More of the same please.

On the odd occasion when the wind has been bearable and the sun shining I have been out with the camera, Its been a week of firsts. I saw my first ever Blue winged Teal, I saw my first Whitethroat of the year, first Grass Snake of the year, but its been a week where I have just enjoyed the proper start of spring. I have a few things to show you.

Burton Mere RSPB has a large number of Little Egrets on site, I believe they have nesting pairs there, its unusual for them to come anywhere near the hides.

Burton also has a large number of Avocets and again many pairs nest there, It was at Burton that I saw the Blue winged Teal.

Today I took a trip to Prees Heath, just outside Whitchurch, Shropshire. Later in the year it will be the place to go for Silver Studded Blue butterflies, along with many other species. It's great for birds too including Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Yellowhammer, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, etc. I saw the first Brimstone of the year and the first Whitethroat of this year.

and a Meadow Pipit

I took my macro lens out in the village this week and got the following,

Bombylius Major (Bee fly)

Comma

Peacock.

I went out this evening with the sole intention of getting Rabbits. I know a couple of spots where there are good numbers but  getting close to them is not easy, well not until tonight, I didn't try to get them in the fields I sat in my car and waited for them to come nearer to me. I got two nice young ones, in two different areas.

In my personal life I had some great news this week too, There was a witness to my accident in January and his account of what he saw confirms my version of events so hopefully the details will be settled soon.

Lets hope the weather continues to improve and there is more to follow.

Waders

The sun and cold continued very much until yesterday (fri 12th), I managed to get a few trips in this week. One was up to the Dee estuary to do waders and I was quite happy with the result, Redshank, Knot, Dunlin and Turnstone were seen.

Redshank:

Turnstone:

Dunlin:
 

On the way back from there I called in at Thurstaston and the Wirral Country Park, here I saw my first Meadow Pipit of the year, not a great shot I know but first of the year.

My next trip was to Burton Mere RSPB reserve, not a lot here to photograph, the Rats of course, a Jackdaw or two but also seen were Avocets, there's 40 odd there at the moment and they are hoping to beat last years 32 breeding pairs. Too far away to shoot though.

It is definately spring though isn't it, I've seen Blackbirds with nest material in their mouths, I have Great tits nest building in my bird box up the garden, and I saw my first flying butterfly today, a Small Tortoiseshell. There are lambs in the fields around the area too and this morning I was up at 5.30 and listening to the dawn chorus. Not because I wanted to be up that early, but I was.

It is supposed to be wet and grey I think for the next few days, I am thinking of doing a one day project on Little Egrets. It will mean being on the ground before first light but I've seen 3 feeding along the river Gowy near home and using the shelter of a small copse of trees I think I can get really close with the hide, but like I said I need to get there very early and as sleep is not coming easy at the moment and the spirit may not be stronger than the body.

Just a quick word about two people that have submitted some fabulous shots to Birdguides this last week or so. Bob Jones and Lewis Thomson who are both in my links list have submitted some Hawfinch shots of which they should be very proud. Lewis submitted a shot of two touching bills which deservedly won Picture of the Week last week, check out their shots through the links or through Birdguides. Well done guys.

Come back soon.

Sun, Wind and Cold

I said in my last post or so that cold and bright I could handle and I can. Cold bright and extremely windy however is a different thing. Biting cold winds have made photography very hard this last week or so. I did try to use the wind to my advantage on one afternoon and spent an hour or so trying to get gulls in flight.

Lots of frames to produce these. I also snapped a couple being still.

I was also amazed to see the ducks misbehaving, I know it's nature and I know that nothing can change it but it looks horrific, You have to feel for the females.

A group of at least five males continually hounded this female for about 20 minutes, on the odd occasion she was able to get from under them they chased her around the lake. On some occasions she was under water for what seemed like minutes.

Still she gave me the odd opportunity to grab a shot of her in flight too.

The moorhen came on to the bank right near me, which was nice, I couldn't resist getting a shot of it.

The shot of the week for me this week however has been the first Chiffchaff of 2013, can I finally believe spring is here?

The evening light was just glorious.

I have also seen a Grey Wagtail in the village this week, on a tiny brook in the wood next to where I walk the dog, I can't recall ever having seen one in the village before so it was doubley nice. I am also up to 59 on the bird list.

I got my first bit of Macro/Close up shot recently, it was a Varied Carpet Beetle which as scary as it sounds wasn't cause for any panic.

I also got on my knees to get another shot of a Crocus in my mum's garden.

I hope that the Sun continues to shine and that the temp rises a fair few degrees.

Put a hold on spring will you.

The snow has materialised in some parts of the country, but as yet we've seen none in the village. However, grey skies have prevailed so photography has taken a back seat.

I have found the first nest of the year, a Blackbirds. Sitting on eggs too. I thought that it was early but a check of my books showed it isnt. I hope the weather improves before the eggs hatch. I'm surprised there is enough food around.

Right, photos, what have I got to show you? Not a great deal unfortunately. A couple of trips to the pit at Christleton have produced the usual suspects. Not very thrilling I know but here they are.

Cormorant:

I have to confess that the middle pic was taken by my brother, Alan, using my kit. I processed it along with mine hence the water mark.

Coots:

and Mallard:

There are a shed loads of Black Headed Gulls, so I spent a little while on them.

and finally a Dunnock searching through the undergrowth.

Lets hope for a better week ahead.

More snow, apparently.

So, weather forecasters say more snow and much colder temperatures, bummer. Can't believe that in March last year I was walking the dog in a tee-shirt and trousers.

I had a trip to Burton Mere and managed to add a Water rail to my yearly list, I had to hang sideways over a fence and shoot almost into the sun but I got a couple of half decent shots.

also managed a Siskin or two and Goldfinch.

I then went to Park Gate Marsh higher up the Dee estuary for a supposed High tide but it wasn't high enough to push stuff near to the crowd of birders and photographers, but highlights were a Peregrine seen a long way out, a Hen Harrier even further out and a Merlin that chased something right over our heads then turned and chased it away from us again, that was really special.

Back home a day or so later I caught the buzzard that has been hanging around the village in what was known locally as the Sand hole, until they built the new houses and now its called the Dell, its a big depression in the ground some 3-4 metres deep and 100 metres by about 50 metres. its grassed and tree lined.

I went there to specifically get Crocus but thankfully I was in the car coming back from a trip to Christleton having tried to get gulls in flight, so I had a big lens with me, this is still a large crop.

The Crocus were lovely.

Well, cold and bright I will be happy with, fingers crossed there are some photo opportunities this next week. Come back and see what I get.