April 2019 Local Kestrels performing in the high wind

It was a very windy day and I guessed the local pair of Kestrels would be out over the fields.  They seem to love this weather as they need to use very little energy to move around or simply hang motionless.  They have old fashioned names of Stand Gale, and Wind Hover and you can see why.  They are one of my favourite birds and who could ignore them when they hover in close proximity.
The Male has a slate grey head and tail that make him a very handsome bird.

Male Kestrel

 On the image below the male was being mobbed by a pair of Carrion Crows and showed great agility to easily out manoeuvre them.

This really is the right way up!

The female is also a beautiful bird and came even nearer to give me some special views

Female Kestrel

Shear concentration!

These being around together for so long are obviously a pair and it will be great to see how they get on in this new breeding season.  I hope later on to hear that high pitched screaming as the young beg for food.  That would be great!  Good luck to this beautiful pair!

April 2019 More Great Colours from Costa Rica

It's been dull and overcast now for a few days in the UK so sometimes it's great to go back over some of the beautiful and colour encounters from Costa Rica.  It's a really enjoyable thing to do.  I always remember in detail where each image is taken and it always helps to bring back the great memories.

Great Green Macaw

Scarlet Macaw

Shining Honeycreeper

Mealy Parrot

Scarlet-Rumped Tanager

 That's an enjoyable reminisce but as always it is also great to look forward to the Spring sights and sounds in the UK.

April 2019 Costa Rica what a colourful and beautiful country

I have just returned from Costa Rica and discovered what a truly beautiful country it is.  The people are really welcoming and friendly and are very proud of their country and the natural places within it.  Twenty five percent of the country is protected national parks.  They also produce over 95% of their energy needs from renewable resources.  There are rainforests and cloud forests with amazing wildlife to see.

Primary Rain Forest

It is really uplifting to experience a primary rainforest and know that is one of the most bio diverse eco systems on earth and has survived intact for millions of years.

Chestnut Billed Toucan

Collared Aracari

The birds are amazingly colourful and noisy.  There are three types of monkeys that can be seen in the forests.

White Faced Capuchin

The most familiar and confiding are the White faced Capuchins.  The Howler Monkeys are very noisy and dominate, and their calls can be heard across the canopy especially in the mornings.  What a great natural and thrilling sound.

Howler Monkey feeding

We also saw Spider monkeys on our trip.
There are many reptiles to be seen, Lizards, Iguana's snakes and crocodiles.

An Iguana

American Crocodile

Wherever you go people always point out if there is a Sloth in the trees.  Everyone seems to love them.  They are very slow moving animals.  We had ongoing laughter when a guide told us that they only come down from the trees once a week to go to the loo.  (Apparently they have a week to think about it!)

Three Toed Sloth

 We ended the trip on the pacific coast and the trip ended in glory when Scarlet Macaws landed in the nearby trees.  I have enjoyed birding for most of my life but I think these are the most beautiful birds that I have ever seen.

Scarlet Macaw

What an amazing trip with so many memorable sights and sounds.  I will never forget it.

March 2019 Nuthatches are great engineers watch out for them.

The new breeding season will shortly begin and one of the things I love to watch out for are the local Nuthatches when they start to build their nests.  They habitually find a hole in a tree and then proceed to modify the size and shape so that they can just fit through.  They do this by bringing in wet mud and plastering this into the hole. They build this up letting it dry like cement.  Nesting sites in hollow trees are always at a premium, and having this ability obviously gives them greater opportunities.
In the first picture the Nuthatch begins bringing in mud to complete the transformation

Great site but predators could get in!

It takes a lot of effort but the resulting cavity, when finished, is a lot more secure for raising their vulnerable chicks.

Now the hole is just the required size

  Spring is a great time of the year and this is another interesting thing to look out for as the breeding season gets underway.

March 2019 An encounter with a peaceful Muntjac Doe

This doe Muntjac came picking its way along oblivious to my presence.  I stayed still and it came right toward me and in full sunshine too!  They are beautiful little deer that were introduced to the UK in the early 20th century apparently by the Duke of Bedford at Woburn Park.  They are quite common these days and can often been seen on a walk in the British country side.  It was nice to catch one though that wasn't just a tail end view running away with its tail up.
This one seemed to be taking an interest in the sweet chestnut cases that were on the ground but I don't thick this would be part of its diet.

peacefully browsing away

 I daren't move and was so pleased when it even led down and starting chewing its cud right in front of me .

Time for a rest

After capturing some images it was time to creep away and leave it to get on with its day.  That was a lovely encounter that made me smile to myself as I made my way home.

March 2019 Sad news Vulcan the Hen Harrier goes missing in suspicious circumstances

It was really sad and upsetting to hear that a Hen Harrier I managed to see in the Cotswold Hills this winter has been reported missing in suspicious circumstances.  These are one of the most iconic and beautiful raptors with only nine successful nests in England last year.  It was reported that it's transmitter had finished sending out signals on the 16th January in Wiltshire.  This is the eleventh tagged harrier to go missing in suspicious circumstances since August.
I personally have nothing against shooting game birds and I can also get the sport with the interest in guns, the skills for shooting, the skills needed to raise the game birds and also the training of the gun dogs.  I am also aware that the sport creates a lot of employment.
The part I cannot get my head around is why so much beauty can be destroyed just to marginally get a few extra birds to hang up at the end of a shoot.
I don't think the shooting community will ever change dramatically, but I just wish that when they reflect on their days sport that they can do so without the knowledge that what they enjoyed led to the destruction of such beauty that so many others enjoy seeing.
Come on shooting people step up and help protect these beautiful and rare creatures that have a right to be here.

Vulcan (I didn't notice the transmitter until I got home)

Vulcan hunting over grassland

   Alas no more, come on shooting people live and let live!

February 2019 Before spring leaves come out, Woodpeckers can be easier to see!

I thought I would have a trip to the local park as I haven't been there for a long while.  Before the leaves come out it is a good time to see woodpeckers in the tops of the trees.  Later in the season they can seem to disappear.  I set off in the sunshine from home but as I arrived in the park it was very misty and the poor light does not really help with the photography.  I was pleased to hear drumming of the Great Spotted Woodpecker and also the Laugh of the Green Woodpecker.  The greens are more unusual to see here, so I was quite excited to get a few glimpses.

Male Green Woodpecker

The two species were interacting and chasing each other around I guess in competition for suitable trees  in which to hollow out their nest cavity.

Male Great Spotted Woodpecker

There are three species of Woodpecker in the UK, the above two and the very elusive Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.  I am yet to ever see this species let alone get a photograph. Perhaps I will be racing home one day to see these on my computer   I am sure this will be a very excited blog post one day!