Hunting Kestrel

September 24, 2016 at 5:18 pm

kestrel
A couple of weeks ago I was watching the Kestrel which features on my blog when it suddenly took off in pursuit of prey. One photo captured the moment of take-off and like most wildlife photography there were no second chances.

This weeks gallery is of Spitsbergen’s most famous sea-bird cliff at Alkefjellit. More than one hundred thousand Brunnichs Guillemots breed on this cliff and these are hunted by Arctic Foxes and Glaucous Gulls. Walruses haul out on a beach nearby.Click here

Wader Feast

September 17, 2016 at 7:57 pm

snipe
September is a good time to visit Morecambe Bay to film wading birds and this year water levels are just right. During the week I spent three hours one morning on the Bay and was treated to great action from Snipe, Greenshank and Spotted Redshank. In addition Little Egrets were everywhere and even Cormorants had mastered the knack of catching fish in front of the hides. A Peregrine flying past was the icing on the cake but too fast for a photo! Click here

Africa Bound

September 10, 2016 at 6:19 pm

swallow
This weeks photo shows a September brood of Swallows at my local Golf club. The nest has been built on metal netting that was put up to stop them nesting!! It didn’t work and several broods of Swallows have already fledged and are heading south to Africa. The Swallows had a major problem in that they were nesting in a room that was secured overnight by a sliding green door. It meant that the Swallows could not fly to their nest to feed their young when the door was closed. They got around this potentially disastrous problem by landing on the ground and squeezing under the door though a one inch gap!! There are four pictures in this weeks gallery that show how this manoeuvre was effected. Click here

Resplendent Cock Linnet

September 4, 2016 at 5:32 pm

Linnet
By late August most birds have finished breeding but not the Linnet. Gorse is a favourite place to find their nests and whilst the male does not build the nest he always escorts the female as she does the necessary work. He usually perches on the highest gorse by the nest and this is where this weeks photo and gallery shots were taken. Click here
Whilst in Hopwood woods this week I came across the second largest flock of Long Tailed Tits that I have ever seen locally. Thirty seven were present amongst a mixed flock of more than seventy Tits. Perhaps some of these will end up in our garden this winter?