More from the forest

Another day in the Forest of Dean was tougher for images but there is a wonderful green vibrance as the leaves unfurl with fresh colour. The adders too are around but can be hard to find tucked in the vegetation.

With the breeding season underway the mandarin drakes too are keen to show off their exotic plumage to its full extent and raise their crests for passing females.

Spring in the Forest

It's spring and my favourite time of year. The time always flies by though so this year I have booked a few days to spend in the Forest of Dean determined to get more images for the new talk.

I have been trying really hard to get close to hawfinch as this is certainly one of the key species of the  forest. Up to yesterday though I have had no joy but finally with some friendly advice I have been able to get my lens on these cracking birds.

As ever I am always in the Forest before first light (no mean feat when you live 80 miles away) just so I can catch the shy boar before they retire for the day. As the mornings are drawing out now I have managed to find some in daylight too so images are improving all the time.

This female has approached me twice now on separate visits, I stay still and quiet and she loses interest and trots back to her family. It is such a thrill to have an encounter with such a charismatic creature.

Hogs and Hawks

I have been getting back into the Forest of Dean again this winter but it is only just becoming light early enough to find the wild boar before all the cyclists, dog walkers and traffic send them into cover. I saw this mature female with her family from the road and then predicted where she was heading for. Thirty minutes brisk walking later they appeared just where I had hoped and even stopped to pose for me.

This week I also re-homed some orphaned juvenile hedgehogs. Rescued last autumn and fed up over the winter by Joan at West Midland Hedgehog Rescue these youngsters would have had no chance of survival without her help.

I have photographed many species of raptor but have not until now really got to grips with Goshawk. This year I intend to change that and with Paul Melton Hawks I managed to get some lovely images of this charismatic bird.

Past present and future

I have been very behind with this site of late and this is well overdue. I have been busy with my camera though at least and finished 2014 with a few small projects and trips. One trip was to Wales for a day. It was a dawn to dusk photo fest but in the sunshine I came back with some images I was delighted with including this chough and peregrine from South Stack.

2015 has seen me start a local hide project. I have tried to maximise the site near home by placing the hide in such a way that I can have a chance of woodland species, buzzard and also river species. So far I have had some lovely woodland birds visiting the feeders, the nuthatches perhaps being the most photogenic so far.

The buzzards are feeding on the roadkill I leave for them but so far not when I am in attendance. This weekend though at least my river watching was finally rewarded with this cracking kingfisher.

I still have a bit to do on my Forest of Dean portfolio and have a feeding site down there now too (fingers crossed) and this year I am also booked on trips for diving gannets and daytime pine marten so exciting times ahead.

All new talks and other stuff

Phew, a long time since my last post. I have been struggling for a couple of years with an ailing computer and out of date software so although still snapping away I have done very little with the images.

All change now though with my new state of the art Macbook Pro complete with the most recent lightroom software. Both apple and LR are new to me so a steep learning curve awaits. So far though I am delighted with the image handling and other features.

I have done a fair bit of photography this year with material for talks on the Forest of Dean and Birds of Prey being my main target. I have also though been enjoying a sabbatical from work creating a collection of images of garden wildlife for the RSPB. The challenge of this and the variety has been very stimulating and I am pleased with the different techniques and styles that I have managed to use.

smooth newt

hedgehog

wood warbler

Exciting workshops

I have been working on workshops for this year including dates for the lovely bird of prey days in Mid Wales and a repeat of the popular reptile session on the Dorset heath. I have also organised a day with tame Hedgehogs and Harvest mice in the West Midlands. Full details are on the workshops page to the right.

In addition I will be hosting an Introduction to Wildlife Photography at the RSPB Sandwell Valley reserve where I will be describing the various aspects needed to get started out and begin to get great results photographing nature. Again full detail are on the right.

Two Islands

An opportunity to visit the beautiful island of Mull in July was welcome and in the one day of sunshine I managed to connect with White tailed eagle and also a pair of otters so was well pleased. Day two was rain filled but nice to have finally visited this celebrated island.

Later in the month another quick trip took me to Skomer off the Pembrokeshire coast. The sun shone and the puffins were very relaxed as they wait for eggs to hatch.