Southern Spain

As some of you many know I recently went to the South of Spain on a university field trip. As this trip wasn’t a holiday it was a module in which I was examined I didn’t have much time to spend on my photography but never the less here are some of my photos.

Captive wildlife;

Landscapes:

Here is a list of the birds I encountered that I had never seen before;

Cattle egret, White stork, Bald ibis, Griffon vulture, Black kite, Kentish plover, Yellow legged gull, Bee-eater, Crested lark, Chough, Spotless starling , Sardinian warbler, Zitting cisticola, Woodchat shrike

Although the weather was dire at the beginning of the week by the end it was sunglasses weather. Thanks for reading

My Garden Bird Project

Recently I have been focusing on species that people can find in their gardens or in a local park, primarily because I feel they are an easily accessible group of birds but also a group that can often be ignored.

I have chosen to show here one picture of each of these garden birds but there are plenty more available here.

Blackbirds

Blue Tits

Coal Tits

Collared Doves

Dunnocks

Goldfinches

Great Tits

House Sparrows

Robins

Starlings

Wood Pigeons

Wrens

Today’s Photos

The lakes;

Wildlife Moments Of 2012

Here are my top wildlife moments of 2012, they are in no particular order.

Hare Closeup

I was sat in a hide watching and waiting for the distance birdlife to come closer when suddenly I see two hares bounding around the field chasing eachother, they were so caught up in the moment that one didn’t realise it was now right by the hide, giving me fantastic views.

Deer Bellowing At Richmond Park

I went to Richmond Park in London with Mike Taylor to see the Red Deer Rut, although they were not rutting yet they were still bellowing and allowed for some  closeup photos. More can be seen here

Red Squirrels on Brownsea Island

I went with Darrell Jordan to Brownsea Island to see Red Squirrels. We got lucky and had perfect light and amazing views of the squirrels allowing for lots of photos to be taken. What more could you want. More photos from the trip here

The Local Waxwings

As most people will know this year has been a great year for waxwings, a colourful migrant that comes over to Britain in order to feed on berries. Some of these colourful birds turned up on the local industrial estate so I went to photograph them with Danny and Fiona . They allowed for views from about 6ft away at some points which was fantastic. More here

Peregrines Breeding Locally

I was very pleased to find out that not only were peregrine falcons now being seen regularly on the local council building but were also breeding and had two offspring that managed to fledge. This was a phenomenal bird to have 10 minutes walk away and hopefully they will nest again next year.

Kestrel Hovering Overhead

One surprise encounter this year was a kestrel hovering above me and looking straight at me.

Working With The National Trust

This year  I worked on a project photographing the wildlife on Coombe Hill, a local area of chalkland owned by the National Trust. This was great fun and helped me discover wildlife I had previously overlooked. You can see the blog post from the National Trust on my photography here

Slow worms

This year I found a local population of slow worms, a species I had never seen before. It gave me a chance to contribute local reptile records and get photos of a new species to me.

Discovering The World Of Solitary Bees

One of the best discoveries for me this year was discovering the world of solitary bees, little did I know that as well as bumblebees and honey bees in the UK there is 250 solitary bee species which arguably do more pollination that honey bees yet face similar threats. I was lucky enough to have 5 or so species nesting in the garden and hope more take up residence next year.

Cormorants Catching Fish

This year I encountered some cormorants fighting over huge perch in this case and pike in others!, an amazing thing to encounter. Lots of photos of this can be seen here

Great Crested Grebe Courtship

This year was the first year that I have seen the amazing Great Crested Grebe courtship dance. An amazing thing to see in the flesh. More here

Robin Close Ups

This year I have built up some amazing relationships with robins allowing me to get close up photos of them. More here

Winning A Local Photographic Competition

My final highlight had to be winning the Princes Risborough Photographic Society annual competition with this photo.

Thank you for following my photos this year, I hope you all have a lovely Christmas and New Year. Merry Christmas,

Ryan

Buff Bellied Pipit

Today me, Danny and Fiona went in search of a Buff Bellied Pipit, not just to see it but because it was tame and was said to be 6ft away at times. I couldn’t believe my luck when one came within 3ft of me, too close to get photos of. Among the noise of the planes overhead and the calls of ring necked parakeets we managed to photograph the pipit closeup for a long period of time and saw a peregrine falcon. Not bad at all

The crowds:

Spot the peregrine;

Waxwings

Here are some of my photos of some Bohemian Waxwings that turned up in my home town, this is the first year I have seen them and so glad I got to see such colourful British birds.

Red Squirrels!