Gannets at Bempton

Tweet

Last week I undertook what is becoming a near-annual pilgrimage to the cliffs at Bempton to visit the seabird colony there. This year the wind was blowing stiffly off the land and pushing most of the smaller birds far out to sea - so we saw a mere handful of razorbills, guillemots and puffins. But the Gannets were out in force and the light was perfect.

The following is a close crop from one of my favourite shots of the day. I was rather pleased with this one.

Brent Geese at Titchwell

Tweet

The main reason for my recent Norfolk trip was to photograph Brent Geese at Titchwell. I saw a few in the distance on Monday at Snettisham, but on Tuesday there was not a single one to be seen at Titchwell. The light was not good either, so a return trip was called for. Two in fact. On Wednesday the geese were out in force - but so was the cloud (and the cold!). Thursday, however, dawned bright and clear. I spent most of the morning stood at the southern end of the west bank path with the sun behind me, as throughout the morning small groups of geese took off and flew across into the adjacent fields.

Sunshine at Titchwell

Tweet

Having had several days with fog, rain and poor visibility it was fantastic to get some early morning sunshine in Norfolk today. The weather seemed to inspire the birds too. I'd headed up to Norfolk primarily to photograph geese (of which more in a later post), but the unexpected highlight was definitely the Golden Plover at Titchwell. Present in large numbers and periodically taking to the wing to provide spectacular swirling displays. Add in a bit of sunlight and the odd lapwing and the spectacle was breath-taking. The photo really doesn't do it justice. This is just one segment of a much larger sky...

Wordless Wednesday: Little Tern

Tweet

Wordless Wednesday: Guillemot

Tweet

Wordless Wednesday: Shag

Tweet

Farne Island Terns

Tweet

The week before last I spent a couple of afternoons on Inner Farne being entertained by puffins, terns, guillemots, shags and eider. It was the first time I'd made it across to the Farnes - previous attempts having been stymied by bad weather. But what a fantastic place to be.

The main target of my day was to get shots of the sandwich terns. These graceful birds nest in some numbers on the Farnes and can be seen fishing off the Northumberland coast. Inner Farne is a good place to get up close and personal

Another highlight of the trip were the Arctic terns. Strong winds, good light and the need for the terns to run the gauntlet of scavenging black-headed gulls eager to relieve them of the fish all make for excellent photographic opportunities to capture these lovely birds in flight.

Wordless Wednesday: Farne Island Puffin

Tweet

Wordless Wednesday: Shoveller Flight

Tweet

Happy New Year

Tweet

Wishing all my readers a very happy and successful 2011. Its been grey and foggy the last few days, so no photography opportunities for a while. However, I thought I'd post up a photo that characterises the year just gone, and I opted for another kestrel shot - it having been rather a kestrel year.

This one was taken not far from St Justinians lifeboat station shortly after I'd broken my camera and lens. And yes it was taken with the broken camera. I was holding it together very carefully as the lens would no longer lock to the body. Not a bad shot for a piece of gear that was written off by the insurance company!

Winter Kestrel

Tweet

Yesterday I went for a very frosty walk in my local park. I was surprised how much wildlife activity there was in the cold. Lots of small birds frantically feeding. I spotted a kestrel, fluffed up against the wind sitting in a tree, so moved in for a shot - and as I did so it flew. The light was pretty poor so the colour was not great - but I think it works very nicely as a black and white.

Wordless Wednesday: Kestrel

Tweet

Wordless Wednesday: Buzzard

Tweet

Pembrokeshire birds of prey

Tweet

I've just returned from a fabulous week at St David's in Wales. Even in September the Pembrokeshire coastline is alive with wildlife. The weather was pretty fantastic too although it was windy enough to blow over my tripod and damage the lens mount on my trusty 400mm lens. Fortunately the optics seem fine and the lens still focuses, but both it and the 7D will have to go in for repair at Fixation this week.

Also, fortunately that it happened the day after a close encounter with a peregrine, and not the day before! I'm loving the fact that I can just spin the dial to one of my custom modes and be all set up for flight shots!

Peregrine Falcon

St David's is well-placed for an exploration of the cliffs and the RSPB reserve on Ramsey Island. For anyone making the trek there I heartily recommend Amber Cottage as a base. I could not have asked for a better place from which to conduct operations!

The one that got away

Tweet

Well, I had a great few days up in Northumberland, and saw lots of interesting things - including my first ever Sandwich Terns. However, although the forecast rain mostly held off the light was seldom good enough for photography. To add insult to injury the day I was in Seahouses the boats to the Farnes were not sailing due to poor sea conditions. So most of my reasons for going that way will have to wait for another time.

Bamburgh Beach

Instead of heading out to The Farnes I spent the day meandering along Bamburgh beach, dodging the jellyfish (I have never seen so many in one place). When I got into Bamburgh itself there were a large number of swallows feeding on the wing a few inches above the grass. I positioned myself on one side of the green and watched their antics for nearly an hour. They are so fast I was rarely able to even take a shot - but by some miracle I did manage to get two in focus shots out of the encounter. Not the best - it was quite dark so I really pushed the ISO to get a decent shutter speed, but I was rather pleased to have managed it at all.

Old photos, new hope...

Tweet

Over the last couple of weeks I have been sorting though a backlog of photos from earlier in the year. Quite a number of shots I'm rather happy with - like this inquisative gannet at Bempton.

And this week I'm hoping to make a trip across to the Farne Islands - although the weather forecast does not look promising. But I'd be happy with a few more like this!

Wordless Wednesday: Air Miss

Tweet

Terns on my doorstep...

Tweet

This time last year I made the trek down to Weymouth to photograph the common terns at Lodmoor RSPB. Yesterday I went for a walk in the rain at Bedfont Lakes (about four miles from my house) and discovered that there is a group of common terns nesting there. This part of London never ceases to surprise me!

Common Tern

Today the weather was rather nicer so I returned with my camera and spent an hour or so in the presence of these graceful birds. I love the shapes that the make as they fly - but they are rather unpredictable which makes them a challenge to track! Now I know that they are there I expect I will return to see them again.

Common Tern

Fulmars at Bempton

Tweet

Almost a year to the day since I was last at Bempton I returned for another look. This time I was hoping for some better light and the opportunity to get some photogarphs of Fulmars. I was not disappointed on either count. It was less windy than last time which meant the birds were not as active or as high - but I had a grand day, and was very pleased with the results. This was one of my favourite flight shots of the day.

Fulmar

Red Kite Diaries

Tweet

On Monday I took what is becoming an annual trek to Ibstone to photograph the red kites. On this occasion I decided to arrive early in the hope of getting flight shots whilst the sun was still low enough to illuminate under their wings. It was a beautiful frosty morning, but the kites were not playing. Most were sat up in trees and not flying.

As the day progressed more took to the air - but they have a genius for being exactly where I am not. No matter where I positioned myself there always seemed to be more red kites where I had just come from. I'd get in a spot to put the sun behind me - and they'd all move behind as well. Still, over the day I managed a number of shots with progressively numbing hands.

In the afternoon I found a dead squirrel in a hedge row. Possibly dropped after an aerial squabble. Deciding this could be my lucky break I moved it into the centre of a field and retired to the cover of a frosty hedge to await the kites. I must confess I was dissapointed with these supposedly sharp-eyed scavangers. Two circled right overhead at one point, but neither moved in. I can only assume that they'd eaten their fill of chilly squirrel, or failed to spot it entirely. Nevertheless I managed a few more shots before becoming so cold I had to start moving agaun.

It's always a privilige to spend time with this majestic birds and despite the cold I had a most enjoyable day...

You can see more of the day's shots on my flickr stream.