Mixed Bag

Wonderful weather continues. I have been out and about as much as I have been able. The price of Petrol is seriously affecting the distance I can travel so most of my photography is done within a five mile radius of my home now.
 I want to start this blog with a picture not taken by me. Its a picture of a Kestrel that my brother, Alan, got with his Fuji finepix from his bedroom window. Its a pic of the Kestrel with a kill, a kill that it had taken off my brothers feeders. I cannot recall ever having heard of Kestrels doing this. Do any of you have any experiences of it?

Its a stunning shot though. Alan is getting in to his photography and with shots like this I better watch my back. Well done Bro.

I have a Kestrel of my own to show too, taken at the spot where I get my Barn Owl, which is proving to be very elusive at the moment. only showing one night in the last 5. Here's the Kestrel.

and here's another of the Barn Owl.

Managed one trip out this week, to Hergest Ridge near Kington, either last year or the year before Chris G and I had been up there chasing Dotterel which we never found, but we did see two Cuckoo very close. You'll no doubt remember that post! Well this time it was a complete washout. I saw only a handful of Skylark, less than 6 Meadow Pipit, no Linnet, no Wheatear. only 2 Yellowhammer, and one Common Redstart. an appalling amount compared to the trip with Chris. Why? I hear you ask. well the difference this time was Gorse. When Chris and I went there was a large amount of gorse on the hill side. This time there was very little. It appears that the farmer who owns the land has been out with his shears and removed about two thirds of it to allow sheep more grazing. A lady I met on the hill was happy to give me that information and her opinion on the decline in the bird life since he did it. I had to agree.

Anyway, less of that. I called at Shobdon on my way there, again an area that Chris and I had been to in the past. The only thing I saw there was this Wheatear.

Back in Herefordshire and bug hunting. I am really in to it now. Its amazing how much creepy crawlie stuff there is out there if you look for it. I was amazed to find a bug that according to my Collins Gem book shouldn't be found in this country. However further research on t'interweb, informed me that it is now found in this country largely in the south east. Its called a Nezara Viridula. (Further contact with a Mr Salisbury of the Royal Horticultural society since this post, has shown it not to be a NV, rather it is a nymph of our common Forest bug) (amended 30/5).

I also found a couple of species that I had never seen before.

Phyllobius pomaceus.

and a Pea Weevil.

I also managed to get a couple of shots of a Click Beetle, I believe this variety is the Athous Haemorrhoidalis, I used to think they were a pain in the a**e.

all in all a nice bit of stuff. Looks like the weather is going to be fine for a while, I'm off to Devon with Mike Smith for the weekend, we're going to Chris's place.
Click pics for larger Images.

Sunshine Came Softly

Mixed weather since my last post has left me grabbing chances when I've had them. I think I've got my mojo back where my photography is involved and I'm kinda enjoying it.

Herefordshire is a bit light on "hide" type photography, so it is more a case of grabbing stuff on the hoof. When you have a bad back and are a fatty, carrying a 600mm and tripod on your shoulder can be difficult so it's nice to get the opportunity to sit and watch some stuff, albeit on a cold lump of concrete.

Such an opportunity presented itself on wednesday. I was at one of my nearest locations early in the morning. The swans nest that I mentioned the other day was still full of eggs and still not being sat on by a swan. I am now convinced that the nest has been deserted and I think it's such a shame.

Nearby the swans nest there is an area that has been used as a bit of a dumping ground by the land owners, broken rock ripped up trees and concrete and brick have been left to be ravaged by bracken and nettles. The Sedge Warblers love the area. I sat on said lump of concrete and just watched. A male Sedge was simultaneously singing his head off and chasing off any males who happened across his patch. when he sat still he tended to sit in two places, neither of which were brilliant for photography but excellent for just watching. I did grab a shot or two though.

I hope you agree he is a stunner. I was so still and quiet that even the rabbits started to come out within a few metres.

bit of a backlit bunny isn't he?

I reported in a post a few back that I had, had an amazing close up encounter with an LRP. Do you recall? Well I honestly thought that was a once in a lifetime happening. Wrong, I came across this little beaut whilst walking around the reserve. He/she was on the bank of a former gravel scrape hunting for some morsel of food.

I knelt down and watched it for five mins and took in excess of 50 frames. It came within 8 metres of me at one point, it was neither scared or concerned with what I was doing. It was no where near a nest and it eventually moved on in its own time to hunt for food further along the bank.

During a period of heavy cloud I came across a Reed Bunting singing for all it was worth, again I sat and watched, then during a break in the cloud I managed to grab a few shots.

A great morning but as far as photography goes I don't doubt that someone somewhere sitting in a hide got lots more interesting shots. I wouldn't swap though.

That same evening I shot off to the other side of Herefordshire and sat waiting for the Shortie I had seen earlier in the week. He showed briefly and was joined by a Barnie.

It was a great experience. I had an even greater surprise last evening (weds) whilst waiting for the Barnie, which didn't show, with my son Lee, he saw and alerted me to a deer in a field that the Barnie sometime uses. I could not believe my eyes and I'm still struggling to come to terms with it. A Roe Deer in the middle of nowhere. Definately a Roe, I do have a pic but haven't processed it yet, and miles from the nearest possible Deer farm at Moccas. If I hadn't seen it myself I would struggle to believe it. Whilst driving a long route back home we also saw a Hare and 2 little Owls and a first for my boy in a Red legged Partridge.

Back in the back garden I have also done a bit more macro. I believe that the first is a Drone fly and the second possibly a Hornet, although it doesnt have the yellow on its head. Oh and whilst I'm on the subject of Macro I emailed the knowledgeable folk at UK Safari about the St Marks fly with the growth on the back.  A nice chap advises me that it is a fungus which will eventually kill the host Fly. He gave me some more specifics than that but as there were long words involved I have forgotten them.

Keep coming back. Click on the pic for larger pictures.

Birdies and Bunnies

What a wonderful weekend this has been. As I write this blog on sunday afternoon I cannot believe that its been so nice. I have divided my time between Herefordshire and Powys.

Saturday morning saw an early start for me and my son, Lee. We were at the Elan valley just before 7am. The weather was absolutely stunning although there was a biting wind. Our first sighting was a group of three Red Kite, I managed a distant shot over a hedge.

We saw quite a few Kite during the morning but none came close enough for a better shot. For those who know where the Kites normally nest in the Elan it appears that they are not this year.

The next thing we saw and heard were Skylarks, lots of them singing and one or two on the ground.

There were the usual amount of Meadow Pipits. Although they were surprisingly jittery and we couldnt get too close to them

We saw Pied Flycatcher also which was nice. Didn't get a shot though. Wheatear were seen, as was a lovely Kestrel. No Stonechat, whinchat, or Grasshopper Warbler, which is really surprising.

We decided to shoot over to Gilfach Nature reserve, its the worst kept secret in the photography world. It started with just a few photographers going there year or three ago, but now its innundated every weekend.
we got there just after 9.30 and there were already half a dozen photographists there. Amongst them was a chap I've met before called Steve Seal. I have seen Steve's pics on BG regularly and he is a great photographer. Pip and his wife were there as you would expect and even though Its been over 12 months since I've been there Pip recognised me immediately and gave me a top that I had left there on my previous visit, washed and ironed I might add. Pip was his usual informative self and was supplying mealworm for those who hadn't brought any. The redstart don't appear to have chicks yet so the visits to the food were few and far between. I didnt get a shot. I did get Pied flycatchers though at the Otter hide as well as at the centre.

 





















I also got my best shot of a Lesser Redpoll. I am most pleased with this.

So that was the trip to Powys, very enjoyable and hopefully to be repeated again soon.

This morning I treated myself to a slight lie in, I was up at 6.30am and at the gravel pits outside of Hereford before 8.00am I was concerned by my first sight at the reserve,

This is a Mute Swans nest, the two swans were some 100 yards or so away from it and did not seem to be at all concerned about it. You cannot see it from this shot but a close up shows the eggs all wet, I presume covered in dew. Unfortunately when I walked back to my car about 2 hours later the nest was still not being sat on. I remember last week when I was there that there was another swan on the pond and two of the birds were chasing each other all over the place, I wonder if it was a take over by a rogue male?
I hope the nest has not been deserted.

Nearby was this Dunnock, have you ever listened to Dunnocks singing? Its a beautiful sound, as good as any other song bird. they take a good photo as well.

There were a large number of Sedge Warblers around also singing their heads off.

and Common Whitethroat.

The stars of the day though were these little beauties. I sat and watched these for a few minutes, cursing that there was a bramble branch casting a shadow on them.

The reserve is recovering from flooding, I saw one pair of Canada Geese on a nest, so they are trying again.
The Willow Warblers were there and flitting around all over the place.

All in all 2 fabulous days of birding and photography, following on from an evening earlier in the week when I saw three different types of Owl. Shortie, Barn, and Little. Finally here is a pic of the little.























Thanks for looking and click for bigger pics.

A Gap in the rain.

A two day gap in the rain saw me out and about with the camera for most of the daylight hours. Day one was macro day. I really enjoy macro stuff and am continually trying to improve my ability and showcase even more stuff.

I went out armed with my 1D and 100mm lens to the wood where I walk Roxy. Have you ever seen those horrible looking black flies that seem to swarm and fly with their legs hanging down? They are called Saint Marks Fly. I wanted to get some shots of them. I think I acheived what I set out to do.

What I did notice though was that some of them had something strange happening on their backs, I dont know what this is but I am currently trying to research it. It looks like some kind of growth.

Quite a few of them were displaying the "growth". and on one or two it seems to be appearing from under the black dome rather than growing on it.

There were one or two other subjects that I got, the first is a common House Fly.

I'm quite pleased with this.
Next I got one of the critters that make my skin crawl when I see them, The Earwig.

I have no idea what this one is called, looks a bit like a soldier beetle but is a different colour.

I did a few Bluebell shots too, I'm not sure about them though. What do you think?

The macro stuff is lovely, I think I prefer it to bird photography, although birding will always be my first love. I really enjoy birding and the following day reminded me why.

With the weather holding out on day two I decided to swap to bird stuff. I went to a site just outside of Hereford, the one where I got the LRP shots. I was gutted to see that the rain had meant that the level of water on the main lake was such that a number of nests must have been destroyed. I know that at least two Canada Goose nests had been flooded, I can only hope that the eggs had hatched, but there was no sign of any young chicks.

The Rabbit population were out in force but I was upset to see that a number had the dreaded Myxi that I hate.

I couldn't get the right side of him so he's backlit. Its such a horrible disease.

There were a good number of Whitethroats at the site, I managed to get this common variety.

I also spent 45 minutes waiting for a Sedge Warbler to come into view. I could hear him chattering in amongst the undergrowth, but he just would not come up. I got the shot of the Whitethroat and the Rabbit whilst waiting for it to show.

I know its not brilliant but I am glad I saw him, along with the Whitethroat he is another addition to my yearly list.

Home for lunch and then off to another spot to do some macro, my birding having been fulfilled for the day. Imagine my surprise when I pulled up to park at the location and about 200 yards to my front I could see what I initially believed was a Barn Owl sitting on a hedge with its back to me. I quickly realised that it wasn't a Barnie at all but a Short Eared Owl. I have never set my kit up so quickly. Unfortunately after a very brief sortie around public land it flew over some private land and landed in a tree. Fortunately for me the landowner had seen me with my kit and after a brief chat I was invited to enter the private land and position myself where I might be able to get a shot or two.

The light was really difficult, alternating between sunshine and heavy cloud, I tried my best and I am more than happy with the results.

Not brilliant but possibly the best shortie shot I have is the last is this series, the first was literally the first shot.

They are all cropped shots as I'm sure you guessed. The first shot was taken using my 600mm lens with a 2x converter on. The flight shots are all just with the 600, my 1.4 conv is knackered and only useful for stationary shots. I am really pleased with the Last shotIt was taken with the 1.4 on the 600mm.

One other shot I got just before I left was this one with the Owl flying overhead with a catch in its claws, it looks like a Vole, possibly a Short Tailed. Again its not brilliant but I like it.

Again its a crop.

I also got a shot of a Starling which I quite like as it shows a lot of the colours.

All in all two very nice days of photography. Three birds added to my yearly list, which is now at the 100 mark. and the Shortie is the first I've ever seen in Herefordshire to boot. Click on the images for a larger version.