Black Grouse spectacle!!

Fighting Blackcocks.

Trying to gain an advantage.

Traces of frost still evident !

A trully fine individuall!

A threating posture.

Full display mode.
Last month I was very fortunate to accompany a couple of friends to a Black Grouse lek in the north Pennines!It gave me the chance to get `up close and personal` with these enigmatic birds!Unfortunately the last two winters and wet Springs, had really decimated the numbers of these moorland birds.In fact recent surveys showed there being only 425 out of 750 birds left from the Pennine range!

At 3.00am we were walking down the moorland towards the hide that had previously been set up.The temp was a mere -5 degree celsius, but with clear cold nights usually comes glorious dawns,perfect for photography!

Literally within minutes of settling in,the first of the Black Grouse made its self known by its hissing wheezing battlecry.The light was nowhere near good enough for taking pictures, so we just sat there taking in the atmosphere and dawn chorus of the moorland birds.Everything was beginning to wake up,Redshank piped,Curlews called all around,Snipe were beginning to drum and call, but most of all the Black Grouse numbers were increasing all around us.The noise coming from these birds as they began their courtship was absolutely captivating.The drama was beginning to unfold less than 10 metres away,some birds walked to within 4 metres giving us awesome views.They would square up to one another and front each other out,each trying to get the upper hand,their heads down,wings outstretched and beautiful tails fanned out wide.Actually there was only minimal contact made between the waring birds,but I put that down to there not being any females present .It was quite late in the season really and I think they were merely going through the the motions.

The light was beginning to appear now and I noticed some birds were actually covered in a thin layer of frost on their backs,such was the severity of the temps up on this bleak moorland.It all added to the splendour of the occasion and made for some fantastic close up shots.The small red eyebrows contrasting with the irridescent purple sheen on the neck and finishing off with the erect fanned out tail,black on one side ,white on the other.If any females or Greyhen, as they are more commonly called,would have been present, they couldn`t have failed to have been impressed by the display!

We observed this courtship for a good few hours before the birds gradually decided to disperse out onto the moorland to feed. We had been priveleged to witness this fantastic spectacle and although I cant convey the atmosphere,I will leave you with a few of my images taken on that glorious May morning high up on the moors in the North Pennines!!!!!

Day three at Lakenheath

Elusive Golden Oriole Preening!

Very difficult to see!

Returning back to the youngsters!

Bearded Tit!!

Tree Pipit!

Beautiful Yellowhammer!!!
So my final day in the Fens again began early with another 4.00 am start.I decided to split my day into two halves.Morning would be a walk around Lakenheath reserve and later in the day I`d spend some time wandering around the Brecks,an area that produces different species of birds.

Every morning the call of the Golden Oriole would echo through the Poplars,search as I might, he was extremely difficult to pin down.Today being my last day I would give it my best shot.He usually flitted between the two plantations, a distance of say 100 yds,thats where I decided to position myself in the hope of a flight shot.Standing in the clearing all was quiet, then he made himself known,about 3oo yds further down the track,ah well a few mins later and I was directly underneath him.Scanning the foilage without binoculars there was a sudden movement,is it,yes, black and yellow.Just had to get the camera on him now before he moves.Eventually he came into the viewfinder,he was on an exposed branch preening.A few rushed shots, then he was gone!At last I`d obtained a few images of the Oriole!!

Feeling pleased with myself,I moved down to the bottom viewpoint where I knew of another pair of Barn Owls.These had chicks too and I watched an adult quarter the meadow catch a vole and return to its nest in the small half moon shaped building.Soon he was out again heading up the river this time to a new feeding area!

I located a male Bearded Tit flitting across the reeds,ping ping it called as it landed on a reed stem,giving me good views.These are pretty local to the reserve with over 70 breeding pairs.A beautiful bird with its black and chestnut markings to blend into the reeds with!With that I walked slowly back to the carpark for a cup of coffee and sandwich.The reserve had given up some wonderful species to me and I hoped to return in a few months time to see the common Cranes which also breed there.

Now it was onto the Brecklands,only a few miles down the road with its varied habitat.With it being midday the temps were into the 70`s.not ideal birding conditions but none the less, I managed to watch a Tree Pipit soar up into the blue sky then transcend down to a clump of bracken,singing its flutey song.A few minutes rest and it was on the up again to descend spirally on to the top of an Alder tree.The Brecks are perfect for these birds as well as Wood Larks which also abound here.A bird I kept hearing was the Yellowhammer, constantly calling its distinctive high pitched song.I located it sitting on a dead tree branch right by the car and it stayed long enough for me to get one or two nice images.

The sun was beating down now and I was flagging rapidly.Eight hours of lugging the big lens about was taking its toll,so I reluctantly returned to base to pack away the tent and start the 4 hour journey North!I`d had an amazing last 3 days down here and to capture a few moments with the camera, was an added bonus.I do hope that you`ve enjoyed my ramblings and I`ll leave you with some of the images I captured!!!!!!!!!!

Day two in the Fens

Another fine day beckons.

A huge head appeared!

Dancing above the reed stems!

Nervously watching me!!


Drake Garganey below!

Day two of my sortie to the Fens and I was again greeted by a magnificent sunrise.It was 4.30 am and I had the whole of the reserve to myself, well at least for a couple of hours anyway! It`s that special time of day for me when I`m full of anticipation for what might lay ahead

The dawn chorus was almost deafening as I made my way out of the carpark towards the embankment,I was hoping to catch sight of a drake Garganey that had been reported the previous day.Scanning the river and washlands, I found it close to the bank in the shallows, feeding with the Mallard and Coot.what a splendid looking individual it was too with its vivid white eyestripe and contrasting grey flanks,beautifull!

Moving on down to the first viewpoint,I skirted the many drains and dykes that had been specially dug, they are a maze of channels which help to flood the reserve, all controlled by a sluice gate.Sedge and Reed warblers nest within the reeds and vegitation their scratchy songs came from deep within!Something moved to my left and disappeared under the water sending a trail of bubbles to the surface.Possibly a coot or Grebe,what I didn`t expect to see was a huge head appear with whiskers and a snout,Otter, the camera was raised and I grabbed a few shots before he slipped away into the sanctuary of the reedbed,wow does this get any better I thought!!!

The male Marsh Harrier was again showing well, gliding effortlessly across the reedbed.He hovered for a while just touching the top of the stems with his feet,wings flapping vigoursly to keep his position steady!Maybe he`d seen a small bird or rodent to feast upon!I decided to rest for 15 mins and take in all that was around me.Bitterns boomed,Cuckoos called relentlessly and in the Poplar plantation ahead, I could hear the melancholy call of the Golden Oriole.Two males had been reported, seen and heard in the last week,now this was a bird I would love to see and hopefully photograph.Lakenheath reserve used to be a stronghold for these charismatic birds with up to 20 pairs breeding,now wer`e down to 2 possibly 3 pair here,with an odd pair present elsewhere.

Whilst finishing my coffee, I watched a roe deer move silently through the long grass,she stared at me intently, ears upright,

nose twitching nervously,then I heard two little bleats that I thought was an Otter cub.Watching the area in front, the grass moved and two fawns only a few days old moved closer to their mother.The first ones I`d ever seen in the wild,a wonderful encounter and a privelege to see.Boy was it worth getting up early for,as in my oppinion you just would not see these things later in the day!It was not yet 6 o`clock and and I`d already enjoyed some marvellous sights,the icing on the cake though would be to see the rare Golden Oriole and I`ll tell you how I got on in my next blog down here in the Fens!!!!

May in Norfolk and Suffolk!

With the weather being favourable,I decided on visiting Norfolk and Suffolk for a few days!May is a fatastic time down there, as it coicides with the breeding season of most of our birds.The birds are at their most active,nest building,looking for a mate and of course feeding youngsters!I hoped to see and of course photograph a few of the rarer species that inhabit that neck of the woods!
Hobbies are one of our rarer breeding falcons and Lakenheath in Suffolk holds good numbers.They seem to meet up there in early May and feed on the abundant insects and Dragonflies.On my first morning at the reserve I counted no less than 47 birds hawking the insects, an absolutely tremendous spectacle!I managed a few flight shots of one bird that came within reach.I had one adult Hobby land within 10 metres of me in a tree,but as I aimed the lens at him a Mistlethrush came and chased it off,defending its territory!
Another of our summer migrant bird was evident by its call,the Cuckoo, they seemed to be everywhere on the reserve, their constant calling alerting every Reed and Sedge Warbler to be on their guard!!I only wish they would carry on flying further North as they are sadly declining in numbers around the North West!
Marsh Harrier too were present, with about 5 breeding pairs busy nest building.They would fly low to the reed beds searching for prey.The male would carry bits of reed in its talons to line its nest!Bitterns were booming often,but seeing them was another matter,I did manage to see one flyingbut not close enough to photograph.
Late one evening I observed a Barn Owl quartering the washlands and constantly dropping down on its prey,small shrews and fieldmice I think.I discovered that someone had put up an owl box in a small clump of trees and the owl had made good use of it, with hungry youngsters heard screeching and calling for food!I spent a good few hours watching the Owls hunting, something I will never get tired of.
The habitat at Lakenheath Reserve supports all sorts of wildlife as well as birds and in my next blog I`ll tell you of a close early morning encounter I had with a very special secretive mammal!!!

Two trips for a Dotterel!

It is the time of year when the Dotterel start to appear locally on their Northwards journey to their breeding grounds.A few had been reported at nearby Pendle Hill, so I decided to venture forth with the camera in the hope of a few close shots!
They can be a very obliging bird for the photographer as they will come to within a few metres, providing one remains still and keeps low to the ground.They dont seem to have any fear of man.It is also one of the birds where the female is more handsome than the male!It is he that does all the incubating of the eggs and tending of the hatchlings.
An early start was arranged and I headed off to Pendle, only to be greeted by very low cloud and visibility down to about 20 metres!Terrible conditions for photography.I had a good idea where the birds may be located and as I headed up the hill, 2 in fact came whizzing right past me towards their favourite area.
Trying to get decent images of the two birds was nigh on impossible in the conditions,so after a few hours of hanging about and watching the birds,I decided to call it a day.A few other birders had got wind of the birds and I left them enjoying the close views to be had!
At the foot of Pendle I got talking to the farmer who owns the land and we chatted away for the best part of an hour about various topics.He told me that there used to be as many as 12/15 birds dropping in on the summit 20 + years back,now we`re lucky to get 2 or 3 present.On glancing back up the hill the cloud seemed to be lifting,little bits of blue sky began to appear.Hmmn should I go back up and try for some better images!A quick brew and sandwich back at the car and I was again winding my way back to the summit.After all these birds don`t usually hang around very long and we may not get anymore stopping off.Must be bloody mad to do this again,I told myself.
At the top the cloud had lifted considerably.There was still another birder present who utterd the words, they`ve just flown off 5 mins ago in that direction,and pointed North!I searched all the likely looking areas but no sign!Ah well it wasn`t ment to be.I`ll just do another circuit in the hope they come back.About 200 metres from the Trig point in a Westerly direction I scanned hard with the binoculars,and lo and behold both birds were observed preening.Magic, I`m in business and I`ve got them at close quarters.whilst merrily clicking away, I was joined by 2 other birders who also got in on the act.It was a truly memorable experience photographing the two female Dotterel today,one that I hope to repeat again in the coming years!!!

Black Grouse bonanza.

Black Grouse territory.
Road to nowhere.
Strutting their stuff.


Wings outstretched,heads down and tails up!

Battling Blackcocks!

The icing on the cake!

He was away rapidly!
Usually an early start is needed to have any chance of seeing a Black Grouse Lek, where the handsome males strut their stuff and display to the onlooking females or Grey Hens as they are more commonly called,so it was a real bonus to watch this unfold late one afternoon,high up in the North Pennines moors.

We had planned to drive around the wild moorland roads in the hope of seeing one or two of these birds feeding or perhaps sunbathing on one of the many drystone walls that litter the area.You have to be really lucky to get anywhere near Black Grouse as they are really easily spooked,unlike their cousin the Red Grouse whom I`m sure love posing for the camera.

Driving around with my accomplice Brian Rafferty, we were treated to close views of Wheatear/Lapwing a few Redshank some late returning Fieldfare and an absolutely fantastic view of a pair of Golden Plover right by the side of the road,which had Brian performing all sorts of contortionist moves to get on them with the camera from behind the steering wheel,I think I`ll have to rename him elastic man for his efforts!Bird of the day Brian exclaimed, they are harder to photograph than Black Grouse at such close proximity.I`ll post some images in a latter blog of the Plovers.

However it was Black Grouse we`d come to see and it wasn`t long before Brian spotted one about 30 yds away down by the stream.Foolishly we left the sanctuary of the car to get into position and he was away at a rapid rate of knots,boy are they wary.We carried on driving round scanning the moorland and came across one in a small plantation,but he wouldn`t come out of the long rushes.Returning back to the main leking area we instantly found a group of about 5 males all feeding quietly on the vegitation.Result!We took a few pictures,but they were all rather distant.Lower down the road, Brian again picked a bird up quite closer, maybe 50 yds away, ah a bit better for the portfolio. Heading back up the road the five or so males were now in full flow on the dance floor, what a stroke of luck so late in the day.With wings outstretched and tail feathers displaying, we watched in awe as they challenged one another to do battle,squaring up to each other and emitting their distinctive warbling sounds.A good few pictures were taken of the event before we decided to call it a day!Back towards the bottom of the road and no less than 15 yds away a lone male black grouse stood waiting to wave us good bye,it was my turn to perform the contortionist tricks now, as I quickly reassembled my camera.Talk about the icing on the cake, we both couldn`t believe it as we gladly made the most of the opportunity with the cameras.It really was a remarkable day and we both decided to return latter on in the year when the flowers will be in full bloom.I hope you enjoy the account of our encounter with the Black Grouse of Upper Teesdale,we certainly did and set amidst the most fantastic scenery imaginable!

Red Squirrels at Kielder

With the weather being favourable and work very quiet,I threw some camping gear into the car and set forth up to Northumberland,a place I`d hardly ever been to!I`d planned to stop a night at Kielder forest and then check out one or two other places I`d heard about.

I was aware that Kielder held a healthy population of our native Red Squirrel and it was these that drew me to the area.A campsite was discovered and base set up for the night.I checked numerous places in the woods but to no avail,surely they had to be somewhere close by.Most people had had an odd sighting of one or two, but high up in the treetops,not much good for photography.As the night was drawing in I decided to retire back to my humble abode at the campsite and plan an early start next day.

Early mornings for me are without doubt the best part of the day when it comes to being close to nature.Animals and birds are at their most active and vocal as the light begins to appear.I was told about a small area of woodland where there would be a good chance of seeing Red Squirrel, so a flask was hastily made and I was on my way at 6.00am sharp.All was quiet as I arrived, but I just knew something was about to happen!Half an hour went by before the first Squirrel appeared,then another showed only 8 yds in front of me.I`d made the right decision to get up early as I had them to myself.I was quite surprised how quaint they were and I watched them root around in the leaf litter, no doubt looking for their stash of nuts they`d have previously buried.

They were very cautious of me and constantly checked me out,every movement was minimal,as I tried to capture them with the the camera.Even the sound of the shutter aroused suspicion in them.All too soon they were scurrying back up the pine trees for the comfort and security of their dreys.I waited another hour in anticipation of their return but to no avail,however I was more than pleased with my first sightings of Red Squirrel,its just ashame that they are not as widespread as they used to be in the country.I hope you enjoy the shots!!!!!

Barn Owl Delight

At long last,I`m able to post a few images of a Barn Owl that I was kindly put onto by my good friend Brian Rafferty.They are literaly non existant where I live,so travelling the 20 or so miles to photograph the Owl was a pleasure!

After meeting Brian, he guided me to the corner of the meadow where the Owl usually hunted.The best part of an hour went by with no sign of the Owl.Brian assured me it would show sooner or later as he`d seen it on every visit.I kept scanning the far side of the meadow and hedgerows in anticipation!Yep suddenly without warning there it was down to our right.This time it had decided to land in a sycamore tree about 1oo yds away.`Dont worry he`ll come right by us,he usually lands there first, weighs the situation up, then proceeds to hunt the railway embankment and the meadow!

A few minutes later and he was up and on the wing, scanning the tussocky grass for a shrew or field mouse.A couple of times he came within 15/20 metres of us giving us fantastic views!We just stood there in awe, watching this moth like creature going about his daily business.He wasn`t the least bit concerned about our prescence, as a few times he looked straight at us as he glided by.
The light was fading fast ,so we decided to leave him alone in his hunt for prey.Nearby in the barn his mate would be anxiously waiting for him to return with supper, as Brian had informed me there was a pair and on one occasion he had witnessed both birds out hunting,now what a sight that must have been!Lets hope that the birds do well breeding and that maybe they can re-establish themselves as once before!

Wonderful Waxwings!

It hasn`t been a good year for Waxwings where we live in Lancs, with only the odd isolated bird reported locally.I had to travel a good way into Cumbria to obtain these images, but it was well worth the drive.

Once located they really are a pleasure to photograph giving good close views.I think these particular birds had been in the same area for two to three weeks, feeding on the abundant crop of Rowan berries which adorned a small cluster of trees!

I took these shots a good month ago, so now I`d imagine that these three birds will be well on their way back to Scandanavia in preparation for the breeding season.What fantastic little birds these are to watch!