Spot The Moult
This weeks blog photo is of a male Long Eared Owl still actively hunting to provide food for his now fully fledged young. At some point in time he has to moult all his flight feathers and if you look carefully at his fifth primary feathers, on both wings, they are only partly grown. It […]
Heading South
When Ospreys arrived in Britain this year it was late March and lockdown had just begun. It meant that they could settle down to breed in our countryside without disturbance from human beings. The result has been a record number of 300 pairs breeding this year and most have been successful. Ironically one of the […]
A Mega Twitch
I have never considered myself a twitcher but during the last week I have spent fifteen hours on the Pennine moors looking for an illusive bird called a Wryneck. Its a bird that I have never seen before and breeds in the forests of Scandinavia and sometimes in the highlands of Scotland. Its cryptic plumage […]
Sand Martin’s Success
The fabulous weather that we had during the beginning of lockdown came just as the first Sand Martins were arriving locally. A high sandy bank was dug on my local stream and was an instant attraction and by the end of the first period of lockdown fifty pairs had reared young in this bank. This […]
Eating Egg – Shells
The moment a birds eggs hatch is a very dangerous time for lots of birds especially Hawks, Owls and Nightjars. Any egg-shells left around the nest would give the nest away to predators like Crows and Foxes. The incubating bird does not want to leave its newly emerged young so there is only one alternative […]
Awaiting The Guns
Whilst on the high tops this week I came across this small party of Red Grouse. The date was the 10th August and I wonder now how many of this group are still alive after the commencement of shooting on the 12th. Sadly some Gamekeepers clear out all forms of raptors from the moor to […]
Moorland Surprises
During this shortened breeding season I have spent many hours in the hills, mainly waiting for Long Eared Owls to perform. In wildlife photography there are lots of surprise encounters while you are out in the wilds – all unplanned. This weeks Gallery is devoted to just such encounters. It includes a Skylark resting o […]
Gone Fishing
The easing of lock-down came just as all our Kingfishers were feeding their first broods of young.The exceptional weather that we had during lock-down ensured that very few, if any, lost their first broods to flooding which is more than can be said for the second broods. The pair from this weeks photos lost their […]
Perfection
Well after months of waiting here it is – a hunting male Long Eared Owl has just landed on a post that I put in especially for it and he has even raised his ear-tufts for the perfect picture. Normally the ear-tufts lie flat on his head and are not readily visible. In fact this […]
The Food Pass
Whenever you are photographing breeding birds of prey the ultimate photo that you are after is the food-pass. It is the split second when the prey is being passed from the adult to its young. You have to be quick and yet, surprisingly, it is seldom the best photo of the series. What happens is […]