Another short visit to Rivercatcher and the delights of the Welsh forests. A recent gale had dislodged Alder cones that now carpeted the forest floor. Over a hundred Siskins were on the ground gobbling up the masses of seeds that had fallen out of the cones. What a photographic bonus. www.facebook.com/gordonyateswildlife
Regular readers of the blog will know that two months ago I was predicting that we were not going to see local Waxwings this winter. Two days later an immaculate male turned up in a Bolton garden and fed on the same berry laden tree for more than a month! I could not resist going to see my favourite bird on more than one occasion and was duly rewarded.
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During the late snow and frost of last month I came across a small party of Redwings that were feeding on the woodland floor. They were very hungry and as a result I was able to film them from as close as 15 feet without having to hide away. You never turn down the
opportunity to film Redwings!! www.facebook.com/gordonyateswildlife
A couple of weeks ago we had the return of snow and frost which brought an influx of birds back into the garden.
Our star species in the garden is the Reed Bunting and we had at least seven visiting some days.In addition four Redpolls and five Robins were also coming daily to what is a very small garden. The secret of course is providing a multitude of feeders and having lots of cover nearby to hide in when the Sparrowhawk visit. www.facebook.com/gordonyateswildlife
When you have been filming birds for more than 55years there are not many local ones that you have not captured on film. However, last week one of our smallest birds called a Firecrest turned up in a Manchester park. I visited several times and eventually obtained several shots of what was one of the fastest moving birds I have ever seen – it just never paused in its frantic feeding. It would be good to go back for better quality photos but as Firecrests only breed in southern Britain our bird will soon be heading back south.
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The first breeding bird of the year is usually the Heron. It is always a delight in February to spend time at my local Heronry and capture on film the comings and goings of our local birds. Some sticks are picked up from the ground while others are broken off nearby trees. www.facebook.com/gordonyateswildlife