A Snowy Day

Two days after my entry last week about Waxwings I was filming twelve on Rowan trees near Whalley on the most perfect day you could have imagined. I had almost forgotten what a fantastic bird they are and the three hours behind the camera lens passed very quickly. Although in typical Waxwing fashion I only had ten minutes of video to show for it!

Early morning on the twenty second, as I crossed a moorland road above Burnley, eighteen Snow Buntings landed on a gravel path only to be flushed by the only jogger in the area. These are the only Snow Buntings I have ever seen on my local moors and almost surpassed the views I was to have of the Waxwings.

On day three of the Waxwings a Sparrowhawk flew through the flock and sent them off in a southerly direction not to be seen again that day. The big question is when will they arrive in my area around Rochdale / Oldham / Middleton?

In Hopwood woods more Woodcock have now arrived and in the garden we had both male and female Sparrowhawks on the same day. The male looking like last years gem bird.

Published by

Gordon Yates

Updated on

November 23, 2008

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Gordon Yates - Wildlife Photographer 

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Alongside filmmaking, Gordon has earned recognition in still photography competitions with the BBC, RSPB, Scottish Wildlife, and the Scottish Ornithologists’ Club — using his trusted Pentax equipment. One of his proudest achievements was seeing ten minutes of his work broadcast by Granada Television — a milestone in a lifetime dedicated to wildlife storytelling. Today, he continues capturing the natural world with his Canon EOS 7D and Canon XM2 digital camcorder.