Captive Barn Owl

This photo was taken whilst on a walk around Pagham harbor nature reserve in West Sussex. We were lucky enough to bump into a man who was using the wide open spaces to fly his much loved and majestic looking Barn Owl, Charlie as he does apparently every day. 

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More Fungi !

Unfortunately i have no idea what this is. I have done quite a bit of internet research but so far have found nothing. If anyone does know what this is (and yes, i know its a mushroom of some description) then it would be really appreciated if you could let me know what it is.

This was another shot from the same location as my previous photo. The unknown fungi was all over this fallen deadwood and was really quite eye-catching. The light was tricky by this time of the day though so i had to use the camera's in built flash. It didn't give the best results but it was the lesser of two evils.

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Fly Agaric

This time of year the Fungi are out. This year seems to be particularly rich in Fungi as i discovered last week on a walk with the family in a local woodland. I dont claim to know the first thing about fungi, infact my cousin who is half my age knew more and practically gave me a lesson on the topic. But this particular one was very eye catching so i felt i had to get a shot.

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Red Deer Stag

Another shot from my trip to Richmond park in London. This shot is one of only two that i was actually happy with by the end of the day and proof that you don't put your camera away until you are in the car. My first memory card had filled up. As we were near the car i thought about putting the camera away then my dad started taking photos of a small group of stags being kept company by the Jackdaws you can see in the back ground. So instead i put in my spare card and took three or four shots, and i am glad i did :).

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Richmond Park

This weekend i took a trip up to London with my girlfriend to visit family. On Sunday me, India (my girlfriend) and my dad got up before sun rise and drove to Richmond park (a little tip for anyone planning on visiting early like we did, the gates don't open for cars until 7:00am). Luckily, whilst waiting outside we met an amateur photographer who visits Richmond park the same time every year and showed us all the good spots and gave us some helpful tips.
The reason we were there was to see the Red and Fallow deer that Richmond park is famous for. We were a little late to see the rutting so all the deer were relatively inactive apart from the bellowing, telling the other deer who is in charge. To give it some perspective the big stags like the one in the image below can reach more than 170kg. So they are pretty large.

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Busy Bee's !

My girlfriend and her family keep bee's in order to generate their own honey. I didn't realise the amount of upkeep required if i'm honest, the hives are regularly being maintained. Yesterday i was invited to join them as they needed to find the queen before winter, sadly we didn't find her but it was a memorable experience and i was at least able to get an interesting photo :).

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Finally ! A kingfisher !

Having spotted the kingfisher on a few early morning outings i was aware that one was around. So yesterday afternoon as i was rather excitedly trying (and failing) to get a good photograph of the notoriously hard to spot Snipe, i heard their unmistakable call. So, i positioned myself where i could see several posts (possible perches for fishing) and waited. After about an hour i saw a flash of blue, and was able to see this little guy for about 30 seconds. Then he was gone. I would say is worth it, i have never seen such intense colour on any animal.

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Small roar !

I found this earlier, a photo of a Scottish wild cat taken on a photography day at the British wildlife center in surrey. An amazing place and amazing day, i would love to go back there again and i would recommend it to anyone who is thinking of going :).

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Guess the bird reveal !!!!!!

Today is tuesday, so as promised here is the photo of the mystery bird. A jay ! Some people did guess correctly so well done if you did :).

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Shield bug

The shield bug is something i don't know too much about, all i know is i see them around every now and again, they seem to be very strong for their size and their defensive  mechanism is to release a scent which can be a nightmare to get rid of. Although for some reason i have a soft spot for these odd little things so when my mum called me in to see what was crawling on her laptop the other day i had to take the chance to photograph it when releasing it :).

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Starling

Having dislocated my knee again recently i have been photographing a lot of wildlife in my garden. This is another example of garden wildlife. I was able to set up my camera in a prime position and wait in comfort which was a nice change :D. 

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Bee

I took this bee photograph yesterday in the garden after seeing the flower that was covered in them. Plus having injured my knee it meant i had enough time to sit there for long enough that i got a shot i was happy with in the end :).

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Curlew

When i got my first Digital SLR and new very little about photography i went down to my local nature reserve and by chance photographed a bizarre bird flying past (quite badly photographed). A couple of years on and i realise that that sighting was very lucky and for it to be the first bird i ever photographed was even more so. So it was nice the other day to get a photograph of this rare and impressive bird, the Curlew.

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Guess the bird !

Seeing as though the more interactive posts seem to be what people enjoy i have another one to keep you all guessing for a little while. This photo was taken in my back garden. Its not a particularly great image but it is perfect for a guessing game of this kind :). This is purely for fun, so unfortunately no prizes. I wll reveal the answer this time next week. Feel free to comment and discuss with others but if you comment with your guess i wont tell you if you are correct or not, you will just have to be patient :). Good luck.

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In the spotlight

I'm sure there are more interesting species to photograph but this hoverfly was definitely a fun species to photograph, and challenging. I had tried several times before but i guess practice makes perfect... although i'm sure i will be trying many more times before i get a "perfect" shot of one.

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Photography competition

Sony launched a photography competition a few years ago and being that part of it is free i decided to enter three photos in the nature category. This is one of them that i took on holiday.

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Green Woodpecker

In the last few months we have been hearing the sounds of woodpeckers around our garden. Finally, we got a visit from one of the noisy neighbors today. He jumped around the garden for a good half an hour eating ants in the ground (which is why green woodpeckers are not often seen in woodlands and found more often in open grassland).

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Black tailed Godwit

Another photo from my time at pagham yesterday. Things like this can often surprise you. Pagham has godwits such as this one all over the reserve, all in places that are hard to reach and get close enough to take a photo. However on my way home after three hours in what i thought was a good spot i saw this little guy relatively close and was able to get this photo.

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Little Egret

Today i cycled down to pagam harbor nature reserve at about 6:00 am. It was worth the early start as whilst there i saw Redshank's, Lapwing's, Curlews, Godwits and even my best ever view of a kingfisher. So more than happy with the sightings any "good" photos would be a plus.

When i arrived home i was very pleased to find that i had managed to take a photo of a white subject without over exposing it and ruining the image (something  had been trying to do for at least a year). This was the end result (Plenty more photos to come from my morning at pagham).

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Turnstone

Another turnstone photo. This particular one was taken in Brixham harbor. I was very happy with this one as it had some lovely bokeh and i managed to get eye contact and a catch-light in the little guys eye :).

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Grey seal

Whilst on holiday in Brixham we went down to a small local cove to have a bbq. Whilst there we got an unexpected visit from a pair of inquisitive grey seals.

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Turnstone in the drizzle

Whilst staying in south Devon on holiday i spotted a small group of Turnstones (this particular one was getting a little wet in the drizzle) making use of wasteful tourists and collecting dropped or discarded food. Usually a job reserved for animals that get a bad press such as rats, pigeons, gulls or foxes. But these little guys seemed to be welcomed. Probably because a lot of the tourists would never have seen a Turnstone before, and they are quite striking. Whatever the reason it was nice to see wildlife being welcomed into an otherwise human dominated environment.

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Starling take off

Another of the photos taken yesterday, early in the morning everything seems a lot more accepting of people and a lot more active which enabled me to take this :).

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Ringed plover on the sand

On my day off from work i got up at 4:40 am so i could get to see some of the local wildlife at Pagham harbor before it was disturbed by holiday makers and walkers. I was well rewarded with this Ringed Plover.

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Meadow Pipit.

This is another photo taken in Scotland. It was taken after the whole class walked up the hill (that felt like a mountain and wasn't too far off) behind the hostel we were staying in. At the top were these bids (we think they were meadow pipits) doing what is called parachuting... don't worry i hadn't heard of it either :). Parachuting (in bird terms) is a display of strength, they fly up high then drift down with their wings rigid, calling. This is apparently meant to intimidate their rivals... i just thought it looked comical if anything :).

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Common tern

Seeing as though my course in wildlife conservation and countryside management is now complete me and a few friends took a trip down to studland for a day on the beach. Whilst waiting for the ferry i spotted a few terns fly by and of course had my camera with me so i took a few photos :).

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Low and fast!

It took me quite a few attempts and i do have photos where the swallow is closer but i like this one the most as it is looking straight down the camera. When on the study tour in Scotland we were watching dolphins in the distance when this little guy kept coming very close whilst feeding on the insects just above the surface of the water, because he (or she) kept using the same flight path i was able to get my eye it and get a rough idea of where to manually focus.

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Razorbill

When taking the boat out with Ecoventures to see dolphins i got to see a wide variety of sea birds including razorbills like this one.

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Flying sandpiper

On one of the loch's in Scotland this little guy was constantly calling and flying past which meant i was able to take a few shots and learn his flight path before getting this shot :).

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Lapwing

Having just returned from Scotland one of the highlights was the sheer abundance of one of my favorite birds, lapwings :). This was a wild bird that seemed to enjoy the lack of people getting out of the car in the highland wildlife park in the Bison enclosure :)

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Wild Bird Wednesday - Wren

Today's wild bird was pure luck, no planning the shot or anything like that, i was walking from one location to another when it flew past and landed in front of me and waited as if waiting for its photo :).

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Cetti's Warbler

Sorry its been a while, but hopefully the next couple of images will be worth it. Recently at my local market i purchased full camouflage clothing. Yes its not exactly fashionable but i had heard that it really makes a difference when it comes to getting close to wildlife, and is a lot cheaper than a super telephoto lens. So a couple of weeks ago i got up at around 4:00 AM and walked to my local country park. I saw a lot of interesting things and would highly recommend getting up early one day to see it for yourself.
However once i saw some commotion in the bushes i crept as close as i dared and sat still. I was lucky enough to be watching several pairs of cetti's warblers feeding their young, and i'm pretty sure they never noticed me, especially as one flew right over my head. I want to go back again and get a photo where it isn't on barbed wire but until now this will do, as my first Cetti's warbler photo :)

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City Wren

Every time i do the washing up i stare out of the window day dreaming, trying to not think about washing up as i am sure a lot of people do (who don't own dishwashers). Recently i have notice a very active and bold wren. He happily site calling out in the open and on the top of telegraph poles singing very loudly. Over the weekend i decided to take advantage of this and managed to get this shot in the middle of Southampton outside my flat :).

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Blue tit nest

After completing the Mink raft surveys with my college mate Matt, i went for a walk in the woods with my camera. Was about to turn back when a call i don't often hear caught my eye, above was a goldcrest (although at the time i thought possibly a firecrest). I stood and used the age old trick of waiting for nature to come to you. Out of the corner of my eye i saw something fly off of a tree. I didn't think much off it but then it happened several times.I stood back and waited. Turns out i was stood next to a Blue tit nest. That was me entertained for the next couple of hours :D.

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British wildlife center - Stoat

One of my favorite British species is the Stoat. They are small, very energetic and can be very clever. They also hunt rabbits which must be at least twice their size. So i was very chuffed to see one for the first time and get a chance to photograph it :).

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British wildlife center - Fox

At the weekend i was lucky enough to have a trip to the British wildlife center in Surrey wit my dad for a photo day with the photographer David Lloyd and a few other members of public. I had an amazing time and got to see some of my favorite species that i had never seen before such as stoats, mink, wildcats and polecats. My next few uploads are going to be photos from that day, starting with the foxes, which we were able to get into the enclosure with.

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Egret

Spent a morning walking around Itchen valley country park, it was fairly unsuccessful for photography but it was a nice walk. I am pretty sure i had a water vole within a meter of me (although it could have been a rat) and i had lapwings, swallows and swifts all flying very close over my head. I was about to give up when an egret landed close enough for me to get a photo of it and this was the end result :).

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Early morning Sedge Warbler

I got up at 5:00 this morning to increase my chances of some good photos. I think it paid off as i was able to get closer to the sedge warbler today and it was much more active, singing its little heart out :D.

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Sedge Warbler

Today i got to test out my new 1.4 teleconverter, i got it second hand but it seems to work very well as i was able to get this photo of a sedge warbler in only a couple of hours :).

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Baby Tawny Owl

Today my friend from college came and found me and a couple of others doing some coursework and said he had found some owls whilst out walking, so we decided to go and see if they were still there. Sure enough, there was a baby tawny owl and its mum. Before i knew it another mate of mine Will was racing me back to Southampton to pick up my gear. Without these two legends i wouldn't have been able to get this photo later that day of a baby tawny trying to get some shut eye, but taking a peak at us just to be sure :).

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Bluebells

This photo was taken the other day on a walk in a woodland near Fareham. The bluebells were everywhere, spring is in full swing it seems :).

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Nature Bloggers

I have just been added to nature bloggers. Follow the link to add yours or follow them on twitter.

@UKNHB

 http://uknhb.blogspot.com 

Wild Bird Wednesday: Long-tailed tit in the Forsythia

Another one of my Long-tailed tit photos, taken the same time as the previous one but this time it was feeding in the Forsythia yellow shrub.

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Wild Bird Wednesday - Long tailed tit portrait

The long tailed tit is my favorite garden bird, and thanks to he added reach on my new lens i was able to get close enough to take this shot in my back garden a couple of days ago :)

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Chiffchaff

I was trying to get a photo of Long-tailed tits yesterday using their recorded calls on my Kindle. But i got a nice little surprise when a Chiffchaff appeared :)

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Canada goose take off !

Another photograph from lakeside. This goose was one of many being bullied by a male swan which has gained a reputation. This photo was taken as it was trying to take off and escape.

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Blue tit

Arrived home yesterday and am going to be here over easter, i have already been put to work in the garden by my mum :D. But during lunch break i was able to get this photo of a blue tit :)

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Yet another gull...

Took a trip to lakeside country park today to do some geocaching with my mum and nan. Whilst there i got loads of photos i am happy with, one of which was of this black headed gull which was one of many that were flying low near the surface of the lake.

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Common toad

I am at work experience this week with the council. Today we gave the roof felts we put out for reptiles a check and got a little surprise :). 

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Great crested Grebe

Been after a shot of this Grebe for a while but until now it had always been to far away. The quality isn't superb but i am pleased for now :). Hopefully in the next couple of weeks i will get a photo of them performing their famous dance :).

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Casting a shadow

Another turstone photograph :)

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