More Birds

coming soon :-)

 

Hoping to awaken this sad little blog of mine from its long slumber soon.

Just setting up blogger software so it works as I wish it to: Image sizes and resolution, for example.

Software has changed a little since I last wrote on this blog, and although I have already set it up to work with Seri’s blog I do things a little differently.

Anyway, please forgive these meaningless rambles, as I intimated above it’s all just testing the system :D

This posting will change over the next few days and then be deleted. Hopefully i’ll recieve a visit from one or more of the mythical nine muses – but time alone will tell.

Time out

Time away from the house, at long last :-) life has its ups and downs – at present things health-wise are reasonably OK – so we go out and have a bit of time away…..

This month we’ve managed trips back home to Wales, and half a day in Gloucestershire at the wonderful Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetland Trust site. The following slideshow is a mix of shots from our Home and Garden, Slimbridge, Brandon Marsh Nature Reserve and Nant yr Arian.

Hope you like it…..

We’re still here, alive and kicking :-)

So, our most recent trip – Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetland Trust site – Gloucestershire. A long, hot, tiring, very painful, and thoroughly enjoyable day out with the lovely Seri.

Click the image for a slideshow of 89 shots from the trip.

Hope you enjoy the images, we certainly enjoyed taking them…….. Click the link above for more info on Slimbridge – it is a very important conservation site and a beautiful place for a walk.

Annual Report

And so we get to the end of 2010, the end of the year and the end of the first decade of the 21st Century. In personal terms this year has been nothing short of a bloody nightmare – family matters – we miss you so much Trish - , but in terms of our photography and wildlife watching – which is, after all the reason d’ etre for this blog, we have had the proverbial ball. 

So, just for the moment, let’s forget the personal and concentrate on the lovely animals and the photo adventures Seri and I have enjoyed this year…….

2010 has been our most “productive” year ever in terms of photos added to our database and collection. As of today – 31st December 2010 – we have added a pretty astonishing 90,859 images to our database – we have never approached this number of shots in any previous year. I should point out this is not the overall number of shots, but rather the number that have survived the cut. We probably shot 40-50% more than this…….

So – a few, ok, a lot of,  boring statistics –

Month	Number of shots
January	4993
February	5185
March	6415
April	8537
May	11597
June	9087
July	7629
August	8842
September	7464
October	8316
November	8756
December	4038
Sum	90,859

Not all of the above were wildlife shots, of course, we tend to take one or more camera each with us wherever we go to. Also it is true to say that cameras with a high frame rate (8 frames per second for our D2h and 7 Frames per second for the D300s) tend, on the whole, to generate more output simply due to the fact that more shots are taken in shorter periods of time.

So more boring statistics – which I shall read in future years, which in itself makes this a worthwhile effort - So the cameras workload:

Camera	Number of shots
Nikon D2h	8344
Nikon D200	14339
Nikon D300s	54659
Nikon D50	11870
Lumix FZ28	650
Olympus U850sw	281
Pentax Optio S40	70
Fuji S5700	141
Konica-Minolta Z1	82

As you can see the Nikon D300s is our most worked camera, hope it survives LOL

Lots of very old equipment as you can see – but hey it works and it costs a great deal less than buying new……

Our database lists 93 different locations for the shots we took this year – most of them are in the Coventry and Warwickshire area – where we live at present.  We did however manage to get out and about between periods of illness and so on. Brandon Marsh Nature reserve figured largely, no surprise to anyone who knows us, in our photo activities and we shot 56040 images on the site, spread over 158 visits - as you can imagine we didn’t miss a great deal :-)

We also managed to visit Bradgate Park in Leicestershire 9 times shooting 5774 images, Coombe Abbey Country Park in Coventry 8 times – 4266 shots, Donna Nook Seal Rookery in Lincolnshire twice shooting 2610 shots, Draycote Water 4 times – 1960 shots, Groby Pool 7 times (it’s close to Bradgate Park) – 1477 shots, Rutland Water twice – 1090 shots, Slimbridge Wetland Trust twice with 3560 shots, Warwickshire University Grounds – 4356 shots and Seri visited her parents in Malaysia returning with 484 shot in tow. We also made a trip to Wales, our old homestead for our “summer holidays” shooting Red Kites and a May Day trip to the Cotswolds – to the Bird of Prey Centre at Batsford Arboretum. Not a comprehensive list – but these are the main places we visited.

In terms of what we have taken photos of this year, well, anyone who knows us knows that we shoot anything that is in front of the cameras – so we have taken lots of scenic shots, especially at the beginning and end of the year when snow was on the ground. We try to place our images in context in our database, so if we go to Bradgate Park to shoot the deer, we will also shoot the scenery to place context into the overall trip’s portfolio. As I said, we shoot everything, plants, fungi animals, birds and so on…….

So this year we have taken 8637 invertebrate shots (insects, spiders, snails and the like), 6658 vertebrate shots (not including birds) ranging from dogs and cats through to rare Great Crested Newts and all manner of mammals, 59247 shots of birds ranging from very rare Bittern and Osprey through to the most common Pigeons, Starlings and so on. We have also photographed Deer 3217 times (Fallow, Red, Muntjac and a few shots of Reindeer). 1830 shots of Fungi, 3751 shots of people and  1669 of ourselves, 3951 shots of plants and flowers, 4896 shots of scenery and landscapes and so on and 1535 shots of Grey Seals.

In amongst the above are 103 shots of Osprey and their nest site and chicks, 314 shots of Bittern, over 800 shots of Kingfishers and 2371 shots of Robins – what can I say, we like Robins :-)

Highlights of the year, undoubtedly our two trips to Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetland Trust, and the two trips to Donna Nook for the seal breeding, and also our trips to Wales and to the Batsford Arboretum.

The first  two locations could not be more different to one another – Slimbridge teems with captive and often highly endangered species of wildfowl from all over the world. All nice and tidy each species or breed has an enclosure suited to its needs, with manicured pathways and lots of staff to care for them. Donna Nook is a stretch of beach with a fence, some 2000 seals, at the peak, and several hundred interested and excitable people all trying to get a view, and more often than not a photograph of the new-born pups.

Both of these sites are gorgeous in their own way – it is not accidental that we visited each twice  - and are well worth the pain and effort required to get there and back, and indeed the week or so of bed rest required after such trips.

The trip to Wales is, for us a trip home. We saw hundreds of Red Kites in the air above our heads at Nant yr Arian – a site to remember forever. Batsford Bird of Prey Centre was similarly memorable – to see large raptors such as the Golden Eagle and European Eagle Owl swooping above one’s head has to be seen to be believed. Some great trips this year :-)

We have had a great year in terms of our photography……… hope it continues into next year and beyond :-)

You probably noticed there are no photos in this posting – the reason being – we have posted hundreds of shots throughout the year. View the other posts on this blog, or visit our Flickr sites or the Brandon Marsh Galleries to see what we have been up to.

For now we wish everyone we know a Happy New Year and I’m off to prepare our equipment for 2011. We shall be at Coombe Country Park tomorrow – 1/1/11 a visit we have made each New Years Day for the past 3 years.

So Happy New Year – and if we see you, we will probably take your photo :-)

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Slimbridge–Wildfowl and Wetland Trust.

Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust site

19th November 2010 and the lovely Seri took the day off work, we wanted to go to the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust site at  Slimbridge in Gloucestershire. We awoke to A foggy day and a forecast that the fog was here for the rest of the day, but joy of joys, Slimbridge should be OK. So we set off, fog and slow moving traffic for most of the 90 mile trip, several stops on the way but we got there eventually.

As we arrived in the carpark we were surprised to see that there were a lot of people already there.  Slimbridge is a world famous conservation site, which hosts an amazing array of wildfowl from all over the world. Including the now famous Nene (pronounced Neh Neh) or Hawaiian Goose, which was rescued from the point of extinction by Sir Peter Scott, late lamented son of Scott “of the Antarctic” and founder of Slimbridge.  Given its fame it is no surprise that the place is always busy, despite the high entrance fee of £9.75 per person. We don’t go often :-)

This was our second trip to Slimbridge this year, our previous visit was in the height of summer in August, which, as any British person will tell you, is when you can almost always guarantee dark skies and rain. Ironically it was a touch easier, therefore, to use the cameras this trip than last :-)

One of the things we love about this location is that, not only do you get to see exotic species from all over the planet, with their vibrant colours and design, but also you get to be really close to indigenous UK and passage migrant species which use the spot as a feeding station.

It is a great thrill to stand within a few metres of Eider and Goldeneye ducks, as well as Bewick, Mute and Whooper Swans, Tufted Ducks, Jackdaw, Rook, Dunnock, Woodpigeon and many others. All of these species we have photographed elsewhere in our travels, but Slimbridge seems to make them more relaxed and approachable.

The main pond, adjacent to the visitor centre is host to a large number of Mute Swans. There must a hundred or so, all mixed up with the Tufted Ducks, Common Shelduck and their more colourful cousins the Ruddy Shelduck. All was peace and quite, Swans grooming and bathing peacefully, occasionally a little quarrel between adults and youngsters and then suddenly all hell breaks loose. All of the Swans, began beating their wings against the water furiously and dashing up and down the lake. The noise was deafening, and the water instantly became like a boiling cauldron. Incredible to see, and we have no idea as to why they went crazy……

We visited the hides on this trip, which we had missed last time around, frankly not great, they are poorly designed and too far away from the birds on the site. That said we saw Curlew,  several hundred Wigeon and a Peregrine Falcon. For reasons known unto the managers of Slimbridge the one hide Seri wanted to visit closes in the winter months to “prevent disturbance of over wintering species” this seems to be a little silly to us, as the whole point of hides is to prevent such disturbance. A bit of overkill methinks………

Anyway back into the main reserve for us, at this point we were feeling a little let down by the visit, a quick trip to see the Flamingos (there are several breeds at Slimbridge) and you cannot help but feel better towards the place. Even better though, on our last trip in August we had specifically gone in search of Mandarin and Wood duck, with no luck. This time we found them the male Mandarin being all feisty and showy. Mandarins are evolved to be show offs :-) if they had a motto it would surely be “I pose therefore I am” LOL delightful little things to look at……..

We continued our walk around as much as my poor legs can manage of the reserve, viewing numerous breeds of Crane, geese and ducks of all colour size shape and attitude all over the place.  Slimbridge has a population of the now rare Eurasian Crane, which are all hand reared,  using glove puppets,  to reduce their dependence on man, with the intention of eventual re-introduction of a breeding population into the UK.

Great things to see therefore in their present semi-captive state.

Conservation can be, in and of itself, a contentious issue, as I am always reminded when I see the odd looking little duck to the right. This is the very rare White Headed Duck, numbers of which have plunged in recent years. Many of these little fellows are to be seen at Slimbridge.

The principle reason for their reduction in numbers is not, as one may think, hunting, habitat loss or any of these issues, although I am sure, as with many species these will all play a part, but no, the main reason is that they are hybridising with Ruddy Duck, an American species which now lives and breeds in the United Kingdom.

What answer do the powers that be have to prevent this “decline”? Wholesale slaughter of the Ruddy Duck population in the UK and I believe in the EU. Note the quotation marks around decline…… One could argue with some veracity that they are not in decline, but are rather evolving into a new breed…

We always find it incredible that wholesale slaughter of a breed or species is touted as a tool in conservation. To us they seem to be mutually exclusive terms…….. If we were to remove all of the “non-native” species from the United Kingdom one wonders what, if anything, would remain?? Naive you say – perhaps so – but there comes a point when you have to say – it’s been here long enough to be considered a part of our fauna……. As you can see – visiting Slimbridge makes one think :-)

Slimbridge also houses a troop of Otters, and we were lucky enough to be there at feeding time when the female adult and her three well grown daughters were being fed with all manner of fishy goodness…. Great to see them out in the open. There was a talk going on during the feeding spectacle in which it emerged that the Otters are American – Northern River Otters, and not Eurasian. Why? not a clue and no convincing reason seemed forthcoming. Anyway who cares, they are remarkable and beautiful creatures.

There is also an elusive beaver on site, elusive in that it just never seems to come out LOL

If you visit, go to the Crane site and you will see a couple of baskets on a pivot point. There is a sign on the baskets asking “should we re-introduce beavers to the UK?” I paraphrase – the idea is that visitors place stones into whichever basket suits their answer yes or no….. As one basket is heavier so, naturally the baskets will act as a weighing scale.

Great idea, with one significant problem. As we walked around the reserve we found there were quite a few stones in the no side of the scale – which actually fits our views on this question. A couple of hours later we went back to the same spot and all of the stones in the no side had been removed leaving none in that basket.

In all honesty one has to ask: Why ask the question if you have no interest in the results? – A fundamentally dishonest and insulting practice.

Criticism ended :-)

Slimbridge is a really special place to visit – it is too expensive (use the restaurant at your financial peril) and the hides are not great, but the sheer volume of wildfowl from all over the world, as well as the UK just makes this a must visit for anyone wishing to see exotic birds and wildlife close-up. In addition the knowledge of the good work they do there with regards to conservation of the many endangered species of wildfowl makes one thankful for their existence. Great place – visit if you can – but don’t forget your wallet…….. our day ended with a 2 and a bit hour drive home through pea soup fog. Great day out – hard work :-)

All in all we took over 2,600 shots on this visit using 3 cameras – Nikon D50, D200, D300s– 1882 of which we added to our extensive collection.

Click the above image to see a slideshow of photographs from our recent trip to Slimbridge.