A few days in France
May 30th - June 3rd 2011 - Not a great deal of photography done, due to some pretty out of sorts weather for the South of France, and as the main reason for the trip was to check on progress on the renovation of my base in France. Hopefully this time next year, I can be sharing a few of the delights of the area with visitors keen to explore the wildlife of the Languadoc region. Here are some of the highlights of the trip.
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Orange Tip Butterfly
May 1st 2011 - I've been trying to get some good shots of Orange Tip Butterflies for a couple of years now, but have found them tricky, they don't stay still for long! They are one of the early flyers in terms of British butterflies and the males with that bright tangerine tips to the wings really brighten a Spring morning. i caught up with a few at Mockley woods, where I photographed my Bluebells last year.
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A few days in Scotland
April 17th-20th 2011 - We spent a few days in Glen Coe area of Scotland over the Easter break. The weather was very kind, so was great for getting out and about with the camera. Here are a few shots of the wildlife and scenery of Glen Coe and the Isle of Mull.
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Gambia - Bee-eaters, Kingfishers, Rollers and more
March 8th-15th 2011 - I spent a week travelling Gambia in search of the best sites to photograph the countries most colourful and interesting birds. Although slightly late in the season I managed to catch up with most of the species I was after with help from my local guide. Next Winter I will be returning to lead a group of photographers, to visit the best sites for the wildlife photography holiday specialists, Focus4Nature. Here's a link to the tour -
Focus4Nature
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WAXWINGS - 'They're back'
November 28th 2010 - Looks like we're having another Waxwing winter....fantastic! I just can't get enough of these birds and when they arrive in the sort of numbers they seem to be again this winter, I imagine myself making a few trips to keep striving for that perfect shot.
A flock of over 100 entertained us in Ludlow on this occasion, seeming to prefer the white sorbus berries to all the other berries available on the lucky housing estate they had chosen. Hopefully these won't be the last ones I get my lens on this winter.
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Butteflies at Ryton Woods
August 8th 2010 -A sunny morning in Ryton Woods near Coventry turned up 16 species of Butterfly. Silver Washed Fritillary would have been the star, but although plenty were on the wing, non were in good enough condition to make a great shot. A very obliging Brimstone did my the trip worth while, a first for me photographically.
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Finally Bluebells!
May 9th 2010 - i've been on a mission to get good Bluebell pictures for 3 years now. Last year I was too late and got just Ramsons, the year before was not a great Bluebell year.
I was tipped off that a woodland I'd never been too, but is only 5 miles from home was a must see for Bluebells and I wasn't disappointed, what a show.
The hard bit was seeing the Bluebells for the trees in a way and finding the right way of getting what I could see in an image, I think I got it?
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A short break in France
I decided to have a short break in the south of France to add to my portfolio and research a little into where to see certain species, with a view to running tours in the future. What I didn't expect was snow and a temperature of 2 degrees only an hours drive from the Spanish border.
With only one day of good light to get some pictures taken, I needed to move fast, but with some advice from a friend, I tracked down Little Bustard, Lesser Kestrels, Great Spotted Cuckoo and lots more.
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Slavonian Grebe at Grimley
March 13th 2010 - A good record for Worcestershire, this Slavonian Grebe was well worth the trip early on Saturday morning.
With only two Coots for company on a very small pool. photographing this bird was just a matter of patiently waiting for it to fish close by. It would catch a couple of small perch, then go to the middle of the pool to digest for half an hour before embarking on it's next hunt.
A great bird, even in winter plumage.
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Welney and 'Owl Avenue'
February 20th 2010 - The Wildfowl and Wetlands reserve of Welney on the Cambridgeshire/Norfolk border is fabulous at this time of year. Great light, plenty of wildfowl, with numerous duck species, Whooper and Mute Swans and even the occasional visit of Common Cranes, there is plenty to see.
I spent the day there having hired the photography hide, which gives you water level views of birds at close quarters. This does come with small draw backs, like having to lie on your belly on a pallet (or mud, your choice) to get that all important shot, but well worth the discomfort.
The added bonus is, the area around the reserve is fabulous for Barn Owls and if your really lucky Short Eared Owl. The bird opposite, was one of three 'Shorties' seen that day along with four or five Barn Owls in the area. All told, a good day.
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Red, Black and White Kites at Gigrin!
February 10th 2010 - Having been to the Red Kite feeding station at Gigrin farm mid Wales in January and spent the day photographing 'pea soup', I hoped on this occasion the weather would be a little kinder. It wasn't perfect, freezing in fact, and it was a case of taking advantage of the the short sunny intervals that came and hoping the feeling still remained in my shutter depressing finger when the time came for action!
Although the number of Red Kites was not what it had been during the severe weather of a few weeks previously, there were still plenty to keep me busy, along with the still present juvenile Black Kite and the leucistic (white) kite.
The weather did however create the opportunity to grab the image opposite, with low sun on the bird, storm clouds behind and a flurry of snow in the sky, perhaps next years Christmas card!
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An afternoon with Baby Barn Owls, Ahhhh!
August 18th 2009 - Many thanks to Danielle & David of Arden Falconry, who gave me the opportunity to photograph 3 rescued Barn Owl chicks they are rearing. I will soon be holding Bird of Prey photography days with Danielle and David, who are based at the Jinney Ring craft center in Hanbury, Worcestershire. People will have a chance to photograph British birds of prey and at the same time learn some techniques and perhaps get a bit more from their Digital SLR Camera. Look out for details on my events page, or drop me a line.
Farne Islands
June 22nd 2009 - A two hour visit to the Farne Islands on the way back from Scotland was never going to be long enough on such a glorious day, but still very worth while. Arctic and Sandwich Terns performed along with Razorbill, Puffin, Shag, Kittiwake and Fulmar.
Scotland
June 18th-21st 2009 - My second trip to Scotland of the year, proved to be second time lucky with a good selection of opportunities to add to my wildlife portfolio. After spending 11 hours overnight in the company of Pine Martens, Badgers, Wood Mice, Red and Roe Deer on the Rothymurcus estate, an early morning call into Loch Morlich provided the picture opposite and some great landscape photography.