Mist clearing by 11:00!!! or 12,13,14,15 ish o'clock

You would be forgiven for thinking, that with millions of pounds worth of Satellites, Computers of infinite complexity and the cumulative wisdom of countless years of Weather forecasting! they would be able to get at least one or two days right? wouldn't you?

A little unkind perhaps! as every day they said it would rain it did,, buggers! So I suppose that, being the given, and it being of a higher percentage than Sunny days they must be fairly accurate overall ?

This mornings mist was not welcome at all ,as every where I went it was a real job tracking down the birds, Haughmond Woods were about the most successful with not one but two Tawny Owls seen huddled up against the trunks of a couple of pines, in woods pictures? fraid not.

So giving up I was at Venus Pools to watch nothing for a While before going to Berrington pools to see a few of the late Dragons., so here you go just a couple for the moment as they were the only ones catchable!!!


Migrant Hawker

Again just closer

And again
Not to often do I get to place my choice on a shot but this one got me as it was coming out of a bit of mist as if the wing tips were stirring the murk, looks much better when seen at the 100% size, believe me!!!

More later perhaps

Cheers

Paul

Autumn Already ??

The transition from Summer to Autumn used to be a slow process and even an enjoyable one, so what happened to this years period of tranquil change? or is it just another anomaly people will say is due to Climatic change?

With the dreaded Summer holidays finally over, thank goodness, it was out and about at the first opportunity, A visit to the Cranes, still here after all this time, proved a wet experience as they fed in the recently ploughed fields to the South of their original position. As can be seen in the rain.

The next chance to get out, I took in the common land at Prees Heath, and what a fine place it is, you can see the results here before getting another soaking.

Common Crane

Eurasion Jay

Treble Bar

Small Copper

Silver Studded Blue

Common Blue

So with the big glass due from the repairers Soon I hope to be getting out a bit more before the end of Autumn,,, next week perhaps?

Cheers

Paul

WEBSITE BACK ONLINE, BLOG UP TO DATE.

Sorry to those of you looking for the website, slight ISP problem!!!
all back together now , enjoy.
Paul

Dead website so it is here!!!

Once upon a time,.... in fact probably longer back than I care to remember, I and a couple of like minded Friends, or more like fools, spent, what was arguably one of the most uncomfortable nights ever on the Northern plains of Germany, we had endured consistent heavy rain, temperatures reminiscent of the Winter not long passed, and to top it all the beer had run out long before it was planned for, Strange 24 bottles in a crate 24 hours in a day, go figure?

First light was scheduled for around 06:30 CET, but already we could hear from the field adjacent to our selected ditch, the voices of several hundred Cranes beginning their morning ablutions and confirming their presence to each other.

We had tracked their movements North from lower Saxony, as we had cone on several years previously, but this year the numbers moving had, through weather conditions gathered in the northern plains,. Normally we would have a couple of hundred but this particular morning our initial count as the mist cleared was in the 2500 region.

What a sight it was, and the noise was incredible. To see this group lift virtually together would be difficult to describe but it was like watching a flock of 4 foot tall Knot struggling into the air.

So it was a great thrill to see the Common Crane on the North Shropshire plains this year and for them to stay rather than in previous years pass through.

Needless to say photo's had to be done so here they are a small selection.

I am reliably informed that the Cranes passing through Germany are still following the same routes north but numbers have not since then reached such figures.

Got a comment or question drop it into the Guest book please.

Paul

A Head Tern er! and no mistake.

The view many people enjoyed of the Glaucous Gull as it scavenged around the landfill site in Telford was normally distance and at best unsatisfactory, now how about having a juvenile taking sardines from your sandwich? Well this cheeky chappy was doing just that.

It would use the updrafts from the sea to hang! around looking for those special tid-bits that visitors were leaving around, even to the extent of chasing the Herring gulls away.

Mind you Black headed gulls were a little more cunning in their approach to the free feeds.

Right along the coast young Terns were moving along the beaches and of shore searching out the elusive Sand Eels, for many it took several attempts.

Spotted one?

We moved along the coast to the Tern colony at Cemlyn bay, which was well down in numbers over the previous years. But continued to be entertaining.

A quick shake after a dive and it's back to the chick feed and back to it.

The availability of sand eels was evidently low, as more pipe fish were brought in as food and with little nourishment no wonder the colonies of Common, Arctic and Sandwich Terns were again suffering.

Holyhead habour is always worth a scan as it often holds not only Slavonian Grebes, not this time, but Black Guillimots were around but elusive in terms of the camera.

Not good but perfectly suitable as record shots until next time.

One of the things about Cemlyn, is not just the excellent food at the pub up the road, and of course the colony, but the dropping tide can often present you with opportunities for some good photography.

As in the following set of Turnstone pictures. Be prepared to get down and dirty, oh! and wet!

What a difference summer plumage makes.

They proved really confiding and the Ringed Plovers proved no different, the Spotted Redshanks were another story

The period we were there we counted over 50 Manx Shearwaters, 60+ Gannets a few Petrels and loads of Razorbills and Guillimots moving down the coast past the headland.

So another little look into what and where I have been.

More to come

Paul