January - Bushwacking in the Gambia
We'd previously visited the Gambia right at the end of the wet season in early November, so it was quite a different experience during the dry season in late January. Some different birds; less dense vegetation; much lower humidity, which made hiking through the bush much more comfortable, & best of all, no mosquitos! Very difficult to select just one highlight, but for me, it'd probably have to be a close encounter with Ruppell's, White-backed & Lappett-faced vultures while on our way up-country to Tendaba Camp. We spotted large numbers of vultures descending from the highway, so our guide Modou & I set off through thick bush to locate the carcass - to the amazement of our companions!
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| Juvenile White-backed Vulture |
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| Juvenile White-backed Vulture |
February - Day-active barn owl
Our local barn owl pair seem to have changed their hunting areas due to crop-rotation, making them hard to observe. So it was a real treat to get some great views of this day-hunting owl on Severnside.
March - Spain
Our week in Andalucia in March was primarily spent relaxing with friend, but I did managed ot squeeze in a bit of wildlife watching too - albeit in the guise of tourist activities! Some great views of the thriving colony of Bald Ibis near Barbate. Surprisingly, the front bird shown below doesn't have a ring - could it be from the population in Morocco?
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| Bald Ibis at nest site |
Louise had organised a trip to Finland as my birthday present from family & friends, so late April saw me wide awake in hides all night waiting for the Capercaillies to start lekking. A wonderful place - hope to go back this year for brown bear & wolverines.
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| Male Capercaillie lekking |
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| Male Capercaillie |
Skomer Island is a great places to spend a day during the breeding season. There are a wide range of seabirds breeding on the ledges, but of course the Puffins are the main attraction. Always a pleasure to photograph these charming little birds. the cold spring meant that we were just slightly too early to get the birds bringing in beakfuls of sand-eels as the eggs hadn't quite hatched. This year, for sure!
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| Puffin courtship behaviour |
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| Puffin displaying |
We're lucky to have Coate Water nature reserve on our local patch. It attracts a great range of different species across the year. I love watching the Great Crested Grebes - especially in the Spring when they are courting, but also when the very attractive chicks hatch. I was pleased to capture this typical Grebe behaviour of the mother feeding feathers to her youngsters.
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| Great Crested Grebe & chick |
July - Otterly amazed
A trip to Mull in early July has become an annual pilgrimage for us. It's a very special place - and a wildlife enthusiast's paradise. It can be one of the best places in the UK to see otters, but I've never really got the shots I wanted in previous visits. We couldn't believe our eyes when this young otter decide to fish for crabs less than 10 metres from where we were walking the dogs on the beach! |
| Young otter, Mull |
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| otter fishing for crabs, Mull |
A trip to Perthshire for a family occasion gave me a great opportunity to zip even further up north for a shot a catching Osprey's fishing at Aviemore. It did mean a ridiculously early start to be in the hide before it started getting light, but it was well worth it. I'll definitely be back in 2014.
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| Osprey with Trout |
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| Osprey fishing |
We generally spend a week in Spain watching the autumn migration. While we've usually been lucky enough to see juvenile Imperials, the opportunity to photograph an adult pair in their territory in the mountains was a real wow.
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| Spanish Imperial Eagles - pseudo mating |
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| Spanish Imperial Eagle in flight |
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| Spanish Imperial Eagle pair |
October - Stuck in a rutt?
I love spending time with deer at anytime of year, but the rutt is always particularity special. The mild autumn meant things were a little slow to get going, but persistence does pay off.
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| Fallow stags clashing antlers |
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| Red deer stag bellowing |
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| Red deer - full frontal bellow |
November - More grebes
I've been after pictures of Slavonian Grebes for ages, but had missed out on getting really close to them until this autumn, when a very obliging individual appeared on one of the local reservoirs. By keeping down by the water-level, I was able to get some intimate shots without disturbing the bird. A Red-necked Grebe was an unexpected bonus!
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| Red-necked Grebe |
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| Slavonian Grebe |
Thanks to a pre-Christmas visit to our family north of the border, I managed to squeeze a half-day session at a Sparrowhawk hide in Scotland - something I've been wanting to do for ages! I'm really delighted with the results.
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| Adult male Sparrowhawk |
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