Salmon Jumping At Last
After a visit to the Ribble at Settle a fortnight ago and no signs of any salmon I thought I would not be returning again this Autumn. However, a meeting with a fellow salmon enthusiast was to change all that after he telephoned me early one day last week to say that there were many […]
Sibling Help
Will there ever be another breeding season like this one with young House Martins still in the nest in October and two broods of Barn Owls still in their nesting barn? When you spend many hours observing and filming a species sometimes something happens that has never been recorded before let alone captured on film. […]
Autumn Splendour
The colours of Autumn are shown no better than in the river systems of the Pennines and my favourite place is Whitewell in the Forest of Bowland. This weeks photo is one I take every year but never tire of the perfect setting and colours. Migration is now well underway with the first garden […]
Fledged Barn Owls
Once a bird has fledged the nest it is almost impossible to catch up with in the wild and there is little chance of ever filming it being fed by the adults. This difficulty is greatly enhanced with raptors whose young are continually on the move and wary subjects. An opportunity arose in August to […]
Sparrowhawk Double
During the week not one but two male Sparrowhawks were chasing each other across the garden only a couple of feet apart. One returned on the 27th to catch a male Greenfinch which is always a sad event to witness but even raptors have to survive, preferably not in our garden. click here. On the […]
Indian Summer
What a fabulous month September has been with high temperatures and very little rain. This extension to Summer has brought good numbers of Adders into the sunshine. One day alone I had six females enjoying the early morning warmth before their long hibernation ahead. The warmth has also triggered the best display of Autumn Crocus […]
Moving Out
In the hills there is now an exodus of Curlews and Lapwings as they head towards the coast. At the same time lots of Meadow Pipits are on the move together with the last Wheatears and Spotted Flycatchers. On the moorland reservoirs Great Crested Grebes now have their last brood of young following a good […]
Ospreys Head South
Whilst walking around the reservoirs of Haslingden Grane this week conditions looked perfect for fishing Ospreys as they headed South to Africa. Like all birding you need an element of luck and while no Ospreys were present on the day that we were there what should turn up on the following day – an […]
Unique Barn Owls
This week’s blog and gallery are devoted entirely to the amazing pair of Barn Owls that this year laid six eggs on the ground in a barn, as there was nowhere else in the barn to nest. I was granted a licence by Natural England to film this unique event and spent three weeks recording […]
Fishing Greenshank
It is always worthwhile visiting Morecambe Bay in August to film the vast numbers of wading birds and butterflies that have all benefitted from this Summer’s good weather. On the coast good numbers of Greenshank were present including one that had mastered the art of catching fish. Black Tailed Godwits were in good numbers with some […]