New Plot Visitors

In one of those rare moments of sunshine in one of the worst winters of weather I can remember for photography, I decided to make a visit to the new feeding station known as 'the Plot'. It has kept me busy keeping the variety of feeders constantly filled, as high numbers of birds have been visiting and eating their way through large quantities of seed, fat-balls and peanuts. On this particular morning it seemed fairly quiet in terms of numbers of birds arriving, the cause of which would be revealed later in the session.

The first birds returning to the feeders, after the minor disturbance of setting up the pop-up hide, were the Blue Tits as usual. Despite being a very common bird, which could be easily overlooked, when their plumage is in good condition they do look superb.

The tits were very quickly joined by a small flock of Goldfinch. This is one species that appears to have really benefited from the feed that people put out in their gardens, and what once was a fairly unusual sight is now common. The birds glowed in their beautiful colours in the early morning sun.

I decided to introduce a new perch taken from my garden which was already showing the first shoots of spring under the mild winter weather.

Another photograph taken later in the session, when one side of the photography area is plunged in to shade by a bush, giving dark backgrounds to the photos. I quite like these dark background photographs as they really show off the colours of the birds.

Next species to muscle in on the feeders were the larger Greenfinch. When these boisterous birds arrive all the other tends to be pushed out the way until they have had their fill.

A new species arrived in the shape of a small flock of Chaffinch. These birds don not tend to land so much on the perches but appear more content with picking up the fallen seed on the ground below the feeders. This is a male bird looking is great condition. It appears the birds are benefiting from their new food supply.

Joining in with the mopping up of seed from the ground was the arrival of six pheasants. A female bird peaking over from behind one of the logs.

Now you may be thinking that there was a lot of bird activity but compared to the numbers coming in to the feeders when I make my visits to refill, it was fairly quiet. The reason soon became apparent with a sudden burst of alarm calls from the scattering small song birds and rushing of air sound from above the hide resulted in a stunning male Sparrowhawk landing on the perch in front of me. As I was so close to perch to photograph the small birds, all I could fit into the frame was a head portrait. I managed to take about six photos before this predator with its highly tuned senses realised I was there and disappeared low and fast over the hedge. It was inevitable that so much bird activity would eventually attract a predator.

I am already looking forward to my next session at the Plot and to see what will turn up next.

Plan B

Last weekend, I did have good intentions but they proved to be too optimistic. The idea was to rise early on Saturday and head to some pine forest to try and find some Crossbills. However, I was booked in for a rare Friday night out in Liverpool and eventually arrived home at 3am. I very rarely drink and so the few drinks really impacted on my well being the next day. Not only did I sleep through the alarm clock but woke feeling like an army of blacksmiths were trying to hammer their way out of the back of my head. Looking out the window there was a strong breeze blowing which instantly cancelled out the tree top hugging Crossbills. Given my very delicate hungover condition a more gentle pursuit was required, a Plan B. I eventually forced myself out the front door to look for some winter thrushes.

I made my way to reliable site, feeling and probably looking decidedly green, and located a flock of around 60 Fieldfare slowly making their way across a field. However, there was a chain-link fence between myself and the birds which made any photography impossible. Time to look elsewhere. My level of motivation was rapidly declining as the pounding in my head seemed to be increasing. What kept me going though the trauma was the rare view of the sun shining, in what has been the worst winter weather for photography that I can remember.

Eventually I found a low Firethorn bush with a few remaining berries and three species of feeding thrushes. I positioned myself so that a grey wall of a building behind the bush provided an unusual neutral back drop to allow the colours of the birds to shine in the low winter sun. First bird before my sore eyes was a Fieldfare that landed on top of the bush. This bird was a really beautifully marked individual of a species that seems to show quite a degree of variation.

Another berry disappears.

Usually when so few berries are remaining these isolated bushes are dominated by a lone Mistle Thrush which tends to chase all the other birds away from its personal larder. However, this bird seemed quite relaxed about the Fieldfare and Redwing busily depleting the dwindling food supply.

The bird I was most happy to see coming in to feed were the Redwing, which are always particularly shy and one of the most difficult to approach. One waiting in a tree next to the bush.

Several Redwing were coming in to feed at the same time.

Memories of the previous night, down in one.

The session was cut short by an increasing feeling that the best place for me that day would be back in bed to recover from my self-induced illness. I have already planned next weekend and this time I will be back on track and with a clear head will be resolutely sticking to my plan.

Goodbye 2011

Happy New Year to you all. May your 2012 be filled with many wonderful wildlife encounters.

I was just backing up my images from 2011 when I came across a folder on the hard drive that had slipped under the processing radar. It was from a session last March where I spent an easy session at the Wildlife and Wetlands Centre at Martin Mere. I like to make a visit here in the Spring as you can often find numerous wild birds, especially Shelduck mixed in with the captive birds and at the time there are still plenty of Whooper Swan and wildfowl to photograph from the hides on the main lake.

The session started before I arrived as I came across a male pheasant in full spring display mode. The bird was puffed up and 'showing off' to another male that is just out of the photo.

Due to the light direction my first port of call at Martin Mere was the main hide which as usual had plenty of birds at close range to chose from. However, I must admit I do find it slightly frustrating as these permanent hides do not allow you to get the more attractive low angle and point of view. Therefore it always feels a little if you are photographing down upon the birds rather than getting down to their level which produces better images.

Large numbers of overwintering Whooper Swans were drifting around as usual, building up their energy reserves with the daily feed, before their long flight back to the breeding grounds in Iceland.

One of my favourite duck species, the Pintail, was present in large numbers. What these birds may lack in colour they certainly make up for through their attractive shape.

A female Pintail 'blowing bubbles' as it feeds in the shallows.

Amongst the Pintail were a few of the slightly more colourful Wigeon, that were announcing their presence with their characteristic whistling calls.

I left the main hide and took a wander around to see what else could be found. There was definitely a hint of Spring in the air during this March visit with Mallards busily mating. The female certainly seems to get the worse end of the deal during the process as she is pushed below the water.

After a good bit of searching around I finally managed to find a wild Pochard amongst the captive collections to end a relaxing session with the camera.

I have already been out with the camera this year despite the best attempts by the weather to thwart me and will show some of these photos in my next post.

The Plot

A couple of months back I managed to secure the use of private site to set up a new bird feeding station for photography. This site is now known as 'The Plot' and is in an interesting location with a good potential to attract migrant birds. It has taken some work to get the site suitable for bird photography and I have shared the efforts of setting up and feeding with a couple of friends.

December has not been a good for my photography, mainly due to me feeling unwell with some lergy at the start of the month and my energy levels only returning to some normality this week. The weather and light have also been consistently poor, so even if I had been healthy enough to venture out, I don't many photographs would have been had.

A couple of days back a morning of rare sunlight was forecast and having returned to the world of the living, I finally got round to my first session at the Plot. Its is good to end the year with the start of a new project. Conditions were not ideal with a strong 30mph wind blowing in off the sea and the clouds racing across the sky causing very variable light conditions.

The wind was a nuisance as it was causing a lot of problems with my pegged down hide flapping around and causing unwanted noise. A sparrowhawk swooping through occasionally also didn't help put the birds at ease.

It is always interesting when you start photographing at a new feeding station, not only to see which birds are turning up, but also you start to get a feel for the subtleties of how the light changes across the the set up and influences the background colours. This is quite nicely demonstrated in the two Goldfinch photos above and below.

The main bird species arriving at the free food supply were a range of tit species and finches such as this Great Tit.

I was particularly happy to see good numbers of Greenfinch turning up which are beautiful birds.

A party of around ten Long-tailed tits were also doing the rounds and coming through en mass on an hourly cycle. A species that is always such fun to photograph and I look forward to more encounters with them over the coming months.

There were several other species visiting the Plot at the moment but they can wait to future sessions. The final species photographed during my brief session was a bold male Great spotted Woodpecker which seems to have taken a strong liking to one of the upright perches.

So that really brings this year to a close. 2011 has been an enjoyable year with around 110 bird and 5 mammal species photographed including quite a good number that I have not put in front of the camera previously. I have so many incredible memories but some highlights would include the Stone Curlew and Balearic Warblers of Mallorca in the Spring, the Whinchat and Corn Bunting in the Summer and Water Rails in the Autumn. I think my strongest memory will be spending the three hours following a group of hunting stoat which was such a unique and privileged experience.

What will 2012 bring? Well who can say but I already have quite a few plans including a week booked away oversea. I am looking forward to 2012 already and will end this post by wishing you all a very Happy, Healthy, Peaceful and Wildlife filled New Year.

Simply Starlings

Starlings create one of nature's great spectacles as the swirling murmurations of birds come into roost at dusk. However, as an individual bird they tend to be a little overlooked which is a shame as they take on spectacular rainbow of metallic colours in the right light.

Seeing a large flock bathing, I recently took the opportunity to have a lie down and take some photos. Unfortunately a big bank of dark grey cloud swept in off the sea and quickly cut the session short as the light vanished. Its amazing how much fun can be had with the simple combination of a flock of starlings, a large puddle and some soft golden winter light.

Just before the light disappeared, I decided to try and photograph some birds in flight. This is not an easy task with Starlings as they are small and fast flying but I managed a couple but many headed to the trash as I clipped off bits of birds in the frame. If any one wants some partial images of flying starlings, I have plenty :)

Given that it Christmas Eve, I would like to take this moment to wish all my readers and those who have regularly supported me through this year and kindly taken the time to comment on my posts a very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy and Wildlife filled 2012. Of course some do not celebrate Christmas and to those I send my seasonal greetings and best wishes.

On the Rail Trail

Water rail are a species of which I have relatively few photographs and my entire collection have all been taken during occasional chance encounters. This mainly results from the low visibility of this water bird's with its habit of skulking in thick vegetation such as reed beds. The usual sightings of these birds are as a blur of grey, brown and red as they dash between the cover of clumps of reeds. They are often heard more than seen with their unusual pig like squeals emerging deep from within the vegetation.

I heard of a lake in Cheshire where a couple of birds were putting in a regular appearances in the open due to low water levels and this seemed like too good an opportunity to pass up. Therefore I decided to drop my other photography plans and spend a couple of sessions trying to capture some images of these normally 'hidden' birds. This proved to be a good decision as the rails have now once more melted back into the reeds as the water level in the pond has risen due to recent rainfall.

I first came across the birds wandering across the exposed silts of the lake bed. Joining the birds in the mud gave me a nice low shooting angle.


Having not really had prolonged views of these small birds previously, I have never really appreciated what an attractive species they are. The red of the eye and bill, slate grey head and breast that then blends in to the chestnut back and black and white striped flank patterns and all finished off with a sharp white tail.

Their eyes can look quite comical when viewed head on especially when combined with that narrow body profile that helps them easily slip between emergent pond vegetation.

It was a glorious autumn day without a breath of wind and clear blue skies overhead and warm soft light. Some perfect reflections could be captured as the birds swam across the remaining water in the lake.

The pair of birds really were very confiding as they frequenty swam or foraged for food at close range in front of me, often requiring a change to a 300mm lens to fit them in frame.


This included repeatly walking across a log jutting out over the pond.

It was so refreshing to see these birds out in the open for a change.

I made further visits to the Water Rails before the water level rose and the birds disappeared. I will post some more photographs from the other sessions in the near future.

I suppose if there is a lesson to be learnt from this episode, it is that when a set of unusual circumstances i.e very low lake water levels, creates a unique photography opportunity then its time to concentrate your efforts as such moments are always rare and temporary.