Yesterday in the Ribble valley I had a chance encounter with a Great Grey Shrike or Butcher Bird as it is sometimes called. It was some way off on top of a pole and was watching the same five Goldcrests that I was watching along the edge of a pine forest. Once it catches prey it impales it on hawthorne bushes in a sort of larder then comes back to eat it when it is hungry hence the name Butcher bird. They are not that common in winter but one did appear at Watergrove reservoir last year. I only wish it was possible to approach it closer to get a better picture on something more natural.

Whilst I was in Bowland I also came across some Bramblings feeding with the roadside Chaffinches. You tend to forget how colourful these finches are and this weeks gallery includes some drinking shots as a reminder. click here

During the week a new bird was almost added to the garden bird list when a Buzzard flew to within ten feet of landing in our pine tree. A Grey Wagtail fed on the lawn one day and it is good to see that the Willow Tit and both Nuthatches are still feeding daily.

A day trip to Lapland in search of Father Christmas gave only one hour of daylight and only one bird seen. It was however my favourite bird, a Waxwing, feeding just before it went dark on rowan berries. There were masses of rowan berries in the township of Rovaniemi and this was the obvious reason why no Waxwings have come to Britain this Winter.Plus the strange fact that it was two degrees colder in Manchester when we left than it was in Lapland when we arrived three hours later! My blog photo of this week was taken in Manchester during the big Waxwing invasion of two years ago.

Five years ago, with the temperature 30° below freezing, I spent eight hours in a wooden hide in the Finnish forests filming Golden Eagles and thus suffering with frostbite afterwards! I have included some of those photos in this week’s gallery. Two very different and unforgettable days in the Northern Arctic but both very magical. Click here

On Hopwood this week there was a flock of thirty five Redpolls feeding in the tops of a group of birches. A flock of eleven Cormorants flying past was a weird sight to record in the middle of a golf course.

On Wednesday the coldest place in Britain was Leighton Moss at minus 5 °C and I was in the hide there before 8.00am. Everywhere looked superb in the hoar frost and better still as an Otter fished in a far off bay. Two Bitterns were seen but as usual they were too far away to provide a photo. A Kingfisher flew past the hide several times so for this weeks gallery I have provided some of the shots I took of Kingfishers this summer. Click here

Last Sunday dawned a perfect winters day as I walked along the Pennine Way at Blackstone Edge. I was hoping to encounter Twite or Snow Bunting but saw neither only Red Grouse were active plus a low flying skein of Pink Footed Geese. In the garden we still have Willow Tit and Nuthatch feeding plus an out of season Reed Bunting.

Ringtail is the name given to a female Hen Harrier or a juvenile in its first winter when it is difficult to tell the sexes apart. The name comes from the white rump and is clearly visible as shown in this weeks photo. There is no doubt that any sightings of a Hen Harrier make a day out in the hills most memorable and I have included some of this years photos taken on Islay in this weeks gallery. Click Here

The event of the week was the reappearance in the garden of the Willow Tit after an absence of nearly two years. It appeared on the 23rd November and has fed most days since then. A Grey Wagtail fed on the lawn on the 29th and most days we now have twenty or more species feeding.

November is always the dullest month of the year and this November has followed that trend. The result is that the camera has been on the shelf far too much as there is no substitute for the sun.

Many people have been collecting my DVDs over the last five years and as I am to stop giving my film shows in fifteen months time I have decided to offer a special rate for them for Christmas.

You can purchase any two DVDs for £20 plus £2 p&p. This offer may be obtained through my website by Clicking Here or by telephoning me on 01706 631770 or alternatively sending me a cheque to:

Gordon Yates
3 Saxonholme Road
Castleton
Rochdale
OL11 2YA

On the 18th on Hopwood a Chiff Chaff was seen but it quickly disappeared in the scrub. I always wonder how many winter in Britain and go unnoticed. Two years ago in Middleton a Siberian one was found and caused quite a stir in the twitchers circles.

At Stakehill on the 17th the rooftop Lapwings increased to an all-time record of 485 and still there were no Golden Plover with them.

In the garden eight Long Tailed Tits were the first of the winter. The big mystery of the week was the discovery of a broken House Sparrow egg on the ground outside our back door. With this years incredible breeding season I cannot believe they are breeding again more likely is that this was an addled egg from earlier this year and was kicked out of the nest when they went to roost one evening- but you never know!! click here