In March of this year I came across a pair of Long-Tailed Tits that where building their nest in a thorny, dense hedgerow. These birds are so tiny and absolutely beautiful, they look like a little lollipop when in flight. The following images, all taken recently are just a few of my favourites from this project.
Recently I found a pair of Long-tailed Tits that were building a nest in a dense hedgerow protected on all sides by thorny branches. I’ve spent as much time there as I can, working from a camouflaged hide to minimise any disturbance to these tiny birds by my present.
Dawn light can be incredibly, bathing a whole area in a golden colour, transforming an image while adding a beautiful atmosphere with lots of impact. The direction of light will dramatically affect the way shadows fall in a scene within nature or on a subject. Remembering these simple points, then twin them up with a bit of luck in one of your favorites places in the UK, add a relaxed, beautiful subject and the results can be magical.
One project I’ve been working on recently is Pied Flycatchers in the Peak District National Park. These birds are so beautiful and visit our shores during the spring and summer months from their wintering home of West Africa and live manly in woodland habitat. Their numbers are quite low and they are on the “amber” list of species by the RSPB meaning they aren’t rare but not common too.
Harrier Day 2017 was celebrated all over the country with ten events over the weekend marking this special day. Since the first Hen Harrier day back in 2014 this event has gone from strength to strength as the public have become more aware of the cruelty on our moorlands. The destructive nature of driven grouse shooting on the lead up to, during and after is killing so much wildlife and leaving us with a controlled, managed landscape that only benefits the landowners.
I’ve been working on a personal project in the beautiful Peak District, documenting one of the UK’s most beautiful and stunning summer visitors, the Redstart. This attractive little cousin of the Robin and Nightingale is one of my favorite summer visitors to our shores. They are immediately identifiable by their bright orange-red tails, and were also known as ‘firetail’ which they often quiver and constantly flick.
The onset of spring cannot be denied now, with the warming temperatures, lighter evenings and the morning dawns becoming earlier. Spring is upon us, though there maybe many false dawns before the days of frost and grey fog are behind us. Spring is one of the four seasons and my favourite. It’s the period between winter and summer, and for me the words Spring and Springtime bring thoughts of life, birth and regrowth to our countryside.
Over the last several weeks I have noticed a slight change in the weather, with brighter mornings and lighter evenings, it would seem Spring, my favorite time of the year is now in full swing.
