February 15, 2016 at 7:48 pm
During the last week I was able to witness a Long Eared Owl leave its diurnal roost then look for prey from a hawthorne hedge. It circled low over a rough pasture then returned to the very same roosting branch that it left ten minutes earlier. It had caught no prey and was harassed by Crows throughout its excursion. This is the first Long Eared Owl that I have ever seen hunting during daylight hours when there were no young in a nest to feed and it is another example of how this winter’s weather is having a detrimental effect on the survival of all our Owls. If more settled weather does not prevail soon then many of them will not be in a condition to breed this year. Click here
February 7, 2016 at 5:34 pm
A hunting Short Eared Owl bathed in late afternoon sunshine with the rolling Pennine hills in the background. It would not go amiss in any of the Pennines National Parks but this photo was taken within five miles of Manchester City Town hall!! So far this winter I have known of four others all hunting voles close to the industrial scene. Quite clearly these Owls are attracted to an abundance of voles and must be part of the big influx last autumn of Scandinavian birds. Within the next five weeks they will return eastwards with Long Eared Owls that came across with them and our voles will be left in peace.Click here
The wet weather continues unabated and all the action comes from the garden. Two juvenile male Sparrowhawks clashed on the 6th chasing the thirty one Goldfinches that we had present that day. The Long Tailed Tit flock increased to ten on the 4th and the sight of three Buzzards together over the house one day would have been unthinkable up to ten years ago.
January 31, 2016 at 4:20 pm
The opportunity to film Barn Owls hunting during the day has never arisen locally before this winter. If the weather pattern of wet nights becomes a norm then perhaps this winters events will not be unusual and filming may be possible every winter. The next problem of course is predicting where the Owl will hunt and then hiding under cover before it appears. On many occasions you come away with no photos and luck has to be on your side. Two days last week I sat under my camouflage cloth and never saw an Owl. I got back to my car in the farm yard and the Barn Owl was on a post by the car waiting for me! On day three I set up on the very same post and never saw an Owl – it was hunting where I had been sat the other two afternoons!! It was , however pleasing to finally have the Owl settle on the right stump and to fire away a series of photos with the Owl totally ignoring me or the sound of the shutter. The only trouble is the sun had gone in so it is still a work-in-progress! Click here
The event of the week-end has been the RSPB Garden Birdwatch. We had seventeen species in the garden during the hour with the top three being House Sparrow(18), Goldfinch(12) and Blue Tit(10). The big surprise was the total absence of both Starling and Magpie. Sadly our long-staying Willow Tit has not been with us this winter.
January 24, 2016 at 6:16 pm
Not only is there a shortage of thrushes this winter but wading birds have also been in short supply. Only this week have i seen my first Jack Snipe and so far I have only flushed two Woodcock. Had it not been for the migrant Long Eared Owls and day hunting Barn Owls there would have been no photographic challenges available and both of these are still work in progress!
As my gallery on Spitsbergen was well received this week I have included photos taken on my last expedition to the north-east Greenland National Park. It is the most stunning high arctic place I have ever seen and in summer the sun never sets. The freedom of exploring for nine hours a day in a place where there are are no other human beings is hard to describe. Click here
Locally on the 19th there were eight Goosanders on a pond by the Rochdale to Manchester railway. On Hopwood a Goldcrest was seen and a Coltsfoot was in flower. Snowdrops were out in our garden on the 22nd January.
January 17, 2016 at 8:20 pm
In the last week I have spent many hours out in the hills looking for roosting Long Eared Owls and day hunting Barn Owls. After yesterdays snowfall a single Long Eared Owl was a nice bonus in the snow-covered trees. With their eyes screwed-up they always look asleep but this bird is fully aware of my presence.
So far the hunting Barn Owls have failed to fly where I wanted them to or perch in the right place. However, whilst I have been hidden under my camouflage cloth I have obtained photos of a number of other birds who had no idea I was present. These are included in this weeks gallery and even include Pink Footed Geese at dawn that flew high over my head.Click here
This last week I have shown my films for the last time in Rochdale, Glossop and Leigh to societies where I have been going to for more than forty years. The responses from the audiences have been over whelming and at Leigh included a vote of thanks that lasted sixteen minutes!!
January 10, 2016 at 6:51 pm
Most people have a list of the things they would like to do once in their lifetime. From a wildlife point of view top of the list perhaps would be to sail through the Arctic pack-ice at midnight looking for Polar Bears. It is an experience that is hard to describe and with global warming it may not be available in twenty years time. Promote it to the top of your list and just to tempt you this weeks gallery shows photos from one of my visits. Click here
Along our local canal Goosanders have been regular visitors this winter. The garden is still producing big numbers of Goldfinches along with Redpolls, Siskin and at least one Reed Bunting.
On the 4th of January in Hopwood woods a Red Campion was in flower!!!
