All Change

Well it's nearly the August bank holiday, the harbinger of Autumn and the final nail in the coffin of the summer. And this past week the Dee has been saturated with waders, a sign I always assosciate with Autumn and the coming Winter. As I walked down to King's Gap this past Tuesday, the wind up the high street to the train station was testament to this seasonal change, and it was this wind that pushed the tide and the birds up the beach towards the onlookers on the promanade. As ever the flock remained initially distant...



But before long the outlying birds reached my position, prone as I was on the muddied sands of the estuary edge. The first to arrive are nearly always the Ringed Plovers, who neatly separate them off from the flock as a whole and feed on the peripheral edge closest to the shore...



As if it wasn't Autumnal enough, the big clouds of rain that pressed ominously down opened and drenched me and the birds...



The showers were intermitent, so by messing with shutter speeds I achieved a number of different shots of the birds in many different conditions...



The odd dogwalker always disrupts proceedings, but the birds always return to the same few positions...



...the wind also blew loose sands at the birds (and into my lens!), which- to judge from their expressions- they weren't too keen on...






As the tide drew closer, the birdlife changed and Dunlin like this became easier to snap. This one was ringed high up on the leg with a BTO ring, it would be awesome to see where it was ringed and where it breeds, my bet's on the Shetland Isles!



This fine Ringed Plover had retained almost full summer plumage, and was easy to pick out of the flock...



This Dunlin was an amazing individual, as it had no feet and one leg. It was equally harrowing and hilarious watching it trying to land on the loose sand at the water's edge, trying to balance it's weight on it's pegleg...





As high tide approached, the birds started to calm their feeding and rest a little...



As mentioned previously, it's the Plovers that tend to inhabit the shoreward side of the flock. The seaward side is primarily occupied by Sandering (as well as the ubiquitous Dunlin), the former of whom are constantly running in and out of the flotsam like tiny clockwork toys. This one stopped long enough for a snap...



I really love this pose...



As the tide continued in, the birds started to wheel high above the sands, and as they settled to landing again I tried to catch that moment the air brakes go on and the undercarriage is deployed...



...Some are quicker on the uptake than others, and some come round for a second pass...



It's amazing to see the flock mentality, it's almost like an elastic band; the birds wheel out to one side, and if a sufficient number leaves then the band breaks and the birds start to move off. If too few leave, then the birds return to their feeding. I wonder if there's a specific threshold, a miniumum size for a splinter flock if you will...



...But enough of that, it's enjoyable enough just watching the colours change as the birds wheel..



This sea of golden birds will soon be silver...



And so another season starts, and I'm not just talking about the football. Though that's always pretty exciting.

2012...The Year That Was

Ah 2012...the year of the Olympics, the Leveson Enquiry and the final series of The Thick of It, but it was more than that really. I've been busy this year with my GCSEs, sitting exams in January and the June to get some rather pleasing results in August. I saw The Stone Roses live. And Noel Gallagher. I was *that* close to getting a drumstick at The Enemy when they played the academy. And I spent a cumulative total of around 5 days taking photos. So t'wasn't too bad really.

So I thought, what with this being the eve of 2013 and the Fiscal Cliff (scary eh?) I better get on with it and write it down, like an egalitarian online version of Samuel Peeps. Minus the massive wig, obviously. So without further ado, get yourself an eggnog (or a glass of water. Or nothing. I'm not forcing you.) and let me regale with tales of bygone days spent out in the field...

I'm going with one photo per month, so for January I go back to my old house. The wind whistles and moans, the trees gnarled (well one of them was a bit gnarled) and the rain lashes the windows. I'm at the kitchen window, with GCSE Biology on my lap and a mug of tea in my hand, but outside there is something altogether more interesting (seriously!). A goldfinch sits on a piece of string, the only redeeming feature of the day. Through an act of contortion through an open window I get shots off, and that's my day sorted. Revision is so underrated...

February cleared everything up, out in the field I was with a brew in one hand and my glass in the other. Sat in a bush in Conwy, patiently waiting for a certain owl to show. No gloves too in sub-zero temperatures, I hasten to add. Thank God that Shortie showed was all I could say, although it took me several days to say it due to my development of what a hypochondriac like myself would called pneumonia...

...March came in like a Lion and left still very much like a Lion, if by Lion you mean a near-constant thunderstorm inter spliced with the odd clear patch and some frogs procreating in the back garden. I think my definition of a Lion is a bit off. Ah well, it was fun whilst the spawning lasted...!

...April came just 31 days after March, and with it a trip to meet world-famous wildlife photographer Andy Hay. It was a humbling but ultimately interesting experience meeting someone so much better than myself, but a good time was had by all and I finally got that Yellowhammer shot i've always wanted...!

...May came and along with it a crappy speech from the Headmaster followed by being booted out of school for study leave. Roll on I said, and I was right to be so happy with happenings for I had some belting macro shots from the garden. But the unequivocal highlight of May was a belting experience with the Redstarts of Derbyshire...

But, just like that, June was upon us and I found myself in a new house and my exams over! So off I pottered to Shetland, my year's highlight by an absolute country mile. Some belting shots and species to boot, with great weather and food...

...but as June melted into July all was not lost for I was off to the Pyrenees for a week of, as I said afterwards, birds, bikes and norovirus. Aside the last one that was a belter of a trip, with some good shots and new birds...including this rather fetching Rock Sparrow...

The next month was August and with this change came the hatching of the pupae found in my stomach into beautiful butterflies. Yup, exam season was on. Still, sitting on a campsite with my mates, 2 random people from Grimsby and an unconscious brummy made me forget this somewhat, as did a family holiday to Andalucia, where this Scarce Swallowtail was a surefire favourite...

But alas the four months of holiday were gone, to be replaced with the murk of September. This saw me once more on Hilbre camera in hand and amongst my favourite birds, the Dunlin...

More fun was to occur in October with a trip up north of the border to Inverness, and another stint on Hilbre with this memorable Redshank shot the best of the day...

....then back to the exams again, like hitting a brick wall but with less physical pain and more subtle references to how university application is inextricably linked to THIS VERY EXAM! So no 'true' trips out, just a shedload of Waxwings over Manchester and the North-West, what beauties...!

...so here we are again. A year of birds, butterflies and (for the first time) beer! Still quite excited about that last one. Still, we stand on the brink of a new year, but to be honest its going to be pretty much the same as the last so don't get too excited. Have a good'n and see you all on the other side. :)

'That's Soooooo Last Season!'- Waders in the autumn

Hilbre Island is a small sandstone outcrop off the Wirral coast. It was at one point a spindly prominentary, but has since fallen foul of erosion and consequently is now a tidal island. It is home to a bird observatory and one of the UK's best wader roosts, mainly because of the lack of disturbance from the general public. It really is one of my favourite places on earth.

Still, as I looked across the sea from west kirby towards the island I looked with aprehension. This was mainly because i'd arrived by train from Liverpool and noticed I wasn't wearing a pair of wellies. Or walking boots. I was wearing a pair of trainers. So as I stared across the sands I had the unappealing prospect of soggy feet all day. So like the sensible person I am I took them off and tied them to the bag and crossed Croagh Patrick style. It was only as I reached Hilbre I did a headcount and found i'd lost a shoe. I was informed by someone crossing that the absent shoe was half way back to the mainland, and so ensued a race against the tide to retrieve the shoe before it did. I won. Just.

But this was all worth it, for as I sat and had my lunch a Pomerine Skua passed north-south along the island. This was followed by the wader roost, as it circled the island looking for suitable rocks. I caught up with them as they landed on the usual ledges, precariously placed below the cliff edge. This meant that into the equation I had to place both getting those killer shots AND staying alive. They say that if you wriggle towards waders they tolerate you on the grounds you look like a seal. I thought I looked more like a tit.

Still, some cracking individuals to look at, although sadly the bestest ones were lower down and out'a  reach. To kick off here's a moulting Turnstone, taken looking down on it...

...here's a more wintery individual on the very recognisable sandstone island...

...its comical watching them try and move around on one foot, they refuse to put the second one down...!

...one of the finer looking birds...

...but roosting waders present a problem of bokeh. As they rest they like to be hard up against the rocks, so when you're trying to get close to them you have to try and angle yourself so as you get some depth of field. This one was well placed...

...a sleepy one...

...Peekaboo...!

...but its not just Turnstone on Hilbre. As I scanned them I located a small group of Dunlin, not as respledecant as they were when I watched them on Shetland, but still stunning wee birds...!

...this one's a bit over the top...!

...and the obligatory portrait...

...and after I informed the bird observatory of my wader counts and seawatch bounty I set off over the sands, sun setting behind and wader massing in front, reflecting for the umpteenth time this holiday, its not so bad being off.

Shetland 2012- Day IV: Contingency Plans

Well, as we approached West Sandwick from the north the sun was behind us creating beautiful golden light and it poured over the moorlands of Yell. We still hadn't seen a Golden Plover at that point, so armed to the teeth with tins of Sardines, some bread and a second battery we set off up onto the moors to find one. Sure enough, one was calling straight away. Now Golden Plover nest in loose colonies, with a couple of pairs fairly close together. This makes singling out a bird for a photo difficult. To augment this, there's nearly always a sentry bird, and this colony was no exception. I took a long distance snap and left it be...

...but this was quite late at night, I was tired and tomorrow was another birding day so I packed up, loaded my photos and slept the sleep of those that've crawled too far on their bellies!

Next day we heard the early morning forecast over breakfast. High winds, turbulent seas, no Mousa crossing for us! This was confirmed with a quick look at the Mousa website, and was a real pity for us as we were really looking forward to the chance of Black Guillemot and Divers. So I had all of a sudden a need for a plan B. This came from Jason Atkinson and Dougie Preston, who had both reccomended Burravoe on the south coast of Yell for Black Guillemots. So we had a look early doors, but nothing about. However, patience is often rewarded (even if it is from unusual quarters!) and we soon had 7 Dunlin...!

...Lift off...!

...a wee preen...

...I think Kelp and sullen sea water were my favourite background I had all day...

The walk back to the car was further sweetened by the appearance of Twite by a tumbled down chapel, one of my favourite birds and something I had on my Shetland 'wishlist' of things i'd love to see...

...how close....?

... but although we had these sensational views we did need to get on, so we left th Twite to their seeds, the Dunlin to their weeds and the Black Guillemots nowhere to be seen. But that's life, and wildlife in particular; win some, lose some, carry on anyway. I picked up this fella in the rock armour at Toft...

...and as we rounded the bend off the ferry we had this Redshank, which with some careful car manouvering was within shooting distance...

...but our real target was Red Throated Diver. I'd seen em before, the day before, but as Divers generally are they're right buggers to shoot! They're also a protected species so I can't photograph them with young, even if they were by the roadside (as they were on a number of occassions!). So I won't disclose where I saw them, but they were our target on the road up towards Eshaness, an area reccomended as the best area for them by Richard. Here's one by the road...

...but that's the best I got, although I can't complain as I watched an adult feeding chicks from the road! Another Shetland special was on the cards too, a pair of Whooper Swans...!

Now I see you looking at the water in the last two shots and I hear you think 'that's not exactly stormy, why wasn't this fella on a boat bound for Mousa?'. Well this was in the north, and as we drove south the extent of the wild weather was revealed. We pitched up at the Spiggie Hotel for the night, and continued south to Sumburgh for some afternoon Puffins. But the 6 foot breakers, howling winds and rain did not make for ideal conditions. However, non-ideal conditions often mean 'interesting' images, particularly as the Puffins struggled to land on the thin ledges...!

...or battled the wind simply staying there...!

...but at this point there was spray in the air and I didn't want any of it on my lens so I left them be and headed back for a right nice tea at the Spiggie Hotel and an early night! Who knew what the morning held? Who knew what would've been brought in overnight...!