New Fancy

You will all be aware that I have been feeding the birds at New Fancy since Nov. I've been amazed at the number of people who have been there watching or photographing the birds.

The main attraction has been the Hawfinch, There have been two on occasions but largely it has been one, a female.

I know people have often travelled some distance to see the birds.

Personally my favourites are the Brambling, I love the differing colours.

I have met some very nice people up there, yesterday was no exception, I met Jenni, we chatted for some time about the birds. Jenni kindly offered some money towards the food costs, I tried to decline it but she insisted. It was what she said that pleased me the most, she said that she enjoyed being up there and appreciated my efforts. That summed up what the feeder station has become for me. It's a small effort but it is great knowing that it is appreciated. It brings joy and that, in this day and age, can't be bad.

It would be nice if the Forestry Commission could do something similar, using some of the car parking fees at Mallards Pike and other spots to fund it, or maybe even sponsorship from local businesses involved in the Forest.

Just an idea.

Little Grebe- missed chances.

I spent two or three hours this week taking pictures of the lovely Little Grebe. I have shown a couple of pics on here earlier. However what I desperately wanted to do was catch the moment when this bird dives under the water.

However it turned out to be more difficult than I expected. Here are my efforts.

No missed it that time.

and again,

and again, but perhaps this time.

My best effort, looks like a hairy "Jaws" coming towards me doesn't it?

So I changed my attention to something a lot easier and more delicate.
I loved this, and spent a little time watching it float around.

Not the best effort photographically, but it isn't all about "the shot" its about appreciating the beauty that is around us.

I'll keep trying with the diving shots.

More doorstep.

Another day of mixed weather, a commitment with my son and a desire to watch Starlings roosting meant a day of grabbed opportunities.

Cannop ponds gave me some opportunities.


The Coots and the Little Grebes were very active.

They were catching little fish for fun.

A female Mallard was lovely.

A drive on the outskirts of Ross found two Herons together on a field. Here is one of them.

More stuff on the doorstep, isn't life brilliant.

On your doorstep.

You don't have to go far if you live in the forest to find a plethera of wildlife.

During the spell of good weather on Sunday I decided to check out one or two locations all within a five mile radius of my house.

Cannop Ponds provided me with these Mute swan shots.

and this shot of a Little Grebe.

The stoneworks end of the larger pool had this Blue tit feeding with others.

New Fancy had a number of Bramblings present.

A drive through Eastbach gave me the chance for this Red legged Partridge.

Of course there were plenty of other birds that I saw such as, Chaffinch, Great Tit, Blackbird, Great spotted woodpecker, Coal tit, Nuthatch, Coot, Moorhen, Mallard duck, Mandarin duck, Robin, Crow, Rook, Collared dove, Pheasant, House Sparrow and Greenfinch.

We are so lucky living in such a beautiful area.

One of those days

Every now and then I have a day where I really enjoy myself. I had one such day yesterday at Slimbridge WWT.

Chris G and I went there intent on getting flight shots. On our arrival it didn't look like we were going to do anything as it was raining and grey. The weather men had got it right though and the sun soon began to shine.

There was a good breeze blowing, not as strong as we'd hoped but ok.

Soon the flight shots were coming.

This small flock of Pintail Duck for starters.

Buzzards were flying over steadily, putting the birds up.

The Bewicks were very obliging.

But the star of the day was this Peregrine falcon who was continually buzzing across the open ground. The lapwing and curlews were continually being put up.

There were a large number of Curlew present.

All in all a great day. Lots of pics to sort through.