Matt's Photography

Arctic farewell

2006-07-16T20:57:00.000+01:00

And the last bunch of Arctic Tern shots

Arctic flight

2006-07-16T20:48:00.000+01:00

Some more Arctic Terns from Cemlyn - a selection of flight shots

Arctic Anglesey

2006-07-16T20:04:00.000+01:00

A visit to North Wales this weekend meant a trip to Cemlyn, Anglesey to get some photos of the terns. Although I missed the possible Cayenne Tern and the Roseate Terns, the Arctics were on good form and a few shots are posted above and a load more can be seen on my pbase website (www.pbase.com/latho).

Whisby Dragons

2006-07-08T23:55:00.000+01:00

Lesser Emperor (dead specimen - probably only 3rd record for Lincolnshire)

Emperor Dragonfly

The real highlight for today was that I managed to catch up with the Lesser Emperor Dragonfly at Whisby. This site has held the first three records for Lincolnshire since last Saturday afternoon! I managed to catch up with the male on Willow Walk, the only remaining live specimen. Whilst it wasnt photographable, it certainly was a very impressive dragonfly with the pale blue band at the top of the abdmoen being visible at long range. Grahame Hopwood, the reserve warden, also showed me the dead specimen which had been brought in earlier in the week, which represented the third record. By now, however, the specimen has lost all its colour as can be seen in the photo above. Some shots of Common Blue Damselflies are posted above and an ovipositing Emperor Dragonfly being harassed by a Common Blue - this shot was taken with my 80-400mm @ 400mm hence the poor quality.

Whisby Butts

2006-07-08T23:08:00.000+01:00

Gatekeeper

Comma

Some photos of Comma and Gatekeeper butterflies taken at Whisby today

Magpipe

2006-07-08T22:19:00.000+01:00

The first time I have actually photographed a Magpie in this country as they tend to not be very obliging - these were taken in Lincoln this morning.

Bempton Cliffs - Gannets......

2006-07-02T23:29:00.000+01:00

Some flight shots

Bempton Cliffs - Gannets.....

2006-07-02T23:15:00.000+01:00

Some shots of a stationary bird on the cliffs

Bempton Cliffs - Gannets....

2006-07-02T23:10:00.000+01:00

Bempton Cliffs - Gannets...

2006-07-02T23:02:00.000+01:00

Life on the colony

Bempton Cliffs - Gannets - the colony

2006-07-02T22:49:00.000+01:00

An amazing sight, sound and smell!

Bempton Cliffs - Kittiwakes

2006-07-02T22:32:00.000+01:00

A lovely gull and a real performer at this site.

Bempton Cliffs - Razorbill

2006-07-02T22:28:00.000+01:00

The closest I have ever seen this species - an amazing and very handsome bird

Bempton Cliffs - Guillemots

2006-07-02T22:15:00.000+01:00

Bempton Cliffs - Fulmars

2006-07-02T22:07:00.000+01:00

Cracking birds - never quite nailed these. This is my best shot.

Bempton Cliffs - the cliffside community

2006-07-02T21:42:00.000+01:00

Watching the interaction between the auk species, gulls, gannets and fulmars is amazing. These shots show some of the different species in the cliffside community including Puffins, Razorbills, Guillemots and Kittiwakes

Bempton Cliffs - the intro

2006-07-02T19:05:00.000+01:00

A day out at Bempton Cliffs, East Yorkshire today with the fiancee - amazing place and I have to say the best reserve I have ever been to. The sea bird spectacle was amazing, from auks (Razorbills, Guillemots and Puffins), to Kittiwakes, Fulmars, and of course, the Gannets. Over the next few posts, you'll find my favourite shots of the day.

Marbled White

2006-07-01T20:18:00.000+01:00

A selection of my favourite photos of Marbled White taken at Chambers Wood, Lincolnshire this morning. It was a great morning looking for butterflies at Chambers this morning with Black Hairstreak, White Letter Hairstreak, White Admiral, Red Admiral, Comma and a single Dark Green Fritillary (a real Lincs rarity!) seen, as well as the Marbled Whites.

Tree Sparrows

2006-07-01T20:10:00.000+01:00

Brimstone etc

2006-06-25T22:23:00.000+01:00

A couple of shots of some of the other stuff at Chambers today including Brimstone, Large Skipper and Painted Lady butterflies.

Chambers - the return of the Broad Bordered Bee Hawks

2006-06-25T20:52:00.000+01:00

I had a cracking morning at Chambers Wood this morning - super Hobby seen really close (didnt have the telephoto lens handy at the time though - typical), a family of Grey Partridges (with the youngest, cutest chicks - my fiancee wouldnt stop going on about them all day) and 2 Broad bodied chasers, amongst the birds and dragonflies. However, the highlights came with the butterflies and moths - 5 Black Hairstreaks (a new species for me - good views on the deck through bins but no photo opportunities), 1 White Admiral, 1 Brimstone, 2 Painted Ladies and 2 Broad Bordered Bee Hawk Moths (my second time for this species after the two last week at the same site). With the latter species, I finally managed to nail some decent shots and the best are posted (sorry for the number, but they are an awesome moth!).

Red Veined Darters

2006-06-24T19:04:00.000+01:00

Eventually got onto at least two Red Veined Darters of these at Gibraltar Point - on the path to the North Hide near Tennysons South scrape. A first for me and a cracking sympetrum! They werent fantastically photogenic, but did manage some flight shots at reasonably close quarters and a couple of record shots on the deck.

Pyramidal Swallows

2006-06-24T18:45:00.000+01:00

A trip to Gibraltar Point, Lincolnshire to try and catch up with the Red Veined Darters (see above post) resulted in little else new. Above are a couple of shots of a confiding young Swallow and some photos of Pyramidal Orchids.

Sand Martins

2006-06-20T21:29:00.000+01:00

A reasonably early finish at work (for a change) allowed me to get down to a colony of Sand Martins in central south Lincolnshire this evening - unfortunately the light was awful and I had to revert to using flash to get a fastest shutter speed of 1/60th, but quite pleased with the results although colour representation is a little affected.

Common Cranes - awesome!

2006-06-18T16:57:00.000+01:00

The absolute highlight for me at Gibraltar Point today, other than the stuff reported below, was 2 Common Cranes. I originally saw them, along with a few other birder's, from the Jackson's Marsh hide, they were feeding in the field behind. After watching them for a while at distance, decided to walk back to see how the fiance was. Everyone else had left to try and get closer views and my fiancee advised that it would be a good idea to get the camera out incase they flushed them and they flew over us. Within seconds of the words coming out of her mouth and me getting the camera out, everything went up and we watched in the distance as the cranes lifted and gradually drifted over our way, even calling, whilst being mobbed by Avocets. At the point they flew over our heads, I was panicking so much am surprised that any of my photos came out but here are the best of about 90 taken in a matter of a minute or so. A fantastic moment - even if the weather was awful for photography!!!

Little Terns

2006-06-18T16:54:00.000+01:00

Some record shots of Little Terns feeding quite close inshore at Gibraltar Point, Lincolnshire.

Sanders and Cets

2006-06-18T16:44:00.000+01:00

Whilst the fiancee relaxed on the beach today at Gibraltar Point, I had the camera at the ready near the tideline. Numerous flocks of Sanderling were moving through, and at least two flocks came close. The Avocet shots (digiscoped - the first digiscoped shots in a long time) were taken on Jackson's Marsh.

Broad Bordered Bee Hawks

2006-06-17T18:47:00.000+01:00

The highlight at Chambers Wood this afternoon was definitely the 2 Broad Bordered Bee Hawk Moths which I found - these things are amazing and hover in front of flowers like hummingbirds - they are also extremely difficult to photograph so am pleased with these record shots.

Bits and Bobs at Chambers

2006-06-17T18:39:00.000+01:00

Common Spotted Orchid

Large Skipper

Large Red Damselfly

Chambers Wood, nr Bardney was really productive this afternoon - here are a selection of some photos of the things seen.

BBC

2006-06-17T18:30:00.000+01:00

A visit to Chambers this afternoon produced this stunning male Broad bodied Chaser - it had some wing damage but this didnt seem to bother it at all and was very active, feeding well.

ovipositing dragons

2006-06-17T18:20:00.000+01:00

Blue tailed and Common Blue Damselflies

Squirrel feeders

2006-06-17T18:15:00.000+01:00

I caught this Grey Squirrel taking over the bird feeders during a short late afternoon visit to Whisby this afternoon. I also had a pair of Banded Demoiselle dragonflies (my first of the year) and 3 Little Ringed Plovers at this site today.

Back to the birds....

2006-06-17T18:10:00.000+01:00

A selection of bird photos from today - the first I've taken for a while since the dragonfly/butterfly season kicked in and I got to play with macro lens.

Broad Bodied Chasers

2006-06-10T21:51:00.000+01:00

A visit to Manby Flashes on the way home from the Lincs coast this afternoon provided very little bird wise, with only a single Greenshank other than the usual common stuff. However, I had my first confirmed sighting of Broad Bodied Chaser (I'm pretty new to the whole dragonfly thing!!) and managed some photos aswell.

Four Spotted Chasers

2006-06-10T21:47:00.000+01:00

Very little at Rimac bird wise today, 3 Little Egrets being the highlight, so given the good numbers of Four Spotted Chaser, decided to try for a few shots.

Small Heath

2006-06-10T21:11:00.000+01:00

A shot of a Small Heath butterfly from Rimac today

MSQ's Dragons

2006-06-04T20:58:00.000+01:00

Hairy Dragonfly

Black tailed Skimmer

An early evening visit to Messingham Sand Quarries, Lincolnshire in the hope of finding some Hairy Dragonflies proved successful and I managed to find approximately 7 different individuals. Hairy Dragonfly is a new species for me and I was extra pleased when I found a stationary individual resting on some reeds, which allowed close enough approach to get a couple of shots. In addition, good numbers of Four Spotted Chaser were present and my first Black tailed Skimmer of the year.

Whisby and Chambers

2006-06-04T20:20:00.000+01:00

Visits to Whisby and Chambers Wood with my parents this morning provided very little of note bird wise except for the usual suspects. There were, however, good numbers of Southern Marsh Orchid (pictured above) out at Whisby and approximately 10 Four Spotted Chaser dragonflies and Common Blue butterflies (above) on the wing. In addition, I also had brief views of a probable Brown Hawker, an early record. At Chamber's, the focus was on butterflies and another couple of shots of Marsh Fritillaries are posted.

Blue Tailed Damsels

2006-05-29T19:20:00.000+01:00

Some shots of Blue Tailed Damselfly taken at Whisby Nature Park, Lincoln this morning, between the heavy hale and rain showers.

More Marsh Fritillaries

2006-05-28T16:03:00.000+01:00

A few more of this beautiful butterfly..

Marsh Frits and Dingy Skips

2006-05-28T15:53:00.000+01:00

Marsh Fritillary

Dingy Skipper

An afternoon yesterday at Chamber's Wood, Lincolnshire with Mark Bibby resulted in us finding at least 20 Marsh Fritillaries and at least 5 Dingy Skippers and being relatively new to the world of butterflies, these were new species for me. Some photos of each are posted above. An interesting change of light on the some of the shots.

Kefalonia, Greece: 18th to 25th May 2006 - the birds...the red rumps

2006-05-27T23:56:00.000+01:00

Red Rumped Swallows, a bird I am still yet to catch up with in the UK, proved to be the star performer during the week at Katelios. Several pairs were present and showed extremely well, sometimes flying within feet of us. Above are a selection of my favourite Red Rumped shots including a few (poor) attempts at flight shots, although hirrundines are not the easiest to photograph in flight.

Kefalonia, Greece: 18th to 25th May 2006 - the birds...the stints

2006-05-27T23:52:00.000+01:00

Three Little Stints were present all week feeding on the algal bloom at the river mouth on Katelios beach and at times proved very obliging. Above is my favourite 10 photos of these cracking little waders.

Kefalonia, Greece: 18th to 25th May 2006 - the birds...ruff and dead bits

2006-05-27T23:30:00.000+01:00

Ruff

Little Bittern - found dead in a drain at the bottom of apartment garden

Kefalonia, Greece: 18th to 25th May 2006 - the birds...egrets and gulls

2006-05-27T22:45:00.000+01:00

Yellow Legged Gull

Little Egrets

Kefalonia, Greece: 18th to 25th May 2006 - the birds...

2006-05-27T21:53:00.000+01:00

Female sparrow sp. from the same population as the male below.

Possible Spanish x House Sparrow hybrid. Both pure Spanish and pure House Sparrows were seen during the week but a small population (of which only males could be compared) frequenting a specific area of the valley showed characteristics of hybridisation between the two species which is apparently well known to occur. Note the grey crown and level of black streaking on the underparts reminiscent of House Sparrow, but also the white facial cheeks, prominent white supercilium, hefty bill and pattern of black streaking on the mantle indicating some Spanish genes.

Sardinian Warbler - record shot

Woodchat Shrike - did not prove obliging for photos at all!

Crested Lark

Kefalonia, Greece: 18th to 25th May 2006 - the birds..

2006-05-27T20:42:00.000+01:00

Katelios proved a cracking place for birding. Even though the majority of migration had ceased with the exception that the mouth of the stream along Katelios Beach proved very attractive for waders with 3 Little Stints, a single Ruff and a Little Ringed Plover being seen during the week.

The majority of the breeding birds were well into the breeding season and common birds through the week proved to include Scops Owl (only heard), Woodchat Shrike, Black Headed Bunting, Crested Lark, Olivaceous Warbler, Red Rumped Swallow, Yellow Legged Gull, Cirl and Corn Buntings, Jay and Turtle Dove. Other common birds in the area included Collared Dove, Swift, Common Buzzard, Kestrel, House Martin, Swallow, Blackbird and Great Tit.

Some single sightings of species during the week included that of Night Heron, Eleonara's Falcon, Red Footed Falcon, Peregrine, a flock of 8 Alpine Swift, Little Ringed Plover, Whinchat, Spanish Sparrow, Nightingale, Red Backed Shrike, Little Egret, Purple Heron, Blue Rock Thrush, Black Eared Wheatear, Marsh Harrier, and Blue Headed Wagtail. I also found a single dead Littern Bittern in some reeds at the bottom of the apartment garden. Bee-eater was also seen during the last three days in the morning passing through the valley, a small passage possibly coinciding with the weather front from the south.

In addition, on close scrutiny of the Sparrows in Katelios, many of the ones in the more rural areas showed definite signs of hybridisation between House and Spanish Sparrow and the common features of both can be seen in the photographs to follow later. A number of bird photos are included in the following posts.

Kefalonia, Greece: 18th to 25th May 2006 - the butterflies......

2006-05-27T20:19:00.000+01:00

Scarce Swallowtail

Two-tailed Pasha

Mallow Skipper

Kefalonia, Greece: 18th to 25th May 2006 - the butterflies.....

2006-05-27T19:57:00.000+01:00

Swallowtails

Kefalonia, Greece: 18th to 25th May 2006 - the butterflies....

2006-05-27T19:21:00.000+01:00

Cleopatra

Meadow Brown

Southern White Admiral

Common Blue

Blue Argus

Kefalonia, Greece: 18th to 25th May 2006 - the butterflies...

2006-05-27T18:56:00.000+01:00

Painted Lady

Clouded Yellow

Kefalonia, Greece: 18th to 25th May 2006 - the butterflies..

2006-05-27T18:25:00.000+01:00

Black Veined White

Bath White

Eastern Dappled White

One of the main highlights for me during the holiday was the sheer number of butterflies in the valley comprising a number of different species. I actually managed to photograph a good number of the butterflies seen which are included over the next few posts. The species name is highlighted below the photo where known.

Kefalonia, Greece: 18th to 25th May 2006 - the Emperor's in flight

2006-05-27T10:14:00.000+01:00

More flight shots of the Emperor Dragonflies

Kefalonia, Greece: 18th to 25th May 2006 - the Emperor's.

2006-05-27T10:01:00.000+01:00

The star dragonfly of the week has to go to the two Emperor Dragonflies which were seen at the mouth of the river, near the beach in Katelios, for the last two days of the holiday. These impressive insects were hawking within inches of me at times and I spent a number of hours atempting flight shots which, along with a couple of stationary photos, are included in the following posts.

Kefalonia, Greece: 18th to 25th May 2006 - the dragonflies..

2006-05-27T09:41:00.000+01:00

Beautiful Demoiselle

Southern Skimmer

Scarlet Dragonfly

For the first part of the week in Katelios, Kefalonia, not a single dragonfly/damselfly was seen. However, with the heatwave, came the dragonflies and by the end of the week, good numbers were present in the valley. The majority of them favoured the small pool at the mouth of the stream at the beach where the 2 Emperor Dragonflies were seen, along with the Scarlet Dragonfly and the Southern Skimmer. The Beautiful Demoiselle's were a great find halfway up the valley favouring an area of the stream which was relatively fast flowing, however, the light and access into where they were settling and feeding made photographing them extremely difficult. Each of the photographs are footnoted with the species name. Broad Bodied Chasers and White Legged Damselflies were also seen but not photographed.

Kefalonia, Greece: 18th to 25th May 2006 - toads and lizards and stuff

2006-05-27T09:20:00.000+01:00

Kefalonia, Greece: 18th to 25th May 2006 - Katelios, the apartment, Kefalonia scenery and the people

2006-05-27T08:54:00.000+01:00

Ray and Joan (and my fiancee, Sofia, on the right hand side) - a lovely couple who had the next door apartment to us and who kindly drove us around on an island tour for the middle day of our holiday

A view of Kefalonia's coastline from just north of the island's capital, Argostoli

The street runninng parallel with the beach at katelios, almost all the tavernas/restaurants were located along this street and its where we ate and drank most nights

The beach at katelios looking down from the road to Scala

The apartment and its setting

The view up the valley from our balcony.

Some shots of our apartment and its setting and a view of the valley looking north from it, the beach at Katelios (you can see the mouth of the river - the green area, halfway up the beach just before the beach bar, and the buildings of the village at the top of the beach) looking down from the road to Scala and a photo down the beach side street where all the tavernas/restaurants were located.

Kefalonia, Greece: 18th to 25th May 2006 - the intro..

2006-05-26T20:59:00.000+01:00

Myself and the fiancee have just returned from a wonderful week in the resort of Katelios in the southern tip of the greek island of Kefalonia. The trip was'nt an intense birding one but whilst my fiancee managed as many hours as she could on the beach in the searing temperatures which reached the low 40's (centigrade that is!!), I was left to my own devises to do some birding etc. The resort itself is situated at the base of a lush valley full of olive and citrus groves with two streams running through the centre of the valley and into the sea. The main river terminated in the centre of the beach, where an area of algal bloom approximately 15 metres by 15 metres proved very attractive to passage waders and local birds as a supply of food and obviously water. It proved a little late for significant spring passage, however, the two most noticable things during the week were the sheer volume of butterflies in the meadows of the valley and the passage of insects (and some birds) which occurred in the middle of the week when a weather system came in from the south and increased the temperature by about 10 degrees centigrade. The next many posts will cover mainly the birds, the butterflies and the dragonflies which were photographed during the week. Firstly, however, a few photos of the resort itself, including our apartment are posted to set the scene.

Robin 'no red breast'

2006-05-14T20:11:00.000+01:00

This juvenile Robin proved very obliging but was always under the shade of the bushes, was constantly on the move and was a nightmare to photograph. Quite pleased with these two shots though, one of which was taken with the flash (the top photo) and the other at 1/20 sec at 400mm!

Oooooh!

2006-05-14T20:02:00.000+01:00

A set of Mallard chick photos

Kinky Ducks!

2006-05-14T19:58:00.000+01:00

The male Mallards spent about 5 minutes chasing the female until it, well, gave up and succumbed!

Starling and Song Thrush

2006-05-14T19:31:00.000+01:00

After shopping with the fiancee for our Greek holiday next week, a trip to the local park in Lincoln was all I could manage today so spent an hour taking some photos of the common stuff, which are included over the next couple of posts. Flash was used for most of the photos given the awful light and cloudy weather conditions.

Waders at Toft.......

2006-05-11T11:55:00.000+01:00

A few shots of a Dunlin at Toft Newton Reservoir, Lincolnshire in the fading evening light - taken at ISO 500 and 1/125 sec.

Waders at Toft

2006-05-11T10:15:00.000+01:00

Spring wader passage has been evident at Toft Newton Reservoir over the past few days with Grey Plover, Turnstone, Ringed Plover, Little Ringed Plover and good numbers of Dunlin recorded. A glorious spring evening tonight and a new tripod head to try out forced me to head up there after work. A small flock of Dunlin and a Ringed Plover were quite obliging so managed to get some shots. Little else of note other than good numbers of Yellow Wagtail as always.

The Season's first....

2006-05-06T13:59:00.000+01:00

Given the beautiful warm weather over the last couple of days, today was the first day when a large of number of butterflies was noticeable. The day's species included Peacock, Holly Blue, Brimstone, Large, Small and Green Veined White, Speckled Wood, Small Copper and Orange Tips. Therefore, I swapped the 80-400mm for the 105mm macro and managed some shots of the Small Copper and an Orange Tip. I was particularly pleased with the Orange Tip shots, a species which I have never succesfully photographed until today. The quality from a prime lens is very noticeable and I rate the Sigma 105mm very highly.

Pecker and Terns

2006-05-06T13:51:00.000+01:00

Given work commitments this weekend, a morning's birding today was restricted to the local area around Lincoln, namely Whisby and Chambers Wood. Nothing outstanding at either site but the Common Terns at Whisby are now in and displaying so an attempt at some flight shots was on the agenda although they were a little far away for the DSLR. A nice Great Spotted Woodpecker showed at Chambers, away from the feeding station.

Black terns at Toft

2006-05-04T21:01:00.000+01:00

A phonecall from Dean Eades in work saw me heading to Toft newton reservoir this evening to see a flock of 7 Black terns. I got there about 6:15pm and picked them up immediately in the centre of the reservoir, coming in closer occassionally but calling all the time. A fabulous site. The light for photography was awful and getting worse by the minute and by 7pm, was almost impossible to capture any detail. An hours birding there also revealed a Grey Plover, a good inland record at this site, and 3 Dunlin. An additional highlight of the evening though came at 7:15 when a flock of about 50 'comic' terns flew in. They circled over the centre of the reservoir for about 1 minute, whilst the Black terns joined them and all the terns flew off in a south westerly direction. A fantastic evening's birding. Some record shots are attached.

Some summer migrants

2006-04-30T21:07:00.000+01:00

A morning at Whisby Nature Park and Toft Newton Reservoir, Lincolnshire produced some nice commoner summer migrants, including Willow warbler well and truly singing on territory, lots of Yellow wags, a pair of Little Ringed Plover and good numbers of Swifts

Goldfinches

2006-04-30T20:27:00.000+01:00

Goldfinches are beautiful birds - I managed a couple of shots of an individual at Whisby today - even my non-birding fiancee likes these!

Long tailed balls of fluff

2006-04-30T20:18:00.000+01:00

I love Long tailed tits - they have to go down as one of the cutest species of bird in my opinion. I was lucky enough to come across a pair at Whisby nest building and with a little cauton managed to get a few shots of these active little cute balls.

Nightingales at Whisby

2006-04-30T17:26:00.000+01:00

Whisby Nature Park, just outside Lincoln, is a superb spot for Nightingale. This individual was singing in the middle of the day and although showing well, was always behind cover making photography a little difficult.

Common Stuff

2006-04-20T16:56:00.000+01:00

Here is a selection of some other common bird species photographed during Easter in both Lincs and North Wales, including an obliging Mistle Thrush.

Marsh Harriers

2006-04-20T16:14:00.000+01:00

Back in Lincolnshire at the back end of the Easter break, I was fortunate to get some superb views of a male Marsh Harrier at an undisclosable site. The light was not fantastic for flight photography but I was pleased with these five photos nonetheless.

Quarry birds

2006-04-19T16:01:00.000+01:00

A nice walk behind my parents house in Llanfairfechan to the quarry workings produced some nice views of Wheatears and Ravens and also some fantastic landscape looking across Traeth Lafan and over to Anglesey.

Conwy Curlews

2006-04-19T15:30:00.000+01:00

Whilst walking up the estuary side of the Conwy RSPB reserve, as the tide was rising, all the Curlews came off the Estuary and passed over our heads offering a good opportunity for some flight shots.

Conwy RSPB

2006-04-19T15:22:00.000+01:00

A visit to Conwy RSPB whilst in North Wales gave some good photographic opportunities for some common coastal birds including Grey Heron, Common Sandpiper and Shelduck.

Easter Eggs

2006-04-19T15:19:00.000+01:00

I spent Easter Weekend between North Wales and Lincolnshire spending the first couple of days visiting my parents and birding my old local patches and the last couple of days on the Lincs coast with Dean Eades. Some good birding including Black Scoter and Osprey in North Wales. The next few posts illustrate some of the birds seen in various sites during the weekend.

Great Crests and Red Crests

2006-04-07T15:11:00.000+01:00

Great Crested Grebes and Red Crested Pochards have been showing well at Hartsholme Park, Lincoln and I have finally managed to get some acceptable shots of these handsome birds.

A super Ouzel!

2006-04-01T15:05:00.000+01:00

I finally managed to see a migrant coastal Ring Ouzel today, at Pyes Hall, Donna Nook, Lincolnshire and I was doubly pleased to get a couple of record shots. Good to see it feeding well!

A morning at Hartsholme

2006-03-25T15:25:00.000+01:00

Some shots from a mornings walk around Hartsholme Park, Lincoln.

More Sanderlings....

2006-03-19T14:55:00.000+01:00

Speedy Sanderling

2006-03-19T14:47:00.000+01:00

Back in the UK after a lovely break in Sweden, I thought I would try my hand at photographing Sanderling, which I have never had any luck with previously. I headed off to Huttoft Beach, Lincolnshire and had some great fun trying to cope with their speed of movement. My best shots follow.

Goosies and Goldies continued...

2006-03-17T14:41:00.000+01:00

Goosanders and Goldeneye

2006-03-17T14:34:00.000+01:00

Given the volumes of floating ice on the Gota Alv which runs through the centre of Gothenburg, Goosanders and Goldeneye allowed somewhat closer views than they do in the UK. The following two posts cover my favourite shots.

Swans and more swans

2006-03-17T14:26:00.000+01:00

On the way back from Marstrand to Gothenburg, we came across a large flock of wild swans feeding close to the shore where an area of sea ice had melted. The flock comprised mainly Whooper Swans (a winter visitor to the UK) with a few Mute Swans also. Here is a selection of my favourite photos from the many taken.

Marstrand continued....

2006-03-17T13:54:00.000+01:00

Marstrand

2006-03-17T13:48:00.000+01:00

Marstrand is a small island just north of Gothenburg which is only approximately 100 metres from the mainland - it is a beautiful place and here are some scenery shots followed by photos of an injured Jackdaw and an 'argentatus' herring gull.

Gothenburg, Sweden

2006-03-17T10:36:00.000+01:00

Myself, my fiancee and my parents decided to go for a week long break to Gothenburg, Sweden in the second week of March (my fiancee's home town to visit her family. There was still a considerable amount of snow and with temperatures reaching as cold as -14 degrees C, it was quite bracing. I still managed to get a little photography in though and the next few posts show the highlights of the trip. To start, are a few scenic shots of where my fiancee's family lives including their house (the yellow one).

Clumber's Coots

2006-03-04T15:32:00.000+01:00

With little of interest about, I thought I would head to Clumber for a photography session and hopefully some obliging common birds - I spent most of the morning photographing the coots.

Ruff and Turnstone continued...

2006-02-18T20:41:00.000+01:00

Ruff and Turnstone

2006-02-18T20:32:00.000+01:00

Only the second day of decent weather since getting the D200, I decided to go to Humberstone Fitties on the Lincs coast to try and get some shots of the normally confiding Ruff and Turnstone - they didnt disappoint and here are some of my best shots.

The new camera...

2006-01-30T15:51:00.000+01:00

The receipt of my Nikon D200 coincided with a trip to North Wales to see my folks and some georgeous weather to try it with. I am really pleased with the first set of results especially the Jackdaw in flight. Here is a couple of the first photos taken including a flock of Chough, a mixed flock of waders (Redshank and Turnstone) and a flock of Wigeon in flight.

No fishing...

2006-01-28T16:04:00.000+01:00

Crossbill at Walesby, Lincolnshire

2006-01-21T16:00:00.000+01:00

Waxwings for Xmas

2005-12-28T16:07:00.000+01:00

Have had a lovely xmas in Gothenburg, Sweden with my fiancee's family - very few birds but a large flock of Waxwings did grace the neighbourhood for the full 5 day visit. I managed a few shots on the only day suitable for photography.

Laughing Gull in North Wales

2005-12-18T20:42:00.000+01:00

After finally making it to North Wales after a couple of weeks anxious wait (especially as everyone I knew I had already seen it!), the Laughing Gull at Porthmadog showed superbly well and was easily tempted by a loaf of bread. A selection of shots of this superb rarity follow.

Green Heron on Anglesey

2005-11-13T21:00:00.000+01:00

After waiting all week hoping that the Green Heron would stay at Red Wharf Bay on Anglesey, myself and Dean Eades headed over on Friday night after work, stayed with my parents over night and were at the bird about 8am in the morning. The bird showed well at times but photographing it was hard during our time there so got just couple of record shots with the DSLR but a fantastic bird nonetheless and a great british tick for me.

Black Headed Gulls - Huttoft, Lincolnshire

2005-11-07T15:35:00.000+01:00

Even More White Rumped Sands..

2005-10-20T20:34:00.000+01:00

White Rumped Sand continued....

2005-10-20T20:18:00.000+01:00