Colwick in the Cold

December 18, 2011 in ChrisLuv's Birding Blog by ChrisLuv

Somethign a little different to start the morning, it was freezing cold when I dragged myself out of bed and out to Colwick at 6.30am in time for some pre-dawn shots of Colwick Hall for some “clients” who wanted a shot for their wedding invitations. Actually they are my best mate and his fiancee but I think clients sounds better. I wanted some shots of the front of the hall lit up, and then was going to try for sunrise shots over the water behind the hall.

I arrived in the dark, as planned, and took a few shots in the car park. You never know how any security will take this kind of activity in the early hours but thankfully I wasn’t challenged.

I know this photo won’t be to everyone’s taste, but it’s my usual style and I’m pleased with it, and I like to give clients something different in their shots. Please feel free to critique.

I then moved round the back for a few more shots over the water, unfortunately the ice on the water spoiled the reflection somewhat but I think one of these may be a shot they go for. Shame about the blown highlight in the window but getting everything correctly exposed is tough.

 

 

 

With the sky lighting fast I then headed over to the lake and looked over the Trent and Gravel Pits  to the reddening sky. the light was amazing and had me running round like a lemon looking for some foreground interest but in the end I like this one. The colours are all straight out the camera, daylight white balance – no upping the colours.

 

 

I was very lucky with the cloud cover and timing, because the clouds sat just right for a sunrise on the horizon but soon it’d gone and I was left with a dull overcast morning.

I walked back round and to the back of the Hall for one last shot.

Then it was off for a little bonus, some wildlife watching! The light wasn’t good enough for nature photography but sightings included: Teal, Widgeon, Grey Heron, Great Crested Grebe, Canada Geese (plus one very dodgy White Front in suspicious company). Smaller birds also were moving through the woods, and tits by the dozen flew calling and offered close views, as did a Goldcrest who lingered annoying close in poor light. I didn’t even bother trying for a photo.

I didn’t linger long though, breakfast and a warm coffee beckoned, all in all a good mornings work I hope – I just need to see how the photos are received.

Slimbridge

December 12, 2011 in ChrisLuv's Birding Blog, Featured, Holiday and Trip Reports by ChrisLuv

A good day at Slimbridge on Saturday, the Bitterns had been showing well for the previous day and so I left the family to handle toads in the discovery area while I sat in the hide for a few hours.  Birds were very thin on the ground and the Bittern, while it had showed well earlier, wasn’t playing while I was there. It returned on Sunday (when I wasn’t there) and there are some fantastic shots on the Slimbridge site of it right in front of the hide. That’s the luck of the draw I guess.

The two bittern are catching lots of water vole, 4- 5 a day apparently, see this photo of them on the Slimbridge site - http://www.wwt.org.uk/visit-us/slimbridge/sightings/2011/12/12/sightings-and-photo-compition/. Shame I didn’t get a shot like that.

Of note, of the wild birds, were the vast numbers of Pintail and Bewick’s Swans, some of the most confiding birds I’ve seen.  They allowed some good chances of photos, as did one or two of the most common species. I even tried a “Paul Shaw” effect as the sun sank – not quite as good as an original I think.

 

The other shots were all taken through the day, the light wasn’t great so some of the ISO had to be balanced against light. Please let me know what you think, critique is always welcomed.

 

 

Carr Vale

November 21, 2011 in ChrisLuv's Birding Blog by ChrisLuv

Saturday was a fantastic day for getting out and about with the camera, me and the little lad popped to Carr Vale near Chesterfield for a few hours. Mummy has started working some Saturdays so it was a boy’s trip out to see what we could see.

George was very excited by the birds feeding on some seed someone had left out, but was miffed that he’d forgotten his binoculars so he borrowed mine, I doubt he could see a thing and he soon gave them back as they were heavy but we stood and watch Bullfinch, Greenfinch, Robin and Coal Tit all come for a visit.

We walked down to the main ponds and a Kingfisher darted away as we approached, I tried to point it out but it was a blur as it flashed over the river. Black-headed Gulls soon took flight as we moved down onto the waters edge to see what we could see, Gadwall and Mallard we the only wildfowl I noted.

Up to the lookout, and we had a picnic, well George did, while I took a few photos at the feeders. A Kestrel flew overhead, and paused to search for prey – its wings flapping for all it was worth as it hovered in the cold air, but it soon moved on.

Long Tailed Tits, Bullfinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Dunnock and Reed Bunting all visited the feeder tables, Robins chased each other round an round – never staying still long enough to feed. I took a few snaps as I watched them, though the clutter in the background meant it was hard work getting a good shot.

I came back to George perched on his bench a few metres away to find the sandwich box empty, and all my sandwiches gone. The greedy blighter had eaten them all, so I had to make do with a bag of crisps and we shared a cereal bar.

We carried on our walk, a Great Spotted Woodpecker flew overhead, soon followed by a Mistle Thrush, Redwings and Fieldfare were hiding in the bushes too.

The woods hid a few Fungi, and George was adamant I had to photo “the red ones” – I did my best but he was pointing out everyone from the ones fallen over to those hidden in grass and didn’t really have an eye for the photo so we soon moved on once I had the shot I wanted.

All in all a great day, George snoozed on the way home, and then it was Ilkeston Tesco where the Pied Wagtails were just starting to arrive as we left.

As always I really value your constructive criticism on the photos. If the colour is off let me know, my monitor suddenly washed everything green on Saturday and its taken me hours to try and restore some natural colour.

Willington

November 13, 2011 in ChrisLuv's Birding Blog by ChrisLuv

An afternoon at Willington with Dave and Jim, birds included Sparrowhawk, Golden Plover (~40), Kingfisher, Fieldfare, Pintail (m + 2f), 2 Little Egret, 4 Snipe plus all the usual suspects.

Sat for a log time to wait for the Kingfisher to come to his fishing post but he wasn’t playing ball unfortunately, here are some other shots, not the best but Kim wanted to see them so I thought I’d add them.

 

 

 

 

A few recent shots

November 7, 2011 in ChrisLuv's Birding Blog by ChrisLuv

I haven’t posted much recently, as you can imagine with a three year old and a heavily pregnant wife there isn’t much time in between, and it’s going to get worse before it gets better. Therefore a lot of my wildlife trips out recently have been either (a) no further than the back garden, (b) with the family and so not too “intensive”, (c) to see the Squacco, so as you’ve seen my (c) shots then I thought I’d share some others.

Firstly what’s in the garden – well still a few bugs (well there were a few weeks ago when these were taken). I thought square crop suited the first two, which isn’t my usual style but suited the subjects and I think they’re up there with my favourites I’ve ever taken.

A walk down Cromford Canal with the family a couple of weeks ago also produced two half decent shots:

A visit up to Padley Gorge wasn’t all I hoped for, mainly due to a lack of imagination on my part, here’s one of the better shots:

Lastly something a bit different, a woodland abstract taken at Moorgreen by panning the camera.

More Squacco

November 1, 2011 in ChrisLuv's Birding Blog, Latest Patch Sightings by ChrisLuv

A trip on the way to work, and as I walked up I was pleased to see just three others at bridge overlooking it’s favourite spot, nothing like Saturdays crowds. So a pleasant half an hour, when, at times, I had the bird to myself.

The light was just coming and I had to leave for work before it rose above the treetops, so photography was difficult to say the least. However I knocked off a video, which I’ll post later, and some machine gunning with the camera to try to get something decent. A few stuck, and some nice “action” shots while it hunted for fish were worth it – despite the (over) processing required to turn them into something close to a nice photo.

The fish, were just teeming in the water, and you can see why its chosen that spot, I watched as it caught at least 10 fish in the short time I was there, and there were visible jumping of fish almost all the time, a pike was obviously around too as a few times they would all leap out at once. The herons eyes were bulging at times as it surveyed the feast, and thats not all that bulged as it tried to devour some hefty fish!

A nice comparison against its big cousin:

Edit: and a video: http://youtu.be/6OlXIfojucg

Calandar

October 5, 2011 in ChrisLuv's Birding Blog by ChrisLuv

how much interest would there be in getting an Erewash Valley calendar out for December? I imagine cost might be a tenner or something. we have some amazing photographers on the site and I’m sure, if people wouldn’t mind us using their photos, we could rustle up something half decent.

Depending on interest I could see if a local company could sponsor it to reduce cost.

So let me know if you’re interested, and if you have any favourite photos from old posts you’d like to see in it, I guess we’d want to go with local shots rather than those showing species from outside the valley.

Its the Pits – A Sunday Visit to North Notts

October 4, 2011 in ChrisLuv's Birding Blog by ChrisLuv

Sunday was spent in the company of Dave and Jim, the much anticipated visit to Spurn put off in the hope of future better migrant weather.
Disappointed, and having lost an hours birding, I set of round the southern flashes of the reserve. Hares were numerous, I counted 10 at least, and I battled the light in trying to grab a decent photo, I probably have some I’d have posted a few months ago but in the presence of such amazing photographers I think I’d better hold off.First though I spent dawn til 9am at Erewash Meadows; first up the “coal board” hill chasing a decent sunrise shot. Hedges and a lack of vantage points really ruined what could have been a great shot – I really need to work out some decent local sites for Sunrise and Sunset.

The reported Water Rails reported by DS on the DWT site weren’t seen unfortunately, and while the regular bird species were all present there wasn’t much in the way of migrants.

The main flashes were all dry after the recent weather, except Aldercar and Railway, and they had attracted ducks, but nothing too unusual; Mallard, Shoveler and Teal.

I had a walk up to Big Marsh, but again there wasn’t much in the way of surprises – though 4 Pied and 3 Grey Wag’s were a pleasant sight, frolicking in the fields and by the canals. A mushroom on the way provided a photo opportunity.

After Erewash Meadows I picked up the boys and off we went, first to Langford Lowfields. The route we took took us down a very bumpy track to the Trent, and from there we took a path into the reserve. Common Darter, Red Admiral, Bush Crickets (heard not seen) and Hawker dragonflies were all seen. A Little Egret (?) caused a brief panic as Jim started us checking for Great Egret, the feet did have me thinking and size is difficult to judge but with no other reports from the area and Little seen a few times over the day then the balance of opinion (on my part at least) stays with my first impression.

Hawker Dragonflies are always a problem for me, I’ve never really made the effort to get to grips with them, but one individual perched up nicely to allow an id (Migrant Hawker).

Two Common Darter “in Cop” also caused us a bit of a discussion, the female appears so blue underneath the male it made us think for a while we’d found a new species!

The reserve in all is a fantastic place, and has a lot of potential (and proven pedigree with breeding Avocets and regular Marsh Harrier), the only shame is its size and the difficulty of finding viewing points. My advice to anyone taking a first visit would be to join one the guided walks, they will give you wider access. It does look like there’s lots of work being done to open it up wider for Joe Public. Look forward to a return visit.

Collingham and Besthorpe were similar sites, though less impressive. Besthorpe though appears to have work being done in the North section and so only one unidentified wader which broke into cover, was the only bird we saw there. Collingham had a Little Egret, several mixed Gulls and a smattering of Wildfowl. The South of Besthorpe had more to offer (not just a refreshing coffee from Jims stove) especially the 100+ Cormorants coming into roost.

A quick stop at Spalford Warren showed its potential, but light was fading so we didn’t stick around.

I’ll leave you with a few insects from the garden over recent weeks.

 

 

Cardigan Holiday

September 24, 2011 in ChrisLuv's Birding Blog by ChrisLuv

A family holiday to Wales and not much chance for birding, but Chough, Rock Pipit, Black Redstart, Wheatear, Ringer Plover, Oystercatcher, Red Kites (lots!) all seen. Here’s some photos.

Lincs Trip

August 23, 2011 in ChrisLuv's Birding Blog, Holiday and Trip Reports by ChrisLuv

A trip out up to Lincs on Sunday with Jim and Dave was a much needed visit out, and with a couple of life “ticks” a very worthwhile one.

The day started at 7.15am and, desperate to get birding, I managed to get us to Frampton Marsg by 8.50am. This reserve never fails to disappoint and Sunday was no different; Green Sandpiper, Greenshank, Ruff, Little Egrets by the dozen, Black Tailed Godwits, Ringed Plover, Yellow Wagtails, plus the usual suspects all were showing well. A few young Reed Warblers confused for a little while, as did the odd pipit and Reed Bunting – definitely a case of getting the eye back in after the summer with some of these birds. The two below are Meadow Pipits.

A female Pintail from the 360 degree hide was a bonus, and, as the others set out for the salt marsh and high tide, I picked out a Sandpiper for Jim and I to mull over. He confirmed a Wood Sandpiper and a much needed life tick for me, one that was long overdue. We found an Elephant Hawkmoth Caterpillar on the path on the way out of the hide, a species conspicuous by its absence in my garden this year.

We arrived at the sea wall to hear we’d just missed a perched “peregrine” that turned into a Hobby once the heat haze had gone. Later Jim picked it up as it bombed past us on the way back to the reserve, earlier we’d watched a raptor terrorizing flocks of waders in the distance – the flocks rising and falling in such massive groups was amazing to watch and very mesmorising. A Whinchat on the way to the visitors centre was another good bird. No photos due to the distance but here’s a Cormorant instead.

We left Frampton, and Jim’s brother Garry who had joined us earlier, and set off to Gib Point after lunch to meet Jim’s friend Jayne. We headed to the hides and then the sea but nothing much on offer there, my luck at Gib is very poor.

With the sun up, and weather red hot, we decided to try for some butterflies – Brown Hairstreaks at their stronghold in Chambers Wood near Lincoln being the target species. On the way we stopped at Hagnaby Lock, a small hide over looked the water and several Green Sandpiper and a couple of Ruff were wandering round, 12 Herons were also on the waters edge. Jim picked out a pair of Hobby over the trees and also four Turtle Doves in a bare tree to our right, a first view of this species for me after last year’s “purring” bird hidden in the trees (again with Jim) at Erewash Meadows.

The Common Darter like to perch on the wooden railings on the way to the hide at Hagnaby and I spent some time photographing them and a blow-fly – the blow-fly was still enough to allow me to take several shots I could focus stack in a trial of CS5 – wow results, just need to start saving….

The clouds were forming by the time we got to Chambers Wood, the light was fading and we had a fruitless search for the butterflies for half an hour or so. The Migrant Hawkers were out in force though, as many as I’ve ever seen in one place by a long, long way. One Hairstreak did show briefly in the top of an oak as we left and I imagine it was a Purple Hairstreak given its location, though hard to say. Jayne returned next morning and got both species – if anyone is visiting there then I can pass on directions to the spot.

I’ll leave you with a shot of this spider. Thanks for reading.