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!