December 2013
White-throated Dipper (Cinclus cinclus gularis)
At the beginning of December, I spent a couple of days in the Derbyshire Dales photographing the Dippers on the upland streams.
White-throated Dipper (Cinclus cinclus gularis)
At this time of year, Dippers are busy establishing their breeding territories and are one of only a handful of birds that can be heard in full song during December.
White-throated Dipper (Cinclus cinclus gularis)
Grey Wagtails can also be found along the riverbanks of the upland streams, although they tend to be warier and not so easy to photograph.
Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea)
Whilst I was photographing the Grey Wagtail, a Carrion Crow came down to the river for a drink and landed close enough to allow me to get some headshots.
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone)
At a feeding station in the Sherwood Forest, I set up a couple vertical perches situated directly above some birdseed. They seemed to work quite well, as the Nuthatches and Marsh Tits regularly perched briefly on them for a couple of seconds before dropping down onto the ground to feed on the seeds.
Marsh Tit (Poecile palustris) |
Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea) |
Eurasian Nuthatch (Sitta europaea)
In the middle of the month, I spent a long weekend in the Somerset Levels where my main target was to get some photos of the enormous flocks of Starlings that come to roost in the reedbeds every night during the winter.
Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) flock coming to roost
The weather conditions were not ideal while I was there, and it wasn't until the 4th attempt that I saw any appreciable gathering, but even then the display wasn't particulalry what I was hoping for and the birds very quickly settled into the reeds without much preamble. The photos above and below give a good impression of the size of one of the largest flocks that arrived.
Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) flock coming to roost
The sunset that night was pretty spectacular!
Shapwick Heath, Somerset
partial rainbow over Shapwick Heath, Somerset
During the day, I spent most of the time birding around the reserve, with one of the hides being a reasonably good spot for regularly seeing a female Kingfisher, although she rarely perched close enough for a good photograph.
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)
Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)
The weather on the day I visited Slimbridge wasn't ideal either, with very overcast, grey skies and constant light rain. Still, you've got to make the most of what you've got when visiting distant parts of the country that you don't visit very often and I did at least manage to get a couple of decent photos from my efforts...
Bewick's Swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii)
Eurasian Jackdaw (Corvus monedulus)
Christmas this year was spent on a wee tour of the Scottish Highlands with a friend who was over visiting from Canada. Below are a few of the landscape photos from the trip...
Rannoch Moor, Lochaber
Rannoch Moor, Lochaber
Buachaille Etive Mòr, Glencoe
A few inches of snow fell overnight and the photo below was taken only 20 hours after the above photo from more or less the same spot....What a difference a day makes!
Buachaille Etive Mòr, Glencoe
Beinn a' Chrùlaiste, Glencoe
Buachaille Etive Mor, Glencoe
On the road to the Isle of Skye bridge lies one of Scotland's most picturesque castles: Eilean Donan. The former ruin, fully restored and rebuilt between 1912-1932, was made famous by featuring as Connor MacLeod's clan home in the 1986 film "Highlander".
Eilean Donan Castle
Old Man of Storr, Isle of Skye
To give a sense of scale to the above photo: the pinnacle of the Old Man of Storr stands 50m (167ft) high...
Quairing, Isle of Skye
Snowstorm in the Ryvoan Pass on Christmas Day
Forth Rail Bridge, South Queensferry
Ray Wilson owns the copyright of all images on this site.
They may not be used or copied in any form without prior written permission.
raywilsonphotography@googlemail.com