Cannop After The Snow

Over the last few days theres been quite a lot of snow in the forest but today its blue sky and sun so I'm spending an hour round Cannop Ponds to try and get images of the Little Grebe which are in residence

Its quite, the carpark has been closed by the forestry commission as its full of snow, the ponds are also frozen apart from the top end where all the wild fowl have congregated, mandarin, tufted and mallard in the main, little grebe constantly calling with that high pitched trill squabbling for territory, the sun is a little harsh for photography but still I'm happy to be out in this wonderful part of the country.

Sitting on one of the fishing platforms with the sun behind I'm quite near to the only area of water thats not frozen, an elderly couple throw bread for the wildfowl and the shy tufted ducks come close, in the sunlight the male's head with that beacon like yellow eye show iridescent green and purple colours not usually seen from this black and white duck.

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Tufted Duck (male)

Tufted Duck (female)

Return to Lunt

On my last trip to Sefton I was hoping to photograph the Snow Bunting on Crosby Beach before then moving on to Lunt Meadows for the Short-eared Owls late afternoon. On that occasion I was successful with the Short-eared Owls but dipped on the Snow Bunting. You can read a review of the trip on my previous post.

Today its a return to Crosby Beach to complete some unfinished business and get images of the Snow Bunting which is still present in the area, if time allows include another visit to Lunt Meadows for SEO as its only some five miles away. 

After the not so good weather over the last couple of days, the weather forecast is for a cold, sun and blue sky day, so with another sighting of the Snow Bunting yesterday I'm again off to Crosby Beach optimistic for another grand day out. 

Parking up in my usual spot I make my way to the now familiar location, walkers with dogs of various shapes and sizes are heading for the beach to enjoy the sunshine but birders are few and far between always good to help locate the bird so it looks like a solo effort. After about an hour I decide to walk the beach high tide line hoping for a sighting, heading north with the sun behind the light is prefect, but walking back its impossible to see with the blinding sunlight. 

Its now some two hours since my arrival with no sign of the bunting I don’t waist the opportunity and take some images of the one hundred or so life size statues scattered up and down the beach by the artist Antony Gormley. The sight of so many statues sticking out of the sand is some what surreal, in one image someone have dressed a statue in a leather jacket.

I’m now back at the reported location where the bunting is seen more frequently, then overhead I can hear the budgie like call of a Skylark, I look up and see four or five birds, one light brown with a wide white wing bar…..its a Snow Bunting, the birds disappear over the dunes in a southernly direction towards the docks thinking thats it I'm never going to find them again, with nothing to loose I though what the heck and head off in that direction to try my luck.

I’m walking directly into the sun light which makes it difficult to see, in front a couple of Skylarks are scuttling about in the tide line picking out food morsels from the rubbish, then…bingo, its the Snow Bunting. Continuing along the beach some two hundred metres I manage to get the sun behind and slowly move a little closer to the SB, the bird dose the rest moving towards me. Over the next thirty minuets or so I mange some three hundred images before dog walkers spook the bird further down the beach. Relocating the bird I manage a brief last session before the bird finally disappears over the dunes. A quick review of the back of the camera and I’m confident I have some useable images and head back to the car for a hot coffee before heading to Lunt Meadows

Lunt’s carpark is full, perhaps it’s something to do with the sunny blue sky with great light and the fact that seven Short-eared Owls were seen the day before !. Making my way round to the location of my last visit I set up and wait….and wait…and wait…..the owls fail to show. 

Its now 3.30 pm and the light is poor pushing the ISO way up I decide to call it a day. On my way back to the car I do have the bonus of seeing the resident pump house Barn Owl making a brief excursion down the river bank before returning with meal, a nice tick to finish off the day.

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"Another Place"......by Antony Gormley

An army of iron statues look out to sea from Crosby Beach, a must visit to see this surreal, haunting artwork by Antony Gormley, and maybe even explore its unique coastline.

About six miles north of central Liverpool is located Crosby Beach, here you'll find the striking public artwork "Another Place" by the world-famous British artist Antony Gormley.

The work consists of one hundred cast, life sized figures spread over two miles of coastline. They reach approximately half a mile out to sea, being increasingly submerged and revealed as the tide come in and out. Each figure weighs just over half a tonne and is made from casts made of the artist's own body. To see them all together is an impressive sight.

Initially the plan was for the work to keep moving to different locations around the world, it has already lived in Germany, Norway and Belgium, but upon arriving on Crosby Beach it was quickly agreed with the artist and the local authority that the iron men had found their true home

Day Owls !

Today as the weather forecast is blue sky’s and sunshine I thought I’d try and get images of Snow Buntings that are currently in a couple of locations near Liverpool. Snow Buntings generally a winter visitor from Scandinavia to the UK regularly appear along the North West coast line in small groups and can be approached quite close so I’m optimistic for some frame filling images.

These days I don’t like travelling big distance to see or photograph birds but today I’m looking forward to visiting a new location. Initially I’m having trouble programming the sat-nav but eventually it dose the job and I arrive bang on the right location a little later than planned.

Its cold in a northerly wind but at least the light is good as I head to beach to try and locate the Snow Bunting. Not knowing exactly where the bird is located I head for the sand high tide line where they are can usually be found and stroll up the beach. Over the next hour or so I must have walked up and down the beach six times in each direction without success, eventually I calling it a day and head back to the car for a much needed coffee.

On the way back to the car I chat with another birder, he suggests I try Lunt Meadows on my way home as up to three Short-eared Owls were seen the previous late afternoon, I program the sat-nav, its only six miles away….I think why not. 

Lunt Meadows a new venue for me and a I’m a little unsure what to expect, something like Leighton Moss it defiantly isn’t, more like a managed area with some scrapes and a couple of screens, never the less I’m here to try and seen SEO which this site seems to have quite a high hit rate.

Arriving in the what is a basic carpark I chat with a photo tog who is packing up for the day and ask for the heads up on the reserve, he describes whats basically an area in the form of a rectangle with some reed fringed pools and rough ground. Located on the edge of the West Lancashires growing area its more often famous for the masses of Pink Footed Geese to be found at this time of year. He tells me with luck I have a good chance of seeing Short-eared Owl and suggests locating myself on the far side of the reserve as its there they seem to favour.

Now in the late afternoon as the sun sinking I'm in position, all geared up and ready for the action. Bang on the predicted 3.30 pm appearance, I see the first SEO wheeling, hovering, and diving quite close, I rattle of a couple of frames, then another SEO appears from the right, its all action but the camera struggles to lock auto-focus quickly so I switch to a custom AF case 3 setting, its better and I get some close images.....hopefully !

4.14 pm and the light is now marginal to get any worthwhile images, just as well as the 32 Gb CF card is full and my others are in the car, time to call its a day. As I walk back to the car another photo tog asks was I on the far bank?...I said "yes"..."you must have had some close views".....oh yes !

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Alexandra Park Sunshine

Over the last few days there have been images posted on various local web sites of a Red-Breasted Merganser making a regular appearance on the lakes of two local parks just south of the city centre. As light conditions haven’t been particularly good recently I haven’t been inclined to try and get some images but with a break in the weather and a forecast of sunny intervals for one day only I thought now’s my chance, so on a crisp sunny autumn morning I set off on the reasonable short distance to Alexandra Park to see what unfolds.

In my former working life in the area I have a good idea of my destination which aids a trouble free drive arriving just as the park is waking up, I grab the bins and do a quick rece before I go to the trouble of getting the gear out as the Merganser has been quite mobile frequenting both park lakes. Several Goosander are sitting on a log in a small channel maybe enjoying the early morning sunshine, and the Merganser is diving along the edge of the little island, so back the sort distance to the car to gear up.

“Sawbill” ducks have a keen eye and they rarely let you enter their “safe zone” so there’s little point in chasing the ducks around the lake getting into positions with unfavourable light, so the plan today is to locate a good position with the sun behind and wait my opportunity.

The sunlight is reflecting some good colour into the water, autumn yellows and golden browns from the last remains of the trees foliage, greens from the evergreen bushes together with the naturally dark coloured water should help to make for some good images.

Its now two hours since my arrival and with some 700 images on the memory card I decide to call time and I head back home looking forward to a welcome full English, or should that be a Welsh breakfast ?  

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Goosander (Redhead-female)

Red-Breasted Merganser (Redhead-female)

Another Boaring Rugby Weekend

Its tipping down with rain and I’m off to Cardiff to watch the Wales v Australia rugby match part of the autumn internal series, I’m not optimistic a win is on the cards but its good again to watch an international rugby after what seems like an age following on from the New Zealand Lions tour. Well as expected with an experimental side Wales lost 21-29 but at least I get a day in Cardiff in the run up to Xmas, a great time of year with the dark nights and the colourful lights...its always buzzing. Next up the All Blacks in two weeks !

Its Sunday and the forecast is completely different from yesterday with sunny intervals but with a biting cold wind. The plan today is to see if the Hawfinches are making an appearance at the usual location. Arriving just as the its getting light I’m the only one present, Its quiet with only a couple of Chaffinch’s and an occasional Nuthatch scuttling about looking for the last of the seed put out by phototogs on an earlier visit, time for plan “B” and look for Wild Boar

I’m always amazed at what ever time of the morning I’m in the forest there are cars always parked, early risers indeed. At a familiar location I pick up a dark coloured doe Fallow Deer with a juvenile in tow always a regular for this location, a pair of Stonechats flit around the tops of the now golden brown vegetation, I can just about hear the males characteristic “tack” call, wanting to move on I resist the temptation setting up the Big White for some possible images in the not so go light. 

In a clearing deep in the forest the location being good for Nightjar at the right time of year I see a birder with his scope fixed on something of interest, it’s a Great Grey Shrike sat in a tree, a bird always difficult to approach so I'm not expecting to get a close. We watch for some minuets and it puts on a display hovering Kingfisher like, almost dangling on string, motionless in the air apart from the whirling blurred wings. As we talk and we lose sight of the bird, I wish the birder all the best and move on.

Now on my return I pick up a “Pricket” (young male) Fallow Deer, he’s not as nervous as the doe seen earlier as he’s safe in the deep grass, he drops his head and in a blink disappears. It's all quiet not the encounter I was hopping for, a little further along the track a lady walker has her iPhone out taking pictures of something...yikes...boar !...a Sounder of six juveniles....

As I approach the juvenile boar make a dash from the edge of the forest onto the track and I rattle off maybe 20 to 30 images as I’m expecting them to disappear in to the thick bracken, instead they start routing  around in the soft grass track edge eventually moving just inside the tree line. Now a little calmer I move into a position with better light, the boar don’t seem bothered and they carry on searching for acorns with their snouts buried in the ground oblivions to my presence. 

Its now some thirty minuets since the encounter and the boar are now back in the location where they were first spotted, I’m sat down amongst the leaf litter trying to be selective with my shots as I’ve already taken well over 500 images, at times the boar at at my feet and to close to get a shot with the 100-400 zoom lens, I sit still watching the enchanter I’m sure that will take some beating and will not happen again for a very long time.

To my right there’s a chap with a dog, the dog is very interested in the goings on but to be fair is under control and silent, the boar approaches the chap and he has a big grin on his face at the encounter that must be a first. Soon there are maybe six walkers all watching at the amazing encounter with phones out recording the event, unfortunately there are two small dogs that refuse to stop barking which eventually spook the boar and they are off, up the track and into the thick bracken. An amazing encounter thats lasted for well over 45 minuets and will live in the memory for a very long time

On the way back to the car I come across a walking couple and we briefly chat……“seen much” I ask, the gent replies….“absolutely nothing, and you ?”…I reply….”just some odds and sods” 

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Young Male Fallow Deer, always watchful but content in the safety of the long grass

Wild Boar

Dog walker and Wild Board sharing the forest.

Respect to this gent when he realised boar were about he put the dog on its lead, although the dog was very interested it remained calm and quiet with the juvenile boar approaching to within half a metre distance

Always good to have a good scratch