All go for nesting season!!!

As the week began I noticed a sudden change of warm air and the first of the Spring showers coming in and many more birds are beginning there 2018 nesting season. Locally the Swans have built there nest up slowly but as more rain is coming and the fresh reeds have only just begun to breach the waters surface I dont think they will begin any egg laying in the next month for them. One Grebe has returned to the local flash and the Geese and other birds have begun to make there muddy platforms ready to begin adding the vedgetation to give them a stable platform for the future of there species. If we go by past nesting seasons then they have a task ahead of them.

The water level really affects the water birds here as the rain the canal locks and run off from nearby farmland causes the levels to rise and fall quickly as the flash also has a overflow into a river which runs alongside the flash.

  I even visited a few of my monitored Badger setts to check on cameras I've placed out to capture footage of any would be wildlife crime commiters plus as there also booby traped cameras so any one trying to take them will be very surprised on the messy outcome if there touched by any human interference. The Badgers have started to excavate they setts ready for there cubs next stage as they need more room to grow and I bet it can get very messy underground with all that Cub poo littering the sett chambers. Normally I have my first encounters with the Badgers and there cubs before easter so I'll keep you updated on that in the next few weeks.

Thanks for reading

Mike

False Spring I guess !?!?

Well here's me thinking that Spring was in full flow but the beast from the east came out of nowhere. In the past few days, we have had so much snow and cold weather than we have seen for a few years even if you put them together. I have had to cancel one plan of going to Teggsnose and Macclesfield forest due to the bad weather up there.

Ice by the roadside

 Caught out in a BLIZZARD

 Edges of the canalside waterfall began to freeze

A very icy and windswept tow path

 A white garden

 After the storm

As well as snow and Ice I had a wonderful Sunday morning last week when I visited a new place locally where I can watch the sunrise and the sunset. There are Lapwings, Woodpeckers and Skylarks close to home. I'll hopefully be finding Barn Owls and Foxes here in the evenings and early hours. 

We saw a pair of Kestrels calling and doing flying cortship one vening while dropping off some bird feed as theres a few flocks of unidentified birds I have not got close to yet but my new feeding station may pay off soon.

After arriving at the area and the sun rising the birds began to sing a stunning chorus. I waited until the birds quieted down and then I headed home for breakfast and to get a few hours sleep after a wonderful few hours sitting in the sun and enjoying nature.

Hopefully, once the air warms up my encounters will increase and as it's only 6 weeks till my first Wales trip I'm hoping my first Otter encounter of the Spring will be very soon.

Thanks for reading

Mike

Last day of 2017

Just a quick blog post to end the year and although I don't do all the happy the new year wishing. I thought it would be nice to finish off 2017 with remembering 3 encounters from the past year and also 3 things I want to do more of in 2018. My favorite three 2017 memories while out about may seem like small things to others but to me and maybe some of you will understand the beauty and complicity of Natural Encounters.

1-My first is Otters on my local river and as its the first year I've had so
many personal sightings of them only a few miles from my home in the early hours of summer.

2-My second is Waxwings in the early months of Spring we had them locally feeding on sticky spring buds on the edge of an industrial estate.

 3-My third and last is being outdoors in the rain, sun, wind, and ice I love all weathers and locations as each area has its own beauty. As I get older I love it even more and sometimes I head off deep into the local countryside to one of my peaceful beauty spots with my tent to commune with Nature.

My three things I want to do more of in 2018 are below:

1-Kayaking

2-Camping

3-Reading

 Hopefully, all the things above will encourage me to spend more time outdoors with Nature and the good thing is I can mix 1+3 together and 2+3 together which = another happy year doing what I love.

 

On Saturday 30th December 2017 I got a few photographs from a local bird reserve and one of the many lakes there, I got to see my first ever male Shovelers about 10m from the watching area which was a great bird to see to end the year.

A few of the 10+ bird feeders full of feeding birds 

 The local birders also rubbed fat on the posts to stick bird seed to the fence posts

I Would like to say a big thank you for all your custom at www.Gowildlifewatching.co.uk and to everyone that follows my passion. I'm looking forward to seeing what Nature brings next year. To be honest I can't wait to get out camping on the coast and hopefully within the next few months I shall as I am buying a few pieces of kit every month to make camping more comfortable. One things for sure in 2018 I'll be defending Nature in my own way with more kit and knowledge to save animals and habitats when and where I can.

Thank you

Mike

A few hours by the Crown hotel

Last week we decided on taking a bus trip to an area I've seen while on route to Wales for our cottage holidays. The area in question is small beach/pebbled area with some rocks and plenty of muddy for lots of waders, Geese and duck species. There were a large number of birds including Godwits a first sighting for me. There is only access via a bridge over the railway and when we arrived the tide was just coming in pushing the waders ever closer to us.

To the keep the weight down my brother brought his camera and I left mine allowing me to have more room for food supplies. As it was quite overcast and we only intended a quick visit it seemed the best plan. It was our last visit over the Welsh border till December. To make this Winter holiday more special we have decided to book a cottage with a view and hopefully if the weathers bad we don't have to leave the cottage to spot Dolphins, sea birds, seals and who knows even Whales have been known to visit the coast in December.

A little tease of the cottage below

Regards

Mike

Cheshire Badger cull :-(

Where science and facts have been pushed aside the Badger cull has once again started and has now come to Cheshire. I know a few people involved with legally disrupting the cull shooters and making sure they follow the rules where they can.

Those people out there fighting the injustice have my respect I would love to be involved but as I can't drive and the cull area in Cheshire is in the middle of a no bus area. Instead, I have decided to keep an eye on all my local setts and try to check 10 every other day including poo pits for traces of peanuts and sett disturbances as in early 2017 sett diggers were disrupted on my local patch. At nearby Blakemere I spotted these dodger diggers which I reported to Cheshire hunt monitors.

We only the second week of 6 weeks of shooters being allowed to trap and shoot Badgers and hopefully, the quota they won't be met. We will only know that once the 6 weeks are over if the hard work of the sabs (Badger defenders) who are sacrificing their time and own money pays off.

You can donate to them here:

If you can donate anything to there fuel fund they would really appreciate it!
https://gogetfunding.com/badger-cull-fuel-fund-2/

Regards

Mike

"Stay safe Badger warriors, for you are the last stand against the death in the darkness"

A suprise encounter :-) :-)

 I know I said I would not be posting but last week on the first day of my week off I got the opportunity to get something I've been trying to photograph for a while. If you have followed my blog over the past few years you will know how long I have been trying and all though the shots are not the best they mean the world to me. Last Monday I headed out early with wellies, umbrella and camera in my back pack as I left home the rain poured down and as it was very warm it was quite pleasant. I saw the Otter in an open part of the river stretched out swimming down river diving and surfacing but getting further away and not having my camera out at that point I had to think fast to get anything on my camera. I decided to run further down river to an Open spot where I new the water was shallow and the Otter would have to emerge from the water to enter deeper water. And it did I watched as it left the water skulking low using the balsam as cover it entered a deeper pool and dived for a minute then came to the surface where I got my second shot before it disappeared into the more overgrown parts of the river.

 First photograph I took from under some trees and not wanting to scare I turned the flash off

 Color close up to show this beautiful creature up close a few meters away

After this encounter I returned home elated and with the rain still pouring down I decided I had earned a few more hours in bed after finally getting this close encounter and with a few blurry shots to record the moment was a perfect start to my last week off of the summer season.

The beauty of my local patch on a sunnier morning

Later that week I went to check out some countryside an hour away from home at a town called Macclesfield which is close to some hilly and large areas of forest but we could not stay long due to having to get back to pack for a 2 day camping trip to Wales.

Kind regards

Mike

The return of Flash

As it was very warm the other day we decided not to head out to far. We ended up going to a local stretch of river so if we got to hot we could cool off in the water. We were mainly looking for a Swan family or Sand martins .After walking a few miles along the river we ended up finding nothing but the river looked beautiful with it's clear and sparkling water. 

There were plenty of Damselflies zipping up and down the river and mating on the river weed. On the way back though from a high bank over the river we spotted a pair of Swans with one cygnet, I did the call that some of the pairs I photograph know to see if they would respond. The female reacted and raised her head to my call and this so it got me thinking was this Flash and his mate Whisper. 

 Staying together and doing quite well with the faster speed of the flowing river

 

We could not see the family properly or leg tags so we fought through the nettles to get onto the sandbank where they were resting. Once we got closer we saw it was them and they had 4 Cygnets not just one.  When we approached calling like we have to Flash for years he came over without any aggression and tapped my bag to see if we had any food for him and his family. I took a few photographs and left them in peace heading down river closer to the unsafer area nearer to the town. The things that worry me at this time of year are the increase more Dogs off leads playing in the river and a few people who find entertainment in harming nature. Hopefully I will be able to keep an eye on them but nice thing was Whisper seemed to be wary of us which means she will be keeping her Cygnets very safe and she will lead them to safety if needed.

 I think Flash on the left is moulting but I think he's quite strong even if he can't fly

Thanks for reading my blog

Stay wild, be happy and be safe

Mike

A walk through the Bluebell woodland

With all this warm spring weather were having at the minute I decided on taking a walk through one of the only Bluebell woodlands on my local patch in Cheshire. It was lovely to see all the reeds and pond marigolds growing up to the sun before the woodland canopy thickens up. 

While sitting with my back against an old Oak tree looking into a patch of Bluebells I spotted a Fox running off into the undergrowth. I think I may return to this woodland this week just to sit in silnce with my camera and hopefully something may wander my way if I'm lucky.

 One of my photograph areas for Weasels fingers crossed

 Lovely Bluebell photograph taken on my I-phone

Quite a relaxed afternoon out in the Cheshire wilderness at one of my favorite times of year when the birds are singing and building nests the Bees are buzzing and the outdoors has the smell of flowers but most of all I love the sudden rise of the greenery from the stinging nettles to the reeds. I just love the British countryside in Spring when everything begins a new and Winter is giving it's last few frosty fresh mornings before the heat of spring finally kicks in.

Thanks for reading my blog

Stay wild, be happy and be safe

Mike