Wilson's Wildlife
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Birds
    • Finches, Sparrows and Buntings.
    • Warblers
    • Woodpeckers / creepers.
    • Sea Birds
    • Raptors
    • Hummingbirds
    • Tanagers.
    • Water birds
    • Herons, egrets and bitterns
    • Waders
    • Ducks, Geese and Swans
    • Other European birds
    • Other North and Central American Birds
    • Other South American Birds
    • Waxwing Gallery
    • Osprey gallery
  • Bugs
    • Butterflies
    • moths
    • Flies
    • Bees and wasps
    • Beetles
    • Dragonflies
    • Damselflies
    • Crickets and Grasshoppers
    • Spiders
  • Mammals
    • European
    • African
    • American
    • Australasian
    • Asian
  • Reptiles
    • European
    • American
    • African
    • Asian
    • Australasian
  • Amphibians
    • Frogs and toads
  • Fish
    • Sea Fish
    • Freshwater Fish
  • Contact
  • Talks
  • Links

Otter Bliss

21/6/2014

 
Mid-summer's day is never wasted, especially when it falls on a Saturday and the weather forecast is perfect.  Waking at 5am I was at Leighton Moss for 6am and headed straight for Lower Hide in search of otters.  I didn't have to wait long for this one to appear and, for once, I got a close encounter...   
Picture
Otter, 21/06/14, Leighton Moss, Silverdale, Lancs (from Lower Hide).
Picture
Say "cheese".
Mission accomplished, I decided to head to Gait Barrows where insects were bound to be waking up in the morning sun.  They were indeed, especially butterflies... 
Picture
Brown Argus, 21/06/14, Gait Barrows, Cumbria.
Picture
Large Skipper, 21/06/14, Gait Barrows, Cumbria.
Picture
Ringlet, 21/06/14, Gait Barrows, Cumbria.
Picture
Meadow Brown, 21/06/14, Gait Barrows, Cumbria.
Picture
Speckled Wood, 21/06/14, Gait Barrows, Cumbria.
Picture
Strangalia Maculata, 21/06/14, Gait Barrows, Cumbria.

Derry

17/6/2014

 
Barely recovered from the "lad's weekend" I flew to Derry in Northern Ireland on Tuesday 17th June on a "Peace and reconciliation" course.  Naturally I took my camera gear along too...
Picture
Hooded Crow, 17/06/14, St Columbs Park, Derry. Very common all over Northern Ireland but strangely absent in England.
Picture
Blackcap, 17/06/14, St Columbs Park, Derry. A youngster, waiting to be fed.
The following morning I took an early morning stroll northwards along the river from the City Hotel.  I never expected to see much and sure enough, I didn't.  However, I managed to get much closer to the birds than I would ordinarily...   
Picture
Linnet, 18/06/14, Quay Trail, Central Derry. Right next to me on metal fence.
Picture
Mistle Thrush, 18/06/14, Quay Trail, Central Derry. On the same fence, again very close.
Picture
Mistle Thrush, 18/06/14, Quay Trail, Central Derry. The youngster, waiting for the worms.

Seven go to Centreparcs

14/6/2014

 
Stewart Norcross lives opposite me and shares the same passion for the great outdoors.  Needless to say we've done many a walk together (usually from pub to pub on Longton high street) but more serious endeavors have included the "Three Peaks Challenge" in 2009.  This weekend was Stewart's 40th birthday, so stress and hassle were not an option.  Seven of us headed north to enjoy a glorious weekend at Centreparcs Penrith...         
Picture
Battle of the barbies: Alex and Stewart duel for outdoor masterchef supremacy.
Picture
Can't possibly eat indoors when other people leave this kind of mess on the table. Disgusting.
Picture
Red Squirrel, 14/06/14, Centreparcs Penrith. In its natural environment: a log-cabin window ledge eating monkey nuts. Red squirrels are very approachable here, very used to humans.
Picture
Rabbit, 14/06/14, Centreparcs Penrith. Even more approachable, I could almost reach out and grab it.
Picture
Badgers, 15/06/14, Centreparcs Penrith. Typical, you wait 43 years to see one, then four turn up at once! Many thanks to the very sociable wardens who pointed me in the right direction. This was, without a doubt, the highlight of the trip. (Mind you, beating Mike at table tennis came a close second).

Birds, Bees and Butterflies.

12/6/2014

 
To bee or not to bee?  That was the question on Thursday 12th June.  With so many insects buzzing around enjoying the sun, it was difficult to ignore their sheer variety.  Normally at Mere Sands Wood I would look for Kingfishers , but this time I never got further than the flower meadow next to the Visitors' Centre.    
Picture
Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum) 12/06/14, Mere Sands Wood, Rufford, Lancs.
Picture
Common Carder Bumblebee (Bombus pascuorum) 12/06/14, Mere Sands Wood, Rufford, Lancs.
Picture
Marmalade Hoverfly (Episyrphus balteatus) 12/06/14, Mere Sands Wood, Rufford.
Picture
Red Admiral, 12/06/14, Mere sands Wood, Rufford.
So easy to lose track of time when absorbed in photography, I had been snapping away at insects for two hours!  Driving back to Penwortham I took a detour down Howick Cross Lane, a great place to come in the fading daylight.  To my surprise, I found Tree Sparrows: my first ever sighting of this species in Penwortham.  
Picture
Tree Sparrow, 12/06/14, bottom of Howick Cross Lane, Penwortham.

Barbondale

8/6/2014

 
The idea of a blog, so I'm told, is to keep it up to date.  Apologies for not doing that.  However, my excuse is a good one: I've been busy: busy snapping away at wildlife at every opportunity!  This + work + kids + world cup footy have all taken their toll I'm afraid.  At long last though, I can begin to unfold the highlights of rather an eventful midsummer photography binge.  

On Sunday 8th June I awoke to a noisy dawn chorus at 5am.  I noticed a huge bank of cloud to the south moving slowly north, the north itself was cloudless.  To head north was a no-brainer, but a trip to the legendary Barbondale was a bit of a gamble.  I had heard plenty about this place, but would it live up to expectations?

Just after the village of Barbon near Kirkby Lonsdale, I disturbed a Tawny Owl perched on a dry stone wall, a good omen I thought.  From there I descended into paradise: a perfectly formed little valley, isolated and gorgeous.  I parked the car just before a stone bridge and, as soon as I opened the door, the first sound I heard was that of a cuckoo.  Moments later, the same bird shot right across the valley.                  
Picture
Cuckoo, 08/06/14, Barbondale, Cumbria. A rubbish shot but a significant one for me. The last time I saw a cuckoo in England was 31 years ago: Howick, Penwortham.
Picture
Pied Flycatcher (female) 08/06/14, Barbondale, Cumbria. From the stone bridge, double back and walk beside the dry stone wall above the stream. The birds were plucking flies from the trees overhanging the wall.
Picture
Pied Flycatcher (male) 08/06/14, Barbondale, Cumbria.
Picture
Spotted Flycatcher, 08/06/14, Barbondale, Cumbria. Incredibly, this bird was in the same tree.
Reluctant to leave the Flycatcher festival, I headed towards Fowlshaw Moss with a view to getting home before lunch time...
Picture
Four-spotted chaser, 08/06/14, Foulshaw Moss, Cumbria. No sign of the White-faced version.
Picture
Blue-tailed Damsel, 08/06/14, Foulshaw Moss, Cumbria. I'm seeing a lot of these recently.
Picture
Osprey, 08/06/14, Foulshaw Moss, Cumbria. Honest, there's an osprey here, at the top of the tree on its nest, opposite the camera post. Good to see Ospreys nesting in England, albeit at a ridiculous half-mile distance.

Small Wonders

3/6/2014

 
After a half term week's "holiday" in Devon, run ragged by my kids 24-7, it was time for a morning off.  So on Sunday I rose at 5am to be at Leighton Moss for 6am.  From lower hide I observed the otters distantly porpoising through a thin layer of surface mist, lovely to watch but still too far away for a decent shot.  As the temperature rose and the mist disappeared, I decided to focus on the small stuff...         
Picture
Male Broad-bodied Chaser, 01/06/14, Leighton Moss, Lancs. The approach path to Lower Hide comes alive as the sun rises.
Picture
Hover Fly species, 010614, Leighton Moss. At eye level above the same approach path.
Picture
Silver stretch-spider (Tetragnatha pinicola) 01/06/14, Leighton Moss, on the reeds next to Lower Hide path.
The 1Km walk from Lower Hide back to my car on the main road is never dull, but today it was extra-special...
Picture
Red Deer, 01/06/14, Leighton Moss, Lancs.
Picture
Bearded Tit, 01/06/14, Leighton Moss, Lancs. A pair came unusually close to the causeway path.
Picture
Broad-bodied Chaser, 01/06/14, Leighton Moss, lancs. A female this time.
And with so many insects around, I couldn't ignore Gait Barrows nature reserve, just down the road... 
Picture
Andrena helvola 01/06/14 Gait Barrows, Silverdale, Lancs. The small bee species was attracted to this rare orchid: Lady's Slipper.
Picture
Yellow-barred Longhorn Moth (Nemophora degeerella) 01/06/14, Gait Barrows, Silverdale, Lancs. Just one of the many strange moths to be found here. I must pay this place another visit very soon...

    Author

    Tony Wilson.
    Amateur wildlife photographer.   

    Archives

    May 2019
    August 2018
    June 2018
    March 2018
    December 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013

    Categories

    All
    December 2013

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.