Chasing Summer Colours

At some point during each winter and usually in the month of January, a Mediterranean Gull will appear amongst the flocks of hundreds of local gulls. These are scarce birds and it always a challenge searching through the masses of similar looking Black-Headed Gulls to find one. I must admit I have got better at picking them out of the feathered crowd with time and the subtle differences in winter plumage between the two species now becoming more obvious to me. This winter a bird arrived early and has stayed local through the entire season which has provided plenty of photo opportunities of what I consider to be one of our most elegant gull species.

I first found the bird towards the end of November and this particular individual seemed less wary than usual and provided a great deal of fun and many very close encounters.

This photograph of the bird was achieved with a shallow depth of field to turn the grass into green mist as it was peering up over the top of a bank, whilst resting amongst the roosting gull flocks.

I found the bird once again just before Christmas with snow laying on the ground. A couple of photos have appeared in previous posts but here is another flight photo from that session of wonderful reflected light.

Christmas came and went and on the 2nd of January and my new 'friend' was one of the first birds to put an appearance in front of the lens during 2011.

I did not photograph the bird for another 6 weeks and was pleasantly surprised during our next encounter in mid February on how far it had progressed in to summer plumage. Once these birds start changing to their summer colours progression is often quite rapid. I have never managed to photograph a Mediterranean Gull in their smart full summer colours. The fact this bird seemed well advanced, before their normal departure around the beginning of March, offered encouragement that I might actually finally achieve the goal.

So a week later, and despite some fairly poor conditions, I was out once more searching amongst the ever increasing numbers of gulls. The bird had become quite obvious amongst the crowd by this time with its deep black head feathers standing out amongst the brown heads of the Black-headed Gulls (the clue is not always in the name!) as they transform to their summer colours

By this point all that was remaining were the last few white feathers around the beak to turn black.

It looked like in a few more days or another week at most that my chase to find those full summer colours of the Mediterranean Gull would be at an end. The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow was in sight. However, the bird had other ideas and appears to have finally departed and no doubt will appear once more at the end of the year returned to its full winter plumage. To be honest that final photo it is not really of importance and it is the numerous encounters and time spent in close proximity with this bird over the past few months that will persist in the memory.

Simply Gulls

With the January weather continuing to be a disappointment from a photography perspective, I thought I would turn the clock back a few weeks. Living by the seaside I am surrounded by gulls and so it is inevitable the some should find their way in front of the lens. I must admit I do enjoy photographing them as they are always entertaining and if you have a loaf of bread instantly become your new best 'friends'. So here is a compilation of some photos taken towards the back end of last year that I did not get an opportunity to show. I will start with the most common species the Black-headed Gull which is probably the most likely to be ignored by the photographer. The first was taken against storm clouds in the last light of the day and for a few fleeting moments the sky was filled with swirling golden arc of gulls, a memorable sight.

While on the topic of great light, while the ground covered in snow there was some superb up lighting on the birds.

The local raised Model Boating Lake always offers some good opportunities at high tide for bathing birds. Water level photos are achieved in relative comfort and without the need for scrabbling around on the floor.

and a young bird undertaking a bit of feather maintenance.

There are also good numbers of Common Gull or as they seem to becoming more frequently labelled Mew Gull.

Lurking in the unusually deep snow we experienced this winter.

Herring Gull are common and its is quite easy to see how a whole herring could easily slip down that gaping void.

A young bird undergoing some acrobatic manoeuvres on the local boating lake.

I think the manufacturer of the local seaside telescopes show change their name to 'Gull Scopes'. A Lesser Black-backed Gull on watch duty.

To finish off the scarce Mediterranean Gull which has been lurking in amongst the Black-headed Gulls all winter. It usually takes a bit of finding due to the similarity in looks, particularly when the whole flock takes flight. I am hoping this one will stay around long enough this year to transform in to their wonderful summer plumage. This first photograph was taken again when snow was on the ground on a beautiful crisp clear day.

As I have said many times before and no doubt will do so again the future, never ignore the common birds around you :)

End of the Year

As the weather, but more importantly the light, has been so grim over the last week I have been busy wading through my backlog of images. It is good to have got this finally finished before the end of the year and the double hard drive back-up is whirring away beside me as I type this.

I thought I would use this post to give a quick overview of my year and post a selection of images processed from the backlog. For me it has been a productive photography year with 118 bird species and 5 mammal species photographed including 17 species that have not been in front of the lens previously.

There have been so many wonderful moments shared with wildlife that its hard to pick out some highlights but the three that stand out are:

• The entire trip to Norway in the summer. Wonderful birds, landscapes and people;
• A very early morning in Spring, during a visit to Hampshire, which produced three new species in the space of a few hours including an unforgettable encounter with a Dartford Warbler;
• Photographing Leach's Petrels in severe onshore winds with my friend Steve. Such a privilege to see so many of this ocean wander at such close quarters.

Before posting the last images of 2010, I would like to send the warmest thanks to all those that have taken the time to read the blog and provide feedback. 2011? who knows what may appear in front of the camera but I am looking forward to it already :). So I will wish you all a Happy, Healthy and Successful New Year.

Fieldfare listening for worms below.

Mediterranean Gull in flight

Young Green Woodpecker on a gravestone. These are such a tricky species to photograph and hopefully I will do better with them in 2011.

Common Buzzard photographed by my office during a lunch hour.

Female kestrel who is a regular visitor at one of my sites.

Mute swan

It is amazing how much fun you can have with a large puddle and a flock of starlings.

To finish of some rooks and jackdaw.

I have been putting nuts out for these birds to help through the recent cold weather. I think this photo shows how hungry the birds have become.

Please remember just because the snow may have gone, if you have been feeding the birds, then please continue as they need to rebuild up fat reserves and I am sure we have not seen the last of the cold weather this winter.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow

With the UK gripped in a prolonged blast from the Arctic, where I live has managed to remain fairly free of snow. That was until I tried to get home from my work Christmas party last Friday and 6 inches fell very quickly and hampered my already slightly 'wobbly' journey home. Having given over the next day to the inevitable heavy head, I was out bright and early on the following morning layered up with thermals and with the car thermometer reading -10 degrees C. While we are in this lengthy cold spell can I urge people to help out their local wildlife with some supplementary food and particularly water. Even if it is just a couple of bird feeders in the garden or some apples thrown on the lawn for the winter thrushes.

A layer of snow generates some incredible light with its glowing reflection lighting up the underside of the birds and animals. I decided to head to my local woods where some action would be guaranteed and ended up laying on the ground next to a fallen tree. However, I stopped off by the coast on route to photograph some Black-headed Gulls, a real camera exposure headache.

I also managed to locate amongst the flock, a Mediterranean Gull which was even more difficult to spot than usual with the white conditions.

On arrival at the woods, typically the first bird to come and investigate was a robin.

The other bird species were a little slow in coming forth that morning but gradually numbers increased. Magpies were the first to investigate the free food supply and bickered amongst themselves.

They were eventually joined by a small flock of Stock Dove and Wood Pigeon, although these maintained some distance from the Magpie mayhem.

With various parts of my anatomy going increasing numb in the bitter cold I decided it was time to finish off the session with a few Grey Squirrels. They seemed to be very appreciative of the free food supply.

I will finish this post with some season greetings by warmly wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy and Healthy 2011.

Diversity is the Spice of Life

One of the great joys of photographing birds is the diversity of species that may be encountered nearly anywhere. I am fortunate of living in easy access to a wide range of habitats, from hills to farmland through to woodlands and coast, that in turn support a varied bird fauna. I thought I would put together a compilation of recent photographs taken in a wide range of situations with a bit of background on how the photographs were achieved.

Starting with woodlands, a well placed feeding station can attract a wide diversity of birds, particularly during the cold winter months when the small birds have a need to supplement their energy supplies. The setting up of a feeding station requires careful consideration in terms of light direction, placement of perches and the hide but the results can be very productive. The Blue Tit is a common bird but shows some stunning colours in Spring plumage.

It is difficult to dislike Long-tail tits with the unique shape and colours and comical antics. They usually descend to a feeding station in groups but can be quite difficult to photograph.

A common woodland feeding station visitor is the Nuthatch which can usually be heard long before they arrive with there almost electronic sounding call.

Moving across to the Farmland habitat, the office where I work is surrounded by fields and currently hundreds of bleating lambs. The are a number of birds that are resident that allows me to undertake short sessions during my lunch hour. These include a large mixed flock of rooks and jackdaws and the occasional buzzard.
The opportunities to photograph the wary buzzard are seldom but a joy when they happen.

Photographing rooks under the lunchtime sun presents some tricky exposure issues.

A Jackdaw taking carefully landing on a fence post.

Moving down to my local coastline. A Black-necked grebe was being report as taking of temporary residence on one of the large local marine lakes. It proved a tricky customer to photograph but perseverance won out eventually. I ended up lying on the ground on the lake margin and was fortunate when the bird with the spooky eyes popped up a close range after one of its foraging dives.

I also caught up with the second winter Mediterranean Gull that has been lurking locally for a couple of months. It is rapidly progressing towards full summer plumage. It was not quite in summer colours when I found it and I hope it will stay around for another couple of weeks for the feather transformation to become complete.

I will finish this post with some waders who will be soon heading northwards to their breeding grounds where I hope to catch up with some of them again with a trip I have planned to Arctic Norway in June. The following photos were taken during the recent big spring tides when the birds are forced to take refuge on the local sea defences at high water.
The rare sight of a stationary Sanderling

Wading Redshank

Resting Ringed Plover

It is not until the light is at the right that you can see where the Purple Sandpiper gets its name.