Category Archives: General

Best Wishes and a Happy New Year to you all for 2016
There is little doubt that 2015 will be remembered for its extremes of weather. We had one of the coldest summers ever recorded followed by a dry, sunny and warm autumn then an extremely wet and dull November and December. All this has a profound effect on wildlife and ultimately what I capture on film.

Our visit to Islay in February had some wild weather but at the height of a hailstorm I managed to film a Raven feeding on a Goose carcass. Ravens are very wary birds and I have been after these shots for years.The Cairngorms in March produced my best ever Crested Tit shots and from a very icy summit of Cairngorm good Ptarmigan photos.

In the Pennines many consecutive mornings were spent on Kingfishers and I was finally rewarded with an action shot of the male presenting a Bullhead to the female which was too big for her to take. At 6.00pm that same evening the photograph was shown and mentioned on BBC television news programme – another first for me!

Our three weeks on Islay in summer produced a maximum temperature of only 14 degrees C. which was infact 1 degree colder than what we had when we returned in late October! I did however obtain some film of Corncrakes and flight shots of Hen Harriers which Mark Avery is now using in his fight to protect this very special raptor.

A week on Mull in July produced the photographic event of the year when an Otter that I was filming caught and carried ashore a five foot Conger Eel. A couple of pictures I took of the event I subsequently sold to a national newspaper which was another first for me – although it didn’t provide me with a fortune!

During a short period of good weather in June I had a rewarding day trip to the Farne Isles to film the seabirds. At the same time I spent many hours in my local hills before I was finally able to film a male Long Eared Owl hunting in full sunshine – something I have been after for a long time.

In the latter part of the year I stayed up specially to film the eclipse of the moon which was most rewarding. On Islay in October I found my first ever roost of Hen Harriers and when I arrived home to the Pennines I found a roost of Long Eared Owls – so much for a quiet year!!

My twelve favourite photographs of the year are included in this weeks gallery. Click here

2016 will see the end of my winter film shows after 44 years. Perhaps after that life will become a little quieter?

As if the Goldfinch and Bullfinch numbers in the garden this month were not impressive enough on the 24th we were visited by six Redpolls. This is our first December record for Redpolls and most of these birds have returned for a daily feed. Two are males and even though we are well away from the breeding season there is plenty of red plumage on show. This weeks gallery shows what they will look like by the time we reach May. Click here

I have spent some time during the last three months searching the Pennines for Owls and in all my travels I have only flushed two Woodcock. There should by now be plenty of Scandinavian Woodcock locally and it is a complete mystery as to why they are absent this winter.

The big event of the week has been the record-breaking rainfall and the flooding that has followed. This has not helped the Barn Owls mentioned in last weeks blog and I wonder how many of the recently established Otters have drowned in their holts? Time will tell.

The last six weeks weather patterns with heavy and prolonged rain overnight (and sometimes during the day) could not have been worse for our local Barn Owls. In rain their feathers become waterlogged and they are unable to fly. This, together with the fact that most of their prey remains hidden away, forces them to hunt during the day when catching conditions may be more favourable. On Thursday of last week more than a dozen Barn Owls were out hunting during the day in East Lancashire which is an exceptional number and driven by the continuous wet weather. Lets hope that they eventually found food and are able to survive the rest of winter in whatever weather is thrown at them. Click here
In the garden on the 17th we had our first ever December Siskin. Seventeen House Sparrows fed one day although  one has since been taken by our old male Sparrowhawk. Hopwood woods produced a Coltsfoot in full flower on the 19th. It is certainly a topsy turvey winter so far.

For some reason whenever we have wet weather there are lots of birds feeding in the garden. This week has been exceptional with two garden records being broken after 47 years! Firstly on the 11th seven Bullfinches came to feed together and comprised of five males and two females. The following day, at 9.00am, an incredible 39 Goldfinches were present either on the feeders or on the ground. I tried to make it forty but could not find the extra one! Click here

The only bird movements during the week was the appearance of Goosanders locally along the canal with a pair and four others seen.

Once again Lapwings are gathering for winter on the roof of Industrial units. My local flock has now reached an impressive 280 on the 28th November and may well increase further as winter progresses.

November has now proved to be the warmest on record and with seven inches of rain the wettest locally since records began. The warmth has resulted in a Hedgehog still feeding in the garden on the 3rd December which is a remarkable date. As for all the wet nights I fear that at least half of all the young Owls that fledged this summer will no longer be with us!

The Merlin is one of the Pennines most secretive raptors and seldom seen away from the hills. The only one that I have ever seen locally was on the 26th December 1976! I had gone out to ring my 1000th Greenfinch of the year (How times have changed!) and what should turn up in the net but a female Merlin! It certainly made my Christmas. This weeks gallery includes photos from breeding Merlin in Bowland. Click here

The Holy Grail of Autumn / Winter birdwatching in the Pennines is the finding of migrant Long Eared Owls. I spend many hours searching the hawthorns in remote Pennine valleys in the hope of finding just one magical Owl. Last winter I found none but this winter there has been an influx from across the North sea and some weeks ago I struck lucky. Not one but three Long Eared Owls roosting close together in a secluded, sheltered valley.

For five weeks I have been visiting the valley dressed in the same clothes and never flushing the Owls to carefully take photos as they roosted in different positions, depending on wind directions. On one occasion there were four birds present and then last weekend we had the first winter snowfall and they had all gone!!
What an absolute joy and privilege it was to observe our elusive Owls without them ever being disturbed. Perhaps they will come back later in the winter?

Finding four Long Eared Owls last month was good but it pales into insignificance compared to the big influx of 1975. In December of that year two local roosts had more than a dozen birds and even such places as Tandle Hill Country park had up to six birds present. One of the most regular places for Long Eared Owls in recent years has been around Elton Reservoir in Bury. My Owls must have gone somewhere so good hunting!!
Click here