Barn Owl Appears
For the first time in two decades a Barn Owl has been seen hunting locally around Hopwood woods. At this time of the year it is almost certainly a young bird of the year that is now looking for a good feeding area for winter. Come Springtime its thoughts will move to breeding and who […]
The Last Commas
During the exceptionally warm days of last week I was out locally looking for late butterflies. Several Commas were encountered plus Large White, Speckled Wood, Small Copper with just a single Red Admiral. With a max. temperature of 24degrees it is not surprising that some butterflies are still on the wing, but for how much […]
Reflections Of Summer
Todays blog photo is of a Green Woodpecker sunbathing on a standing stone. Most nights last summer as I was on my way up onto the moors to film the Owls this Green Woodpecker was sunbathing on the top of a standing stone. It is only a record shot, as there was no way of […]
Storm Driven
The wind and rain that we experienced in Wales last week had its effect on a species of bird that was already migrating south from its Arctic breeding grounds. Grey Phalaropes breed in Spitsbergen and two were blown onto the Lancashire coast. One turned up at Crosby and the other, featured in this weeks blog, […]
Golden Rain
Last week to celebrate our Golden Wedding we stayed in our favourite cottage along the river Dee at Rivercatcher , near Bala. On our wedding day fifty years ago it rained all day and last week over two days we had five inches of rain!! Swallow Falls looked spectacular in the floodwaters but our attempt […]
Golf Course Bonus
There is little doubt that Golf Courses are in a prime position to provide a very special bird-habitat. The planting of Gorse, as a hazard for golfers, is a perfect nest-site for Long Tailed Tits and Linnets. This week’s photo, taken on my local golf-course, is of a superb male Linnet – one of more […]
Skulking Whitethroats
As you walk along the hedgerows of the Pennines there are any number of Warbler type birds that are gobbling up the abundance of Blackberries. Of those that I have checked out all but one have been Whitethroats, the other was a Blackcap. They must literally be eating their way south! During the breeding season […]
Moving Out
It is not often that you are able to catch up with young Short Eared Owls after they have fledged. This year they have been so successful that I have been able to obtain film of some young long after they have left the nest. The Owl in this weeks blog is three months old […]
Butterfly Bonanza
After some very poor summers for Butterflies this year has been absolutely perfect with long periods of sunshine and heat. Whilst walking through the Caledonian pines in Speyside a few weeks ago a shaft of light attracted over a dozen Scotch Argus butterflies and I stood there with them all flitting around my head! […]
Facing Extinction
During our recent travels around Inverness we came across a pair of Slavonian Grebe that were feeding a this years young. Such is the rarity of Slavonian Grebes today that the young in this weeks photo may be one of less than ten reared in Britain this year. Global warming is having a devastating effect […]