Osprey's & More !

Horn Mill Fisheries - 26.07.2023

An acquaintance of mine who lives in North Wales asked me if ever fancied going up to Aviemore, Scotland to photograph Osprey ?...."how long dose it take to drive up" I ask...."7 hours"....nope ! You don't have to drive all that way, you could just drive down to Rutland and photograph Osprey at Horn Mill fisheries...that's what I did.

So this morning I'm at Horn Mill Fisheries on the River Gawash a commercial fishery once owned by non other than Rodger Daltry of the band The Who to photograph the "English" Ospreys. The fisheries under an agreement with a local Osprey Trust leave one pond un-netted to allow the ospreys in the region access to fish. When booking you have the choice of either a morning or evening session, or for that matter both when the fishery is non operational, I choose just the morning option for no other reason than to avoid traffic on the drive down.

Visiting Horn Mill there's basically three target species you should try to include, obviously Osprey, Red Kite that scavenge dead fish and the iconic Kingfisher, but today really it's all about the Osprey. Not having done this many times I'm finding photographing Osprey a real challenging subject to get any decent images, especially the diving shots...basically I'm rubbish, but as they say practice makes perfect.

Get ready !....the Osprey's sat in one of the trees to the left of the pond surveying the trout cruising just below the surface, then after a lot of head bobbing it eye's it's target and dives...boom hitting the water with some force you would think must injure the bird, success or not, it takes maybe just 4 or 5 seconds from leaving the tree to hitting the water...it's that fast !

Failing to get the dive shots you always have the "back up" option of the action when the Osprey leaves the water which is the easier shot. 

After maybe 5 to 6 dives and a lot of waiting around, this is where the Kingfisher's can keep you occupied, it's all over by 8.30am as the activities of the fishery bursts into life discouraging further Osprey fishing.

Got to be better than a 350mile drive !

See you next year.

Osprey

Red Kite

Kingfisher

Grey Heron

This heron caught a large trout which was way to big for it to swallow so it abandoned on the bank only to be grabbed by a Red Kite.

BOP's !

Wiltshire - 16.1.22

A few weeks back I had the opportunity to spend some time photographing Common Buzzard which in the passed I've had mixed success with, so today it's just over an hours drive from the FOD to a farm owned by a fellow photographer I'd previously met on a trip up in Scotland a few years back.

I'm located on a side of a high ridge ideal for "bops' as they can use the up draft of the ridge to cruise efficiently across the landscape, to get some interest road kill has been put out initially attracting a single Buzzard, perched on a post it's very wary sitting for maybe ten minutes before it decides to move and take advantage of the free offering, plucked feathers are flying on the wind and it's not to long the activity seems to be a magnet to other circling bops.

Thirty minuets have passed and there are now maybe eight or more buzzards present both dark and a striking pale phase bird, they occupy several posts along the fence line some just sat on the grass, the inevitable squabbling starts over what's remaining of the road kill. A couple of Red Kite take an interest but where the Buzzards are just wary the Red Kites are wary of the Buzzards but they are more agile swooping down picking up the last of the scraps.

It's been quite an experience being able to photograph so many buzzards at such a close distance with the bonus of a couple of visiting Red Kite, although the weather hasn't been great being a rather grey day it's been another new experience and one which I might just repeat in a couple of months.

Common Buzzard

Portrait of the pale phase Buzzard against the dark threatening sky.

Red Kite

Also presenter were two Red Kite, very wary of the more aggressive Buzzard and never landing unless they moved away.

It's Cold Up Nof Ain't It !

Kirkcudbright Area - 10.01.20

I've just started packing for my three day trip over next weekend up to the Scottish Boarders taking in some of Alan Mcfadyan's Scottish Hides in association with Gary Jones, I also intend to visit the Red Kite feeding Centre at Bellymack so it's full on action eighteen hours a day !

Watch this space....

Packing !

Bellymack Farm 

The weather forecast for the weekend is looking pretty dire so it's an early start on Friday morning arriving midday to visit the Red Kite feeding centre at Bellymack Farm. You opulent believe it the sun is making an appearance hard to believe with the eminent arrival of the forecast of heavy rain and wind.

Feeding time is 2.0pm but the kites are already circulating in anticipation and at one point up to maybe a hundred birds present, spending the next three hours on site here are a few images.

Red Kite

A few hours later the forecast of heavy wind and rain materialised and a session arranged to visit a Pine Martin location was a wash out...sorry about the pun, tomorrow's another day as they say.

Fly A Kite

Tuesday 26.02.19

Around this time of year I like a trip over to Harewood in Yorkshire to photograph the Red Kite which seem to be thriving around the general area and the best images are always to be had when there's a nice blue sky, so with a weather forecast of a great day today I'm on my way.

It's a relatively straight forward journey by motorway to Leeds but then it gets a little tricky as you need to work your way around the ring road north and out to Harewood. Today I'm not using my normal birding sat nav in favour the in-car version and you've guessed it I'm lost, to add to my woes I'm now stuck in endless commuter traffic and the many road works in the area...doh, I won't be coming back this way that's for sure !

Arriving at Harewood there's just one parking place left, perhaps my lucks changing. As it's still early morning the temperature a little on the cool side there's not a lot of Kite flying action, plenty of calling to each other but as yet none in the air, time for a coffee and a scone.

It's now late morning the Kite's have taken to the air in the spring sunshine maybe up fifteen at a time, another photo tog who's planned the visit a little better than me has brought along some chicken with the intension of generating some action, duly placed the Kite's take a keen interest but still a little wary but when they do decide to swoop down and pick up the free offerings it happens fast, very fast, in fact it would benefit from standing further back which isn't possible at this location.

Now mid afternoon the sun angle is probably at the best position being a little lower in the sky, earlier with the sun higher in the sky it has a tendency to cast shadows on the underside of the Kite. Now with a bag full of images I'm trying to be more selective trying to get that mega shot, hopefully it's there somewhere on the memory card !

It's been a grand day out in some great weather a venue where you could easily bring along a non photography partner, check out the Muddy Boot Cafe.

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Red Kite

The Red Kite circles overhead, turn on it back and dives to pick up some food would. It all happens so quick that more often than not all you have is a loads of images of the Kite's rear end.

In this image the Kite is actually upside down even managing to swivel its head around at the start of its dive!

Another image where the Kite has rolled over on to its back showing its underside

Free food always welcome and guaranteed to generate some spectacular aerobatic diving picking up food, but you got to be quick.

Litte Bit of Sunshine

The rain continues but tomorrow Sunday for one day only the forecast is sun so we've planned a day at Leighton Moss Reserve in north Lancashire, the only issue British Summer Time commences this weekend and that has set us back an hour so a change of plan to Harwood House just north of leeds with a possibility of Red Kite.

Harwood House recently used as the location for the Grand Depart for the 2014 Le Tour is a new venue for me and reasonably close, but first off we're heading for the Muddy Boots Cafe a location where the Red Kites have been attracted by free food put out by locals. Soon we see our first Red Kite floating effortlessly over head on the edge of the Harwood estate, after a bit of searching we eventually find the cafe which is tucked in on one end of the community centre. If you plan to visit parking can an issue.

If you want to easily see Red Kite then this is defiantly the right location with numbers of up to fifteen in the air at one time constantly vocalising with their unusual wee oww calls. Whilst my wife orders coffee and scones I watch from the comfort of one of the garden benches a spectacle you don’t often see other than at specialist sites like Gigrin in mid Wales. 

I start with the 500mm big white but find tracking the birds a bit hit and miss so change to the 100-400 with more success, the lens and camera work well and stick with that combination for the remainder of the session. 

The Kite’s play “tag” swooping from a high performing acrobatics circus like, some landing in the trees on the edge of the estate but never easy to get a clear shot, the trees I suspect forming part of they're breeding site.

The weather has been kind with some blue sky which is aways preferred when shooting flight shots. Happy with my efforts we move on to Harwood House itself, its chocka…enough said about that visit.

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