Forest of Dean

Day's trip at the Dean in some beautiful weather today. Spent most of the day at Cannop Ponds and the water was very busy. I spent a lot of time chatting to the locals too about wildlife. Met a guy called Ray Buckley also who is a local wildlife photographer, I've seen his photographs before online and he's captured some fantastic forest photos of the dear and wild boar. I've personally not seen one for a long time so was glad to be told of a place nearby where I might find some. I stumbled upon a loan pregnant female that was feeding on acorns in quite a busy area. She wasn't at all phased by people as you can see, the image was taken at 300mm and I found it hard to fit her all in half the time as she was too close. While chatting about her to the locals in the car park, I was approached by an angry man who went out of his way to shout at everyone for getting too close and that "wild boar are the worse thing to have ever happened to the forest". While I can understand his frustration and concern about the increasing numbers of wild boar, I didn't appreciate being shouted at from the off, without any reason to say such things, simply the fact that I was holding a camera, he Assumed I'd be getting too close. I suspect his anger is being aimed at photographers because of the few minority of photographers that have been visiting this area, feeding the wild boar in order to get closer shots. Personally I don't agree with feeding them as their tolerance to people will inevitably result in those individuals getting shot. It's certainly a controversial subject and I'm sure a wildlife TV series will be about soon about the ongoing problems that residence are having in the Forest of Dean. I hope you enjoy my photographs from today. 

Boating Lake Diversity

Short trip around the Boating Lake today, was nice to bump into Steve Williams (our head ecologist) doing his regular Gull checks for rings. Steve has had some fantastic results photographing ringed birds with his camera, something that is far from easy considering you have to photograph the ring from many different angles in order to read the whole number. As valuable as these rings are for conservation, they don't half make it hard sometimes to read. 

I was hoping to get some Goosander photographs, and was lucky to get what looked like an entire family or two with two adult males, one juvi male and 5 female type. Light wasn't great today though so didn't process any of those images. Upon talking with Steve we spotted a Water Rail in the middle on the island. A regular winter visitor here but while speaking about the Water Rail, we heard another to our left, and then another to our right! Turns out there are at-least 4 individuals onsite with another calling from the opposite side. This is a particularly large number for such a small pond and it goes to show that with the right management, you build the habitat and they will come. 

Crossbill Forest

For the last couple of days I've been enjoying a flock of Crossbill at Wentwood Forest. Seeing them flock up like this in the open is quite a thing considering they spend most of the year at the tops of conifer trees, deep in the forest for nobody to see. They are specialists at extracting seeds from pine cones, using that unique cross-bill to pry the casings open wide enough to get the seed out with their tongue. I watched them doing this sort of thing also on regular beech seed heads with much the same technique. Every now and again they'd drop down to drink all at the same time, as to keep an eye out for predators at a time where they are particularly vulnerable. I did my best to get as close as possible without disturbing them. Like the recent influx of Hawfinch, these have probably travelled a fair way and now we're in forestry felling season, we can expect to see a few more unexpected visitors further south. 

Crossbill Drinking

I tried my best to get recordings of the Crossbill flock despite getting interference from a nearby telephone mast. Between that and the typical plane noise, cars and drones! yes drones, I really did well to get this recording. It has been filtered to death so apologies about the quality as it's below my usual standard. 

Just as I mentioned about Hawfinch on the move, a sizable flock of 15 + Hawfinch just as the light faded, Couldn't even fit them all in the same frame so was sure there must have been at-least 20 birds. They were about to touch down but changed mind and carried on North. Other notables came in the form of Brambling, Siskin, Redpoll, Kestrel and all the typical species for Wentwood this time of year. 

Hawfinch 9th November.jpg

Autumn Gone?

What is your favourite part of Autumn? For most people, it's the change of colours in the leaves before they fall. Red being the most popular and vibrant.. It's a shame I can't see it though uh? lol Red is one of those colours I know is there, so long as it isn't amongst other colours and isn't too dark (Needs to have light shining on it or emitting its own light). So how did I know which of my photos had red in it? Two reasons, 1. While looking at the photographs digitally, I can tweak the colours individually and physically see the changes. Usually I need to boost the reds up to extreme levels for me to see them, and then I can dial them back to a level that is acceptable to everyone else. I probably still get it wrong but nobody has complained so far lol.. would you tell me if I did? Probably not lol. 

For me, Autumn is more about the winter visitors and the summer departing birds. Much like the Brambling that seemed to have come back this year in decent numbers, unlike last year where we got very few reports in Gwent. Every year is different, dependant on weather conditions and available food. This is what makes autumn / winter special in my eyes, as you really have no idea what may turn up in what has to be the most energetic season of all. Everything is on the move, even your Garden birds tend to move down to warmer climates. I hate to burst any bubbles, but your resident Robin probably isn't the same Robin you've been seeing all summer. We get thousands of Blackbirds, Song Thrushes and Robins moving down from Scandinavia in the winter time and most never truly settle till they've found a stable food source in manageable temperatures. If it's too cold here, they'll even skip the Uk into France.. Joys of being a bird! I can't even begin to imagine the things they must encounter on their travels..

End of Season

My first season as a Ranger at Llandegfedd has ended and what better way to end it than with a Black Tern and Great White Egret! It was nice to also receive a card and box of biscuits from Valery (Local Resident and Llandegfedd's star litter picker). She deserves a medal for the amount of time and effort she puts into keeping the place look tidy, that and she's genuinely a lovely person so it meant a lot to receive a personal card from her. Other notable sightings at Llandegfedd came from Craig Constance yesterday morning with a flock of Hawfinch! They appear to be popping up all over the country at the moment, suspected to be caused by the destruction of large forests in Russia. 

Suddenly I have lots of time on my hands for the next 4 months till the next season starts (If they have me back). If you know of any conservation work this winter, i'd appreciate getting in-touch with me. 

With beautiful weather today, you'd think I'd be out in the car venturing off somewhere special with my camera, but instead, I'm stuck at home with a fractured wrist..
Not exactly what I had planned after work finished but maybe I need the rest? 
Will need to go back to the hospital next week for a scan as it's a 'complicated' bone that may need further attention if it doesn't heal properly. 

That said, I can still hold the camera! Turns out I carry the camera with my left hand and all the right hand does is press the shutter lol. So a little trip across the canal is all I'm able to do for now till I can drive again. 

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Juvi Osprey puffed up / Llandegfedd Reservoir 2017

Light before the storm

Before Storm 'Brian' hit, we had one day with promising weather and thankfully it landed on my day off! How convenient. Despite this, the day very much started un-prepared as I arrived at Blaenavon without a tripod, binoculars and without a spare battery! Typical school-boy error. Either way, I manage to stretch my single battery life as long as I could and I literally filled a memory card on one bird! The Rock Thrush showed extremely well, partly due to someone putting down thousands of Meal Worms.. A much welcomed food source I'm sure but perhaps not the best idea to keep feeding it as it will need to move on eventually and it has a long way to go. I have to thank John Marsh, the finder of the bird and also the guy responsible for me now using a 300mm 2.8 IS. To say i'm overwhelmingly happy to have this lens is an understatement as it's been on my wish list for quite some time. In-fact I now have to find something new to say when my girl friend asks me what I want for Christmas. (I've been saying a 300 2.8 jokingly for years)...

Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush

Last weekend I made the effort to go and see a rarity to the Uk, a 1st winter male Rock Thrush! I've personally never seen one before, particularly because we've only had 2 Records in Wales since 1981. They breed anywhere from southern Europe to North Africa and even parts of Central Asia. They winter in North-east Africa however so to get them this time of year, this far south, gives you a clue how far our this guy is. The strong southern winds caused from Storm Ophelia proved too much from this bird that must have got caught up during migration. Either way, this Rock Thrush couldn't have picked a more suitable spot in Pwll Du quarry which still has a ready supply of insects but also plenty of un-touched berries on the trees. Not for long however as our winter visitors such as Redwing and Fieldfare are already on their way. Other notable species at Pwll Du quarry were a single Black Redstart, Redkite, 4 Wheatear (should be gone already) and lots of Meadow Pipits. 

Glorious Ospreys

I've held this off for long enough now. What have I been doing the last couple months? Well, as far as photography is concerned, very little to be fair. I simply haven't found the time. However! after quite a few 5am starts with not one, but three! Ospreys at Llandegfedd, I set out to get a close up shot of these outstanding birds, but in a way that would leave the birds completely undisturbed, showing their natural behaviour, without them knowing I was there. 

I'm very lucky in that I got to observe these birds in and outside of work for the last month and a half, so got to learn a lot of their routine. All three birds are this years Juveniles, one of which was ringed in Scotland and the other two that stayed the longest which I believe may have been siblings due to their interaction and lack of rings. It was the two siblings that really put on the show for us as they appeared to be very much so beginners at catching fish. They would often fail to land on a perch while also trying to hold onto a wriggly, wet fish. They started off catching silver fish, like Roach and Rudd, likely because they are easier to see in the water but they did manage to get better in their time here. It was quite a proud moment watching them catch their first trout! some of which were quite big. There's lots more I learned about Ospreys thanks to these individuals and having them so late in the year was a bonus for us for sure, I just hope they manage to get to Africa in time and safely. They have all left now so fingers crossed for them. 

Wryneck @ Llandegfedd

This month has been pretty busy so far, and October is looking to be even busier! However I am only on seasonal work right now (sad face), so I'll have 4 months over the winter time and plenty of time to write some blogs. For now however you'll have to deal with my staggered blog posts. I am saving them for something special that will be revealed soon ;). I have been taking pictures, I'm just waiting for the right opportunity to post them!

For now I'll give you a taster of the fantastic bird that turned up at Llandegfedd last weekend! I've never seen a Wryneck before and was blown away with how cryptic their patterns were. You can learn a lot through observing behaviour and because I didn't really know much about these birds, I did spend a full day observing the bird after Gavin Moore found it and thankfully put the word out. I joined in the search while the bird popped up in random places, swiftly followed by eager birders, myself including. I was extremely disappointed to see a notorious paparazzi climbing and running across the Dam wall on arrival just to get a closer photo. The lengths that some people take to get a photograph are unreal and I would much rather wait and observe than clamber over people who simple want to see the bird.. Something that may never happen if you're own actions cause the bird to be flushed. Selfish photographers, it's an illness. 

The bird was trying to feed alongside the road verge near the curbs. Every now and again it would pop up on the fence post. It was just a matter of hiding behind a car and hope it would land on a post in reach of the lens, which it just about did 5 minutes after I said I was going to leave. It pays to be patient :). 

Wryneck / Llandegfedd / Saturday 23rd