A few before I Go.

This will be my last post until I have settled in at my new home, I hope to have something on here not too long after I move.



Its been a mixed week or so. Not a great deal to show for it, I will start with a plant. I dont do plants normally but when out looking for dragonflies the other day I saw this Common Spotted Orchid and couldn't resist.

Back to birds, whilst driving around the sticks the other day I saw this House Sparrow coming out of a hole in a sandstone wall. I quite like this picture.

Two more trips to the Blorenge after Marmora's Warbler produced this Whinchat,

and this Tree Pipit.

Over the other side of the hill I found this Skylark.

In the Forest I got these shots of a Redstart pair. They are well photographed and you can see similar shots on Brian Williams's blog which you'll find in my links.

Both birds are looking tired, not surprising with the amount of feeding they are doing, I noticed that the male seemed to be catching a lot of insects on the wing whereas the female was happy to come down for some offerings.

You have to just love them though.

Now I mentioned earlier the Marmora's Warbler. Its a visitor from afar, usually from Corsica or Sardinia. I made 4 visits to see it but couldnt get decent shots. This was my first attempt.

and unfortunately this shot, my best, isnt a lot better.

I'm gonna stick my neck out and say that I cannot quite fathom twitchers. I met people who had travelled from Essex, Nottingham, Manchester, Somerset, and Surrey. Most of them had come armed only with their scopes, nothing to record the fact that they had seen the bird. It seems odd to me. I love birds, love wildlife, but to travel hundreds of miles and have nothing but memories seems odd. But then me trudging around with 8 or 9 kilos of kit on my back just to take a picture will, I don't doubt, seem mad to others.

Anyhow, thats it for now, give me a week or two and pop back and see what I've been up to in South Yorkshire.

Moving on again.

I promised you more Pied Flycatcher and Redstart pictures, I hope these will suffice. These birds were caught in Powys. I quite like these shots.

This is the female. and although she appears as a dull bird she is far from it, in fact she is very elegant and sweet.

The male is more striking, here he is with a mouth full of insects for his chicks.

This male at the entrance to his nest hole was a particular success for me as I found this hole myself and wasn't directed to it by anyone else. The Pied Flycatchers are not overly worried by human presence near the nest site as long as one the photographer is quiet, keeps low and doesn't sit too close to the hole. I can assure you that for the short time that I sat and photographed them both adults made numerous visits to the nest.

I think I said in my previous post about Redstart that the male is the prettier of the adults, I wish I could show you a picture of the female for comparison but as yet I've failed and chances are that as we are now quite a way into their breeding season I may not get one.

Back at home the feeders are being constantly visited by juvenile birds, this Starling is one of many.

I am more pleased to have the Goldfinch coming back to the garden. They stopped for a while, presumably while they found a nest site and had eggs.

I truly love this shot. The buds you can see are on the dead branch that I'm using as my feeder post. Its much more photogenic than the green metal post.

Now the title of this post suggests that I am on the move again and this is true, I am moving away from Ross on Wye up north to Barnsley to live with my sister. I am looking forward to the new challenges that this will present. I am hoping to feature more coastal birds in the next twelve months or so. I am also going to be living within a stones throw of Old Moor RSPB reserve so I am very excited about that.

I hope you will continue to follow my adventures and keep coming back to see what I've been up to. I guess I should rename the site again and perhaps call it "Wildlife beyond the Forest of Dean" your opinions would be welcome. The move is due to happen at the end of this month.

Last week I spent a number of days in and around the Elan Valley. Its a favourite place of mine especially early in the morning. I love the fact that if you get there early enough you're very unlikely to see another vehicle for hours. But you will see lots of wildlife.

This Buzzard was one of many that I saw during the week, I know he's backlit, but I couldn't get to the other side of him. I love the way he has his tail spread and appears to be warming himself up.




This is a different bird in a different location, but no less lovely to see.

I would rather have had this Swallow sitting somewhere other than on the wire of the fence but beggars can't be choosers.

Meadow Pipits were everywhere and with some care you can get close, again not an ideal perches but.....

This one was collecting nesting material.

Curlews were slightly harder to get close too, this is a good crop.

But my favourite birds of the week were Whinchats. They seem to be in high numbers this year, I'm pleased, they are a real beauty.

I'll post a few other things from Powys next time, I know I've promised you more Redstart and Flycatcher. Make sure you come back soon.

Walks along the Wye

Part of my drive to lose weight has meant that I try to walk my dog a lot more than I was, it's working I've lost 26lbs since 1st Jan. I regularly walk along the river Wye and it has been quite wonderful. I've seen some lovely birds, Kingfishers, Herons, Mandarin Duck, Swans, Mallard Duck and Common Sandpiper just to name a few. However I was really chuffed one evening when I decided to take my camera with me and got these shots of a Skylark.

What a cracking bird, I managed to get quite close these are only a small crop for composition.

I was made up, I have never photographed Skylark quite so close before.

Imagine then how delighted I was when I also came across this Yellow Wagtail, I have worked and lived in and around Ross on Wye for about 17 years and I've never seen Yellow Wagtails before. Unfortunately he/she was a little skittish to say the least so these pictures are quite heavily cropped, but I am very very pleased with them and with seeing the little blighter at all.

I also saw, just the other day a cuckoo only about a mile from my house. I didn't have the camera with me then but it was only about 75 yards away and flew alongside me in a field so I got great views.

So not only is the walking doing my weight good but I'm also seeing and recording some lovely stuff too.

Oh by the way, more Redstart and Pied Flycatcher to follow in the next posting so make sure you come back and see what I got next time.

If at First.......

.....You dont succeed, etc.

Well i didnt give up, I kept trying. I promised Redstart and Flycatcher and I like to think of myself as a man of my word, so here they are.

Firstly however this pic of a willow warbler, which is about the only other thing I have worth mentioning this week.

I was saying to my friend Andy Carey that its been a pretty poor few weeks, I think I've put in a lot of effort but with very little reward. I have walked miles and yet have very little to show for it. However, I did get both of my target species so here they are. Firstly the Flycatcher.

A lovely little fellow this.

The Redstart meant a journey of 60 miles round trip, poor light and very biting wind. These are not great shots, they are both heavy crops, but I got them. Seven hours spent on a windy hillside and this is the best I got, If I had a day job I wouldnt be giving it up for photography this week.

Still I can only improve. What to do this next week? I'll take what I can get I think. As always click on pics for bigger images.