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A few days ago I was walking along the banks of the River Usk which is a fairly large river that flows through the Brecon Beacons. I was sat in my usual spot underneath a large Beech tree just watching the river. This is a favourite pastime of mine because I find it very therapeutic. I had witnessed a couple of Kingfishers whizz by but I don’t try and photograph them until later on in the summer when their breeding has finished.
When Susan and I were walking the same area recently we accidentally came across a Kingfisher nest in a place where I would least expect it. Two birds were going back and fore the nest so young birds will be out soon and there is a nice log right outside where I’m sure the young birds will line up to be fed and which would make a really nice shot. However, I’m not going there because Kingfishers are not the best of parents anyway and it wouldn’t take much for them to stop feeding the young and no image is worth that.
When I was sitting under the Beech tree I could see three or four Common Sandpipers feeding around some shingle banks and I thought that there might be a chance of an image if I was in a hide, because these are very shy birds to get close to.
I made my mind up to have a try because the river is very benign at the moment and easily navigable. The following morning I was at the river in darkness after preparing as usual all my kit the night before. I walked across the river just wearing wellingtons it’s so shallow.
I quickly strung a large ‘Camo’ net across some willows to soften the outline of my hide and got under cover as quickly as possible. If you get up this early you don’t want to ruin your efforts by being seen at first light. As I sat there drinking a cup of coffee a female Mallard and large ducklings drifted by, they didn’t notice me and that’s always a good sign. Suddenly out of nowhere a Kingfisher appeared, flying low and issuing its peeping call, no doubt on its way to the nest site. A Green Woodpecker ‘Yaffled’ from the overhead canopy but they are rarely seen on the river banks.
As daylight broke I could hear a Common Sandpiper calling and although the light wasn’t the best I could now see a bird feeding amongst the river bank stones about twenty yards away. Slowly as the light improved it made its way towards me and it came very close indeed so much so that I was just about able to frame a shot or two.





I didn’t think they would come that close! The bird then began to call repeatedly, I was confident it wasn’t because of me as I was well hidden and it was also very close to my hide. I sat tight because I wasn’t sure why it was calling, I thought perhaps for its mate. The calling stopped and I could then see a tiny little bird walking amongst the stones. I looked closer and incredibly I could see it was a Common Sandpiper chick.





She must have been calling it out of the vegetation where it was hiding. It was about the size of a golf ball with longish legs and incredibly it walked right in front of my hide. It was very difficult to get a clear shot because of its close proximity and diminutive size. Somehow I managed a few but as quickly as it appeared it was then gone again under cover, necessary I suppose because it looked so vulnerable. I was thrilled to be so close to this little ball of fluff - a real privilege!





I decided after the adult had disappeared down river to pack up, now that I knew there was a vulnerable chick close by. I left earlier than planned but really pleased with the experience. A very nice morning on the river.

When I first started this website from my little ‘Office’ in the back of our cottage in the Brecon Beacons I never thought I’d see the time that it would receive its three millionth hit. (This is not much relative to some websites but considering what the site's about and its very low key origins, it’s not doing too badly). This milestone was achieved yesterday when the site had two thousand hits in a couple of hours. As a consequence of this site I have had images published in field guides, wildlife publications, magazines, etc. and a viewing audience spread literally around the world, with a substantial following, for whatever reasons, in Pakistan, Afghanistan and India.
Although pleasing, this is a big surprise to me and there have been barren times when I didn’t know where my next image was coming from but I carried on trying to find interesting content. This is the biggest problem facing people starting these websites and blogs. It’s easy to start them, it’s made idiot proof, and I’m evidence to that. However, maintaining them is another matter, it takes discipline to keep on finding things to write about and even more discipline to get images that illustrate and hopefully embellish these writings. It’s not easy, and I see many capable people letting their websites just fade away and finally disappear because they just can’t find the inspiration to carry on.
I don’t know how much longer I will continue with the site but at the moment I have no intention of stopping because it’s an extension of our hobby and that is an important driver.
All that’s left is to thank everyone who views the site and hopefully enjoys it, and here’s to the future.

Little Bitterns are widespread throughout Lesvos and are found on most waterways. However, that doesn’t mean that they are always easy to see. They can be quite secretive and all you hear is their loud ‘Barking’ call. Like all these secretive water birds they can, on the odd occasion and for no logical reason, just walk out into the open and early one morning this happened to us as we driving along the Tsiknias River near Skala Kallonis.
We watched this bird from our vehicle and then we got out quietly and it still wasn’t bothered, so I set up my kit on a tripod and attempted to shoot a short video along with a few stills.

https://youtu.be/_hV0JNXjST8

One of the sounds of Lesvos is the Nightingale, wherever you go they can be heard. From the hotel grounds where we stayed, from roadside bushes as you drive by, in riverside vegetation, concealed in trees on hillside tracks etc. etc. Few people pay them much attention because of their numbers and not many try and see them because of this but also because they are very difficult to catch out in the open. We always stop to listen to their song because it is so varied and beautifully composed with audacious phrasing and soaring clear notes.
There is a small bridge over a slow moving river where we always stop to listen to these birds and it is where there is, with patience, a good chance of seeing them. They sing all day and night from these areas but in the evening is best in this particular location because there are less people passing by in cars and you can then really listen to their song.
We were standing on this little bridge just listening to the evening’s performance when I could see the vegetation moving, so I got my camera ready and sure enough a bird began to make its way out of hiding and on to a branch. They will do this from time to time and the best way to see them is to just wait for them to appear.





I always love to see them because I think they are really special birds that enrich our lives with their song.

Very early one morning, as usual – you have to be out early, we were driving along a very rough track called the 'Makara Track' on our way down to a small estuary and shoreline just looking for whatever wildlife that was on offer. We had passed some old ramshackle sheds used by the people who try and farm this particularly difficult terrain and we had started to see the local Starred Agama lizards lying out on the rocks trying to warm up in the early morning sun. These lizards are commonplace in these hot rocky areas and they are quite confiding up to a point.



There are also a few birds that occupy these rocky areas, typically Cretzschmar's Buntings.



What we weren’t expecting though was a Rock Nuthatch, although these birds live and breed amongst rocks they are usually higher up on large rocks where they build their nests and cling to the rock faces looking for food. This particular bird was very unusually perched on a length of reinforcing bar right on the side of the road. I let the car just drift passed not to spook it by stopping quickly and I quietly reversed back until I was right opposite. I felt sure it would fly off but no it just stayed there about fifteen feet away, quite remarkable really. However, it didn’t take its eyes off us for a second, but I didn’t care because it allowed me to take a quick shot.


Look at the size of those feet.

We carried on still surprised by this little bird’s confidence.
We arrived at the deserted seashore on a now glorious morning, we just stood on the shoreline drinking in the view as the crystal clear emerald waves broke around our feet. I looked high up into the air as fifteen Alpine Swifts swooped back and fore chasing the insects now elevated on the warm air currents.



What a lovely scene this was and we were reluctant to leave but we had to make our way back up though the valley. When we passed the old sheds mentioned above unbelievably there was the Rock Nuthatch still perched in the same place. It must have been there for an hour at least, we couldn’t believe it. We moved on because it was exactly the same shot as on the way down. I don’t know what this bird was doing, whether just drying off in the sun after bathing because it looks a bit wet, but we’ve never seen one exhibiting this confident behaviour before.

Great Snipe is always a special bird to find even on Lesvos and one had been showing, albeit infrequently on a rapidly drying up muddy area not too far away from where we were based in Skalla Kalloni. Therefore, although we don’t really chase around after birds there because there’s no point given the wealth of birdlife on the island, it was worth driving a few miles to try and see it. When we arrived there was a group of young Greek birders/photographers there which was unusual but refreshing to see and they were very polite and friendly as indeed are most people in Greek society. I could see though that they were keeping away from a group of about six people who were what I term masquerading as birders because the three women of the group were so noisy. They were just talking and laughing as if they were in a local taverna. I’ve got nothing against enjoying yourself but there’s a time and a place. These people were probably very nice but how do they expect to see a bird like a Great Snipe behaving like that. I asked the young Greeks if the bird had shown and they said no – hardly surprising! They left and we went straight after them to explore somewhere else a bit disappointed by these people.
I saw on our bird app that the Snipe had been seen a few days later, although I knew the mud had become very dry and it obviously wouldn’t be too long before the bird located to a more suitable habitat. With this in mind late one afternoon Susan and I decided to have one more try because most birders call it a day at this time because of the heat. We had also read that the Snipe had been seen in a narrow channel that fed the now dried up pool with water.
When we arrived there it was deserted – great! We approached carefully trying to see into the channel which disappointingly was impossible without getting out of the car, which was not a good idea because we would have spooked the bird – Snipe are easily spooked! However, as we moved along slowly there was a gap of about ten feet in the channel banking which allowed us to see into the channel itself. We waited, there was no option because this was the only viable watch point. I was in the front of the car and Susan was on the back seat just waiting and waiting and it was hot – the late afternoon sun was very intense and the light was very harsh – not good for photographing anything.
After a relatively short while and to our total surprise there came the Snipe.



Probing the still soft mud in the channel, this was why it had left the main pool area – the channel floor was in shade from the sun and therefore was softer for feeding. I waited for it to come into full view and proceeded to take a few shots, it totally ignored us in the car, if we had got out I’m sure things would have been much different, cars are great hides. I couldn’t believe how close we were, less than ten feet from a mega bird like that was epic.



If I had been using my Canon ef600 there would have been no shot because the minimum focussing distance is about fifteen feet, zoom lenses are very useful in these situations. We watched and photographed this lovely bird, albeit in very difficult light until it wandered up the channel and disappeared out of view but we were grateful for what we had. It just goes to show that without noisy people birds will come much closer, it just takes a little common sense.
We left for a shower and change of clothes back at the hotel and enjoyed a delicious Greek salad and a few cold ones at the local taverna, which is the place to talk and laugh!

These gregarious birds can be seen on passage through Lesvos usually from the third week of May with some, usually small numbers, seen the week before. They can be erratic in nature turning up anywhere and perching in any available bush or tree be it on a roadside or in a remote location. One thing, however, is that they are attracted to Mulberry trees, so if you know where any of these trees are it’s worth keeping an eye out during this period. I must admit to having had little luck with these birds over the years because it involves either being fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time or alternatively staying in an area where there are suitable trees and even then it’s still difficult because it may be a wait for nothing. In the previous blog I detailed our search for Lesser Grey Shrike and how we saw all those Spotted Flycatchers near to the town of Sigri. Well that wasn’t quite the end of the story, because we were parked outside what is known as the ‘Old Sanatorium’ outside Sigri reflecting on the fruitful drive through the valley when I casually looked across the fields and about 500 yds away I could see around 25 Rose Coloured Starlings land in a tree. I called to Susan to come and see because it was a rare sighting for us, they then almost immediately took flight and I remarked how typically erratic their behaviour was, but incredibly and quite astonishingly they flew across the fields towards us and perched in a small track-side bush 50yds from where we were standing. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing - we leapt into the car and drove as quietly as we could towards the little bush - terrified of flushing them. I switched the car’s engine off and took one burst of shots before they again flew off, luckily we both had good views.



This scenario typically illustrates their behaviour and what I mentioned previously about the pure luck of being there at the time. That really was the end of the journey through that valley.

I’ve photographed all six of the Shrikes likely to be seen in Europe and have managed to get reasonable shots of five; Woodchat, Masked, Red Backed, Great Grey and Isabelline. However, the sixth, Lesser Grey has been particularly elusive for me, seemingly avoiding my lens at all costs, I have come close on Lesvos before but the sun was against me and there was nothing I could do because of the terrain, which was extremely frustrating. Also in Bulgaria our guide Dimiter, (top birder), drove me with great care quite close to a perched bird but just as we got in shooting range the bird flew off - mega frustrating!! This time I made it a target bird for the trip and very early one morning at first light, Susan and I drove a very rough track between the towns of Eressos and Sigri on Lesvos. This track can be unpassable some years because of rock falls and other problems, however, reports were that it was passable currently. Climbing out of Eressos immediately there was a Lesser Grey Shrike on a fence post thirty feet away I reached for my lens behind my seat but it was too late and the bird was gone. We waited for five minutes to see if it would return, but no luck – mega mega frustrating.
On we go and soon it became apparent that there had been a big fall of birds because there were Red Backed Shrikes everywhere we counted at least a hundred birds as we drove slowly along the road. There were also many Spotted Flycatchers all along the track. We also encountered a few Woodchat Shrikes as we would expect, but our main quarry was conspicuous by its absence. Black Headed Buntings were apparent and you can get a lot of these birds most springs. We reached the bottom of the valley and stopped for a belated breakfast and above us five Woodlarks were singing from overhead wires, a nicer way to enjoy breakfast is hard to imagine. Further on two Ruddy Shelduck were on the now nearly dried up river bed and a Little Bittern showed briefly from a small area of reeds while Bee Eaters constantly flew around.



Along a line of bushes we had Orphean and Icterine Warblers though they both skulked in the foliage. This is the type of birding you get on Lesvos, and back home in the UK if I had a tenth of the birds seen I would be talking about it for years. We spoke to another birder who came along and I asked him if he had had any Lesser Grey Shrikes and he answered disappointingly in the negative.
We drove on with the sound of Nightingales resonating from roadside thickets and Cretzschmar’s Buntings darting around the rocky slopes. We stopped to watch a Red Backed Shrike that was perched on a roadside fence post when Susan whispered ‘Lesser Grey Shrike ahead’ - I went into alert mode - for me this is a mixture of fear and excitement, one the prospect of getting a shot of a much wanted bird and the other the fear of missing out again. We crept closer hardly daring to move but it flew off onto a line of steel reinforcing bars that are used for fencing posts on Lesvos. I manoeuvred the car into the best possible position and just waited. It now became a war of nerves between us and the bird, but after about five minutes it started to make its way closer probably after assessing that we weren’t a threat. You have to stay put in your vehicle in these situations, once you ‘Crack’ and get out it will be all over. Closer and closer it came across the posts, it seemed interminable, but finally I had a shot, the light was still harsh, but it wasn’t too bad and I wanted more.



I let the clutch out and inched closer off the track on to a bare patch of ground about fifteen feet nearer and unbelievably the bird tolerated me and I had another shot and then he flared his tail slightly which was a better shot.



I was realising a dream now. I couldn’t get any closer without getting out so I had to accept what I had and the bird flew off and away anyway – WOW!!
I was made up after this and anything else would be a bonus but just as we were coming to the end of the track by some old farm sheds, absolutely unbelievably there was another Lesser Grey on the fence in a much better position than the previous bird. I couldn’t believe it, the famous comment from the 1966 world cup final came to mind – ‘They thought it was all over’ etc. Again it flew off out a sight but we inched forward and there it was in an even better position, conditions were also perfect now because a small cloud had moved across the sun diffusing the hitherto harsh light – a dream shot.
I’m not particularly religious but I was praying now. I stopped the engine then I tentatively put my bean bag on the door of the car and then rested my little Sigma lens on it and the bird snapped into focus, what a feeling as I took the shot, all these years and there it was ‘In the can’ to use motion picture parlance.





What a great drive along this valley and just as we were entering the outskirts of the town of Sigri flocks of birds were passing in front of the car. I wasn’t paying too much attention because I was concentrating on the road. I just said casually to Susan look at all those sparrows, hundreds of them. We stopped to get a closer look and incredibly we could now see they were Spotted Flycatchers! There must have been, with the birds we had seen along the track, around 500 Spotted Flycatchers - a mega fall of this species. A fine end to an eventful morning.

Long Eared Owls according to established records are thinly distributed across the island of Lesvos. This is I’m sure quite correct and they are therefore reasonably difficult to locate, but they do favour Eucalyptus and Corsican Pine trees for roosting and breeding purposes. Therefore, these trees should be the first places to look for them during the daytime. In addition Eucalyptus is also a reliable tree for finding Scops Owl.
Skalla Kalloni is the place most birders use as their base when visiting Lesvos and there is a site about a mile away where for years Long Eared Owls have been reliable but a few years ago the Eucalyptus trees there, which make up most of the site were what can only be described as butchered. Thankfully after about five years the trees are starting to recover and it looks good habitat for these secretive owls once again.
That aside these owls can be seen in the most unlikely of places and there was a female and two chicks reported roosting in a Corsican Pine next to a very busy road on the outskirts of Kalloni, which is the main town which presumably gives Skalla Kalloni its name. A few people went to try and see them and the following day we had a look and typically they were obscured by foliage, in my experience these owls do like a few leaves or twigs in front of them when they roost.
I managed a few record shots of them but it was always going to be difficult especially with my Sigma’s lack of focal length. Nevertheless it is always nice to see these secretive owls.


Those orange eyes are typical of a night hunting owl.


What is presumably a female.

The month of May and the first two weeks of June in the Brecon Beacons are what I consider to be the prime time for photographing Cuckoos. I have had most of my successful days out during these periods. Cuckoos are calling and are more active during this time, later into June, as a rule, Cuckoos start to become quieter and therefore more difficult to locate. However, there are no set rules and things can differ, but generally this is correct. I have been unable to try and photograph Cuckoos this spring because of holidays and other commitments during May. However, last year I was given permission from some very nice people to access some private land in an effort to get closer to where I had heard Cuckoos calling, and over the last few days I have been watching three Cuckoos on this land, two males and a female flying around a field which has many Meadow Pipits nesting. This field has some isolated trees dotted around and this is the perfect scenario for Cuckoos, a vantage point and nests to lay their eggs in, and that’s all there is to it, it’s not complicated. I could also see a tree which the males in particular were perching in regularly, the female appeared less frequently - a much shyer bird.
The weather forecast had promised fine weather for Tuesday of this week and as usual the night before I loaded all my kit into my car and got all my birding clothes, flask, sandwiches etc. all ready - my alarm was set for 04.45. The following morning when I looked out of my landing window at 04.46 I could barely see the cars parked below, some ten yards away. I cursed those weather forecasters because fog is the worst weather, cold or rain you can overcome but fog is a no go. However, it was early June and fog can burn off with a bit of sun so I went for it, though more in hope than expectation. Driving along I could hardly see anything and things didn’t look at all promising but this was supposed to be the best day of the week so I pushed on through the stygian gloom. Suddenly I could see something round in the middle of the road, I thought it was a football but as I got closer I could see it was a very large Hedgehog, probably a pregnant female. I got out to encourage her to move into the undergrowth but she scurried off under her own steam. I was very pleased at this because we can ill afford to lose any Hedgehogs especially pregnant ones.
Arriving at the site there was a hint of brightness above which looked vaguely promising. In view of this there was no time to waste getting under cover because Cuckoos are very wary and street-wise birds and if they see you they won’t come anywhere near. I had decided where I wanted my portable hide positioned previously, there’s no time to do this on the actual morning, and detailed planning always works. I set the hide up quickly and arranged a large ‘Camo’ net over the top to soften and blend it in. I set my lens and tripod up and settled in under cover ensuring all my items were under with me.
To my pleasant surprise the weather continued to brighten with the now very early morning sun starting to burn of the mist. It was now 05.45 and from my left I could hear the soft bubbling call of the female Cuckoo. After some time she flew and briefly perched in the top of a now sunlit Hawthorn tree, I managed a quick shot before she flew off when a male Cuckoo landed beneath her.





I knew from observations that she was very shy and elusive. It was an hour before I heard a male Cuckoo calling and by now it had turned into a glorious morning, those weather forecasters weren’t too bad after all! I peeled off my top coat because it was now too uncomfortable in the sunshine. These Cuckoos seem to do the rounds of their favourite trees and you just have to wait until they choose the right one for you, there’s no easy way around it.
The calls got louder and nearer and finally a male flew into ‘My’ tree and he was only thirty feet away but he was obscured by branches. This is so frustrating but you have to take it on the chin, he began calling but stayed obscured for a minute until he flew off nearby. It would have been a lovely shot in what was now improving light. I poured a cup of coffee as a consolation and settled in for what now seemed like the long haul. However, ten minutes later and here he was again but unbelievably perched again on what was obviously his favourite branch.



This was a potential problem for me because if this was repeated all day the shoot would be ruined, but there was nothing I could do only wait and hope. I had a sandwich – my breakfast, another coffee and waited. Déjà vu; here he comes again, but this time he perched right out in the open in a now beautiful subtle light with a lovely diffused pastel coloured background.





These are the situations a bird photographer dreams about, and must make the most of, because they may not happen again in their life time. I shot him from thirty feet as he posed beautifully right in front of me.



He came back another three or four times during the morning perching on various branches giving breath-taking views.







These are the golden times that make it all worthwhile, the early mornings, and the disappointments all forgotten – just sublime.



Cuckoo nirvana!!

Youtube link below of the bird calling.

https://youtu.be/J5we_mJJNt0

However, everything must come to an end and things went quiet for whatever reason and now the window of fine weather also began to disappear and light rain began to fall. I decided now was the right time to leave because the Cuckoos had also left. I packed up everything into the boot of my car and left for a very contented drive home.

Another bird which is a ‘Must’ on Lesvos is Cinereous Bunting. This bird lives a world away from the forest dwelling Kruper’s Nuthatch on the harsh rocky slopes on the west of the island. As you travel west from the village of Mesotopos the island gets increasingly barren and mountainous and life is obviously hard. To say people farm the land is stretching it, it’s more a case of scratching a living keeping a few sheep and goats. The land is far too rocky to take the blade of a plough or any other machinery.



It’s a window into how the island must have been long ago – tough doesn’t really come close to describing it. These rocky slopes are baked by the sun all day long and the rocks act like radiators storing the sun’s heat making it a very inhospitable landscape. This is the realm of birds like Cretzschmar’s and the above mentioned Cinereous bunting. Most people make the trip west to Ipsilou monastery which sits atop a high rocky hill to see these birds and they are indeed virtually guaranteed to see them there. It’s a bit of a pilgrimage for some, without the obvious religious connotations. However, we have been visiting a site that is just as certain as Ipsilou for these birds and is much nearer. At this place we have never failed to see these lovely birds and this time was no exception. They flew around the rocks virtually in front of us putting on a great show once again.

This is the first time we have been 'Away' since 2019 and it felt good to get a change of scenery. Here is the start of a series of small blogs on various birds from the trip which will be followed by more images in the gallery and eventually a full-on bird report as usual.

A bird that’s on most birder’s list when they visit Lesvos is Kruper’s Nuthatch. A small typical Nuthatch which on Lesvos as in Turkey breeds in Corsican Pine forests.
These Corsican Pine forests are very dry and difficult places on Lesvos.



Unless they call or sing, (thankfully with quite a strident voice) Kruper's Nuthatch can be overlooked, however, with a little effort they can be tracked down from late April to mid-May. A pair had been found with a nest not far away from where we were staying so very early one morning we visited the nest site keeping a good distance from their activities, there was typically no one else around that early and we had an hour just watching them come and go feeding some obviously well grown chicks. Everyone who visited the site, as we found out, treated the birds with respect, which is great. I have a few decent shots of Kruper’s from previous visits to the island so the harsh sunlight which was bathing the nest hole was not a problem for me and I took what was on offer without having to return another time in more favourable light.




Getting up early when birding on Lesvos is fundamentally important because of the harsh light which pervades from very early on and also the very hot sun, especially from mid-May onwards - some mornings it was 35 Celsius by 10.00am.

Out walking again on a glorious morning on a local hillside and straight away I could hear the characteristic spinning coin song of the Wood Warbler. These delightful little birds favour light airy woodlands and they can be heard and seen in the Brecon Beacons from April. They look pristine with their pure white and lemon plumage and they brighten up any morning. I waited for some time watching them flitting around and managed to get a few quick shots because they don’t stay still for long. It was worth the wait just to hear them singing and calling to each other.

We've just returned home from two weeks on the Greek Island of Lesvos and after eventually getting everything back to somewhere near normal I ventured out this morning. I went for a small drive around the area and must admit to feeling really cold, it's a bit of thermal shock I suppose coming from 37 to 17 Celsius. However, it's back to normal now and as I was parked by a line of fence posts a lovely Common Redstart came to see who I was and very smart he is to!

Three of our common ‘spring’ migrants singing around the woods near our house. Really difficult to get some short videos because these little singers rarely keep still for long.

https://youtu.be/AHuNPbslzZQ

https://youtu.be/mbIhBJ0ELCg

https://youtube.com/shorts/2Q-C_6GWgXw

We have heard some distant Cuckoos this week so once the weather warms a bit I will see if I can get nearer to one. It’s not easy but it’s great to see them even if you can’t get a photo. There have been a few Ring Ouzels reported and Susan and I saw one a few days ago, although again they are very difficult to photograph. There is an outside chance of a Dotterel this week on the local mountain tops, but finding these lovely birds is very much hit and miss in such a large area. While walking one of the local hills last week we saw a male Merlin flash by, this is always a treat because they are so elusive. Lower down there are some butterflies on the wing – Orange Tip, Common Blue, Comma and Peacock and hopefully the warmer weather forecasted from Africa later this week will encourage even more to fly. I always look forward to the month of May, it’s my favourite time with hopefully good weather combined with increasing wildlife, we’ll see.

Last week I met up with a couple of friends with the intention of photographing some Common Crossbills. These little birds are not easy to get an image of because they spend most of their time up high in conifer trees and also they like to roam around the plantations looking for food and this makes them doubly difficult to photograph. Sometimes a birder can be lucky and see them coming down to water to drink as they have to drink often because of their diet of pine seeds.





However, this is difficult and luck is almost always involved. We all met up mid-morning in a local plantation on a horrible grey and misty morning but things were predicted to improve so we sat tight for an hour or so and the weather duly obliged.
My two friends have made the transfer from DSLR’s to Canon ‘mirrorless’ cameras, both now using the impressive R5 models. These new cameras with their much improved view finders, high megapixel full frame sensors with a 1.6 crop mode option, high ISO capabilities and advanced auto focussing systems are a quantum leap forward in technology, making me feel like a bit of a dinosaur still relying on my trusty Canon 7D Mk 2 DSLR. Having said that I’m not one to rush into things, but I accept that the time is coming fast when I will have to go ‘mirrorless’, to quote commonly used parlance.
I am, however, very reluctant to part with my Canon EF600 f4 is Mk 2 lens because of the awesome image quality and beautiful bokeh it creates. My one friend was using the 500 version of this lens – also a great performer and the other has switched to the much vaunted Canon 100-500 zoom, all these lenses having their different merits.
Tech talk aside there is one thing that alerts a birder to Crossbills and that is their sharp ‘Chip Chip’ contact call as they fly over the tree tops and as the morning progressed we were alerted to some birds in the top of some spruce trees. Typically they were high up but you have to deal with it so we manoeuvred ourselves into the best positions possible to get some shots. The birds put on a good display and they were also singing as well as calling which you don’t hear all that often. Because the birds were sometimes against a bright white sky (which is probably the worst scenario for exposure) I deliberately drastically under exposed by shooting at 3000/sec. This made the negatives really dark but I knew from experience of shooting in raw that the details would still be there and recoverable in post processing. Using these shutter speeds also took the glare from the light off the pine needles which can look really over exposed in this type of light. I always try and use high shutter speeds or really small apertures and 'RAW' recovery of negatives to off set difficult lighting situations rather than use e.g. high ISO ratings.
Thankfully we all managed some shots of these awkward little birds and later after a cup of coffee, a bite to eat and a catch up we went our separate ways promising to get together in the spring for another day out.
I was pleased that I was able to get a few reasonable images from these challenging conditions.





For more. Please see Latest Images, Crossbills

Things are a little quiet on the wildlife front at the moment but at least the weather has improved, with clear days and frosty nights, which is infinitely preferable to the dull overcast drizzly days of a couple of weeks ago. This week Susan and I were walking up a little enclosed path near to where we live in the hope of finding a few fungi. Last year the Jelly or Wood Ear fungi was abundant but this year it’s very scarce. Similarly with the Holly Parachute fungi although that is never abundant. We did come across some Stump Puffballs which looked ready to disperse their spores, and indeed by just touching them a small cloud of spores shot out.
This gave me an idea for a short video and the following day I took some kit up to try and capture this spore dispersion on video. Surprisingly it had rained heavily the previous night and the holly hedge above the puffballs was soaking wet, the leaves holding quite a bit of water.
I set my Canon 5D Mk IV up with a 100mm f2.8 macro lens on a tripod quite low down, just about level with the puffballs and manually focussed on the scene. I gently shook the Holly hedge and as I suspected water droplets fell on to the puffballs expelling their spores. After all this is what happens in nature when it rains or when a bird comes into contact with fungi for instance.
I set the cameras video format to 120 FPS and tried to capture the scene in slow motion.

Please see video below and also in the video tab on the front page of this site.

https://youtu.be/0CNf9RhJ9cI

After a pleasant festive period - despite the horrible weather, it’s back down to earth so to speak. Everywhere is totally sodden after what seemed an interminable period of grey skies and rain. The land is soft and very muddy with pools of lying water making walking very unpleasant. The small ‘B’ roads are also a mess with run off from the muddy fields. However, you have to plough on and make the best of it, so having seen reports of three Penduline Tits in Somerset Susan and I decided to go for a little ‘Twitch’ to try and get them. We don’t twitch much these days but the odd one is still a nice fun day out. The birds had been seen in Weston Super Mare which is about eighty miles from where we live, about ninety minutes away and easily accessible by main roads. The weather forecast was reasonable for Wednesday so we packed the kit in the car the night before and left early. The weather, contrary to the forecast was awful when we left – mist and heavy rain. However, as we travelled towards Raglan on the A40 it cleared to a lovely sunrise.
Arriving on time we found our way to the old disused ‘Weston Airfield’ where the birds were reportedly being seen. As we made our way to some extensive reedbeds there were a small number of birders present and the birds were indeed showing, but just as we arrived they flew off high and wide. This is what happens sometimes but we’ve learned over the years not to panic because birds like these tend to return to the best feeding area sooner or later. Some of the birders went further up the track to look for them but we stayed put because there was a good number of reedmace heads there and that is their favourite food in winter.
It was bitingly cold with a nasty wind blowing continuously and we had to endure this for a good hour. Finally we could see the birds making their way back to their previous feeding area and you can tell where they are by the amount of mace blowing about in the wind as they strip the plant to look for the seeds inside.



I then signalled to the birders further up the track and they made a hasty return.
Fortunately Penduline Tits are not too shy, within reason, and we were able to get some great views of these lovely charismatic little birds. They have always been difficult to see in the UK and in years gone by in order to have a reasonable chance of seeing them birders would have had to travel to the south east of England. However, this is a bird that should start to be seen further north as their breeding range is expanding because of climate change. We have seen them at their nest sites on the near continent, but only sporadically in the winter in the UK.
The males have a more extensive black mask than the females and are also more rufous coloured.



Three birds performed in front of us for about an hour affording great views of their behaviour and also allowing me to take a few decent shots.



The only downside was the nagging bitter wind which at times was blowing the reeds like windscreen wipers, but this was a small price to pay.
After some hot coffee and a sandwich in the car we left contented and in plenty of time to get back home before the M5 rush hour started – a good day out!

Please click link below for some short video footage of these lovely birds.

https://youtu.be/Np4baGcS_1I

For more please see 'Latest Images' Penduline Tits Portfolio on the front page of this site.

Things have been quiet on the bird front of late and now we are in the darkest time of the year in more sense than one. The threat of further restrictions, although depressing, is a very real possibility. I’m afraid if the current situation escalates the wrong way then the government will have to make a very stark choice, one of allowing thousands of people to die or to collapse the economy. I’m glad I don’t have to make that decision!
On a lighter note Susan and I have been getting ready for Christmas, doing what shopping we have to and buying presents for family. We have prepared the garden for winter, doing essential pruning of shrubs and fruit trees etc. The grass has had its last cut and all the tools have been oiled and greased and put away. The two Ash trees in the garden have now dropped all their leaves and in the winter they will have a few branches lopped off in the interests of safety. This will be done by a professional because it’s just too dangerous for me to climb trees using a chainsaw because it’s very easy to have a bad accident. I use chainsaws regularly to cut up wood and prune low level branches but these branches on trees which look small from ground level are always much bigger and heavier when you are thirty feet in the air.
With regard to photography, I was looking through some mushroom images a few days ago and thought I could see some potential for a bit of digital manipulation. As I have mentioned in a previous blog on this subject, the Photoshop work for these images is fairly straightforward with some practice. The difficulty is finding suitable situations in terms of backgrounds and the images themselves. With this in mind I walked through a local wood and took a few shots of backgrounds – nothing special because they will be blurred out anyway.



However, they must have the right perspective to suit the final image.

I started with the Fly Agaric mushrooms, removing the small one at the front because it didn’t fit the situation.



These Fly Agarics are suitable for a Christmas image because of their colour. I then selected the above background and placed it behind the mushrooms and blurred it out using the Gaussian Blur tool.
It is possible to manoeuvre the background around to find the best position and adjust colour / contrast etc before blurring. Once this was achieved I blended an image of Santa between the mushrooms, a fairy with a few stars and some fairy dust added by me and two small Owls on the top of the mushroom. Again the original image has to be suitable for making these additions.
Then there are a few intricate steps to follow using ‘Light Painting’ in Photoshop to make the mushrooms glow and give the impression of light shining on the grass, Santa and also around the immediate area. The background remains diffused and very dim to give a complimentary effect to the general light on the main subjects.



Another image I found of a Porcini mushroom which I thought might be suitable for a bit of manipulation.




Just a bit of 'Light' relief amidst the dark evenings.

Finally I’d like to wish a happy Xmas and a wildlife - filled New Year to everyone who reads this blog.
Thank you all.

The Liberty Cap or Psilocybe semilanceata to use its scientific name is a mushroom that grows in suitable habitats in northern Europe and the Pacific Northwest of the USA.



The psychoactive effects of this mushroom have been known for a couple of hundred years but the compounds that were responsible for these effects were only identified in scientific terms in 1958 by the Swiss scientist Albert Hoffman who also more famously synthesised LSD.
It is also known as a ‘Magic Mushroom’ because it contains this psychoactive compound, Psilocybin. This term originates from the ‘Hippie’ days of the 1970’s when these mushrooms were picked and eaten after drying, the resultant feelings of contentment, social happiness and even euphoria made them very popular. In addition there was the added bonus of hallucinations and a general detachment from reality that you could experience - if you like that sort of thing! However, (as a serious warning), some people endured a bad experience after consuming them, irregular breathing and heartbeat, psychotic states, seizures, increased blood pressure and temporary vision impairment. I suppose you never know what effects these psychoactive compounds will have on you until after you consume them – the experience for each individual is very unpredictable.
Up until 2005 before the law was changed it was legal to pick these mushrooms but illegal to possess them after they were dried or ‘prepared’ - this was on the assumption that if you possessed the dried and prepared mushrooms then you intended to use or supply them for recreational drug use – which was illegal. The law in 2005 was extrapolated to include ‘fresh Liberty Caps’ so from then it was and still is illegal to possess these mushrooms in any form and they now fall under the UK Class A drug category, alongside the more infamous, Cocaine, Heroin and LSD etc. For a lengthy psychedelic experience that can last between three and six hours, the average adult only needs a moderate amount, between 1 and 2.5 grams – just a few of these little mushrooms. Over the last two weeks Susan and I have seen quite large amounts during our photographic endeavours. However, unless looked for they remain discreetly hidden in their grassy environment and on reflection that is probably the safest place for them.

Finally I must add a very serious caveat – (never pick and eat any mushroom or plant unless you are one hundred percent sure of its identity).