Archive blog I forgot to post Waxwings still around in Spring!!!!

With Spring in full swing and I have begun to visit my Badgers setts to get ready to photograph the Cubs first emerging from the setts. This year they must have been born late as last year we had 2 bouncing around one of the sett holes.

On the way to the Badgers the other evening I had heard a strange but similar call and as I went to look where it was coming from we spotted 30 plus Waxwings. They were in a high tree on the edge of Middlewich town but they flew off further away from town. Later that week my brother found the flock perched up and relaxed in a tree feeding on the new spring buds.

I got a few photographs but the best I got was posted below and as I had 2% power left on my DSLR I was pleased with what I managed to get especially as its so late in the year to see them.

Seeing so many Waxwings still here makes me wonder that in a few years will Waxwings be breeding here and after seeing them quite happy and healthy makes me think that it could be sooner than we think with summer being just around the corner.

Stay wild and enjoy the Spring while it's here

Mike

Blogging takes a back seat but were back!!!

Had a few weeks off blogging but I am going to try again but with keeping an eye on local wildlife mainly toads and keeping watch on Badgers setts as baiting has been seen in the area. With better weather coming in my business has been busier than usual so it's been hard to keep up with posting new content. In early February we headed off to Wales for an afternoon by the sea and a nights camping but as I got rid of my larger slumit pop up tent it was quite cramped in a smaller beach tent.

For a couple of week's we ended up relocating Male and female Toads off the canal Towpath from danger and into the water where there respected others await.

 Over the past few day's I've seen and heard so much from Green Woodpeckers to Otters and even Frog spawn up a tree but I'll post that in my next blogs.

 Appreciate spring as its only just the beginning of the wildest and best 2 seasons
of the year in my opinion.

Thank you for your continued support

Mike

Watching wildlife - A busy month so heres a few updates

It's been a busy few weeks since I last posted and having not taken many photographs. I decided to rest a little this Christmas and just enjoy watching wildlife and the outdoors rather than focusing on photographing and filming wildlife. I've also had a birthday, a week on the coast, checked out a holiday home and started work on a new conservation area hopefully your enjoy the updates below.

  My huge piece of triple Chocolate birthday cake from a tasty Conwy bakery near the harbor

Here's a link to their shop Facebook page if your ever in the area

Having sold a few bits of my own kit and my wildlife watching supplies this year to pay for one of my other favorite passions. In 2017 I will be hopefully doing more wild camping in the North Wales and Anglesey area once I get my new light camping gear soon. As I have a few days off work in February I'm hoping I can be ready for a few nights camping on the coastal mountains if I can find the best gear to keep warm and comfy as I'm sure Spring won't be arriving that early next year.

Updates to follow in my next blog post

Thank you and keep watching wildlife

Mike

A new opportunity...

One from this years trip to North Wales on a summers evening watching the sun fall below the horizon. At the minute I am looking into possibly getting a holiday cottage that I can use myself and rent out to holiday makers in the area in 2017. Fingers crossed I've covered all my bases and calculations are correct. I'm going to view the property in December :-) and If all works out I can possibly keep some kit there which will allow me to do more Camping/sea kayaking when I feel like it.

A new local find :-)

With local wild places becoming crowded and closer to becoming developed with housing and various other plans. I decided to search in some new places outside of my usual wild places to find some quieter and more undisturbed places. I spotted this Fly agaric Mushroom at Shakerley Mere last Tuesday and the area is becoming one of my favorite weekly places to visit.

I have even found this perfect picnic bench by the lake with a perch where I can place some bird food and enjoy the birds coming back and fourth while I relax and enjoy the outdoors.

 I found this hidden spot which I will be exploring more the next time I visit and I will take a few more photographs of my wildlife findings and habitat.

I love wooden bridges over trickling streams

 Tonight I am trialing a new WiFi camera setup tonight in the garden. I am powering on 12vt mobile backup battery which is nearly lasting an hour which is perfect. I may even see some of the 16+ hedgehogs that pass through my garden looking for food each night which may be a record. A few are hibernating in the hedgie houses in the garden already but more are visiting lately. Luckily not many get squished very much on my concrete island and there main predator the Badger whose numbers are 0 on my local urban patch. As well as filming wildlife I'm hoping to use to catch a few poachers out with this new kit if I can run on a 3G network created my Iphone.

Thanks for reading my blog
Stay wild, be happy and be safe

Mike

Summers end...

With September approaching and the end of Summer with it I thought it would be time to post some of my summer posts which I've been holding back so I can publish on the bad weather days.

My brother Ryan enjoying the late evening sun by a local river

The moon sinks below the horizon as a thick mist forms

View from my kayak on a summers morning

 Hopefully in the Autumn I can get out more with my camera more than I have this summer. I have not had much motivation to take my camera out with me this year very much as I have chosen more of a enjoy the Nature through my own eyes rather than through a lens.

 

Thanks for reading my blog

Stay wild, be happy and be safe
 

Mike

Last week off until Spetember :-(

Unfortunately last week I had my last week off of the summer so I decided to have a few days out walking in the local countryside and a overnight trip camping on the coast. As I had to drop off a plug we accidentally took when we stayed  at a cottage by the sea in early June rather than post we thought we would make it into a couple of days camping to detox from technology except my iPhone of coarse as playing Poke Mon on it made the 5 hr bus journey to the coast and back so much easier.

 We stayed one night camping in the mountains but as I chose cooking kit instead of comfort so we decided to stay one night instead of 2 to but as the weather got cooler I was not to bothered about returning home early. As I had a few days off once I returned home we decided to go out on foot to explore some more of the local villages surrounding my local patch and we found some lovely places we never new existed.

While walking to a place Ive visited before by car we decided  to use Google maps to explore the area on the way a local duck lake. We ended up finding a Nature area by the river Dane close to Holmes chapel which had a pond, woodland, bird hide and plenty of space for Nature. The place is about 30 minutes walk from home so perfect for when I want to enjoy a few hours peace in a place set aside for Nature. As we only passed through the area I did not get chance to explore or take to many photographs except for a few of the lovely nature boards.

One place we visited twice was Shakerley mere where we found a bench by the lake and enjoyed the sun, food and the geese and ducks coming over for food which was very relaxing.

One of the moody looking Geese came over for a photograph

I'll be visiting here over the winter months as there's a lovely bird feeder setup there and I will be taking my camera. Its quite a pleasant walk down some lovely country lanes to get there and at a leisurely pace I can get there in less than an hour. One other place we visited was the River Weaver and we decided to walk from Winsford to Davenam on the edge of Northwich. The walk goes along the river and passes through various habitats. I'll explore the area more over the next year if all goes to plan as I think there is a good chance of seeing Otters there especially in the winter months.

One thing we noticed was Great crested Grebes are doing well along the weaver due to the nests we found being sat on by the adults. We got to see the birds swap over incubation duty's as the rained poured down onto the small ponds along the river weaver.

One Grebe nested on some Lilly pads which is a great idea as they rise with the water

Thanks for reading my blog

Stay wild, be happy and be safe
 

Mike