Several Wheatear were present along the rocks & on the short grass that they seem to love.
Other birds seen included a small flock of Turnstone & a single Whimbrel.
Wednesday, 15 September 2010
More from the seaside
Continuing the maritime theme, today i visited the Parratt estuary along the Huntspill seawall. In the strong north westerlies a pair of Manx Shearwater battled up river against the wind. This was a rare chance to get some shots of this tough little seabird, not often seen close to land on the Somerset coast.
Several Wheatear were present along the rocks & on the short grass that they seem to love.
Other birds seen included a small flock of Turnstone & a single Whimbrel.
Several Wheatear were present along the rocks & on the short grass that they seem to love.
Other birds seen included a small flock of Turnstone & a single Whimbrel.
Saturday, 11 September 2010
Cornish pelagic
Early on the morning of the 4th september (01:30 to be precise, well i did say early!), I set off from home to drive to St Ives (via N Petherton to pick up a mate). The roads as can be expected at that time of night were clear & we eventually pulled up to Smeatons pier in St Ives harbour at around 04:15. After a short nap in the car, I boarded the boat (Prime time) which was due to leave at 05:00 & take us out around 7 miles NW. 9 others joined Dave & me & we headed out of the harbour onto the open sea, which thankfully, was fairly calm (although not calm enough for one indivdual).
After about an hour, just as the light was getting to a reasonable level, the skipper, shut down the engine & startied chumming. For those of you that have never heard of this practice, fear not! It is not some sort of sordid practice of folks of the sea, but rather the depositing of a foul brew of fish heads, guts & blood, that had been hanging around for a while (in this case, 2 weeks), into the sea. The stench coming from the barrell reminded me of drains, but at least 10 times worse! Anyway this chum has the effect of drawing in birds from a long way off, & it wasn't long before the first Fulmars turned up. A kittiwake followed us for most of the morning. The first Storm Petrel arrived around 2 hours after we stopped. More were seen during the trip, with up to 3 in a group. Unfortunately, no one managed to turn a stormie into the star bird of these trips, Wilsons Storm Petrel. Other birds seen included Gannet, Great & Arctic Skua, Herring & Great black-backed Gull, Guillemot, Cormorant & several Terns. Anyone that fancies a few hours with a barrel of chum, a bucket of sick & several other foolhardy souls, go to http://www.cornwall-birding.co.uk/pelagics/ for more info (trust me its fun, so much so i intend to have another go next year!)
The photos below were the best from a dreary day whist trying to stand up & not fall in the chum barrel. All were taken using a D2x at iso 400 & 800 with a Nikon 70-200mm VR lens fitted with a 1.7x teleconverter.
After about an hour, just as the light was getting to a reasonable level, the skipper, shut down the engine & startied chumming. For those of you that have never heard of this practice, fear not! It is not some sort of sordid practice of folks of the sea, but rather the depositing of a foul brew of fish heads, guts & blood, that had been hanging around for a while (in this case, 2 weeks), into the sea. The stench coming from the barrell reminded me of drains, but at least 10 times worse! Anyway this chum has the effect of drawing in birds from a long way off, & it wasn't long before the first Fulmars turned up. A kittiwake followed us for most of the morning. The first Storm Petrel arrived around 2 hours after we stopped. More were seen during the trip, with up to 3 in a group. Unfortunately, no one managed to turn a stormie into the star bird of these trips, Wilsons Storm Petrel. Other birds seen included Gannet, Great & Arctic Skua, Herring & Great black-backed Gull, Guillemot, Cormorant & several Terns. Anyone that fancies a few hours with a barrel of chum, a bucket of sick & several other foolhardy souls, go to http://www.cornwall-birding.co.uk/pelagics/ for more info (trust me its fun, so much so i intend to have another go next year!)
The photos below were the best from a dreary day whist trying to stand up & not fall in the chum barrel. All were taken using a D2x at iso 400 & 800 with a Nikon 70-200mm VR lens fitted with a 1.7x teleconverter.
Tuesday, 7 September 2010
Pro video camera for sale.
We have decided to sell our Canon XL2 mini DV video camera & all associated kit. The camera is in mint condition & has only had light amature use.
Extras in this sale include all you need to start producing broadcast quality video.
Please go to http://www.lnrwildphoto.co.uk/otheritems.html for full details.
Please contact us if you have any questions or to arrange a viewing.
Extras in this sale include all you need to start producing broadcast quality video.
Please go to http://www.lnrwildphoto.co.uk/otheritems.html for full details.
Please contact us if you have any questions or to arrange a viewing.
Monday, 23 August 2010
Water voles
Today I managed a few hours out with the camera (a rare occurrence of late). I decided to follow up on a tip off from a fellow photographer & birder about a local water vole population. Now I was told this information a couple of months ago, but due to other commitments was unable to visit until today. As I parked up in the rain, I wondered whether it would be a fruitless search. I decided to go on a recce to try to pinpoint this elusive species. After finding a likely spot overlooking a small weeded pond, I sat & waited. Not for very long, mind you. Because after only a couple of minutes, one of these delightful & charachterful creatures, treated me to cracking show, only a few metres away. Then further along the bank, another, and then another.
Without wasting any more time I went back to the car & got out the 600. Over the next hour, the sun came out & voles were busy going about their business all along the bank in front of me.
The Water vole (Arvicola amphibius), is widespread around Europe, living in the banks of slow moving rivers, streams and other waterways. The waterside burrows of these strong swimmers have many floor levels that hinder flooding, as well as nesting chambers and a food store for the long winter months. Although water voles are a quick meal for many predators, the UK population suffered a catastrophic level of predation by the American mink & sadly is a rare sight these days. Water voles are often mistaken for rats, but have a blunter, shorter snout, smaller rounded hidden ears & furry tails & feet. Ratty, in Kenneth Grahame's 'The Wind in the Willows', was actually a water vole. In the wild they seldom live past two years old.
Many thanks to James for the information, they really are cracking little animals!
Without wasting any more time I went back to the car & got out the 600. Over the next hour, the sun came out & voles were busy going about their business all along the bank in front of me.
The Water vole (Arvicola amphibius), is widespread around Europe, living in the banks of slow moving rivers, streams and other waterways. The waterside burrows of these strong swimmers have many floor levels that hinder flooding, as well as nesting chambers and a food store for the long winter months. Although water voles are a quick meal for many predators, the UK population suffered a catastrophic level of predation by the American mink & sadly is a rare sight these days. Water voles are often mistaken for rats, but have a blunter, shorter snout, smaller rounded hidden ears & furry tails & feet. Ratty, in Kenneth Grahame's 'The Wind in the Willows', was actually a water vole. In the wild they seldom live past two years old.
Many thanks to James for the information, they really are cracking little animals!
Wednesday, 30 June 2010
Mini beasts
Mid summer is usually quiet on the bird front & although various mammals provide some distraction, i like to at this time of year, explore the macro world. Its really hard for me to leave the big lens behind at home & travel relatively light with my 150mm lens, monopod & macro flash system. I am always glad to do it though, when i can wander through the long grasses, chasing butterflies & stare at the multitude of flies & insects visiting a bramble patch. The results of this Sigma lens never fail to impress me. If you haven't already read my review, you can read it at my main website.Apologies if the captions are wrong, please let me know if you can identify them.
Common blue Damselfly?
Bloody-nosed beetle
Small Heath butterfly.
Burnet moth (not sure which one)
Not a clue about this one!
Wednesday, 19 May 2010
Bitterns on the levels.
I think its fair to say that it is no secret that Bitterns are breeding on the Somerset levels again this year. With up to 11 booming males across the area (possibly 20 or more birds i think is a fair estimate), even non birders are seeing this cryptic reedbed specialist. On a recent visit, i was lucky enough to grab a few images as a bird travelled from its feeding area, back to its nest. Look at the bulging crop!
East Anglia 2010
A recent photography biased trip to the bird mecca that is Suffolk & Norfolk resulted in a veritable pile of Marsh harrier shots. Other subjects such as Hares, waders & Bittern were harder won. Here are some of my favourites.
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