Decline Of The Whinchat
Since returning from Islay all week has been spent checking nest sites and searching for new nests. It has become apparent that the Whinchat has now disappeared from many of its Pennine haunts for no obvious reason. In fact I have not seen a local Whinchat all season. This weeks photo and gallery album (click […]
Seabird Summer
Our third week on Islay and no visit to the Hebrides is complete without filming some of its seabirds. During the week I checked out some of the regular sites for Fulmars knowing those amongst the Sea Thrift would look even better this year in view of the lateness of the flowers. I was not […]
One Hundred Hours Of Sunshine
In the last seven days Islay has been the sunniest place in Britain on two days and we have had well over one hundred hours of sunshine. During this visit I have been concentrating on Hen Harriers and having spent seventeen hours in my hide, with temperatures of up to 23°C it has been somewhat […]
A Late Islay Spring
How great it is to be back on Islay which is still catching up on a late Spring. The bluebell woods are better than ever with outstanding carpets of bluebells and primroses. Normally we would be too late for this display but this time the timing of our visit is perfect. As you travel around […]
Ten Days To Go
I have just spent most days this week filming my regular pair of Kingfishers who have now about ten days before this years first brood of young fledge. Last Year, of course, they tried three times to rear young and on each occasion the young drowned in the nest chamber due to flooding. So […]
Dipper Success
This week’s photo is of a Dipper I filmed last month that has fledged its first brood of young and is now incubating a second clutch of eggs. It appears that despite the cold Spring that we have had it does not seem to have affected the local Dippers. In the hIlls there appears to […]
Heavenly Dotterels
The top of Pendle Hill is about as close to Heaven as you can get in the Pennines.To be stood there at 6.30am in full sunshine, white frost and no wind with a Dotterel only fifteen feet in front of you is truly a magical experience. On the 2nd of May I trekked to the […]
Spring At Last
With warmer weather and the disappearance of the East wind Spring has finally arrived. On the 30th April I visited Marshside, Southport for the first time in years. I have to say it was a little disappointing with most of the Black Tailed Godwits having moved on and very few of the Avocets came within […]
Take That
Boxing Hares were not what I was expecting to encounter on Islay in late April but with the extreme weather of late no boxing had taken place so far this year as many of the hares had failed to perform! I was extremely lucky to find a group of eight that gave me plenty of […]
Route 59
Last month on the way to a film show I came across a Barn Owl that was actively hunting the roadside verges in good sunshine. It coincided with those nights of -5°C and clearly the Barn Owl was forced into hunting in the afternoon sunshine when its prey was more active. I went back several […]