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Tuesday morning was so nice I decided to take a holiday in the afternoon and take myself and the camera to Woolston Eyes NR. I was hoping to get my first decent photo of the year of a Black-necked Grebe or anything else that came within photographing distance really.

As I walked along the south bank the Chiffchaffs were calling and from the lower branches which combined with not much foliage on the trees should have made it easier to get a decent photo. All attempts failed, very disappointing!!

From the south pool viewing platform, a Grey Heron was strutting its stuff along the edge of the pool but there wasn’t much else in sight, a couple of Gadwall, Black-headed Gulls, Coots and Moorhens.


Grey Heron

After a few minutes I made my way to the John Morgan Hide and lo and behold the Grey Heron had followed me.


Grey Heron


Apart from the Grey Heron, there were Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Black-headed Gulls, Lapwing, Coot and Moorhen on the scrape.


Lapwing

The way the Lapwing was behaving I thought it may lay an egg on the scrape but it didn’t while I was there.


Lapwing

On the water I could see Teal, Shoveller, Gadwall, Great crested Grebe, Little Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, Lesser black-backed Gull, Mute Swan and Pochard.


Greylag Goose



Gadwall


Moorhen

Unforunately the Black-necked Grebe stayed well away and didn’t venture within photographing distance as did most of the other birds. However a Pied Wagtail dropped in on the scrape and a couple of Buzzards scattered the birds just to make the afternoon a bit more interesting.


Pied Wagtail

Eventually I made my way to the Rotary Hide as I have taken some nice photos of Black-necked Grebe from this hide. There were about six birds that could be seen intermittently from this vantage point. Unfortunately they were at some distance or swimming behind the reeds, extremely irritating!

Anyway I did have a go at a distant bird and as you will be able to tell from the photo it really was distant.


Black-necked Grebe

I've also included a few photos from a couple of weeks ago when I visited Woolston but I didn't upload them to my website.


Crow on No3 Bed


Black-headed Gull, No3 Bed


View from south pool viewing platform, converted to mono and given a slight tint


Same photo but I tried to produce an infra red type effect and added some grain to it

Thanks for reading

Andy

I'd taken a days holiday yesterday and managed to visit "The Eyes" again albeit late in the afternoon.

When I arrived at the John Morgan Hide I was pleased to see the Mediterranean Gull that had been around for a while and the scrape had more than it's fair share of Canada Geese, Mute Swans and Greylag Geese on it. I also saw the female Marsh Harrier that has been around for a few weeks but it didn't come within a photographable distance.

Some of the birds that were around follow however the Mediterranean Gull gets more than it's fair share of coverage.



Mediterranean Gull


Mediterranean Gull


Mediterranean Gull


Mediterranean Gull


Mediterranean Gull


Mediterranean Gull being chased by Black-headed gull


Mediterranean Gull being chased by Black-headed gull


Mediterranean Gull


Mediterranean Gull


Great crested grebe displaying


Black-headed Gull


Black-headed Gull


Black-headed Gull


Black-headed Gull


Male Pochard


Female Pochard


Female Gadwall


Male Teal


Lesser black-backed gull


Canada Goose lit by the warm glow of the setting sun


Canada Goose lit by the warm glow of the setting sun

thanks for reading

Andy

I spent a few hours at Woolston Eyes on Saturday morning and I'd only just reached the south pool viewing screen when the gulls went into panic mode. It took a few seconds to identify the culprit and I just managed to get a couple of shots in before a female Marsh Harrier went down in the reed bed.


Marsh Harier - Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus)

Although it isn't a good photo I am pleased with it as the bird was at least 200yds away and the cameras autofocus locked onto the bird almost immediately, pretty impressive I think. Unfortunately I didn't see it again.

There wasn't much around but a selection of what was appears below.


Black-headed Gull


Black-headed Gull in flight


Grey Heron being chased by gulls


Shoveler


Shelduck landing on the centre pool


Greylag Goose


Coot after the not unexpected squabble

Thanks for reading

Andy

I made a long overdue visit to Woolston Eyes on Saturday, the last time I visited was on the 1st November.
Its also the first time I’ve had the opportunity to use my new 7D Mk II camera with the 500mm Mk II lens and I also used the MkIII x2 extender.

My initial thoughts are that the camera performs much better than the its predecessor the 7D Mk 1 and probably as good as the 5D Mk III with the 500mm Mk I lens.

The autofocus of the 7D MkII also appeared to be much better than the 5D Mk III especially with the extender attached.

Obtaining good photographs of the birds on the water at Woolston is a challenge and with this combination of equipment I do feel better equipped to get a higher proportion of good quality photographs.

Saturday was quite pleasant and the light was good so that helped quite a bit.
I spent most of the time at the John Morgan hide and there was quite a bit of gull activity, mainly Black-headed gulls from the breeding colony.


Black-headed gull


Black-headed gull - squabbling as they do best!

Some young Lesser Black-backed gulls were also apparent.


Lesser Black-backed gull


Lesser Black-backed gull


Lesser Black-backed gull

There were also Mallard, Gadwall, Tufted Duck, Pochard, Shoveller, Great crested grebe, Coot, Moorhen, Canada goose, Greylag goose, and Mute Swan on the water.


Coot


Coot


Moorhen


Greylag Goose


Mute Swan


Shelduck


Shelduck


Great crested grebe


Great crested grebe


Tufted duck


Mallard

While I was looking around there was quite a lot of evidence that something is using the shelter of the hide to enjoy eating it's kill


The recent remains


The recent remains

Thanks for reading.

Andy

On Saturday I’d arranged for my best friend Barry and I to attend a City Photo Walk in Liverpool run by Aidan O’Rourke. Photography in the city is well out of my comfort zone as I’m more at home in a hide photographing birds, landscapes when the opportunity arises or perhaps some indoor photography.

I think there were seven people all together attending the walk. The first 45 minutes or so were spent discussing setting up the camera to get the best out of it, particularly the correct exposure. Four or five printed sheets were also supplied explaining this particularly the relationship between, aperture, shutter speed and ISO.

Aidan is enthusiastic and passionate about photography and very patient and spent a lot of time explaining things to the less experienced photographers. His photographs of Liverpool and Manchester have appeared in many books and newspapers, so he is a well-established photographer.

The Walk.

We spent some time around St George’s Hall and although on the face of it there didn’t appear to be a lot to photograph, a bit of looking around reveals lots. Then it isn’t only the taking of the photograph, for me there is also the researching of the subject that’s been photographed, not to mention producing the finished photograph. The really good photographers can take a photograph in camera that doesn’t require any editing in Photoshop but I haven’t achieved those lofty heights yet.

I think I work back to front and instead of going out and taking a photograph that I’ve visualised, I’ll take a photograph and try and make it into something that I like.


The former North Western Hotel is on the east side of Lime Street, Liverpool, England. It is designated by English Heritage a Grade II listed building. The hotel was built in 1871 as a railway hotel by the London and North Western Railway to serve Lime Street Station. It was designed by Alfred Waterhouse, and contained 330 rooms. The hotel closed in 1933 and remained empty and unused for over 60 years. In 1994 it was bought by John Moores University and, at a cost of £6 million, was converted into a hall of residence for students, which opened in 1996


Looking along Lime Street towards the Crown Hotel with the Anglican Cathedral in the background. The Crown Hotel was built in 1905 in Art Nouveau style. It is constructed in brick with some stucco, and has marble facing on the ground floor. The building is in three storeys with an attic. It has two fronts, one on Lime Street with two bays, the other on Skelhorne Street, with three bays.It is designated by English Heritage as a Grade II listed building.


Part of the wall St George's Hall


The above transformed in Photoshop

After that we made our way to the Anglican Cathedral passing The Adelphi Hotel, the old Lewis’s department store, St Luke’s Church (aka The bombed out church), the Chinese Arch, Nelson St, “Chinatown” and finally the Anglican Cathedral. During the walk Aidan pointed out the main points of interest.


The former Lewis's Department Store and Dicky Lewis Sculpture


The Chinese Arch, Nelson Street, China Town. In year 2000, a Chinese Ceremonial Archway was constructed at the top of Nelson Street. It became a local landmark and a tourist attraction. The structure was imported piece by piece from Shanghai, and then reconstructed by craftsmen from China. There are 200 dragons on the wooden and marble structure with a mixture of stunning gold, red, green and the Chinese Royal colour of yellow. The archway stands at 15m high, which is the largest in Europe. According to Feng Shui experts, it will protect Chinatown from evil, and bring good luck and fortune to the area.


The Chinese Arch, Nelson Street, China Town


Frame within a frame. From the chinese Arch looking back towards St Luke's Church (aka The bombed out church


The Anglican Cathedral from the corner of Upper Duke Street and Cathedral Gate. The cathedral was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott (1880 - 1960). The building of the cathedral was started in 1903 or shortly afterwards and was completed in 1978, twenty-eight years after Sir Giles Gilbert Scott had died in 1960.


The Benedicite Window above the West Door and Tracy Emin's artwork "For You" below it. For You was commissioned by the Cathedral Chapter as the Cathedral’s contribution to Liverpool’s Year as European Capital of Culture 2008. It is a pink neon, written in the artist’s handwriting, with the words: ‘I felt you and I knew you loved me.’ In 2009 Tracy Emin was the winner of the Art and Christianity Enquiry (ACE) Award for Art in a Religious Context for this work. The previous year this work also enabled the Cathedral to win the first Liverpool Chamber of Commerce Arts Award.Anglican Cathedral, Liverpool, Merseyside


All Together Now, a sculpture commemorating the World War One Christmas truce. Two fibreglass figures, about to shake hands, capture the moment British and German soldiers stopped fighting and played football on Christmas Day 1914. The statue was designed by Andy Edwards.

If you are a beginner in photography I can certainly recommend one of Aidan’s walks in Liverpool or Manchester as it isn’t expensive as workshops go, so if this has whetted your appetite you can find out more here:

www.aidan.co.uk

Thanks for reading.

Andy

Due to upgrade Canon 500mm F4.0 Telephoto Lens Mk1, no issues, some loss of paint in usual areas (tripod mount, etc). Includes case, lens hood, lens cap, etc. £3500.

If anyone interested email.

When I awoke on Saturday morning, the sunlight wasn’t exactly streaming through the curtains but it was light and it wasn’t raining.

So after a filling breakfast I made my way to “Woolston Eyes” which is only about 15mins away, The light was quite good, still no rain and only a light breeze so I was hoping that I’d get some reasonable photographs or spot one those elusive rarities that up to now has escaped me.

As there always is there were plenty of cars by the footbridge across to the reserve but from experience that doesn’t mean an awful lot as most of them belong to the ringers and generally you don’t see them or you get a brief glimpse of one in the distance, the lesser spotted ringer.

As I walked across the footbridge over the bund, there was a cormorant quite close and some ducks in the distance but nothing I could get a decent photograph of so I made my way to the south viewing screen. The water was still quite low even after the recent rain and there certainly wasn’t anything close enough to photograph, not even a coot or moorhen. It was quite pleasant just to stand and stare for a while as the sound of birdsong drifted across the water but it was only the ringers playing one of their tapes.

After a while I made my way to the tower hide looking out for any birds or insects that I could photograph but nothing jumped out and grabbed my attention. On reaching the hide it was obvious that a lot of hard work had been done to clear the reed in front of the hide. Unfortunately it didn’t help me to see anything.

After a while I decided to go to the John Morgan Hide and on the way I found a couple of Hoverflies to photograph.


Marmalade Fly (Eristalis pertinax)


Tapered Drone Fly (Episyrphus balteatus)

On reaching the John Morgan Hide I opened one of the windows under the hide and unusually there was nothing on the scrape, no Canada Geese or Lapwing, there was absolutely nothing. I waited expectantly but nothing other than a couple of Moorhens ventured near the scrape. Consequently the photographs I took were long distance shots and required some heavy cropping so the quality isn’t very good.


Shoveler (Anas clypeata)

The Shovelers and other waterfowl were panicked and put to flight by a Buzzard hunting over the reserve but the panic diminished as quickly as it started and the birds settled down again, you’ve got it, on the far side of the pool.


Shoveler (Anas clypeata) landing on the far side of the pool


Buzzard (Buteo buteo) that put the other birds to flight.


Black-headed gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) splash landing

Elsewhere on the reserve I found some fungi and a Comma butterfly.


Shaggy Scalycap (Pholiota squarrosa)


Shaggy Parasol (Chlorophyllum rhacodes)


Glistening Inkcap (Coprinellus micaceus)


Comma (Polygonia c-album)

Thanks for reading.

Andy

We had a nice break in North Norfolk a couple of weeks back for some rest and relaxation. However you can’t go to Norfolk and not visit some of the reserves.

The list of our sightings is detailed below.

Birds: Little Grebe, Great crested Grebe, Cormorant, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Mute Swan, Brent Geese, Greylag Geese, Pinkfeet, Egyptian Geese, Mallard, Wigeon, Shoveller, Teal, Tufted Duck, Pochard, Kestrel, Hobby, Buzzard, Marsh Harrier, Pheasant, Red legged Partridge, Coot, Moorhen, Ringed Plover, Grey Plover, Golden Plover, Lapwing, Turnstone, Dunlin, Avocet, Oystercatcher, Black tailed Godwit, Bar tailed Godwit, Curlew, Snipe, Ruff, Redshank, Curlew Sandpiper, Greater Black backed Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Herring Gull, Caspian Gull, Yellow legged Gull, Common Gull, Black Headed Gull, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Green Woodpecker, Skylark, Pied Wagtail. Robin, Blackbird, Cetti’s Warbler (heard) Goldcrest, Wren, Nuthatch (heard) Great Tit, Blue Tit, Long tailed Tit, Bearded Tit, Kingfisher, Magpie, Jay, Starling, Crow, Jackdaw, Rook, Chaffinch, Siskin.

Mammals: Fallow Deer, Red Deer, Hare, Grey Squirrel, Grey Seal, Common Seal

Butterflies: Speckled Wood, Red Admiral.

Odonata: Migrant Hawker, Red Darter, Ruddy Darter.

Amphibians: Common Frog

Four of the birds were my first sightings, Curlew Sandpiper, Bearded Tit, Caspian Gull and Yellow-legged Gull. I was unable to get photographs of the Tits and Sandpiper but I did manage to get some photos of the Gulls.


Caspian Gull (Larus cachinnans)


Yellow-legged Gull (Larus michahellis)

Like the Caspian Gull the Yellow Legged Gull was once considered a race of Herring Gull. Modern techniques in DNA analysis have however determined they are both a separate and distinct species in their own right.

A move away from the coast produced good views of Fallow Deer and Brown Hare.

We spent some time photographing the deer which were just coming into rut and getting quite vocal as well as frisky.


Fallow Deer Stag – scent marking

This magnificent Stag seemed to be ruling the heard as he chased off rivals from his Harem.


Fallow Deer Stag


Fallow Deer

As we were photographing the deer we obviously disturbed this hare which hurtled off stage right.


Brown Hare Brown Hare (Lepus europaeus)

A boat trip to Blakeny Point gave us lovely views of Grey Seal and Harbour or Common Seal.


Common Seal (Phoca vitulina)


Grey Seal (Halichoerus grypus)

Thanks for reading.

Andy

As I didn't get out and about with the camera on Sunday, I spent some time in the garden photographing the birds that frequent our garden and make use of the feeders.

We don't get a great range of birds but they are reasonably colourful and as entertaining as some of the programs on the television.


Starling

The boss of the garden appears to be the blackbirds that chase anything that lands.

Frequent visitors are collared dove and the wood pigeon (aka the tank) that have developed their own technique of getting seed out of the feeders, it is quite funny to watch them.


Wood pigeon a.k.a. the tank


Collared dove

Other birdy visitors were dunnock, robin, blue tit, greenfinch and goldfinch.


Greenfinch


Goldfinch


Robin


Greenfinch

cheers

Andy

I made my weekly visit to “The Eyes” on a lovely warm & brightly lit Saturday morning with the hope of getting some decent warbler shots but more realistically in the hope that something/anything would be close enough to take a reasonable photograph of it.

Well the sky was blue, the clouds white and fluffy and not a lot of wind so nice conditions really. Lots of the trees are in blossom and I liken them to foaming fountains of flowers, I suppose you call that flowery writing!

There wasn’t much to be seen from the first viewing screen so I made my way to the John Morgan Hide.


Flag Iris from the south pool viewing screen

On the short walk I could hear plenty of birds in song, Chiffchaff, Sedge and other warblers but could I see any of them, could I heck.

On the scrape were the usual suspects, black-headed gulls, Canada geese, greylag geese, gadwall, mallard, shelduck, coot, lapwing, mute swan and on the water, black-necked grebe, great crested grebe, little grebe, tufted duck, pochard, lesser black-backed gulls etc.


Gadwall


Mute Swan on the runway


Lapwing

It was very quiet and not much bird activity, the wood mouse that I've seen for the last couple of weeks had deserted as well.

As I said there wasn't much activity and certainly nothing unusual to see but the birds are always doing something and then there are the cute chicks.


Canada goose chicks

While I was there David Bowman pointed out a couple of nests that had been made under the hide but weren't being used or had been abandoned.





After that I wandered down tho the Rotary Hide where a coot and chicks were spending their time but other than that not a lot to see.


Coot feeding chick

I then retraced my steps and went back to the Tower Hide in the hope of photographing some Warblers. There were a few around but nothing ventured close to the hide, I did manage a few photos but they weren't much good.


Sedge Warbler

Thanks for reading.

Andy

Although rain had been forecast I made my way to Woolston Eyes NR, my local reserve. It was raining when I started out but it eased off and although the sun didn’t exactly crack the heavens there were some bright patches.

There had been a few interesting birds been seen recently, Mediterranean gull, Garganey, little gull and great white egret. I wasn’t expecting to see any of those so I wasn’t disappointed when I didn’t.

At the first viewing screen a couple of male ruddy duck could be seen , along with pochard, Canada goose, shelduck and the obligatory coots.

I then made my way to the John Morgan Hide and although there wasn’t anything unusual or exciting there’s always something to see. On the scrape in front of the hide there were mainly black-headed gulls, shelduck, Gadwall, mute swan, greylag geese, lapwing and Canada goose.


Mute Swan


Greylag Goose

There were a few lesser black-backed gulls flying around and one flew onto the scrape carrying an eel, better than a chick anyway.


Lesser black-backed gull


Lesser black-backed gull

As usual the shelduck and the black headed gulls were being their usual selves but unusually the gull was chasing the shelduck!


Shelduck and Black-headed gull


Shelduck and Black-headed gull

Plenty of displaying and mating to be seen.


Black-headed gull

Although thee gulls were quite noisy most of the morning it was nothing compared to when a marsh harrier made an appearance on the far side of the pool opposite the hide.It certainly got the gulls excited!

I did manage to get a photo which isn't very good due to it being so far away but there isn't much you can do about it.


Marsh harrier

thanks for reading.

Andy

The last couple of weekends I’ve visited Woolston Eyes NR and although I’ve not seen anything unusual or scarce I have enjoyed my visits nevertheless.

As you walk onto the meadows there is a small patch of Ramsons or Wild Garlic and the smell is wonderful, if you like Garlic that is.


Ramsons or Wild Garlic

There are also some small patches of Bluebell and Cowslips, I also seen some Snakes Head Fritillaries a few weeks back but they had been battered by the wind and weren’t really worth photographing.


Spanish Bluebell


Cowslip

I believe the maximum number of Black-necked Grebes that have been seen is thirty one, a pretty good total.


Black-necked Grebe

AS you can imagine the breeding season is in full swing, displaying birds, mating, nest building and broods of chicks.


Black-headed Gull with nesting material


Getting to know you


Up close and personal


On the nest


Black-necked Grebe displaying


Greylags with brood


Greylag goslings

There's plenty of behavior to keep you spellbound for a few hours! Well it does me.

Birds in a hurry


Coot on the run


Little Grebe water skiing

Thanks for reading.

Andy

I've been to Woolston Eyes NR a couple of times in recent weeks and an incredible amount of work has been carried out on No3 Bed to improve the habitat. A lot of the reed beds has been moved and new channels have appeared, the scrape in front of the John Morgan hide has been improved and bares no resemblance to last year.


Scrape in front of Morgan Hide


View from screen by Hogg Hide

Hopefully this will encourage more waders and perhaps even the elusive bittern!!

My first visit of the year was a couple of weeks back to see the Starling roost which was spectacular, probably in the region of 150,000 birds entertained those present for the best part of an hour. At time the sky was black with Starlings and the sound of 300,000 wings beating in unison as they flew overhead was quite amazing. We didn't see any raptors flying in to break the flock up and cause mayhem but the sight and the patterns produced in the sky was stunning. It did help that it was a pleasant evening and the light was also wonderful.


Shelduck in the last light of the day


First few birds


Building up


and there's more!


Monochrome representation - not sure if it improves it


Starling wave


bunching up


down to roost

As a photographer you have to decide how best to display your shots and in this case, I could have lightened the sky but I have left it dark as it was dusk. For the last few shots I kept the shutter speed slow to try and exaggerate the movement of the birds. Personally I think its worked but may be others would think not.

I visited again on Saturday with no particular images in mind but I was lucky enough to to learn that four Black-necked Grebes were present and one pair displaying.

It's never easy to to get good photographs at Woolston but you have to have a go and on this occasion the results were reasonable even though the birds were quite some distance away and the photos did require some very heavy cropping. For those interested I was using a Canon 5D Mk3, 500mm lens and 1.4x converter; I also used live view to help with focusing.


Black-necked Grebe displaying


Black-necked Grebe on north pool from Rotary Hide


Small Tortoiseshell butterfly


Black-headed gull from John morgan Hide


Black-necked Grebe on north pool from Rotary Hide

It's great to have got a photo through to the last 20 final photos in the Bents Photography competition.

If you are a member of Facebook you can vote for my photograph on the Bents Garden Centre Facebook page and it's called Vole in the hole.

I've got to say of the photos I submitted it isn't the one I would have picked but they must have seen something I couldn't.


Vole in the hole

However if you could vote for it, it will be really appreciated.

The photograph of No3 Bed Woolston Eyes taken at dusk will also appear on the front cover of a local magazine and I'm really pleased with that as well.


No3 Bed at dusk

thanks for reading and voting if you do.

cheers

Andy

Saturday morning was nice and bright so I made my way to Woolston Eyes in the hope that something unusual may turn up.

There were a lot of cars parked up but I think most of the people must have been bird ringing as I only saw a handful of people.

As I walked across the footbridge I could see what looked like a raptor in a tree not too far away which turned out to be a common Kestrel; I usually see them on a lamp-post when I’m driving and without a camera.

It stayed there just long enough to take a couple of shots but they weren’t anything to write home about.


Common Kestrel

When I reached the first viewing hide I had a look over the water but couldn’t see very much however there was a digger over to the left that appeared to be making a bank of soil. I know there has been talk of building a Sand Martin bank so whether that’s what that is I don’t know.

I wandered off to the John Morgan Hide but on the way I found a tree and I thought the leaves looked stunning against the blue sky so I couldn't resist taking a photograph.



When I entered the hide and looked out over the water I was amazed to
see how much work has been done in front of the hide to improve the scrape. A lot of soil has been removed and the water was much closer to the hide and around five long islands made.


Work to improve the scrape

Probably due to the work being carried out, unsurprisingly there weren't many birds on the water but there were plenty of finches around the feeders and the nearby trees.


Robin


Greenfinch

After leaving the John Morgan Hide I went to the Rotary Hide and again very little on the water. However there were a couple of Canada Geese and a Magpie on one of the rafts.



I'm not sure what happened but the Magpie ended up in the water.



I watched the bird struggling frantically to fly out of the water but it was well and truly waterlogged; I continued to watch it for about 15mins and it was flapping and paddling it's way to the far bank. Unfortunately I had to leave so I've no idea as to its fate.

On the way back I found some fungi worth taking a photograph of.


Fungi

I also liked the natural curve of the branch and the berries on another tree.



I eventually made my way back to the footbridge and noticed the really nice reflection of the trees on the water.


Autumnal Reflections

Another successful morning down at "The Eyes"

Thanks for reading.

Andy

After the brightness of Saturday, Sunday was a bit of a let-down and the light was quite poor really, so a higher ISO than I like had to be used.

During the chill of the night the birds must have used a lot of calories just trying to keep warm as they were back and too to the feeders like BA frequent flyers.

I hadn’t seen Goldfinch or House Sparrows in recent weeks but they were very apparent on Sunday.

House Sparrows appear to prefer the fat balls and just squabble amongst themselves as to who gets pole position. The Goldfinch appear to alternate between the Niger seed and Sunflower hearts.


House Sparrow

The Robins just wanted to attack and chase anything that flew and I’m pretty sure that they spent more time doing that than feeding!!


Robin

I tend not to see Coal Tits very often but there was one or two on the frequent flyer list on Sunday. They seemed to be going for the Sunflower Hearts more than anything else.


Coal Tit

The other birds were Blue and Great Tit, Chaffinch and Dunnock; no Greenfinch though.


Blue Tit


Dunnock

I also saw a Sparrow Hawk flying low, skimming just a few feet above the ground looking for its next meal no doubt; I was hoping that it might have flew in my direction but no such luck.

Pheasants, Wood Pigeons, Rooks and Crows all flew over and I also had a Mistle Thrush land in front of the hide but only for a millisecond before it took flight again.

Even though it was quite dull for most of the morning it wasn’t too cold and the activity of the birds gave me a warm glow just watching them going about their business.

Thanks for reading.

Andy

We had a weekend of freedom last weekend, away from being carers and we spent the time with family in Gloucester. Unfortunately I didn’t have an opportunity to get out and about in the countryside so no wildlife photography again.

The main reason for going was to take photographs of dog beds with dogs on them so customers can get an idea of the size of the beds with various dogs on them.

So we started at about 11am and went through until about 4pm with a procession of dogs and dog beds.

Most of the dogs were small but there was one huge one, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier crossed with an American Bulldog, with teeth to match and it kept growling when I pointed the camera at it. Scary! Needless to say I kept a close eye on it.


Cross on Camo

With so many different dogs coming in and in such a small room, I did make a conscious decision to work with only three lights, one key light and two background lights. I think that was a wise move as I think we had four or five dogs in a small room at one stage.


Scruff


Louie

It was difficult enough to get one small dog lying on a bed but trying to get three dogs on one bed was a real challenge but something we achieved and they all looked at the camera; wow!


Spaniels on Camo

Luckily they were well trained and are working dogs.

Unfortunately there were a few mishaps and the steam mop had to come out a few times and a few of them got a bit excited and were showing there bits off.

We also had one dog in season and she had to stay in the garden otherwise that could have caused an even greater problem!

I think I took in the region of 400 shots so editing them is keeping me busy.

Thanks for reading.

Andy

09 – 10 Nov 2013

Photos to follow

As it was nice and bright on Saturday morning I got out with the camera and went to the hide.

There weren’t many birds around just the usual Blue and Great Tits, Robin, Dunnock, & Wren.

The Robin posed nicely for a few shots, they usually do.


Robin

The Great Tits were back and to the peanuts I’d put out, picking them up then flying back to the shelter of the conifers to eat them; they were very active and they didn’t linger for very long.


Great Tit


Great Tit

On Sunday it was quite bright again but there had been a slight frost during the night so I went down to Woolston Eyes to see if there was anything of interest there.

As I crossed the footbridge over the bund there was a single Cormorant quite close by but as soon as I raised the camera to my eye it dove down and reappeared too far away to get a worthwhile photo.

There were a few other waterfowl on the water in the distance and that was about it.

I had a look at the South Pool from the first viewing screen and I was pleased to see water instead of dry mud, the recent rain had obviously been enough to get a decent level of water.

There weren’t any birds on this pool but there were Canada Geese, Shovelers and Teal in the nearest channel.

I then went to the Frank Lindley Hide but there wasn’t much activity immediately in front of the hide, most of the birds were on the far side of the pool. These were mainly Shoveler, Teal, Mallards, Canada Geese and Black-headed Gulls. A few Greylag Geese flew in, Cormorants flying over and loads of Greenfinch, Chaffinch and some Willow Tits on the feeders.


Greylag Goose


Cormorant

As there wasn’t much happening I went to see if there was anything down at the Rotary Hide but it was the same story there.

I did notice some fungi close to the rotary Hide so I took some photos of them in the absence of any birds.


fungi 1


fungi 2


fungi 3

As I was leaving and walking back over the footbridge there was another photographer taking some photos as he had spotted a Mandarin Duck (female) roosting in a tree not too far away from the bridge. I did have a go myself but it was very difficult to see and I got more branches and twigs than bird so that one went in the trash.

For anyone visiting “The Eyes” in the near future I understand that some work is being carried out to improve the scrape in front of the John Morgan Hide involving a mechanical digger, so that may disrupt your visit.

Thanks for reading.

Andy

I thought it was only two weeks since I’d written anything for the blog but having looked another month has slipped by.

I’ve not been out as much as I would have liked but as I really do love photography and I always try to get the camera out and do some photography during the week.

The standby subject is usually flowers and although a formal photo of a flower display is very nice I do like to tinker and try to produce something a bit different. I just like to play in Photoshop really!!







More recently I’ve done a portrait session two weekends running and as I don’t have a studio I have to deconstruct one of the rooms to put the background and lights up. It’s a bit of a pain in the bottom but it’s something I don’t mind doing.

The room I use is a bit on the small side and I can’t put the lights where I really want to but I can usually get some shots that people like and that is the priority I think. I look at the technical side of things and I like perfection or as near as I can get to it but the subjects and definitely parents look at totally different things.


Composite of three photos







The photos I produced prompted a flurry of activity on the website with a massive increase in page views, which was excellent news and I even got two comments even better!!

Whether it will lead to a paying photoshoot only time will tell but I have had a couple of tentative enquiries.

I’m going to Gloucester in the near future to take photos of dog beds with dogs on them! The old saying is never work with animals and children; I must be a glutton for punishment as I suspect children may also come into the equation somewhere as well.

Thanks for reading.

Andy

We had a few days away in Dorset last week, mainly just to get away from our duties as carers but as always looking for a photo opportunity.

A deal came up on the internut which looked reasonable value for money, well for the UK anyway, so I booked it.

I’d been to Dorset 30 or 40 years ago when I was lot younger and from what I could remember it seemed quite pleasant.

It was only after I’d booked the hotel and started researching the area that I realised how much potential there is in the area for bird, wildlife and landscape photography all within 20 miles or so of our base.

Unfortunately in the short time we had we couldn’t make all the visits that we wanted but high on the list was a visit to Brownsea island. If you don’t know it is a small island owned by the National Trust situated in Poole harbour. There are a few ferry operators that make the crossing to Brownsea from Poole harbour and one of them from Sandbanks.

We used Brownsea Island tours cost £9 return per adult from Poole on arrival at Brownsea there is also a National Trust charge of £6.50 for non-members.

The crossing was uneventful and took about 20 mins from Poole to the island.

Immediately after the entrance there is a public bird hide and with binoculars or a scope you can get reasonable views of part of the lagoon.

Immediately after this there is a walkway into A Dorset Wildlife Trust Reserve, there is a cost of something like £2 per adult and it is well worth paying and entering.

We had only walked about 20yards and up popped a Red Squirrel which kept us occupied for a good while.


Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris)


Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris)

It was a real bonus not to see it on a feeding station, it didn’t bother about us as it was intent on collecting acorns and finding somewhere to put them.


Burying his nuts – that sounds more amusing than acorns!

It was in a wooded area so a high ISO was required to ensure a reasonable shutter speed; I probably went over the top with the ISO as I really wanted to make sure the photos were reasonably sharp.

After being entertained by the squirrel we moved to the first hide, where we had excellent views of Avocet, Redshank, Greenshank, Black-tailed Godwit, Little Egret, Teal, Shelduck, Shoveler, Cormorant and various Gulls.

The light still wasn’t brilliant but good enough to drop the ISO a bit.


Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta)


Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) in flight

There were quite a few Avocets around but the largest groups were located on the far side of the lagoon. So the flight shot is a little distant but givesw a good idea of the group size.


Greenshank (Tringa nebularia)


Redshank (Tringa totanus)

After that we moved down to the second hide which was on the end walkway into the lagoon.

Obviously the views were of similar birds and the list wasn’t any different from the other hide.


Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa)

After that we walked a little further to the villa where the wildlife trust has an office and there is also a feeding station. There were some hens around the feeders and quite a few finches, Robin, etc. What did surprise me were the two Jackdaws doing acrobatics to get seed out of the feeders, quite entertaining and something I hadn’t seen before.

We then moved to a hide/screen that overlooked a marshy area which has a Heronry; we didn’t stay there long but I did get a few shots of Heron in flight.


Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea)

We had heard that a Hobby had been seen a few times so we moved to the last hide to have a look there and sure enough it turned up.

Unfortunately I only had one shot at it and almost got it; just out of focus unfortunately.


Hobby (Falco subbuteo)

On the way back to catch the boat a couple of birdwatchers told us that a Grey Phalarope had been seen from the first hide so we visited there again on the way back.

Unfortunately it had attracted all the wardens, anyone interested in birds and the hide was filling up rapidly.

It was a fair distance away and I probably could have got a passable photo but I made do with a look through one of the wardens scope; a lovely little bird.

It was getting a bit hectic more like Euston Station than a bird hide so we made our way back to the landing stage.

While we were waiting for the ferry a Common Tern was flying around so a few shots of that was a good finish to an excellent trip.


Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)

On the return journey the boat meandered back on a different route to the outward journey and the driver of the ferry gave an interesting commentary about Brownsea, some of the smaller islands and the harbour area in general.

A great day out and well worth the small amount of money it cost; I recommend it.

Thanks for reading.

Andy