It is always very exciting seeing my photos in print, and it's a great honour to have a photo published in the illustrious BBC Wildlife Magazine. So I am extremely excited that the accompanying photo of a Waxwing in Denbigh has been chosen as March's "Photo of the Month"!
I have won a very good Lowpro camera bag as a prize; but the real prize is seeing my photo in a magazine that has been a constant source of education and pleasure for me for nearly 30 years!
Yesterday, Saturday 10th, despite feeling a bit under the weather, I turned up at the Trentham Estate near Stoke to run in the extreme trail event called Hell in the Middle. I have run a number of these events before in the Autumn in the lovely Delamere Forest, but this was a new venue for me; and a new time of year, there were more than a few flakes of snow falling from the grey skies as we approached the venue.
The event set-up was great with car-parking close to the start along with a good selection of cafes nearby for that essential post-race refreshment.
After only a short delay the first wave crossed the start line at ten minutes past ten. The initial route zigzagged across a grassy field, luckily it had stopped raining, but the ground was very soft. After only ten minutes we had to cross an icy-cold river; the water was easily chest-height in places. I thought I would freeze following that early dip, but my technical running gear dried out after a few miles; I pitied the poor runners in heavy fancy dress. The first of many steep climbs loomed and there was snow and hail on the ground. Every steep climb was followed by a body-jarring fast and steep descent over mud, bracken, through trees and at one point down some very slippy wooden steps; there was no respite from the relentless inclines. The one patch of level running was even across a shallow lake before a hands-on scramble up another very steep hill.
I knew I was somewhere in the top dozen runners, and my position was constantly changing as I competed with fellow Hellrunners. Another crossing of the river meant we were only a mile or two from the finish. I managed to overtake another competitor as we raced back across the field; then another who struggled over a fallen tree in the woods. A final leap down a steep embankment, and I sprinted for the finish.
My watch had stopped working so I don't know my exact finish time. Trailplus estimated the distance at about 10 miles but that has yet to be verified, it felt more like 8 (very tough) miles. I calculated that I was in 9th position, but, even though the race was chipped, the organisers thought that I abandoned the race! I have emailed them and am waiting for a reply. Nevertheless, I was very pleased with my run and celebrated with a much-needed bacon roll and cup of hot coffee.
Last Sunday was dull and overcast, but as I hadn't been out with my camera for a while, I drove down to Burton marsh to relieve my DSLR withdrawal symptoms; I had to photograph something, anything. I was hoping that there might be a Short-eared Owl quartering the marsh in the late afternoon gloom, or a few thrushes feeding on some berries. There were some Redwings and Fieldfares foraging in a field but they were distant specs in my viewfinder, and there was no sign of any owls. But there was an obliging Kestrel perching on some low bushes and occasionally hovering close to my car. These beautiful birds are not as common as they once were; a casual birder is more likely to see Buzzards perched along motorway verges these days. So I was pleased to see no fewer than six different Kestrels on my short jaunt around south Wirral. Despite the poor light I am pleased with images. I have included a sunny image of a Kestrel taken in March 2011 at Parkgate as a comparison. I also travelled to Leighton Moss again a few weeks ago to watch a starling roost which completely failed to materialise, but I've posted a couple of shots of Robin and Greylag Geese from that visit.
My blog profile states that I love cetaceans and like all wildlife lovers there are certain species that get my pulse racing more than others; in the case of whales and dolphins that species has to be Orcas. So when, a few years ago, a holiday company offered day trips to Norway to see this charismatic animal I jumped at the chance. Yes; day trips!
We flew from Manchester at 6 in the morning and a few hours later we were boarding a boat in the famous Tysfjord. Orcas only began visiting this stunning fjord in 1987 when Herring shoals started wintering in the coastal waters. Whale watching trips sprung up overnight, and with an estimated 600 Orcas using the area over the winter months the chances of sighting this species was high. Watching the large flocks of, mostly, Herring Gulls helped us locate first the Herring and then (Wow!) the Orcas! The only downside was the limited amount of daylight hours at the end of November and the lack of any sunlight for photography. But never mind, it was more than worth the effort involved. We saw a least 3 pods each about 20 animals strong of various ages. We witnessed behaviour such as spy-hopping and even a breach but I wasn't quick enough to capture the action with my camera. We also had good sightings of magnificent White-tailed Sea Eagles.
Unfortunately, as far as I am aware, this site is no longer as reliable for Orcas as it was a few years ago. I was very lucky to see them. I have only had one "possible" sighting since in the Bay of Biscay. But my day-trip of a lifetime is, happily, indelibly etched into my memory.
Happy New Year to all my readers, and apologies for the lack of recent posts. The last few weeks have been a busy time in work and domestically, not to mention my running injury which has affected my winter training.
Although I've lost a bit if running speed recently, hopefully my hamstring is on the mend. I did manage a 10K race over the festive period and finished in a reasonable time of 39 mins and 11 seconds.
Birding has been a bit restricted too, but I started the New Year with a flourish at Moore Nature Reserve in Cheshire where there was a flock of 9 Waxwings and a "red-head" Smew; and today I saw a stunning male Hen Harrier at Parkgate. Local birding can be very rewarding.
But back to last Summer. I returned to Conway RSPB in June in the hope of seeing the Stoat family. I was not disappointed; these beautiful animals showed well all morning despite the rain and I managed to take a few photographs. There were at least eight young present, and these were fed regularly by their attentive mother. I would love to see them again this year and maybe even the sun will shine.
Regular readers already know of my love of Waxwings and this winter is turning out to be a classic one for this irregular visitor. I have already photographed a few medium sized flocks of these beautiful birds but I am still trying to find a large flock to enjoy and at the moment Wales seems to be a good bet for such an
encounter.
Time has been a limiting factor on my birding trips recently and last Saturday afternoon was no exception. A brief stop in Chester where a few Waxwings had been reported in the morning proved fruitless, so I drove on to Denbigh where a flock of seventy birds had been seen earlier in the day. I had already visited the site at Brookhouse Mill two weeks earlier after photographing the Desert Wheatear at Rhyl, but there were no Waxwings to be seen on the afternoon of that day. Today, I was more fortunate as the birds could be seen feeding in bushes right on the main road as I pulled into the mill carpark. Four other birdwatchers were present when I arrived, but didn't stay long, so I had a flock of over one hundred of these fabulous birds almost to myself; apart from the friendly locals who were most interested in what I was photographing. The birds were very obliging and only flew into the high trees when surprised by a Sparrowhawk. Unfortunately, it was a dull afternoon but I still managed to take some acceptable photographs. I have no doubt that I will spend more time with these avian beauties this winter.
I managed to scrounge a day off work last Thursday in order to make the most of the weather and walk up Snowdon with my friend Jane. I hadn't been to Snowdon since the mountain race in July and was keen to walk up the Llanberis Path as I had only ever run this route before.
This is often known as the tourists path and can be like Piccadilly Circus in the summer, but we only saw one other walker on the way up and only a few people at the top; bliss.
The weather was perfect, cold with bright sunshine, almost tee-shirt weather on the ascent. But what a difference near the summit; thick snow that was quite possibly eight inches deep in places. The view from the top was simply stunning. It was possible to clearly see all of the Llyn Peninsula out to Bardsey Island, and in the far distance Ireland and the peaks of the Lake District were visible.
We enjoyed a tasty picnic in the sunshine on the descent and attempted to feed the local ravens ,which were the commonest bird on the mountainside. A hot curry in Llangollen on the way home rounded off a brilliant day.
