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.

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!!

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!!!

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.