Fighting Godwits

During the recent fine spell of weather I managed a brief visit to Marshside. I timed my visit for the last couple of hours of golden evening light, even so the light was still strong and contrast on the birds was still extreme.
The treat for the evenings entertainment happened as two black tailed godwits decided on an altercation right in front of the viewing screen.

Fortitude 

Coals to Newcastle

The quietness of the morning was shattered by the rattle of the letter box and the thud and shuffle letters landing behind the front door onto the floor. In days gone by when I ran my own business my heart would sink as another load of bills, reminders, and demands and final demands for payment of this and that arrived at the household. Gingerly I would open them, " We wish to inform you that your account has been placed on STOP subject to payment of (HOW MUCH?) which is now three month overdue, further more our solicitors have been advised............... etc. etc. I would scramble through the letters in the vein hope that someone had actually paid me. Thankfully those days are long gone, so now when the post is delivered, after sifting through the junk every so often a rather nice letter arrives.
Today Thursday March 8th was one of those days.
To start at the beginning I must take you back to June 2011 when out of the blue I received a phone call from a print designer, he sounded a bit hairy fairy and quite frankly I thought he was smoking something, but the gist of his call was that he required a few images of a Dartford warbler and he had seen just what he was looking for on my web site. The job was for the National Trust, and he assured me he would be back in touch. Well you know I waited and waited, and waited some more then I forgot all about it, then in November 2011 I received a phone call from the National Trust in Swindon, "I believe Peter has been in touch with you about some photos of the Dartford warbler, well we are ready to go to press and are really desperate for them, deadlines and all that, could you sort us out pronto, such dynamism I thought.

Well that was that, until the post arrived this morning where together the junk mail I received a copy of a small fold up pamphlet of the outdoor guide to Dunwich Heath. I must say that it is very well produced and my photos of the Dartford warbler are contained within it. Strange to think though that the N.T. don't have stock photos of its most popular resident bird with forty breeding pairs on site.


The photos were taken when a lone male ventured to one of it's more northerly points in England.....so for these to be used for Dunwich Heath is rather like taking coal to Newcastle, but there again I'm not complaining.

The two images used in the pamphlet.
 Fortitude

In and Out

IN THE GARDEN.......

                             

A goldcrest puts in an all to brief appearance

And a wren flits about all over the place

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And where would I be without my blackbirds


BY THE SEA........

A small collection of sanderling shots taken close to Fleetwood on the high-tide.

AND A SURPRISE ENCOUNTER ....

 Many years ago I reckon I put in 80 hours trying to photograph a distant blob, namely a glossy ibis then resident at Marshside.....then I find one feeding with a few mallard by the side of the road........like I've said before that's wildlife photography for you.

Nice to bump into Brian Rafferty, Martin Jump and Geoff Gradwell on my trips.

Fortitude

IN THE NETS...and boy do we need to be!

Nothing much happening at the moment, apart from Shorties all over the place....over the past weeks I have visited three site in Lancashire and one in Wales, all top secret of course, trouble is apart from one of these sites, where I have not encountered so much as a dog walker (bless em) the other three have been packed to the rafters with photographers and bird watchers.......Wikileaks!!!! No bother, it's like being in a traffic jam and complaining about all the traffic in front of you, while all those behind you are doing the same......your part of it.

Taken at one of the more popular sites, but as it was hammering down and black as night for most of the day I was alone with the owls

Only seen Mrs Kingfisher one since the first freeze, so she survived. Frozen over again at the moment, I fear she may be off to find a mate when the thaw sets in......  so a lot of work for one shot....well that's wildlife photography for you.

The Clock....twenty five to three

Purple Sandpiper found on a recent visit to Wales

I have a couple of sites where Barn Owls are active at the moment so I may have more luck with them.

In the nets, head down, concentrate.

Fortitude

Scuppered in the Nineties

Walking on the river Yarrow around Croston looking out for Owls, a flash of electric blue zipped past me and turned off into a reed-bed, even a non birder would have recognized a beautiful Kingfisher. That was before Christmas. After many visits I have managed to build a makeshift hide and drop in a perch, now it was time to reap the rewards. The other day missus Kingfisher duly obliged  and landed on the perch for all of two seconds, old man Cookson wasn't quick enough and missed the shot, but I took heart from the fact she had discovered the perch and some time in the near future she will make me a happy man.
It wasn't a complete disaster (darling) as she afforded me views with four fly pasts and a landing on a reed a little farther upstream where she discharged a pellet, something I had never witnessed before, and I did manage to get a snap of her on the reed.

Although Thursday the 12th wasn't a disaster when I returned last Friday (the 13th ) it unfortunately was. I arrived  to find the spot completely frozen over and spent some time breaking up the ice, but to no avail it was freezing back over in an instant. On a four hour watch in the area on Saturday I had no sightings of my friend. If she survives this cold snap, I wonder if she will return, I will have to wait and see.
Returning home on Friday I called in at Yarrow C.P. one of my favorite haunts and although the light had gone the burning embers of the setting sun was lighting up the tree tops and this was giving some great  reflections in the water and as luck would have it one of my favorite birds swam into view, a Great Crested Grebe.

 So the 13th wasn't all bad news, and although I have been scuppered in the nineties I still have another innings.
Fortitude

Settling In.....

Settling in after a sticky start, keep patting the crease, keep concentrating, the buggers won't get me out, in the sixty's now, I'm going to get a century, I'm going to get a bloody century.

Fortitude

First shots of 2012

Like an opening batsman striding out to the crease to get his team on the score sheet, so the photographer heads out into a bright New Year to get his account under-way.

Take Off

In for the kill

On Patrol

                                             

Short-eared Owl

Snow Bunting

More to follow on my Web Site

Fortitude