hi folks its been a while since i wrote a blog, i had no plan to stop writing but felt it time to return and try and get back to my writing again. I have lots of news but will start with the camera news. My mate and Workhorse Sony A7R4 Died on me about 5 weeks ago with no warning at all. It was out of warranty and after the insurance company messed me about i had no choice but to get a second hand Sony A9.
Loosing half my resolution going from 61mp to 24 is a loss but the speed of the A9 has opened a new world for me, people that follow me know that i love flight shots or any action shots, so the A9 has given me a better hit rate.
The time on site has been very busy and instead of going down to the Hide i have been concentrating on the river for the Kingfisher and up on the moors looking for the Short Eared Owl.
Sitting waiting for hours pays off as other wildlife comes to you without any effort, this will become a big part of the gallery and add some lovely species of bird to my already huge gallery.
Aims this year have been the Kingfisher, Brown Hare and Red Fox and i am glad to say i have met all my challenges spending hours waiting for the image. Together with Bullfinch and Dipper, baby Curlew and many more its been a great season up to now.
Please enjoy the gallery and feel free to ask any questions.
Last Aim of the year is to film the Short Eared Owl and that will make the season complete.
A familiar and popular garden songbird whose numbers have declined markedly on farmland and in towns and cities. It’s smaller and browner than a mistle thrush with smaller spotting. Its habit of repeating song phrases distinguish it from singing blackbirds. It likes to eat snails which it breaks into by smashing them against a stone with a flick of the head.
There is nothing better than hearing the Song Thrush singing from high on thee tree tops, it is here every year and feeds on the mossy ground around the site. This one was just up a short distance from our van. It is very friendly and when feeding on worms it’s distracted so you can get very close or if your lucky wait where you know it feeds and sit still and film it.
There are 2 pine trees in between the Silver Birch trees 🌳and it nests in the same tree every year. The nest is situated at the very top where the Female sits and waits for the male to come in with snails and worms. I thinks its early for having young but that’s all I can think when I see it flying back and forth with food.
There was a man who lived on the North West Coast of England, he loved animals and birds were his favourite subject when it came to photography. He was new to wildlife photography and had a very basic camera and lens.
It was Jan 2013 and the snow covered the fields that ran along the coast of Fleetwood and Cleveleys. He had heard that the Waxing bird had arrived from Scandinavia for the Berries, this happens when the country they are native to have a bad harvest so they travel to the UK to feed.
Dressed in his usual green camouflage gear he headed out looking for the Waxwing but had no luck finding them, when he heard from another photographer that there was an Owl seen at the Private School next to the sea front close to where he lived.
Never seeing an owl in the wild and not knowing the different species that were local or visitors he had no idea what to look for but went and looked for it. He arrived at the location and scanned the 3 large fields that were covered in Snow. He was very excited when a shape in the distance appeared flying low and landing on a fence post.
He was to far away to see what the Owl looked like so he watched its behaviour for half an hour then went home to do some research on this his first Owl he had seen in the wild as a wildlife photographer.
After some research the Man who I will call Blackie spent his first day looking following the Owl round the 3 fields, he soon learned that you can go to a bird, chase or follow it. Blackie soon realised that you have to wait for nature to come to you, let the Owl do what it’s there for to hunt for food and to not interfere in its natural behaviour.
The snow melted and the Owl stayed in the fields hunting for short periods of time then perching on certain posts. Blackie notices a pattern that the Owl has when it hunts and made plan to wait in cover for the Owl to fly past. His excitement was one he would experience many times in the years to come.
He was on his own with a Short Eared Owl it looked so big with what seemed like a huge wingspan a round face with huge yellow and black eyes. It arrives on the coast in winter from the Bowlond area of Lancashire went the temperatures lower up in the hills.
So his first wildlife adventure had started and he didn’t know how good it was going to be over the next 3 weeks. Lying in ditches for hours not moving, just waiting for the Shortie to appear. He found that the eyesight of the shortie and hearing were one that would give the Owl the upper hand everytime.
With that said Blackie had his 22 years army fieldcraft skills instilled in him and by putting them to good use made it an even match between Blackie and the Owl. So the plan of action was set, he would wear the same clothing for the whole period of filming, be there before the Owl hunted. And most of all give the Owl respect not cause any disruption to his life as it hunts to survive the winter.
The first week went by and Blackie came home in the evening with a smile on his face as he showed his wife his first Owl images. His love for the Owl had started and he would dream of the day ahead, would it still be there, where would it appear.
Week 2 started and Blackie found that Shortie would sit a on a post in the afternoon close to where he was lying, so he stood up slowly and looked at the shortie who stared back at him. He took some shots then lowered his camera. Blackies heart beaten like a Cartoon character his jacket bulging at every beat. He was stood 59 feet from his first Owl in the wild
Short Eared Owl.
From that first meeting things just get better, he could get closer by moving 2 paces at a time very slowly. He also learned that birds have a habit of going to the toilet just before take off. Knowing this he could get ready for some action shots. He spent hours in the owls company filming from ditches shrubs and undergrowth getting great images that still sit high on his top pictures.
Some of best images of the Short Eared Owl.
The moment I loved and still is 1 of 2 images that are my best Owl images is when I lay in a small shallow hole lying down. The shortie came past and as I looked through the lens it looked straight at me. The look on its face was just brilliant and is why I love wildlife photography.
Hi Blackie did you get me.?
After this beautiful moment i just looked at my camera hoping i had captured this unique image. It was such a lovely moment it made the whole experience so special. But things were to get better and after a few weeks of getting to know the Shortie. I turned up one afternoon when the light was really nice and bright and went i approached the area where the owl perches i spotted it sitting in the midday sun. I walked slowly towards the owl and stopped and took one image.
Its you again Blackie.
All i can say is the owl and me got to know each other over a 4 week period and i would not see it in the fields again so it just shows you that you should take every opportunity and make the most of it with causing any distress to the Animal you are filming.
the rest of my images were all taken in Jan 2013 some may say 2015 on them but that’s when i edited some of them.
The Adventure Climax
There are no words that explain what happened on the last Friday i was filming, i was walking away because the clouds had come in and it was about 1600hrs in the afternoon, when i Barn Owl appeared in the fields where the Shortie was hunting and for a split second i turned to see the Short Eared Owl chasing the Barn Owl. I raised my camera and this is my Top image of all time for me.
At this time of year the Male Chaffinch is in full bloom, trying is hardest to attract a female. Just look at the different colours on this male. He sat for ages singing and calling to w would be female.
Last year was our last year at the Statcic van we have in Bentham Lancaster. The wonderful species of bird are amazing and i filmed birds i have never seen before so the opportunity to photograph them was one of the best i will have. The van was situated between Silver Birch and the birds had so much cover to use before coming into feed.
Greebfinch
Bullfinch
Goldfinch
Chaffinch
Treecreeper
Coal Tit
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Willow Tit
Willow Warbler
Nuthatch
Robin
Wren
Dunnock
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Lessor Redpoll
Redstart
Grey Wagtail
Long Tailed Tit
Blackbird
Songthrush
Mistle Thrush
All the birds in the list are not in the gallery but the ones that are just show the lovely species of bird we have here in the UK. All images were taken with the Sony A7r4 200-600.
Had a change today and looked at the tide times as lots of waders feed on the insects and other stuff that gets washed up as the sea comes in.
I decided as it was sunny I would give the 200-600 and 1.4 extender a go at birds in flight. The settings I used are
F9
ISO 800
1/2000 Shutter
Multi Metering
Zone Focus
The Egret was staying at distance but I tried a couple of shots using centre focus area, then I switched to Zone. The reach from the 200-600 with the 1.4 extender and having the ability to crop and still get great images is so pleasing.
When the Egret took off the A7r4 200-600 didn’t miss one image all were in focus two bursts of 10.
As the sun sets the golden hour starts a term used in photography. Is this so befitting of the Barn Owl to blend in and just be the right colors to fit the theme. Grass swaying in the evening breeze, shadow from my post gradually stretches across the wet winter grass.
You gaze into the sunset reflecting in the female barn Owl eyes so beautiful the trance begins and she glides by in total silence Voles stopping not to attract the silent hunter to their location.
Many days will be spent filming this graceful Owl.
Day 10 challenge was to capture a duck species in flight so i went early to the coast as the High Tide was at 10.15. This is good time to get the ducks in flight as look for food on the banks as the sea washes all the bits in. The Widgeon are beautiful and make a lovely image in flight or on the water.
Key information
The wigeon is a medium-sized duck with a round head and small bill. The head and neck of the male are chestnut, with a yellow forehead, pink breast and grey body. In flight birds show white bellies and males have a large white wing patch.
Wigeons breed in central and northern Scotland and also in northern England. Many birds visit the UK in winter from Iceland, Scandinavia and Russia. With large numbers of wintering birds at a few UK sites, it is an Amber List species.
What they eat:
Aquatic plants, grasses, roots.
Measurements:
Length:45-51cmWingspan:75-86cmWeight:500-900g
Population:
UK breeding:400 pairsUK wintering:440,000 birds
Identifying features:
This bird species has different identifying features depending on sex/age/season.
The African Grey Parrot has 8000 feathers. How someone would know this i don’t know but its very interesting to know as I own one called Bella who is 2 years and 10 months old.
They can live to 70 years old. She is very affectionate and we share a special bond
Bella
What is really amazing is Bella communicates with my wife Ruth listening and learning words.
I love birds and just watching their behaviour is fascinating to me. Observing them on a daily basis is interesting and gives me an understanding that no book or article can do
From Bella in my house to the Kestrel or Barn Owl in the wild the bird has become a very important part of my life, and having the ability to capture them is so rewarding.
If you are one of the lucky people to come across a Barn Owl flying gracefully across an open field. Many people say they saw the Barn Owl or heard the Barn Owl but in most cases they have heard a Tawny Owl.
If you do get a rare sight of the Barn Owl in flight it could last seconds.
So I am going to share with you the true feeling of the amazing White Angel as she hunts in a field close by to me.
Even when you film a Barn Owl i always hide from her site so she can hunt without being disturb.
The Slow motion video gives you an understanding of how gracefully she moves across the field listening for any movement in the grass.
I really hope this gives people a better understanding of the reason why I fell in love with this Owl from the first time I set eyes on it
Rons life through the lens 