Rooftop Lapwings
The practise of Lapwings roosting on rooftops is something that has been going on in Greater Manchester for more than twenty five years.The borough’s of Leigh, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Stockport, Ashton and Middleton all have regular sites used by Lapwings and sometimes these are joined by Golden Plover. The reasons for the move from roosting […]
Waxwing Surprise
With the first morning sun for some time I could not resist the temptation to visit Blackburn to see the four Waxwings that have been present for nearly a month. All four birds were roosting in four tall trees at the rear of the car park so I waited for them to feed on […]
Barn Owls In Decline
Following on from the wet Summer of 2012 and the cold Spring of 2013 we have now had more than two months of rain, much of which has fallen over night. This combination has been a disaster for Barn Owls with the recent report suggesting that there are now only 1000 pairs left breeding in […]
Garden Delights
With the wet and dull weather over this last week I have spent time most days trying to film the large flock of the Long Tailed Tits that come to the fat ball feeder a couple of times each day. I finally obtained a shot where you can count ten birds together. On the 18th […]
Only A Sparrow
The sparrows must be the most underrated and certainly the most under photographed family of British birds. This Autumn whilst I was searching the berry covered hedgerows for Long Eared Owls I came across a small party of Tree Sparrows. As it is more than forty years since I photographed Tree Sparrows I spent several […]
Yearly Newsletter
I would like to wish you all a Happy New Year for 2014 After producing forty one hour cine films and five DVDs in the last forty four years you would have thought it was time for a rest in 2013. Well think again, with good weather for most of the year and armed with […]
Brambling Bonus
For the second time in a week I have succeeded in filming five species of Thrush feeding on one rowan tree. click here This time there was a bonus for as I was about to go home at 3pm a male Brambling appeared and fed on the ground below the tree for a good ten […]
Thrush Bonanza
In forty three years of filming birds I have never filmed all five of our Winter Thrushes in one day, until last week. The last berries on a hawthorne and rowan tree provided food for Blackbirds, Redwings, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush and a solitary Fieldfare and in less than ten minutes I had accomplished […]
Puddled
An unusual photo this week of my hide along a forest path and just in front of it is a puddle of water. During the week I spent a boring three hours in the hide staring through the camera at the puddle which remained absolutely bird less . Not one bird came to drink during […]
Speckle And Hide
Spot the Long Eared Owl, for close up click here. Each Autumn I spend endless hours searching the hawthorne hedges on my local patch for wintering Long Eared Owls. Scandinavian Long Eared Owls have been using the hedgerows each Winter for at least fifty years that I know of but they take some finding. The […]