March 2021 New Home - New patch
65 bird and mammal species in the first month, just walking from the front door. Local habitats include: estuary, saltmarsh, raised bog, river, farmland, birch wood, coppiced wood, and conifer plantation. I have a six mile walk that takes in all the different areas and I usually set off just after dawn with my Panasonic G9 and 100-400mm (the Canon kit is just too heavy). The local ospreys should arrive soon and the adders and lizards will start to emerge so lots to look forward to.

Stonechat

Robin

Roe Deer

Long-tailed Tit

Heron

Goldfinch

Goosander

Goldeneye

Skylark

Roe Deer

Pink-footed Geese

Over the moss I

Over the Moss II

Barn Owl

Heron

Catkins

Goosander

Blue Tit

Barn Owl v Carrion Crow

Stonechat

Heron
February 2021
We're about to move, in the middle of lockdown, to a house overlooking a nature reserve. I've bought a new Swarovski scope ready to watch the wildlife from the window and I thought I'd try digiscoping. You can buy kits to attach a DSLR to the scope but I've just been using my iPhone held up to the eyepiece.
The 2 photos below were taken at Foulshaw Moss, about a mile from my current house for anyone worried I've been ignoring restrictions. The picture on the left is taken from the viewing area for the osprey nest. The orange rectangle in the middle shows the section covered by the picture on the right taken through the scope. I think it is a couple of peregrines in one of the dead trees. I'm very impressed!
January 2021
So, we start the year with Lockdown 3.0. I managed one quick trip to Leighton Moss at the very start of the month before everything closed down again. There were a few bearded tits in the reeds along the causeway but, with the pools frozen, not much else to see.
The middle of the month brought a bit of snow so I enjoyed a morning photographing the birds in the garden and then a nice walk in the afternoon to keep up my daily exercise. I don't remember seeing a blackcap in January before so catching one in the snow was nice. It turned up a week later to be included in my RSPB Garden Birdwatch, with 14 species in total.

Bearded Tit

Blackcap

Reed Bunting

Robin

Reed Bunting

Chaffinch

Robin

Dunnock

Chaffinch

Buzzard

Robin

Sheep

Grey Squirrel

Bearded Tit

Bearded Tit

Bearded Tit

Wren

Blue Tit

Blue Tit
December 2020
The year ends in Tier 4, which feels a lot like Lockdown 1.0 and 2.0. Just before the new restrictions were imposed I managed a few trips out, to South Walney to watch the seals, to Coniston for a bit of landscape photography and along the Solway Estuary on the north coast of Cumbria.
Who knows what 2021 will bring but short walks from home may become the norm again.

Blackpool

Grey Seal

Coniston

Coniston sunset

Kestrel

Kestrel

Kestrel

Kestrel

Mute Swan

Marsh Tit

Coal Tit

Coal Tit

Blue Tit

Robin

Blue Tit

Grey Heron

Young Coot

Marsh Harrier
Early December 2020
You wait all year for an otter and then three turn up at once. I had a brief view of an otter at Leighton Moss late on Saturday afternoon. When I returned early on Sunday morning there were two out, fishing and fighting, and they hung around for about half an hour. They were a long way off on both occasions but cheered me up almost as much as the vaccine news.

Otter

Otter

Otters

Otter

Otters
November 2020
In November 2015 I didn't take a single photo I was happy with so at least 2020 has been slightly better. England has been in lockdown for 4 weeks, with a ban on non-essential journeys, so everything below was taken locally. The last of the autumn leaves have gone but many of our winter birds have arrived. Maybe December will bring a little sunshine and happiness after a year that has been miserable for many.

Nuthatch


Nuthatch

Blue Tit

Robin

Black-headed Gull

Treecreeper

Grey Squirrel

Shoveler


Blue Tit

Nuthatch


Fieldfare

Nuthatch




Lapwings

Blue Tit



Fieldfare

Blue Tit
October 2020
Be careful what you wish for. After my rant at the end of September I had a positive test for Covid 19 in October and have just spent 2 weeks in self-isolation. Thankfully I didn't become as ill as many people have but I still feel very tired and breathless when I exercise.
I did manage a few trips out before and after my mid-month isolation but none of the photos are great. With another 4 week national lockdown starting this week it doesn't look like November will be any better. Back to walks in the local area but without the spring sunshine.

Goosander


Little Egret & Redshank

Great Crested Grebe

Great Crested Grebe

Marsh Harrier

Grey Squirrel

Coot

Little Egret

Little Egret

Morecambe Bay

Goosander

Goosander

Goosander

Goosander

Great White Egrets

Great White Egret

Little Egret

Great White & Little Egret

Kingfisher

Kingfisher
September 2020
I hate to say it but I think I preferred life under lockdown. Maybe I'm not a people person but three trips to Leighton Moss have been ruined by other visitors with no idea of social distancing. The staff have tried really hard to mark out the floor and remove some of the benches but when strangers sit next to you and start shooting through the same window they're clearly less than a metre away. I've watched others ignore the signs and just move the furniture. Hand-sanitiser goes unused and masks are either missing completely or worn under the chin. Rant over!

Marsh Tit

Kingfisher

Kingfisher

Ennerdale

Little Egret

Little Egret

Marsh Tit

Marsh Tit

Kingfisher

Kingfisher

Kingfisher

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Jay

Red Admiral

Redshank

Marsh Tit
August 2020
The Lake District is very busy with people taking holidays in the UK so we've been trying to avoid the crowds. Still not much wildlife about locally but the second collection of photos below are mostly taken at Leighton Moss.
The final week of the month was spent at RSPB Mersehead, in Dumfries and Galloway. We had booked a cottage there at Easter but managed to move the trip to August instead. Unfortunately the hides were still shut but it was lovely to have the whole nature reserve to ourselves at 6am. Storm Francis caused flooding on the access road so we were trapped for 36 hours but I can think of far worse place to be stuck. There were plenty of Roe Deer, Buzzards and Rabbits about and I was lucky enough to see an Osprey fly along the beach with it's catch. Most mornings there were otter prints on the beach but unfortunately we never saw any.

Roe Deer

Roe Deer

Mersehead Beach

Rabbit

Carrick Lane

Black Water of Dee

Roe Deer

Roe Deer

Sunrise

Buzzard

Buzzard

Pied Wagtail

Kestrel

Portling Bay

Sandyhills Bay

Solway

Port Warren

Doach Wood viewpoint

Red Squirrel

Osprey

Osprey

Buzzard

Ringed Plovers

Mersehead Beach

Otter Prints

Otter

Rabbit

RSPB Mersehead

Wheatear

Meadow Pippit

Big Water of Fleet Viaduct

Merlin

Beach Barcode

Mersehead beach

Roe Deer

Great Tit

Great Crested Grebe

Cormorants

Cormorant

Grey Squirrel

Grey Squirrel

The other Borrowdale

Robin

Robin

Brown Rat

Brown Rat

Grey Squirrel
July 2020
The summer months are never the best time for wildlife or landscape photography. Sunrise and sunset are too early and late, the light in the middle of the day is very harsh and all the birds and mammals seem to go into hiding. I've been out and about a lot more, and had some nice wildlife encounters, but all too brief for a decent photo. I've seen fox, stoat, red deer, roe deer and hedgehog but didn't manage to get a picture of any of them.
Leighton Moss now has 2 hides open during the day but there isn't much to see on the water. South Walney also has a couple of hides open but with so many people walking or fishing on the beach there wasn't much about. I drove up to Langholm Moor for a change of scenery and saw a few raptors but all too distant for photography.
Maybe August will be better.

Great Crested Grebe

Marsh Tit

Marsh Tit

Treecreeper

Great Black-backed Gull

Chiff Chaff

Tufted Duck

Sedge Warbler

Sedge Warler

Grey Squirrel

Great Crested Grebe

Marsh Tit

Jay

Little Grebe

Great Crested Grebe

Linnet

Meadow Pippit

Blackpool

Great Crested Grebe

Robin

Treecreeper

Great Crested Grebe

Coal Tit

Chiff Chaff

Buzzard

Hen Harrier

Langholm Moor

Marsh Tit

Moorhen

Reed Bunting

Great Crested Grebe
June 2020 - Staying Local
With the lifting of some of the lockdown measures a number of local nature reserves have partially reopened. Some of the footpaths are open at Leighton Moss although the visitors centre and all the hides are still closed. It is very difficult to access any of the water but there is still plenty of wildlife to see, especially the young birds in the trees and shrubs. Foulshaw Moss has a one way system on the boardwalks to avoid passing people but it can be quite slow going walking around. Lovely to get out and about a bit more though.

Wren

Robin

Common Frog

Common Lizard

Young Blackcap

Common Blue

Grasshopper Warbler

Beautiful Demoiselle

Marsh Tit

Moorhen

Nuthatch

Wren

Moorhen

Marsh Tit

Young Marsh Tit

Blue Tit

Bluetit

Treecreeper

Marsh Tit

Red Deer

Marsh Tit

Eels

Marsh Orchid

Mute Swans

Wren

Coal Tit

Cormorant

Grey Squirrel

Cormorants

Common Blue

Little Grebe

Wren

Herons
May 2020 - Lockdown Walks

Common Lizard

Blue Tit

Roe Deer

Blackcap

Grey Squirrel

Shrew

Osprey

Beautiful Demoiselle

Wood Pigeon

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Dandelion

Blue Tit

Buzzard

Common Lizard

Heron

Pied Wagtail

Chiffchaff

Buzzard

Blue Tit

Grey Wagtail

Stonechat

Tawny Owl

Blackbird

Stolen Eggs

Reed Bunting

Roe Deer

Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Pied Wagtail
April 2020 - Lockdown Walks

Wren

Field Vole

Bluebells

Goldcrest

Highland Cow

Poppy

Buzzard

Roe Deer

Blackbird

Blossom

Robin

Chiffchaff

Yellow Tip Butterfly

Goldcrest

Lambs

Field Vole

Song Thrush

Tawny Owl

Chiffchaff

Robin

Chaffinch

Wren

Greater Stitchwort

Lamb

Carrion Crow

Buzzard

Field Vole

Goldcrest

Highland Cow

Ransoms

Chiffchaff

Lamb

Bluebells

Song Thrush

Grey Squirrel

Buzzard

Goldcrest

Chiffchaff
All the pictures above have been taken on walks during lockdown. I'm very lucky to have countryside on my doorstep and I've carried a Panasonic G9 with a 100-400mm lens during my daily exercise.
Self-isolation and Lockdown - Stay safe, sane and sanitised!
All the pictures below were taken from my back window during 14 days of self-isolation.

Great Tit

Blue Tit

Long-tailed Tit

Great Tit

Blackbird

Long-tailed Tit

Great Tit
