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Following on from my morning on the River Usk two days ago I was back up early for one last try at my Kingfisher site. This time I got up 30 minutes earlier to avoid the Kingfishers seeing me. I know they tolerated me on Monday of this week but you never know if they will be spooked, so I wasn’t taking any chances.
I arrived at the site at 05.30 and I was greeted by a beautiful rolling mist on the river, you get this sometimes in the summer. Usually when this happens then there is going to be a fine day and that is what the weather forecast had predicted. This time I got set up underneath the overhanging willows straight away, (see previous blog), the cut willow braches were still there, as expected, and I arranged them around my hide and got undercover. It was just breaking light and I could hear that characteristic ‘Peeping’ that Kingfishers make. Then there was a blue flash as a bird zipped past me going up river.
It was now just a matter of waiting and after about half an hour the Kingfisher came back down river and flew past my perch, but then put the brakes on, did a ‘U’ turn, and then landed right on it. Perfect! – I took a few shots but the light wasn’t really good enough yet. I was confident the bird would come back because one thing I have found is the difficult part is getting them to initially use your perch. Once they have used it they will come back and I knew that they liked this perch in that position because they had used it previously.
As I expected the next time the Kingfisher came back up river it landed on the perch straight away, the light was much brighter so the shots got a little better. Quite quickly now the light began to intensify and when the sun had risen in a cloudless sky there was a beautiful light illuminating my perch.
Kingfishers are very busy birds and they are up and down their territory all day long, there must be a thousand places for them to fish from, especially when the river levels are low. However, they still have their favourites and I have watched them flying to the same spots time and time again and hopefully my perch would be one of those favourites!
I needn’t have worried because a bird landed there again and I shot it in glorious light,







this time it was an adult female, no sign of the juvenile from Monday.
I had taken many shots so I decided, once the Kingfisher had gone out of sight, to rotate my hide ninety degrees to see if any Dippers would show up. I took a few shots of Grey Wagtails as they fed around the hide, they are totally unfazed by people



and then a young Dipper flew in and I added that to my collection but there were no more around.



What happened next perfectly illustrates how fickle this wildlife photography game is: Another birder said to me a few years ago that I was lucky to get some Kingfisher shots I had posted on my website. I didn’t enter into any discussion about how lucky he thought I was – because, if he thought that getting up when it is still dark, carrying heavy kit through soaking wet grass, wading into a river, erecting perches and waiting in a hide for typically three hours is lucky, then our definitions of luck are very different. I have heard a few people say that it’s all luck, some of it is, but most of it is just plain hard work! If you do your homework, prepare properly, be prepared for failure and above all be persistent, then you will get results.
However, I had done the hard work and was just sitting in my hide enjoying a glorious morning, there was nobody around, there never is. Suddenly the Wagtails, the Juv Dipper and two Kingfishers scattered up river – I knew something was there, I thought perhaps a Raptor had flown across but even that doesn’t usually warrant that response. Then I could see something sliding along the shallows, in the undergrowth and tight up against the opposite river bank. I couldn’t get a clear view and I thought it was a mink, there are a few around, but then it disappeared and I thought that was it.
I settled back down to wait, but I sat bolt upright as there was an almighty splash as something rose up out of the river in front of me.



I couldn’t believe it, an Otter, it was now so obvious, I had seen some bubbles earlier on – a tell-tale sign, but I just didn’t think! I have seen these animals near the Kingfisher site a few times and I think I know roughly where their Holt is but I don’t disturb them.
Here’s where the luck comes in, (I’ll admit to this one!), I was facing the right way and I shot it as it rose up out of the water time and time again. I could see it was catching small fish which looked golden coloured with red fins, they looked like Rudd.



The Otter stayed fishing for about ten minutes giving lovely views and allowing me to watch its hunting technique.



Finally it disappeared down river as quickly as it had arrived, I was really pleased to see this charismatic and secretive creature and nothing else could top that so I packed up and left very happy.




For more Otter images please see, Latest Images, Otter - River Usk, Brecon Beacons.

Well I said I wanted more rain, but not all in one day!! And that’s what it felt like yesterday down on the River Usk near Brecon.
I thought I’d have one more visit to the river before the water levels start to rise in the autumn. I had watched the weather forecast for yesterday and it said a few showers passing through, no problem for me, a little rain - so what!
I was up at 05.00 and I was on the river by 06.00 - everything as usual was packed into my car the night before to save time.
I had been watching two Kingfishers for a couple of weeks on a favourable stretch of river, ie slow moving water with overhanging branches. Although there was only a pre – dawn light at this time, as I was erecting my hide on an area of banking a Kingfisher flew past ‘Peeping’ away and flying up river. These birds are always about in semi darkness, they can’t possibly see to fish but that doesn’t stop them from flying around. I had previously identified the exact spot for placing my perch in the river and I walked in until the water was quite high up my wellingtons. I placed my concrete flower pot, (see previous posts re perches), on a level area of river bed and put a perch I had brought with me down into the hole in the middle of the pot. I made my way back onto the exposed area of stones and proceeded to cut a few light Willow branches with my machete. I draped these branches over and around my hide to blend it in to the surroundings. I set my kit up and got under cover and sat there waiting, very soon I could hear a bird nearby but it flew straight past my perch, however, I was still hopeful because I felt it was in a good position. A light drizzle had begun to fall and I thought ‘Here come those predicted showers’. After a while the drizzle started to intensify into heavy rain and the heavy rain then descended into thrashing rain! At one stage I couldn’t see across the river to the other side. My hide is quite waterproof so I was confident of staying dry even in those conditions. After about an hour of monsoon – like weather the rain thankfully began to slacken. Disappointingly the Kingfisher continued to ignore my perch and after two hours I was starting to lose hope. I was looking out of the side flap of my hide and I could see the bird about twenty yards away sitting on the floor in front of a Willow tree preening, then as they do, it took off and flew up river out of sight.
After a quick deliberation I made my mind up to move my hide, (something I never do), but I was exposed to any further weather in my present position and there was no activity around my perch anyway. I quickly got out and retrieved my perch and erected it in the river in front of the willow where I had seen the Kingfisher preening. This didn’t take long because of my flower pot method, there wouldn’t have been time to mess around finding appropriate stones to erect a free standing perch. I moved my hide while still erected underneath the overhanging Willow for more protection from the anticipated weather, the skies did not look promising! I draped my cut branches around the hide as before. I was quite pleased how quickly I had managed to get all my kit undercover – the Kingfisher hadn’t returned back down river - or so I’d thought. Previously the hide was about thirty feet from the perch but now under the willow it was more like forty - but no problem. I was watching two dippers feeding amongst the stones nearby and then they flew and landed right outside the hide no more than a yard away but there was nothing I could do about that. I looked at my perch and I was somewhat taken by surprise to see a Kingfisher sat there looking in my direction. I must have missed it flying back down river, I couldn’t believe how quickly it had taken to the perch. It didn’t seem at all bothered and I started to take a few shots just as the heavy rain came back in, it was lashing down again!
The Kingfisher came back and fore the perch many times and looked quite at home. The other perch position just did not suit it, they can be so fickle. After about an hour the rain was easing off again and the bird had temporarily disappeared so I decided to make a break for it because I had got some half decent shots. However, as I was packing up it started again and because I had to make two trips to the car I had a good soaking, but I just couldn’t stay any longer in case more rain persisted. I may try one more time to see if I can get the Dippers and maybe some more Kingfisher shots.

This week I was on top of Allt yr Esgair, a hill near to where I live. I was looking down at the Usk valley and the state of the land below was startling. Everything was baked dry, it looked like something from another much hotter country and nothing like the Brecon Beacons should resemble. I took a photograph and when I got back home I compared it to a shot I took near to this time last year. The perspective of the 2018 shot is wider because it was taken with a full frame camera but the difference in conditions can be clearly seen. We really do need some sustained rain and quite soon to get the land ‘moving’ again. Also the river Usk is very low and contaminated in places with a horrible green slime, this slime denudes the river of Oxygen and makes things difficult for many small life forms. The river could do with a good scouring out to remove this problem and I hope the thunderstorms forecast for the weekend will do just that!

Here is a Collage of the two images.
I don’t have to say which image is 2018!

Last week I went down into my neighbour’s barley field of about fifteen acres which is quite near my garden and the earth in that field was powder dry. I threw some into the air and it was like dust on the wind, I have never seen such an arid soil around here and I was amazed that the crop was so healthy and even ripening in those conditions, it must be very drought resistant.
Yesterday I took a walk back into the same field; it’s easy to walk into a barley field because although from a distance the crop looks as if it totally covers the ground, in fact it is planted in distinct rows and you can walk in between these rows without disturbing the plants. I walked along the field until I was level with an old Oak tree that has stood in this field for hundreds of years. On the 1841 map of the area where I live this tree is marked, so it must have been quite a significant size then, 177 years ago! This magnificent old Oak has stood like a sentinel, watching the comings and goings of many generations, standing guard over countless crops, good and bad - what tales it could tell. Farming with horse drawn ploughs and labour intensive harvesting - now one machine can plough a field of this size in a morning and harvest it in a day.
As I walked through the field a male pheasant popped his head up to see what was going on and then quickly scuttled away into the sanctuary of the crop. I kneeled down on my padded garden mat, very useful when taking landscape shots, especially on hard or wet ground, I always carry one in my rucksack. I also carry a folded up section of Yoga mat, bought very cheaply from Aldi’s supermarket of all places, useful for putting my camera gear on and keeping it clean. As I kneeled there Swallows were hunting insects low over the crop and they were flying right up to me before veering away at the last second. I like little cameos of wildlife like this they make the day for me.
I took a few shots but I was keeping one eye on the sky in the distance because the clouds were obviously gathering and storms were forecast.



The sky was becoming very threatening, and then as quickly as they had arrived the Swallows disappeared. This is always a sign, they know the weather and sure enough a few large spots of rain began to fall. I quickly got all my kit packed up and ran back towards my house because by now the rain was arriving very quickly. I locked the field gate and jumped over a fence and arrived at my garden just in time because the rain had now began to fall heavily. Any further delay and I would have been soaked. I got indoors with about thirty seconds to spare as all hell broke loose with high winds and thrashing rain. I wasn’t complaining because we really need the rain and I bet the barley field and the old Oak were also glad of it.

Canon 1D iv DSLR
Canon 17-40 f4 Lens
Manfrotto 055 tripod
Manfrotto MHX Pro 3 way head
Circular polarizing filter
1 stop ND graduated filter

I spent a couple of hours just after first light on the River Usk near Brecon earlier this week and I was disappointed to see the water levels so depleted and lacking in Oxygen. Having said this, large numbers of trout were leaping out of the water after insects and there were some sizeable fish on display. However, where the river slows up there is a heavy algae slime deposited all over the river bed, this has been caused by the relentless sunshine we have had over the last couple of months and the river could do with a few days of heavy rain to freshen it up.
This time of the day has always been my favourite on the river, it’s always peaceful and you basically have the river to yourself. There appears to be no evidence yet of any successful breeding by the local Kingfishers but at last they are going back and fore a historical nest site now, so I am in hope. Kingfishers have usually raised and fledged one brood at this time of year and this would be, in previous years, their second brood, but there’s still time.
A few young Dippers and Grey Wagtails are now in evidence and three very noisy young Green Woodpeckers were flying around the tree tops. As usual I was tucked away under some overhanging trees, my favourite spot for observation. Suddenly I could hear a loud peeping and a Common Sandpiper landed nearby.



These lovely little waders like to probe between the small stones, on the now extensive shingle banks, for food. It was unaware of me and I shot a few frames as it went about its business, then suddenly it flew up into the air and disappeared, typical behaviour really. My attention was drawn to a lot of birds consistently perching in one particular area in the tree tops and on closer inspection I could see why. They were attracted to a forty foot wild Cherry tree just back from the banks of the river and at that size it must have been there for many years. This tree is absolutely laden with fruit and the birds will have a real feast over the coming weeks. I wished I could have had a few pounds because they are so delicious. At today’s cherry prices there must be a few hundred pounds worth of fruit that I could see!
I will be going back in a couple of weeks to see if the Kingfishers have any young flying around, I hope so.

I never thought that this spell of weather would continue for this length of time. Susan and I have in the main been out early in the morning and late in the evening because the rest of the day has been really unbearable.
I have been out early walking the local hills and it has been very pleasant being up above all the the heat down below.







We have travelled in many hot countries but it is different when you have this weather at home and you have to work etc. I got up early last Saturday morning after another uncomfortable night and I looked at the small thermometer that Susan keeps in the bedroom and I had to look twice because unbelievably it was reading 27C, no wonder I couldn’t sleep!
We have been out looking for Dragonflies and Damselflies in the mornings but the problem is they don’t start flying until the sun has warmed them up, but by then it’s too hot to photograph them. However, we have had some success because it’s prime time now for these insects to emerge and fly.
On the back end of last week we had been out on Mynydd Illtud, an elevated area near Brecon that contains some large bogs that in turn support good populations of these insects and in particular on a small brook called the Camlais. This meandering little brook drains the bog and then flows down through a forestry and ultimately into the River Usk in the grounds of the 16th century Abercamlais mansion house on the Brecon to Sennybridge road. This Camlais stream is so called because the word Cam, derived originally from the word Gam, means crooked and anybody who had a deformity in those days was labelled ‘Gam’ this has become the word ‘Cam’ used in modern day language. The ‘Lais’ part is a softening of the Welsh word ‘Glais’ meaning brook or stream. So to take it to its conclusion, ‘Abercamlais’ – The mouth of the crooked stream – ‘Aber’ meaning the mouth of in Welsh – Welsh lesson over LOL.

Along this Camlais stream, lovely Golden-ringed Dragonflies have started to fly.




Emperor Dragonflies,



and Broad-bodied Chasers are also on the wing.



Also there are big numbers of Damselflies. It’s a lovely and easily accessible place to see these beautiful insects.

Another evening on our walk back along the stream a bright full moon had risen and as we were quite close to the car I set my landscape kit up and went back to take a photograph of the Beacons in the now rapidly fading light. The moonlight was highlighting an area of cotton grass and a small pool and it made a nice scene. A very fitting end to a glorious evening.

Now that the weather has settled down and as we approach the longest day my focus, (excuse the pun), has switched from birds to insects, you have to vary your interests to suit the time of year or you will have a very lean time of it. Damselflies are on the wing in numbers, principally Common Blue, Blue Tailed, Azure and Large Red, and as bonus Susan and I have also seen,

Scarce Blue Tailed.



and Variable Damselfly.



We have also seen a few early Dragonflies, notably huge numbers of Four Spotted Chasers,



and also Hairy Dragonfly.



It is a lovely experience to watch a meadow for a few minutes and see how, when the sun comes out, these insects rise up and take to the wing. As we walked through the meadows surrounding Llangors Lake on a humid day this week.

Common Spotted Orchids were in evidence,



and also the much rarer Flowering Rush.



Some of the Nettles were covered in Peacock Butterfly caterpillars,



and two Large Skipper Butterflies were flying.



We look forward to the coming months as more insects will fly in the hopefully fine weather.

During this lovely spell of weather we have been enjoying lately there has been a good showing of Damselflies on the local ponds and streams. Over the last couple of years Susan and I have become more interested in both Lepidoptera and Odonata. We have always appreciated their obvious beauty, but having now paid more attention to their life cycles and behaviour we have become a great deal more interested in them. Over the last two days we have been out walking around these local streams and ponds and we have seen a number of Damselflies but only one or two Dragonfly species, however, it’s early yet. I now carry my Sigma 150-600 contemporary lens for these outings because it’s light enough to carry and at 600mm on the long end I can stand back from these insects and capture images without disturbing them. It’s the best of both worlds, and while a large telephoto isn’t the best for depth of field, as opposed to a macro lens, I don’t have to work so hard to get images.
I really can recommend this Sigma lens for this type of work and if anyone is interested in photographing these lovely creatures you won’t go far wrong in buying this lens. Macro photographers will need a dedicated lens to get really top images of course, but for casual walk around work the Sigma does the job.
We bumped into the Dragonfly recorder for Brecon this week and he told us about a Red Eyed Damselfly that had been seen at Llangors Lake. This insect is a first for the lake and is not usually seen this far west so we were out looking yesterday morning and were very pleased to find around ten of these lovely Damselflies in addition we saw Azure, Common Blue, Large Red, Blue Tailed and Scarce Blue Tailed Damselfly.
A very good collection for a morning’s walk.

Red Eyed Damselfly



Large Red Damselflies



Common Blue Damselfly




Azure Damselflies



Azure Damselflies

A detailed report of the above trip is now available on the 'Trip Reports' page.

Ham Wall RSPB – A superb nature reserve.
Earlier this week Susan and I went to visit relatives in Exeter and on the way down we called into Ham Wall nature reserve in Somerset. We have been visiting the ‘Somerset Levels’ for over thirty years and the area has always been good for marsh birds. However, it has really taken off over the last few years and it can now rival any marshes in the UK. It is superbly managed and it is no surprise when you see the scale of what has been achieved there, to find how many hitherto difficult and in some cases rare birds that are now being seen regularly. Ham Wall reserve is without doubt one of the best places in the UK to see the Common Bittern, a bird that until fairly recently was extremely difficult to find anywhere. These reclusive Heron’s successful colonization is well documented, however, they remain very secretive by nature, but at Ham Wall, if you are willing to sit in one of the hides, particularly the Avalon Hide, you would be unlucky if you didn’t see one of these birds in flight. In addition to Common Bittern there are regular sightings of Great and Little Egrets, Water Rails, Hobbies, Marsh Harriers and in addition to these, possible Purple Heron, Glossy Ibis, Squacco Heron, and Little Bittern. Cettis Warblers are singing everywhere and many warblers like Blackcap and Garden Warbler are numerous. The variety of Odonata is huge and in addition there are many Butterflies to see throughout the reserve.
We spent an hour in the aforementioned Avalon Hide and were indeed rewarded by great views of Common Bittern, our target bird. After we left for Exeter we decided even then to pay another visit to the reserve on the return journey. After an enjoyable day with family, (in particular our four year old nephew who was really excited to see us and soon to be joined by a new little niece, due in a month), we left for our overnight accommodation in a local village. We did this to ease the pressure on the parents to be because they have enough to do at the moment! We stayed in the aptly named Silverton Arms in the village of Silverton a quintessential English village situated a few miles from Exeter. This is a nice pub that we have stayed in previously, it has very comfortable rooms, good food and most importantly great beer.
After a most pleasant evening supplemented by a well cooked meal and washed down with a few pints of ‘Exmoor ale’ we retired to bed and slept well. On the return journey there was extremely heavy traffic on the M5 north motorway and we were glad to get off at Glastonbury and make our way to Ham Wall for another try at the Bitterns. We spent a few hours casually walking around the reserve and finishing off at the ‘Avalon Hide’. We were pleased again as we were treated to good views of the Bitterns flying across the reed beds. We left to continue our journey and to our dismay the traffic hadn’t eased at all, in fact it had got much worse! We had to endure a really tedious drive home with traffic at one point gridlocked from the M49 roundabout off the M5 north all the way to the Severn bridge tolls. It was a truly horrendous experience and the traffic didn’t ease for us until we turned off at the Celtic Manor junction for Raglan after which we enjoyed empty roads all the way home. When I arrived home and got out of the car I was walking like Groucho Marx, if you’re old enough you’ll know what I mean!! LOL

A few images from Ham Wall.

(On the way down).











(On the way back).

It’s an absolute pleasure to be out on the hills on these wonderful spring mornings. I have been out early all through this current spell of weather and one morning I set my kit up underneath an overhanging Hawthorn tree which was right opposite a few small and importantly, eye-level bushes. I was sat on my trusty ‘Walk Stool’ with some ‘Camo’ netting strung across the Hawthorn branches waiting to see if anything would fly in and perch on the bushes opposite. Surprisingly a chilly breeze had begun to blow and I was glad of the extra fleece that I always carry in my car. I spent about an hour just watching the area where I could hear male and female Cuckoos calling and also some Yellowhammers. Yellowhammers are a very much overlooked bird, but they shouldn’t be because they are so beautiful. After a while, just as I hoped, one of the Yellowhammers perched right at the top of a dead branch and began to sing.



I happily took the photograph straight away and I sat there contented because that was all I had really hoped to get. Then suddenly out of nowhere a male Cuckoo came fluttering on to the top of a small Ash sapling opposite, he was totally unaware of me and I very slowly panned my lens around to where he was perched, you have to be so careful with these wary birds.




I quickly shot him, but as soon as he heard the shutter he was off straight away, I was just too near, it was one of those things. However, I had a few frames before he reacted and that was doubly satisfying. Superb weather and two gorgeous birds, what more could you want?

A portfolio of some of the birds we saw on a three week trip to The Gambia in 2018 is now in Latest Images, The Gambia 2018.
All images taken handheld with a Sigma 150 - 600 contemporary lens.

Driving down the track from our accommodation with ‘Mas’ (our very special bird guide), we pulled up alongside some palm trees. We had learned not to question his motives so we just strolled along with him. Then he started his bird mimicry and straight away, (he never failed to amaze us), a Pearl Spotted Owlet suddenly popped into view.



I was in the process of taking some shots when Mas shouts ‘Quick, Steve’, I looked around and a Violet Turaco was flying across the field in front of us. I managed to get a record shot as Mas exclaimed ‘You never see them in flight’.



What a stroke of luck it must have been Mas’s mimicry that attracted the birds attention, then again he says ‘Steve, turn around slowly’ and as I do so I can now see a Black Shouldered Kite in a tree behind us. (The ghost of the Savannah).



This was dreamland, one of our favourite Raptors of all time. We climbed back into the vehicle and as we were driving down the track I was thinking ‘We haven’t even reached the main road yet’. This really was top draw birding for us.

The general Savannah in the Gambia consists of large open areas of low to medium scrub interspersed with stands of trees. This can then be interrupted by dense forests of magnificent older trees, these Savannahs become very hot, dry and dusty out of the rainy season. Nevertheless they provide a seemingly endless habitat for birds. You cannot, unlike birding in the UK, go more than a hundred yards without seeing something very nice. Some of the most colourful birds to see in these Savannahs and indeed in everybody’s garden, are the Sunbirds, these beautiful little birds are not shy and will come quite close to a human. They are typically very busy little birds and will be seen hovering around flowers looking for food. They will also come to drink wherever they can find water.
Below are a few photos of these lovely little jewels.

Variable Sunbird.



Scarlet - chested Sunbird.





Splendid Sunbird.





Beautiful Sunbird.

Today we were on the track of a special bird of the forest, we had the services of a local warden who Mas, our guide, knew well. We had walked for about an hour in dense forest and seen some very nice birds on our way. However, our main quarry was the Verreaux’s Eagle Owl, a huge bird found in the Gambian woodlands. We stopped at a stand of very large and obviously old trees and the guide searched these trees for about a minute and then pointed an Owl out to us. We would never have found it ourselves, you have to employ the services of these guides because they know where the bird’s favourite trees are. What impressive birds these Owls are, standing about two feet tall! They have, comically, pink eyelids which stand out from their overall grey plumage. Well worth the walk through he woods.

The Bluebells are late coming out in our local woods. Last week there were hardly any showing, principally because of a cold and gloomy late April and when I visited a local woodland it was very disappointing. However, I thought that the sunny spell of weather over the bank holiday weekend must have brought them out. It only takes a few warm sunny days to encourage wildflowers to bloom.
I was out early again yesterday, full of hope on another spectacular morning, and I headed straight to the same Bluebell woodland. I was not disappointed, there had been a total transformation and the woodland floor was carpeted with a spectacular showing of flowers.
It really lifts your spirits, (not that my spirits need lifting on these glorious spring mornings), to see such a wonderful natural spectacle and I would recommend anybody to just go for a walk in one of these woods now and embrace the natural world.
I walked around the woods encountering superb vistas at every turn, what a glorious scene was laid out before me. I was stopping every fifty yards just to gaze in awe at the beauty of these simple little flowers.

A few images of the woods.

Yesterday I decided to take advantage of this glorious weather and go out walking this morning up on the local hills. The alarm went off at 05.00 and I awoke to a stunningly beautiful morning. It was already light and there was birdsong all around my garden. I had arranged my kit last night to save time, I had a quick cup of tea and a slice of toast and I was out and gone. At 05.45 I was walking on a local hillside, Willow Warblers were displaying, Wood Warblers were singing their ‘spinning coin’ song and Tree Pipits were parachuting out of the sky singing as they dropped down into the tops of the trees. It was an absolute pleasure to be out and I felt so privileged to be walking on these hills that are right on my doorstep. However, my quarry was a female Cuckoo that I had been watching for a few days, it wouldn’t be easy, it never is, but if you do your homework you are in with a chance.
My mantra;
Do your homework. Get up early. Wear muted colours. Be quiet. Be patient. If you can’t adhere to these criteria then forget photographing birds like Cuckoos. They are so sharp, and once they see you then you won’t get near them.
I knew the area she was frequenting and I made my way there straight away and got underneath some Hawthorn trees. After about half an hour I could hear a male Cuckoo distantly, but no sign of the female. I would happily photograph the male but it would be nice to get the female because almost all Cuckoo photos you see are male. They must outnumber the females, it looks that way anyway.
The male came nearer and I managed to shoot him on the top of a Hawthorn bush with a Hairy Caterpillar in his beak, which was a good start!



Then some time later I could hear the female’s soft bubbling song and I could see her flying around the Hawthorns looking to land on a suitable perch, these birds always have their preferred vantage points and they inevitably use them at some time. I got myself ready, pointing my lens at one of the favoured bushes and predictably she came in and perched out in the bright sunshine, facing in my direction about twenty yards away.







I shot her straight away, it’s great when planning comes to fruition! However, she was being mobbed by Meadow Pipits.





I knew she wouldn't stay long but then the male came steaming in anyway and landed on the same bush and they were both off and flying away, interacting as they disappeared into the distance. Sometimes you only get one chance and you have to be prepared, but she was ‘In the Can’ to use motion picture parlance and I happily continued on my walk enjoying a stunning morning. It’s worth getting up anyway these mornings but if you get some success then it’s even better!

At long last after an appallingly bad April in terms of weather, where rain fell on an almost daily basis, skies were grey and temperatures remained low, there now appears to be light at the end of the tunnel with favourable weather forecasts in evidence. The land is still draining down and the little stream in my garden that only usually runs in winter has finally dried up. This little stream is a good weather barometer as it is very reactive to rain falling up on the mountain above my house. Let’s hope that this is the end of the bad weather because if it had carried on it would have had a negative effect on the birds breeding programme.
I was walking earlier on this week in a local deciduous woodland hoping to see some Bluebells but I was very disappointed to see the lack of flowers in bloom, they should be out in profusion now. However, the forecasted sunshine and warm temperatures will bring them out next week and I will try and get some photographs of what is one of nature’s most glorious spectacles.
Susan and I took advantage of the nice weather yesterday and went walking up on a local hillside, we could hear a few Tree Pipits singing and could then see them parachuting down into the tops of trees. We always like to see them doing this, it is quite comical. We walked on a good bit further and then we could hear an unmistakable call, the one we have been waiting for… Cuckoo, Cuckoo, at last our favourite spring bird! We could see one flying in the distance and then surprisingly another and then another, three in total. Two were flying around disputing territory, great to see them doing this, they were rocketing through the trees, chasing each other relentlessly. Then suddenly there was a gentle ‘Bubbling’ call, a female Cuckoo, things went up a notch then with all three males flying around calling for the female. One landed in a tree and I was able to shoot it quickly.



Hand-held with my Sigma Contemporary lens, very useful in these situations. Others were flying around and I managed a few shots as they whizzed by.





It was a great spectacle and two males shot by us at head height as we were standing near some bushes, we could hear the ‘Whoosh’ of their wings as they passed us. One of the great spring spectacles, we don’t get it every year but it’s great when it happens. A very enjoyable walk on a lovely spring morning.

Marakissa River Camp is a compact but 'very basic' hotel surrounded by bird filled gardens. It was about an hour’s drive from our accommodation at Farakunku Lodges. As well as getting superb views of a Blue Breasted Kingfisher, see a previous blog, there was much more to see. As soon as we arrived Mas, our guide, went looking for birds on the river and as we were watching another stretch of the river, which backs right onto the gardens we could see many Pied Kingfishers. These Kingfishers are ubiquitous throughout The Gambia and if you are not careful you can switch off and become blasé about them, however, they are lovely birds and are very entertaining and can sometimes be seen in groups of up to ten birds, hovering or perched up chattering together.





We were preoccupied watching these comical birds when our attention was caught by something moving in the undergrowth, suddenly a huge lizard broke cover and came walking towards us, unbelievably it was a Monitor Lizard and it was now coming directly towards us, obviously, for whatever reasons, either we were oblivious to it or it just didn’t care about us. However, when it heard my camera shutter firing, (because I couldn’t miss this unique photographic opportunity), it stopped about ten feet away and moved back into the undergrowth but not before giving us superb views as it walked along scenting the air,



A great start to the day!!
We then saw a Blue Breasted Kingfisher flying past us up river, a beautiful spectacle in flight. Numerous other birds were in evidence around the reserve’s drinking pots especially Purple Glossy Starlings.



Rarely will someone ever get such opportunities to photograph lovely birds up close like you can here. The wonderful thing about Marakissa is that it is not a reserve and therefore there is no entrance fee, it is totally laid back, you can just have a cup of tea, coffee or a cold beer and perhaps a sandwich and the gardens are yours, where else can you see birds like that!! We had been sat down watching the drinking pots for about an hour when suddenly out of nowhere a Red Bellied Paradise Flycatcher landed briefly in front of us.



What a lovely bird.

Then another cracking bird flew in and perched above one of the pools, a Malachite Kingfisher.



These tiny little jewels are only around 13cm. It proceeded to dive into the water to fish and remained totally unaffected by our presence - superb! It couldn’t get much better than that – or could it – the call went up from the Dutch owner of the hotel, ‘A giant is here’. We knew what he meant and I scrambled for my camera, heart thumping and to my disbelief a female Giant Kingfisher was now on the branch above the pool.




These birds are something to behold, up to 46cm, (18ins), from tail to beak. She just perched there watching the water for small fish. I managed to keep the lens still by leaning against a tree and took some real close-ups of this magnificent bird. We sat back down breathless and enjoyed a sandwich for lunch, what a morning’s birding.

After lunch we spent the last two hours relaxing watching the drinking pots and after seeing more nice birds we were thinking of packing in and driving back to Farakunku when something dropped down out of the trees onto one of the drinking pots. We slowly got up out of our seats to get a better view and we could now see a Shikra perched on a pot drinking.





These birds are striking Sparrowhawk – like birds and I couldn’t believe it was allowing me to photograph it, what an end to the day. However, incredibly it wasn’t the end, sharp eyed Mas said ‘Steve, look up’ and as I did I couldn’t believe my eyes, a Lizard Buzzard was perched there just looking at us.







I prayed it would stay perched there for me to get a shot and thankfully the photography gods answered my prayers as I blazed away at what is a superb bird of prey, now it really was the end of a truly memorable days birding!!

Part of our pre-arranged birding itinery included a boat trip along the River Allahein. This river forms in part the border between The Gambia and Senegal. It is quite a wide, fast flowing river but with some shallows containing a few small islands scattered along its length. Huge mounds of discarded Oyster shells can be seen piled high along its banks and in some places these shell mounds seemed to be part of the actual river bank. There were no specific birds on our list for this trip and we just gently motored along seeing what was around. We had quite a large boat to ourselves and therefore had the option to sit wherever we liked to see any wildlife that was on offer. As we meandered along shoals of small flying fish kept us company, leaping out of the water beside our boat. There weren’t many boats around and the ones we did see were crowded with people just on trips up and down the river, however, it is better, if you want to see wildlife, to pay a little more and have the privacy and freedom of your own boat. Generally the tourists that fill these boats are not really interested in the river’s wildlife as none we passed contained anyone using binoculars, they just go for the cruise and that’s fair enough, each to their own. However, as we slowly cruised passed a small island containing Pink-backed Pelicans,

Juvenile in flight.


Adult in breeding plumage.


we also saw Royal and Caspian Terns and a single Osprey. Suddenly, Mas our guide sat bolt upright and gestured to the boat man to pick up speed. We asked him what it was and he enthusiastically said 'Goliath Heron' - Mas didn’t get exited very often so we knew this was a good bird to see. As we approached this magnificent bird it made its way right to the top of the bush it was perched in giving superb views.



It was obviously watching us and I was praying it would remain for me to get a shot. We inched closer and closer until we were in range and I was very happy to get a few decent shots. These Herons are the biggest in the world standing almost five feet tall with a wingspan of seven and a half feet, they dwarf a Grey Heron!!
Suddenly it flew, taking off like a light aircraft disappearing up river, what a bird. We continued along the river and we could see some birds standing in the water in the distance. As we approached we could see they were Yellow-billed Storks.



Some African Spoonbills were amongst them.



We cruised past them taking some shots as we passed, and then Mas said to the boat man, ‘Cut the engines’ and there incredibly was the Goliath Heron again, fishing in the shallows at the edge of the Mangroves.





Once more we had some great views and shots of this huge bird as we quietly floated by. The engines were then restarted and we happily cruised back to a restaurant on the river bank for lunch, not before tipping the boat man for his efforts, it takes skill and knowledge of the river to get close to these birds without grounding the boat in the shallows. An excellent morning on the river with some great birds.