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

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

One wonderful Easter Sunday from Dawn to dusk

While most people were tucked up in there beds early on Easter Sunday morning I was out enjoying the peace and the possibility of some wild encounters on my local patch. A few weeks ago I walked into a young Otter down on the local river catching it's breakfast before it saw me and disappeared off upriver leaving only prints on the muddy banks.

My wild encounters started when 2 Badgers ran into me and continued to chase each other into some bushes when I watched them have a roll around in the undergrowth with plenty of calling before returning to there sett at first light.

I continued on across some scrub land where I heard a Grasshopper Warbler and saw some Blackcaps gathering nesting material for there newly built creation in a bramble patch. The smell of the Hawthorn blossom in the fresh morning air was beautiful and combined with a sighting and the smell of a Fox made quite the spring aroma
Hawthorn/Blackthorn

Swans patrolling the canal

Sheep having lambs is wonderful to see at this time of the year

Grebes mating on the canal

A Coot searches for nest material under the surface

I thought I had stumbled into the Otter again but it turned out to be a Mink as the sun rose

A stunning sunrise along the canal

Canada Geese back in the warm sunlight

Sunrise over the picnic benches

When the sunrises under this bridge the light is so warm and refreshing

Lots more to come in the next few weeks as I'm off to Wales for a week!!!!

Stay wild and thanks for reading

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.

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

Grebes have young but they have...

As most people seem to be out enjoying the summer weather, holidays and Pokemon Go I have decided to publish less blogs until the Nights start to draw in. Most posts will be from the beginning of the summer but today I have decided to write about some strange goings on. 

A few weeks ago after thinking the nesting season was over we noticed the Grebes on the local lake had finally hatched there eggs. The pair had 2 young which rode on there backs for a few days and the pair grew quickly. Everything was fine for about two weeks till a week ago when all 4 disappeared from the lake. We checked the surrounding pools and canal  but they could not be found. While walking and kayaking I spotted a few dead birds floating in the water but it had not occurred to me it could have been the grebes till I noticed they had disappeared. I am not sure if it was a natural predator, human intervention or they left the area but I think they were too young to fly so I'm hoping a natural predator but i. More investigation needed I think and first I'll chat to the locals and keep an eye out while biking, jogging, walking and kayaking. I have a few new camera mounts for filming wildlife over the next year. I have developed one that is perfect for underwater and for when I'm riding my bike as I keep bumping into things without having a camera accessible while out biking. Abit of good news on the 11th August as there is a family matching there numbers abit further up in the canal.

The photograph below is of my first Action camera wrist mount prototype

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

The death of Flash :-(

Today I thought I would post about one of  my local patches characters and in this instance its Flash one of the local Mute Swans who had a territory here for over 16+ years. We last saw him in February this year when he was fighting with a new pair of swans. On the 11th February my brother separated them and put Flash in a safe place on the river away from the danger of the attacking pair. After that he disappeared and since then we had no clue where he was. Last week we got an email saying he was reported dead at Middlewich on February 14th 2016. He was a wonderful swan sometimes grumpy but yet very calm and intelligent. He will be sadly missed..........
Below is a video I made about the life of Flash

As a wild bird he did his job protecting his mates & cygnets over the years. I shall miss him swimming along side me in my kayak as the sunrises on a warm summer morning along the canal.

I took this photograph in the beginning of 2002 when he had one of his first brood of cygnets

One of his last broods a few years ago..

He was quite a poser

Flash at his main nest site which he held for many years without fail

Flash by the big lock pub

Thanks for reading my blog

Stay wild, be happy and be safe
 

Mike