Sparrowhawk Returns
After a gap of almost a year a Sparrowhawk has returned to hunt our feeding birds. It makes a pleasing picture at the back of the garden and this photo must be one of the best photos I have ever taken from the bedroom window! This year there has been a sudden decline in local […]
Kingfisher Disaster
For 45 years I have been filming and closely monitoring breeding Kingfishers on a small stretch of one of Lancashires main rivers. During that time there have been many successes but also a fair number of failures. Three years ago one pair tried three times to rear young and on each occasion the young were […]
The Inglorious Twelfth
Today is the start of the Grouse shooting season and as we all know the gamekeepers have been out with their guns well before the twelfth. Apart from the odd Buzzard this weeks Short Eared Owl was the only raptor seen in our recent five day visit to Speyside. The Hen Harriers that once inhabited […]
The Dive
When an Osprey dives in pursuit of prey the impact at 40 miles per hour is enough to take the bird almost completely underwater as shown in this weeks blog photo. Remarkably the Osprey can then take off with its prey, even though it is soaked through. In comparison the Sea Eagle has to pluck […]
Little Gems
I had almost forgotten what a joy it was to watch young Little owls being fed and learning how to fly. Several visits have been made to an old barn where I found a family of young owls. At times the young owls flew to within five feet of the car and provided me with […]
Oh What A Night!
After a lifetime of visits into the Pennines in search of wildlife to film I have lost track of the number of evenings when you return home having seen and filmed nothing. If you are lucky you might flush a Meadow Pipit from a nest or perhaps encounter a Twite. However, nothing prepared me for […]
House Martin Mystery
One of the most welcome signs of summer are the return of House Martins nesting under the house eaves. Unfortunately over the last ten years their numbers are down by half and no one seems to know why. In many cases the nature of our summers produces extremes of weather which has resulted in the […]
Ant Eggs For Lunch
After raptors, a day in the Pennines can be highlighted by good views of Woodpeckers, especially the Green Woodpecker, who is more often heard than seen. In nearly fifty years of filming I have still only ever filmed half a dozen Green Woodpeckers at the nest. The recent dry, warm weather was perfect for ants, […]
Islay
Although most wildlife watchers go to Islay in summer to see the raptors there is no doubt that there are a whole host of other birds that will capture the attention of the visitor. Top of the list will be the Chough as Islay has more than fifty breeding pairs plus many non-breeding birds. Wading […]
The Star Attraction
The star bird for any wildlife visitor to Islay in May and June is the male Hen Harrier. It is not difficult to encounter one hunting male each day but one day last week was exceptional. In the space of fifteen minutes we came across four different hunting male Hen Harriers. This is the most […]