof looking for prey and no sign of any further development of the building. So lets hope that nothing happens in the next two months and that another brood of young fledge successfully.