Paddle boarding takes an usual Tern

Summer is nearly here for me well my summer weeks off are just around the courner but at my paid job my hours have been slightly reversed for a couple of weeks from mornings to nights. This change of working hours has enabled me to get out more in the mornings.

One morning I decided to headed to the river and I love to kayak/Paddleboard depending on my energy levels and what the rivers condition is dictates the craft I use. On this day I used my paddle board with no chair to save on carrying to much weight basically the set up above without chair.
On my way down river I spotted many Grebe nests and on branches next to them were Black backed gulls waiting for there chance to feast on the eggs which looked like it had happened as there were a few failed nests including a few flooded out. As I approached the bank where I pack up I heard that sea side sound I only normally hear on the coast in the summer and only noticed when I was right next to them, I jus wish I had my DSLR to photograph them well maybe sometime soon.

Common Terns pair on the river weaver

After doing a test night shift I finished at 6.30am and after 10 hours work I decided not to waste my day sleeping and headed off up into the Macclesfield hills to get some fresh air.

I love warm misty mornings and the new growth coming up by the canal

On my bank holiday walk to work I found a culvert by the canal where I could rest as its about 5 miles from home and on this day I found some Otter spraint which I've not found there before.

A few photographs from my brother at Ryan Mottrams wildlife as he has had a few encounters himself one being one of his friend has a swan nest in there garden every year and the owner has a bench nearby to there nest so mybrothergot some wonderful photographs of them hatching.
One of my favourites

Wild in his friends garden he alsospotted this escapee an Australian ringneck feeding in his seed feeding table. Not a clue where its come from maybe Chester Zoo and my brother is currently looking for the owners.

Stay wild and enjoy as it's the best time of the year for British Wildlife

Mike

My brother Ryan shares a Swan blog

Today I've decided to let my brother post on my blog as I've been pretty busy keeping my eye on poachers and as it won't be long till the new life of Spring begins soon and the poachers crawl back under there rocks. I'm not sure if I mentioned my brother Ryan much in my posts over the years so here's a quick introduction to him. Ryan photographs wildlife like me but he mostly keeps an eye on the local Swans all year round. Although he doesn't feed them at the local swan gathering place as a local group does that but we won't mention them as there not the friendliest people in the world. My brother travels around the local areas from Cheshire, Staffordshire and North Wales to collect data from there BTO/ring leg tags which he sends to a local recorder. With this data he finds out how far the swans travel to find a mate, build a nest and spend there Winters. As well as recording this data my brother and sometimes I lend a hand to rescue Swans and other local wildlife that needs a helping hand and this week my brother had to help a local swan "Flash" who got trapped when being attacked by a pair of Swans that have a territory a few miles away.

Thank you for visiting and I'll leave you with Ryan while I put my feet up... 

Cheers Mike
 Stay safe and protect Nature where and whenever you can
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 A quick thank you to Mike for the introduction and allowing me to post on his blog and to all the readers I hope you like my blog posts as much as his and hopefully I could do a few more in the future if he lets me. While out checking the safety of the local wildlife I spotted 2 swans flying over( Male is Barbossa and the female is Elizabeth) and once they saw Flash our oldest local Swan the 2 of them landed and began to chase Flash. He got flash trapped in between the bank and canal boat, so I had to react quickly before he got crushed by the boat or drowned by the local pair. Once I got him out to safety I checked him over all was fine. Because of the pair on were still on the canal I relocated him to River that flows next to the canal so he could easily escape using the faster flowing water to escape if they decided to follow Flash as hes quite an OAS now(old age swan now being 18).

 RED-SWAN PAIRS MAIN AREA / BLUE-FLASHES AREA / YELLOW DISTANCE TRAVELED

I don't think this will be the last Battle to between Barbossa and Flash this year as they have a few months before they choose a nesting site and stay in that area, until then the pair will keep any swans from being on the edge of there territory.

Thank you

Ryan Mottram

Yellow Hammers and a Duck nest on my local patch

Last weekend it was very sunny so we decided to spend the day enjoying some of my local wild areas that I have not been able to properly checkout even though I have lived here for many years. I remembered hearing Yellowhammers while walking to work in the early hours last summer so there was my first port of call. While walking on the road near Sandbach I new about a country path which leads onto some farmland. Within seconds we spotted our first then we heard a second and within 10 minutes we heard/saw about 7-8 along a 500m area of farmland along a railway track.

After we left the farmland we got back on the canal and found a Mallard nest which looked like the vegetation had been destroyed over the nest. I guessed it was a canal boat trying to moor up as there was another break in vegetation close by.

Out in the open due to a careless boat owner

The female Mallard flew off as we walked by leaving the eggs vulnerable and out in the open. To make the nest more hidden and keep the female from being undisturbed. We decided to rip out vegetation where there were no nests to build a roof over her nest and block off from the tow path.

Sitting on her nest safe and sound

Thanks for reading my blog

Stay wild, be happy and be safe
 

Mike

A book from my childhood - Animals at night

A few weeks ago I posted about a wildlife poem book I found that nurtured my love of wildlife and today I decided on posting about a book I got in Junior school over 20 something years ago. The book was called Animals at night and I bought it from a library that used to visit local schools and each year we were given a book token to get us to read more and I used it on the book below. Each page filled my imagination and really got me thinking into what was going on in my garden in the darkness of night. I have posted a few of the pages that really nurtured my love of wildlife and the outdoors below.

I always dreamed about sitting at a Badger sett and watching them in the low light. I saw my first Badger was I was about 25 so there was a large gap in between dreaming of seeing one and actually seeing one in the flesh.

 

Luckily I didn't have to imagine about foxes coming in my garden as 

I often found them in nearby countryside and came into my garden to feed in the winter months.

My favorite bird in the winter time the Tawny Owl and especially on cold, moonlit evenings just like in the picture below.

If you have been following my blog for a while then you'll know that I have had quite a few encounters with wildlife featured on these pages. When I have a wild encounter it takes me back to that excitement I had as a child when reading the words and taking in every bit of detail 

of the artwork that featured in the book.

Thanks for reading my blog

Stay wild, be happy and be safe
 

Mike

Great Crested Grebes begin nesting

 With no breeding or nesting action from the Swans I have decided on concentrating on one of the 2 pairs of Grebes that are nesting on the lake. The other afternoon we decided on focusing on one of the pairs. The closest nest is a few meters from the bank and over the past few days they have building building there nest higher using pieces of floating vegetation, rubbish and mud in the area. As the pair has nested close to a footpath they are getting more confident when dog walkers and people pass by. I am worried they may get disturbed sooner or later as once the weather gets warmer there will be more dog walkers, boaters and people who don't respect nature which always angers me.

Here the pair began calling to each other

 Swimming alongside each other

 A closeup of the male Grebe as the crests are longer than the females shorter ones

It seems when watched the Grebes would ignore the nest but when we observed them from cover they would quickly spring into action adding more vegetation to the nest.

It also looks like there were plenty of Canada Geese beginning courtship and starting to nest in the furthest reed beds.

One Male Swan "Hail" also keeps visiting the lake to see if there are any willing females to tempt into courtship but he soon decided he would rather have some of my bird seed. The Swans here like to sit on some submerged rocks in the middle of the lake to preen without worrying about predators such as Foxes sneaking up on them.

My brother photographing and watching the Grebes nest from below the bank ;-)

 Earlier that morning my brother watched and got a quick photograph of the Grebe weed dance when they strengthen there commitment if breeding. It's is something I have always wanted to see but to this days I have never seen with my own eyes.

Thanks for reading my blog

Stay wild, be happy and be safe

Mike

Last light on the lake

Over the Easter weekend I kept to some of the quieter areas of my local patch and I was pleased to find out the long tailed tit nest by the river had survived after the 3 days of rain we had. I also found a Nuthatch nest and possibly a Grey Wagtail nest too and in time I might be able to get some footage and photographs. At sunset the canals and river were quiet and peaceful so we always went for a nice evening walk as the sun was falling casting stunning light down onto the water and onto Snow the Swan.

Last photograph of the peaceful canal at last light

Thanks for reading my blog

Stay wild, be happy and be safe
 

Mike

Spring cleaning in the countryside

This week we decided to start prepping for Spring and as I have plenty of time this week we decided on putting up a few bird boxes up on my local patch and as we had a couple in the garden that never get used. We placed them in one of my favorite areas so we can visit during the nesting season to film, photograph and monitor the nests if and when they get used.

We also visited one of my local ponds which we dug a few years ago and wildlife seems to be using for bathing and drinking. While we were there we decided to stack lots of the old rotting logs and freshly cut logs into a huge pile for insects, reptiles, amphibians and rodents.

While at the pond we made a long natural fence as there were lots of trees that had been cut down over the winter season. The stacked trees should provide cover for wildlife, places to nest and a safe way for creatures to move from the pond to various log piles and food sources along the area of stacked trees.

It's always the same hawthorn tree by the canal that first gets its spring leaves

Once all the conservation work is done, I feel like I've given nature something back and then I like to have a rest in the sun and admire the work we have done. My favorite thing to do is to lean back against a tree, relax and take in all the Spring sounds & smells. I recommend giving back to Nature as it's good food for the soul in the fresh air around like minded people. If your a wildlife lover and are interested in helping or getting involved in any Local wildlife projects in Middlewich/Cheshire then email me for more information at TheWichWildlifeGroup@aol.com

Thanks for reading my blog

Stay wild, be happy and be safe
 

Mike

The Wich Wildlife Group for Wildlife lovers in my part of Cheshire

Just a quick heads up today on a New Facebook group I've started called The Wich Wildlife Group for local trusted Wildlife watchers, wildlife photographers, wildlife Filmer's from my area in Cheshire. These areas include 4 towns Middlewich, Sandbach, Northwich and Winsford. If you are interested in joining the hidden wildlife group then you must have live locally to me and have a profile on Facebook. If you meet the criteria above then email me at TheWichWildlifeGroup@aol.com for more information. 

I have various ideas for local projects or events once the group becomes established and we gain more members who have been vetted and approved by myself. The reason I'm doing it this way is because there are lots of people who hurt and kill wildlife, even locally which really angers me but hopefully through this new group we can make a local difference to help protect, rescue and enjoy our local wildlife and habitats. Also it will be a way to meet other local people who have the same values and love of the Nature around us that some people in our everyday lives will never understand.

 2 Cygnets which we rescued in 2014 as they got separated from the rest of there family on a local river

but luckily we managed to reunite the family together on the canal that flows above and over the river.

Thanks for reading my blog

Stay wild, be happy and be safe
 

Mike