At long last we have had some classic winter weather with frost and snow to bring the wildlife into the garden. As a result Badger and Fox come daily together with 6 Bullfinches,10 Blackbirds, 8 Long Tailed Tits, 8 Goldfinches and even a Fieldfare – the first for years. www.facebook.com/gordonyateswildlife

Once again, following the second hottest year ever recorded, we are reminded that the summer ice in the arctic may disappear within the next few decades due to global warming.It is only eight years ago that I took these unique shots, in Spitsbergen, of a female Polar Bear leading her three young across the pack-ice. If seeing a Polar Bear on the Arctic pack-ice is top of your bucket list then now is the time to go before it is too late.Whether you see one with three cubs is unlikely as the Captain of our ship informed me that in more than twenty years of sailing the Spitsbergen summer pack-ice he had never seen one with three cubs.I counted myself lucky to be the only passenger on board to film her as all the others were inside the boat enjoying their evening meal!! Can you believe it? www.facebook.com/gordonyateswildlife

Just after sunset in Winter a special event occurs in Hopwood woods. From miles around hundreds of Corvids begin to settle for the night in the woods surrounding the Spire.It is an amazing sight to witness against a winter sunset when up to a thousand Carrion Crows, Rooks, and Jackdaws all settle in the tree-tops. As darkness descends they fall quiet and you would never know that they were there. www.facebook.com/gordonyateswildlife

Another year comes to a close and while I lost several months of filming due to hip replacement the rest of the year has produced some good photos – top of the list has to be the night I filmed the male Long Eared Owl passing a vole to his female.It was the only time that she left the nest to receive prey from him and I have yet to see any other photos of a food pass between a pair of Long Eared Owls away from the nest. Months of observations also produced other photos of this very special male Long Eared Owl with deep orange eyes.
In May I finally came across two pairs of Black Necked Grebes with three young each. Conditions were perfect and in two hours I shot more than 500 photos – the second most photos I have ever taken in one session( the most being 800 on a Polar Bear surrounded by five Ivory Gulls).
A single male Waxwing in March produced better photos than the present big influx has. On Islay a Roe Deer with two fawns amongst emerging Royal Ferns provided a unique backdrop.Scotland also produced my best ever encounter with Black Throated Divers and in Wales a Crossbill with fledged young was another first. Finally, our resident male Sparrowhawk posed briefly for his photo while I was in recovery and before Pauline chased him away!

This Winter has seen very few Redwings and Fieldfares despite a good crop of Holly and Hawthorn berries. All that changed last week when Redwings found a berry laden Holly in a friend’s garden. The weather was awful but I managed one session of filming before all the berries had been devoured – it could not have been more seasonal! www.facebook.com/gordonyateswildlife

When the winter snows arrive it is usually time for Badgers to remain underground.It was surprising, therefore, to find that the Badger visiting our garden was still coming when we had our first snowfall a week or so ago. Even the severe frost did not stop his nightly visits, long may it continue!

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