What an end to the year ~ Short Eared Owls - Have a wild new year to all

These birds are just so exciting and it has seemed an age since they last performed like this.
Many visits in the cold murky weather with just a few and then disappearing.  I promised myself that I would not go and look for them too early as it is possible to waste a whole lot of time.  But it gets difficult to resist when you want something to happen. Finally a brilliant bright afternoon and they were out early and many of them performing over the grassland. Unless you are into these beautiful birds it is difficult to imagine how adrenalin filled this can be.

On the hunt in Golden light

Head On

When two different raptors hunt the same territory at the same time there is always conflict.  Kestrels harass the Short Eared Owls to try and drive them away and also steal prey from them if they can get away with it.

This Shortie has a keen eye on the Kestrel above

Prey spotted then down into the grass

This afternoon was like the F.A. Cup Final of birding and a great way to end 2019 !!

Finally have a happy and wild new year.

December 2019 Roe Deer bucks in Velvet

In November Roe Deer begin growing their new antlers ready for the rut next year.  They are covered in Velvet that helps them to grow and also keeps them warm.  In spring this velvet is removed exposing the antlers ready for the rutting season next summer.  Each year the antlers fall off in October ready for the cycle to begin again.  The local Roe Deer seem in prime condition this year with perfect dense coats.

Looking great in his new Velvet Antlers

The does this year are looking good and strong, and well set up to get through the sparser winter months.  This one is enjoying the early morning winter sunshine sheltered from the wind under this hedgerow.  They always know where to get!

Beautiful Roe Deer Doe

I really enjoyed their company this morning and they are a regular encounter on my local patch in the Cotswold Hills.

Trying out the power of Black & White

Should you process some of your images in black & white?
I thought tonight I would have a look at experimenting with black and white.  I normally love colours and could not imagine using anything else.  I thought I would re-process some images and have a look with an open mind to see if they appealed to me.  After a bit of playing I found that for me some birds in flight the images became more effective and dramatic.

Female Peregrine

I think this image of a  Peregrine Falcon is more effective than its full colour counterpart.
Perhaps some dramatic menacing clouds would have improved things.

On the hunt!

This Short Eared Owl hunting over the Cotswold Grassland seems to stand out distinctly from its background. It's so simple on photoshop with just a few clicks and you can save a different version of your image that gives a new perspective.
Generally I think I would stick to the naturalness of full colour, but perhaps when some dramatic clouds are captured in the image I may have a go again.
Its as simple as :Enhance/Convert to Black & White and then save an alternative copy.
Its great though to do something different!

November 2019 Migrant Blackbirds massing on my berries

It is not always understood that lots of blackbirds migrate to the UK from Scandinavia.  On a rowan tree at the back of my garden there are about five or six males and a female all vying for position.  This is far more than would be resident around our small area.

Selecting a juicy ripe one

I quite like their dark colours contrasting with the bright red berries from a photography point of view.

They get greedy for them

They have evolved to be very flexible in their diet and feed on mainly worms in the summer months.  Come the winter months when "needs must" they readily switch to a berry diet.  I suppose it is this flexibility that contributes to them being such a common bird.

Disappearing fast!

They always seem to take them from the top down.  I guess they must ripen in this order.  I always hope that there will be some left for the visiting Redwings or even a few Waxwings.
Not this year though as they will all be gone in the next few days!

November 2019 Great Grey Shrike in the Forest of Dean

I had a short trip to the Forest of Dean today.  This is definitely one of my favourite places as you never know what may turn up.  I had heard reports of a Great Grey Shrike being sighted so I thought I would check it out.

Great Grey Shrike

These are great birds to see and mainly like to sit high up watching for likely prey targets to show themselves.

On the look out!

A lovely morning and met a lot of interesting people.  Everyone seems to have their own ideas of how the forest should be managed!

October 2019 Roe Deer doing well on my local patch

If I get up early just after sunrise I can almost guarantee to catch sight of one om my favourite mammals the Roe Deer.  There are yearlings, older does and a prime buck.  They are great to observe and I always enjoy their company especially if there is a lovely morning light.

Prime Buck enjoying the sunshine

This years twins

Lovely out in the open

beautiful doe

There was one doe where I was not sure about its health.  It seems to be loosing quite a lot of its fur.

It looks a bit like mange that occurs in foxes.  I am not sure about this and will have to do some more research.

Not quite so healthy looking

Perhaps someone out there may know more about this.

Anyway they are great company and I always enjoy seeing them.

August 2019 Great to catch up with my fourth species of owl ~ Little Owl

These were quite common in my younger days before I had a camera.  I would often hear their loud shrieking call and see them looking at me out of a small hedgerow of old willow trees.  They were great confident little birds for their diminutive size.  Over the years they have seemed to disappear locally and I had not managed to get any images of them.  I think an harsh winter when the ground stayed permanently frozen for a few weeks devastated their numbers.  I was really pleased to get some information of a site where there were some newly fledged young still hanging about and feeding.  They are great birds to photograph and have really expressive faces.

More confident together

They were perched in a old dead tree and frequently flying to the ground and seemed to be living entirely on worms,

 

Nice meal if it can be pulled from the ground

It was a great morning watching these three juveniles going about their antics.  Of all the owls I am likely to see in the UK this leaves me with the Long Eared Owl missing.  I would really love to spend some time with one of these, probably roosting quietly hidden deep in a bush.  One day I am sure!

August 2019 Local park ~ not just for common birds.

I was just reflecting how the local park is a great place to photograph birds.  It is not just the obvious and tame species that you would expect to get.  Some quite good rarities can turn up over the years.
At Pittville park in Cheltenham there is quite a list of unusual birds that have got the birders excited:

Great Northern Diver

This was a fantastic bird that stayed around for a number of weeks a few years back.  It was a first for this species for me photographically. This image was taken as it took off and never to return.

Dartford Warbler

The local council had decided to leave a patch of wild flowers that was left un-cut.  This must have been an amazing and unexpected result for this action.  A Dartford Warbler stayed and could be seen regularly hanging around with a pair of Stonechats.  To locate the bird you had to first find the Stonechats sat on top of the vegetation.  The Dartford warbler was never far away.

Male Goosander

Over the last few years we have had both male and female Goosanders.  It was really great to watch them fishing.  It was amazing to observe how far they can travel under water.  It could easily appear at the other end of the lake from where it had dived under the water.  Certainly kept me on my toes trying to capture an image

Male Night Heron

Making a repeat visit in the last few weeks is this stunningly beautiful adult male Night Heron.
It was last seen in 2014 but has decided to make a return visit.  I guess it's the same bird that remembers what great fishing is provided by the lake.
It's is quite impressive for a municipal park, the rarities adding to the list of more common birds.  A great place for a wander around with the camera.

July 2019 A Sparrowhawk Season

There is something familiar when watching a particular bird through the breeding season.  The aspects of life seem to go through most species and you can even see this in humans.  The male at the beginning of the season has to be in his prime condition to attract a female, and hold on to a territory.

A Smart male Sparrowhawk in his prime

He must find and get accepted by a female.  In this species there is a large difference in size between the sexes.  The female is a lot bigger than the male.

Female Sparrowhawk

The male does a large part of the nest building.  For weeks he was breaking off twigs and building a nest. Then half way through they abandoned this effort and began building a new one.

Looking for the perfect twigs

 It was great to watch this male in his efforts.  While I was watching he always broke off branches from trees rather than collecting them from the ground.
Before the eggs were laid the male brings the female offerings of food.  This also helps the female to have the energy to lay the eggs.  I guess this also demonstrates what a good provider for the young he is going to be, and also cements the bond between them.

Looking satisfied after providing a tasty meal

With all the attention, helping, and showing all the right abilities and traits love is soon in the air

Love is in the air

There is a quiet period where the eggs are incubated by the female.
The young when hatched stay low in the nest but they soon grow and can be seen over the edge of the nest.

Growing and waiting for food to be delivered

In mid July they are getting more active and stretching their wings in readiness to leave the nest.
At first they don't go far and hang around near to the nest awaiting for the two hunting parents to provide for them.

Brancher

At this stage they are called branchers and develop very quickly.  They chase around to get their share of the incoming food.  They will very soon be independent and have to go and get there own territory.  This was a very successful pair with at least four youngsters fledging.
They were also great entertainment and I thoroughly enjoyed my early morning encounters.

June 2010 Out and about on my own patch

With all the traffic about these days sometimes it really puts you off travelling. It can be a lot more satisfying not to chase about, and have a walk around locally.  Its greener and can add to your sense of contentment.  It can also be a surprise what can be around.

Roe Deer Doe washing her fawn

This was a great encounter.  I noticed the doe first, and then while watching I noticed a brown patch next to her in the grass.  It was brilliant to get some images of this motherly love.  They are such peaceful animals.

Male Yellow hammer singing on territory

These really are a beautiful farmland bird and are much in decline.  I feel so lucky to have a few pairs around.  For the first time I managed to get a view of newly fledged young.  Not a great image but I am so please to have this record of successful fledging.

Female with a very welcome youngster on the right

Common Whitethroat

I love to hear the song of the Whitethroat.  You can often hear them deep within bushes but it another thing to get a clear view.  With patience however they occasionally pop out and give you a decent chance of an image.

Roe deer buck

While walking around I managed to get quite close to this Roe Deer buck.  He was deep in the long grass and I had to wait quietly until he moved up onto this bank before I managed to get some images.  This was my closest encounter of the day and he was only about twenty metres from me when I first caught a glimpse.

Common Spotted Orchid

Now that the weather has warmed up there are some beautiful grassland flowers coming through.  I always especially love to see wild orchids.
A great morning and lots to look back on!

June 2019 Grassland flowers and new hedgerow doing well

Its really great sometimes rather than travelling around to see various wildlife, instead to have a drive around my own patch. It's nice when the effort shows signs of results.  The new hedgerow is now in its fourth year and seems to be well established.  The grassland is full of wild flowers.  I love this birds foot trefoil  because it looks so beautiful and is the food plant for many insects and blue butterflies.

Lovely bank of birds foot trefoil 

An old name of "ham and eggs"!

The new hedgerow was planted with nine different native species and should now hopefully be able to look after its self.

Growing well

Roe Deer doe hidden in the grass

Female Linnet

And what you give its what you get!

May 2019 A morning at Slimbridge WWT in Gloucestershire

I had not been for a while so it was great to have an early morning at Slimbridge WWT on the River Severn in Gloucestershire.  There are many distinct seasons at Slimbridge and my very favourite is the Winter Months, but it is also good to go there during the breeding season.
Avocets have only arrived here in recent years, but they are already colonising well.  It was great to observe this one turning the eggs before settling back down to incubation duties.

The eggs have to be turned regularly

On the "Rushy" there were a pair of Little Ringed Plovers and with a bit of patience I waited for them to get within range, as they are quite a small bird to photograph.  I was so pleased when they came right in front of the hide.

Male Little Ringed Plover

I had only ever photographed these before on one other occasion so it was great to fill my boots (or memory cards) with these beauties.
At first glance there did not seem to be much activity in the "Martin Smith" hide but then this beautiful female Kingfisher appeared.  She caught three fish in rapid succession before going on her way.  They have got to be one of the most colourful birds found in the UK

Female Kingfisher

The female can be easily distinguished from the males by having an orangey red lower mandible. It's also easy to remember as you can think that the females where lip stick!  (well in my day!).
That was a great morning and I must do it again real soon.

May 2019 Treecreeper a fascinating little bird

Climbing up a tree trunk like a small mouse you may notice a Treecreeper.  They have white undersides, but have a very camouflaged rustic top side that blends in with the tree trunk.  They always move up the trunk and then descend to the bottom of another tree before beginning the climbing process again.

A large juicy mouthful for the nestlings

Beginning the accent 

They are a beautiful little bird and can often go unnoticed but I always enjoy watching them.

April 2019 Local Sparrow Hawks busy building their nest

I love these birds and it is such a great thing to be able to watch them as they go about their breeding activities.  There is a lot of calling and backward and forwards to break off nest material.  Every sighting is so exciting.  They always nest late and have evolved to have their young when there are plenty of young inexperienced fledglings to feed them on.

Male Sparrow hawk breaking off twigs 

I was so pleased with this shot as it captures the intensity with which he goes about his work.
During my observations it was the male doing most of the nest building. The female tended to hang around and do quite a lot of calling.

Vocal female Sparrow Hawk

In a break from the nest building I managed to capture this pleasing portrait of the male

Male Sparrow hawk at rest

The male can be distinguished by his smaller size, and has a blue grey top of the head and chestnut cheeks and barring.  A truly handsome bird!