The Birds, They are a Fledging...

Life can be very unpredictable at times and you just never know what is going to visit your garden and when. Last year we were fortunate enough to have a pair of Nuthatches visit. I was very excited as I love these characterful little birds and was hopeful that they may stay around and possibly roost. Alas though, this wasn't to be and after regularly visiting our feeders for well a over month, they just upped and disappeared and we hadn't seen them again. That was until yesterday (if indeed it was the same pair). 

It was very humid yesterday and the sun was shining so after a spot of gardening I took time out and just sat and watched the other birds that we have visiting, to-ing and fro-ing to the feeders. Out of the corner of my eye I noticed something flying in at great speed. If you have seen a Nuthatch you'll know they are incredibly fast and constantly on the move, darting here, there, and everywhere. But to my great surprise and utter delight this was a Nuthatch, which was then joined by another Nuthatch and then shortly after that and a lot of commotion three more followed. It was a pair of adult Nuthatches and their recently fledged young! I thought how lucky am I and how strange. I had not seen any Nuthatches for about 6-8 months and then all of a sudden 5 turn up at once. I like to think that it is the same pair that visited last year and that they were undertaking a reconnaissance for the future, but it in all honesty I don't really know. Still, what a marvelous site. 

The Nuthatches aren't the only birds to have fledged recently, in fact it seems that all of sudden everything is fledging! In addition to the lovely Nuthatches we have Blue Tits, Goldfinches, Starlings, Blackbirds, Dunnocks and Robins all feeding their recently fledged young. I think this highlights just how useful and helpful a resource our feeding stations are to wild birds and what a wonderful sight you get in return. Can there be any greater start or end to your day than by watching this cycle of life. 

I took this shot of a Nuthatch last year at one of our local country parks. What a stunning bird they are and definitely one of my favorites! 

Nuthatch

 

Passion, Pride and Plea...

A must watch for anyone who has a love for and cares about the natural world. It is truly great to see a presentation delivered with such emotion, passion and that highlights the true extent of what is happening to our countryside wildlife and fauna. No doubt, this is just the tip of the iceberg!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnJQjtvngqA&feature=youtu.be

Little Things...

In addition to my passion for wildlife and landscape photography I also thoroughly enjoy photographing weddings. I am very much a people person and there is no better environment to test your photographic and people skills. The weddings that I have photographed to date have been a very enjoyable experience, although a lot more stressful and intense than I first might have imagined. You can never underestimate the importance the role of a wedding photographer has and arguably, I think it would be fare to say, that it is the most important! After all, you are solely responsible for documenting your clients big day and all of their treasured memories, and these are something they'll want to look back on forever.

When photographing a wedding I like to be organised and have as much to hand as feasibly possible. The last thing a Bride and Groom want to see is the photographer flapping about rummaging for everything he might need. Don't forget, the client is just as likely to be nervous and will want everything to go like clockwork, so being well organised will give them one less thing to worry about and help to put them at ease.

Preparation is also another very important factor and a virtue that I swear by. As the saying goes ''fail to prepare, prepare to fail!'' and this is so very, very true. Little things, like making sure you have enough batteries, that these are fully charged, that you have your charger with you, ensuring that your flash cards are all formatted and ready to go, cleaning your lenses so there are no grubby fingerprints on them, having some snacks with you as the day will be long and you don't know when you might next get a bite to eat (it's very important to keep you energy levels up). All of these little things make a big difference on the day and will enable it to go much more smoothly and be far more enjoyable.

One of things I rtry to always keep at the forefront of my mind when photographing any wedding, is that my client has invested a great deal of time and a lot of expense organising their big day. The Bride will want everything to be perfect and this will have included a lot of personal touches. With this in mind, I always endeavor to capture these details.  Whether they be home crafted name cards, table centers, signage, decorations, props etc. they all add to making their day special, memorable and unique to them. They also make wonderful additions to the wedding album/books.

So, If you have a wedding planned for the Summer and have yet to book a photographer we are currently taking bookings. You can view some of the weddings I have photographed to date here and find out more about the packages I offer here. I am always happy to provide a free, no obligation, consultation.

Grey Squirrels: Pest or Pleasure?

When you hear the words grey squirrel it can be quite a decisive moment. I have found people tend to fall into two categories with these much maligned and misunderstood animals. Either they shudder, cry out in despair, run for the nearest implement to hurl at them or think of them as cute little grey eating machines with a big bushy tail and lots of funny twitches! Often seen as a pest, since their introduction into the UK they have bred, and bred, and bred some more! In fact their growth and spread around the UK has been quite prolific and their shear numbers reflect this. There are now around 2.5 million of them, compare this with around 160,000 red squirrels and you can see what our native breed is up against.

I feel that one of the reasons why the grey squirrel is so misunderstood, and at times, disliked, is because of their insatiable appetite. They can devour as much as 1kg of food per day and perhaps more if given the opportunity. Our gardens are a constant attraction with all the feed we put out for the birds and these very feeds are also, often, a particular favourite to our friend (or enemy) the grey squirrel. Their diets are incredibly varied and it never ceases to amaze me just what they do and will eat. Just the other morning I witnessed one of our squirrels enjoying a clematis bud which was in full flower! This was a first and not something I ever expected to see! Common favourite food items for the grey squirrels include acorns (green or ripened), bulbs, tree roots, bird seed, peanuts, suet, apples, fungi and much, much more besides.



Grey Squirrel Drinking from Bird Bath


I am fortunate enough to live on the edge of some local woods and a country park (it is not quite as luxurious as it might sound!), and our home is still very much part of an urban estate. But as a result of being so close to the woods and park our garden is frequented by a number of grey squirrels. In fact, they often make a drey and breed in the old oak tree that resides at the bottom of the garden.

At times though, I too have found myself getting frustrated by the squirrels veracious feeding habits, as they were getting through quite an astonishing amount of bird food and were costing me a small fortune! So, I decided I needed to do something about it and after a bit of research, a bit of experimentation (not always successful) and a few well spent pounds later, I have finally managed to be in a position where I can still feed the birds regularly (without fear of the food being gone in a day) and enjoy the antics that our squirrels get up to on a daily basis!

Grey squirrels are nothing if not characters and I for one really do admire their amazing dexterity, their intelligence and their unwavering determination. Set them a challenge to access food and they will nearly always figure it out. Quite remarkable an achievement for such a small animal.

With their numbers clearly far exceeding those of the red squirrel, should a cull be considered and carried out? This is a controversial subject as you could argue that it is not the squirrels fault that it is so successful. It is just doing what comes naturally! However, I do feel there are times when we (humans) do need to intervene, especially if it is to the advantage of another species, the red squirrel in this case. I don't feel killing animals should be done for the sake of it, in fact I am very much anti this, but I do understand that at times there is a requirement and perhaps now might be the right time for the greys to undergo a cull. The red deer are culled, as large numbers of these animals can be extremely detrimental to the vegetation and woodlands, so why not the grey squirrels. I would rather the number of grey squirrels be reduced, than say the red squirrels become extinct, or the badgers be culled (which is another very controversial subject!). It is a difficult one and one which I hope the experts will resolve at some point.

Grey Squirrel Tempted by Apple


As much as I do like and admire the grey squirrel, nothing would make me happier than seeing our delightful and very beautiful native red squirrel being re-introduced Nottinghamshire countryside and forestry. I feel with all of our splendid woodland and flourishing oak trees, our county should be right up there as a candidate. We'll see what the future holds on this but without a dramatic reduction in grey squirrel numbers it would be very difficult to see how the reds could become re-established.

As mentioned earlier, grey squirrels like to eat and chew, so how do I now prevent them from devouring all of my bird feed. Well after a number of unsuccessful attempts and purchases of (supposedly) squirrel proof feeders I found that a free standing bird station with an upside down plastic dome works brilliantly (see picture below). However, there are a couple of things you'll need to bare in mind before purchasing and positioning your station. You will need to ensure it is well placed and at least six feet away from any trees, fences, walls, posts, bushes etc. This is because the grey squirrels  have an incredible leap to them and can jump as far as five feet. So, as you can imagine with this ability it will only be to easy for them to access your feeders and precious bird food. Sounds simple enough, but in smaller gardens this can be a quite a challenge, especially while still trying to keep the wife on your side! I promise you though it does works a treat and enables you to have hours of amusement watching the squirrels trying to work out a way around it, which they cannot do and is all very perplexing to them!


Effective Squirrel Deterrent



Round Robin

Sometimes there are photographs you take that just simply amuse you and that you go back to time and again. One such image for me is of a Robin I photographed at Attenborough Nature Reserve in 2010. We were in the grip of the coldest December the UK had experienced in over a 100 years with temperatures dipping as low as -11 and staying well below subzero throughout the day times. I recall the dashboard temperature gauge in my car reading -11 at 9.00am, a very rare occurrence for the East Midlands.

The lakes at Attenborough Nature Reserve were completely frozen over, the first time I had witnessed this, and a heavy hoarfrost enveloped everything creating a truly beautiful winters landscape.

In order for Robins and many of our little feathery friends (both native and migratory) to survive such harsh conditions they have to get plenty of food, especially fatty foods, such as peanuts, fat-balls, suet etc. This enables them to gain more weight, which in turn increases their fat reserves and acts as an insulator against the cold. I knew that they could bulk up but never really knew to what degree, having lived through so many mild winters! As you will see from the picture below, this little fella, well, was practically spherical! So much so, it actually looks comical and you could be forgiven for thinking it has been tinkered with in Photoshop, which I can promise you, it definitely hasn't!

This picture never fails to make me smile though and I hope that it goes someway to brightening up what might be an otherwise grey and chilly Monday afternoon.

Round Robin! Plumped up for Winter

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Mistle Thrush

Sadly, the numbers of these magnificent birds are in decline - see this news article. So, I consider myself pretty privileged and very honoured to be visited by a pair of Mistle Thrushes each year. The timing of their visit alters each year, which I put down to the weather and how warm or cold it has been and what impact this may or may not have had on their food sources.

We have a fruit bearing Ivy that has engulfed an old Oak tree in our garden and when this fruits, which is usually between now and the the beginning of May, the Mistle Thrushes arrive. However, I feel this year maybe be different as the berries, despite not being ripe, have been devoured by the Wood Pigeons and unless it re-fruits this will impact on there feeding and potentially their ability to rear a successful clutch of chicks. They were also very quiet last year, although it was much warmer in Spring, but the year prior to that the ivy was in full fruit and the Mistle Thrushes successfully raised at least one clutch - I know this because even the juveniles came to visit us!

We will just have to wait and see what happens this time around,  and I will remain ever hopeful that they can breed successfully, that their numbers can increase and that you too can share in the delights of this beautiful bird.

A quick tip - if you here a distinct rattling song then this will more than likely be a Mistle Thrush.

Here is picture of one of the aforementioned Thrushes visiting our garden last month when it was unusually cold and snowy.




Mistle Thrush



Home - As Seen from the International Space Station

Amazing time lapse video captured by the astronauts stationed on the International Space Station  - makes the earth seem really small against the vastness of space, yet at the same time it is strangely comforting to see what we all call home!

http://vimeo.com/61487989