Yorkshire Diving Gannets

Today it’s mainly Gannet’s as I’m off to the seaside to photograph diving Gannet’s off Bempton, more accurately on an organised boat trip just below the Bempton cliffs where Englands largest breeding Gannet colony is located. 

The alarm goes off, its 4.30 am and I stumble around trying not to wake the other members of the family, luckily I’ve packed all the gear so its just a time for a quick cup of coffee and I’m off up the M62. Arriving at 6.30 am the harbour is deathly quiet with only few other photo togs having arrived, I grab another coffee fix from the coffee shop around the corner the owner a little surprised he has a customer so early in morning.

After a briefing back at the harbour we make our way to the boat for the one hour trip up to Bempton, this will be the first time for me on this trip so I'm a little unsure what to expect and how its all going to pan out. We arrive at Bempton with the boat located directly under the colony to get the Gannet’s interested and also to view at close quarters, the noise and smell is something to be experienced. After about twenty minuets the boat relocates about a kilometre off shore, gulls appear bobbing like corks on water already knowing whats about to happen, then the boat captain starts chumming and all hell brakes loose..!!

Gannet’s learn fast where free food is involved, initially small fish are thrown may be a couple at a time, and the diving starts, its fast its frenetic, and I find myself waving the camera about like some demented novice, learning fast I take my time and pick a subject early and tracking into the dive. A review of the shots show I've just captured the dive splash !… so I shoot earlier in a bust and try and get a full diving sequence with some success, more practice !

Fish are now thrown closer to the boat and intentionally bigger, the Gannet’s squabble with each other trying gulp down the fish before they are robbed of there meal, this part of the session is different from the diving but is just as exhilarating, but be it unknown me we are comping to the end of the session as the fish are practically all gone, the boat captain shouts…”one more, the last fish” and its all over. The Gannet’s wondering why the free feed as ended, some just sit on the water eventually driffting off elsewhere to find food for the last of this years young back at the Gannet colony

And thats it, only around an hour of actual Gannet diving photography, but what an experience. I’ll be booking again for 2018 in the next few days as I sure this trip will book fast.

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In Search of the Elusive FOD Boar II

Arriving quite late on Friday night there was just enough time for a recovery beer then its off to bed for a early 5.30 start. This will be the seventh day over a number of weekends I've been searching for the Elusive Forest of Dean Boar to trying to get the image I was after

Day One - Saturday

Its still dark as I leave the house and head off into the forest, passing the old colliery I spot a male boar rooting amongst the vegetation on the side of the road, its a narrow road at this point but I manage to turn the car around and head back to where the boar is busy getting his breakfast. Boar have very good hearing and smell but poor eye sight, its senses my presence either the cars engine noise or the side lights and makes a bolt up into the forest, I can hear him snorting which they do when alarmed, its not as you would think a threat. As I'm not likely to see the boar again I carry.

Arriving at my location I am always amazed to see at such an early time cars parked with presumably people walking in the forest at first light. Previously at this location I've seen Fallow Deer which are always more difficult to photograph in the wild rather than parks, its also good at the right time of year for Nightjar, Stonechat and over the last couple of years over wintering Great Grey Shrike. 

Its now around 8.0 am and its been quite apart from the odd Buzzard and a few sings of boar damage so I head off to another location close by. No sign today of the large buck Fallow Deer sporting a magnificent set of antlers seen on may last visit so I call it a day and head back to the car, then suddenly I see running amongst the oak trees is a little humbug piglet, then another larger animal, I remove the 1.4 TC as they are too close and swing the 500mm into action, but it struggles to focus and I miss the shot of a young sow...doh, this is completely the wrong lens !

One duff image !...

Day Two - Sunday

Today I've arranged to meet up with RW who has some recent sightings of boar and also Fallow Deer. We arrive at our location and head off down a track into the forestry, within a short distance whilst chatting a big male boar appears out of the forest, stops on the track, takes one look and promptly disappears into the small plantation on the other side of the track..first miss of the day.....play attention !

We are now some way into the forest and on the side of the track is a young boar rooting for a meal, crouching down we grab some shots, then a sow appears slowly crossing the track, followed by the sub adult and a piglet, I manage some thirty images with the 100-400mm lens before they all disappear into the tree plantation, what a good start !

A new location for me, there are signs of extensive boar activity all over the area, we sit and wait to see what my turn up, a buck and doe Fallow Deer slowly walk towards us, the doe senses something and they are both gone, I need to brush up on stalking skills !. We continue a little further and discover someone camping enjoying the delights and solitude of the forest, smoke drifts from the camp fire close ground in the cool morning air, ghost like through the trees, its not suprising the area is absent of our target species.

Female / Sow Wild Boar... 

Yearling Sow...

Sub Adult Boar....

I'm up to may waste in bracken in an area that looks like boar are resident, over so often I stumble on a boar at no more than a metres distance, it grunts and make a bolt for it, the bracken is so dense its pointless looking a further so we make our my way to a path leading up through the forest, there are signs of boar activity every where.

At the top of the track is newly erected Forestry Commission shooting tower was discovered used to cull the boar located in an area with considerable boar activity as you would expect, I'm told they bait the animals to bring in to range which are then shot

In the past shooting wooden shooting towers have been vandalised by pro-boar supporters, this particular tower is constructed from steelwork with all the relevant fixings welded so as to remain tamper proof.

Strategically placed to act as tower security was this Trail Camera, I didn't search extensively but its unlikely to be the only camera installed, I'm sure the First Commission are more sneaky than that !

A Grand Day Out at Leighton Moss

Its 7.30 am and the rain is hammering it down outside, I’d planned to visit RSPB Leighton Moss Reserver today but the weather indicators don't look good, a quick check of the forecast and it looks like its going to be a grand day !

Leighton Moss Reserve being relatively close to home is one of my favourite birding locations, with a mixture of large expanses of water and reed beds, woodland and an outer salt mash attracting a wide variety of birdlife and also its fair share of rarities. Currently a juvenile Purple Heron had turned on Friday and was attracting twitchers and photo togs looking to get a view or that mega shot !

Arriving at the reception centre its already quite busy, I make my way down to the Grisedale Hide and its full, birders with cameras all focused on the Heron which is sat directly in front of the hide, bit of an anticlimax really as I usually like to put in some effort to get the shot! The Heron sits motionless, then walks to the far end of the reed bed and disappears….I thought thats it...but no, after about twenty minuets the Heron reappear and slowly walks back to its original location. camera shutters click, and I guess about six photo togs get some great shots, then for no reason that I can see, the PH fly’s to the far side of the reserve, and that was it, all over. Apparently the PH didn't return for the remainder of the afternoon. 

Happy I’d got some good shots I pack up to explore some of the other hides on the reserve.

Birds of note include…Peregrine, Marsh Harried ( f ), Osprey, Kestrel, Buzzard, Little Egret, Black Tailed Godwit, Green Shank, Snipe, Purple Heron ( j ) Bittern

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Holly Kingfisher's !

Pennington Flash over the last couple of days has seen several Kingfishers putting on a great display quite near to one of the hides, so with all gear packed I'm on my way arriving just after 8.30 am. Over at the hide there are already three photo togs in position eagerly waiting for the Kingfisher to turn up, so I join in the waiting game

After about forty five minuets I see a KF making a bee-line for the perch in front of the hide...it lands...looks towards the hide and then takes off...thats it about five seconds ! After a further hour or so I spot possibly the same KF flying along the side of the flash disappearing up into a small bay to the left, my thinking is it will shortly reappear and head for the perch conveniently placed in the water just in front of the hide.

After about ten minutes, bullet like the KF appears, skirting the edge of the reed it lands exactly where I had anticipated, I rattle off what must be about forty frames, and within about 20-30 seconds it disappears over the other side of the flash.

Its now 1.0 pm with no sign of the KF returning and the forecast of rain materialising I call it a day, but I think I might just give it another ago tomorrow.

Click image to view....

Kingfisher (male)

Its now the following day...as the Kingfisher's eventually put on a great display yesterday I have returned eager to see if I can improve on the images already captured. The hide is quite full and its only 9.0 am !...I occupy a seat a little further down the hide than the pervious day and begin the wait.

The KF is proving a little reluctant this morning to visit preferring to fly around the bottom end of the flash, on occasion three KF's can be seen sitting on posts that have been placed at points around the flash, then a KF heads up the flash, fingers ready, it lands and fly's off, a two second visit...doh.

Its now mid morning and apart from another three second visit its becoming a long wait. At 2.45 pm the Kingfisher appears from the right off the main flash which is unexpected and I hadn't seen, it lands on a different perch than pervious and I'm half expecting it to fly off, it didn't and I grab a bag full of images, then it fly's, but only to the next perch changes positions several times to give different image posses.

I'm getting so many image the rapid firing of the camera buffer is stuttering, but I'm happy I have got some great images. Tomorrow will be a day off and let someone else experience photographing these great birds and such a close location

Kingfisher (female)

During the long periods in between KF visits, you look for other photo opportunities to fill in, there are two Little Egrets close by but the light reflecting off the water is not favourable, never the less the two images below look ok, especially the black and white image of the Egret