Birds of Prey

July started with another session with the Birds of Prey at Silverband.  Working with the snowy owl, two eagle owl chicks, a little owl and buzzard. An enjoyable day with no rain this year.

More from Sion Hall

These are the best of the rest of the pictures taken of the birds of prey at Sion Hall Falconry Centre.

Spectacled Owl

Golden Eagle

Great Grey Owl

Golden Eagle

African Spotted Owl

Juvenile Bald Eagle

Bateleur Eagle

White Tailed Sea Eagle

Snowy Owl

White Tailed Sea Eagle

Birds of Prey

After over a month of non-activity due to a trapped nerve in my neck I managed to get out and do some photography last weekend.  We had a club visit to a local falconry centre where they posed and flew some of the birds especially for us.  Thank you Colin for arranging the visit, we had a great time.

Ferruginous Buzzard

Peregrine Falcon

Grey Eagle Buzzard

Little Owl on Garden Fork

Little Owl

White Faced Scops Owl

Chester Zoo

On the day after the Print Championships we went to Chester Zoo.  The weather was grey and drizzly most of the time.  The only creatures that seemed to be enjoying themselves were the otters.  However it was good to see the animals and find out how easy it could be to get some decent shots.  The monkey and the baby giraffe were cute.
It's amazing how a little use of Photoshop can make it look as if the weather was better than it actually was!

Birds of Prey Workshop

I have started to process my images taken on the birds of prey workshop last week.  Most of the day was wet but we were dressed for it.  I like the way the kestrel has fluffed himself up.

A few new pictures

Not much photographic activity lately so just posting a few random pictures which I have been working on recently.

Trees at The Trundle

Coal Tit

Blue Tit

Probably the last birds for a while

I have now worked my way to the end of my files from our Farne Islands visit.  Here are just a few more of my favourites.

Razorbill

I couldn't resist a couple of portraits of the birds on the cliff edges.  Razorbill on the left and Shag below.

Shag

I couldn't resist this one taken from the land side of the fence.

The arctic terns will nest anywhere - these are on some steps.

Just as we were about to get on the boat to return to Seahouses a Ringed Plover was spotted on the beach.


And I can't say goodbye to the Farne Islands without including my favourite picture of an Arctic Tern in flight.

More Farne Island Birds

It wasn't until we arrived on Inner Farne that we saw the Arctic Terns.  There are over 2,000 pairs nesting on the island and when we arrived it felt as if most of them were coming to greet us.

As you walk along the path Arctic Terns, with their chicks, are right beside you and the adults soon let you know, with a fierce peck on the top of your head, that they don't want you to touch their brood.

Don't go without a hat!




Once we had run the gauntlet there were other birds to see.  More puffins, other gulls (I need an ornithologist with me), guillemots, razor bills, shags and a ringed plover.













The gulls seem to find the most precarious nesting places!

More Puffins

It was interesting to see on the News yesterday evening that the population of puffins on the Farnes is up 5% from last year.  Researchers have been attaching tiny sat nav's to the birds in order to establish where they travel to find the sand eels. Initial results show the birds travel 20 miles out to sea several times a day to feed in sand eel 'hot spots'. 

 

The birds, which mate for life, stuff up to 67 sand eels in their beaks each time just to feed one chick in a burrow.  Most of the puffins which I photographed only managed to bring back a few sand eels at a time.

Farne Island Puffins

On 24th June a group of us from Stokesley Photographic Society travelled north to the Farne Islands.  We were blessed with great weather - some cloud cover so that it didn't get too hot and no rain.  We had to make a 6.45 am start but it was worth getting up early.

We visited 2 islands, Staple Island and Inner Farne, spending 2 hours on each one.

It will take ages to process all the pictures.  I've already deleted all the rubbish and unsharp pictures but that still leaves 265 from which to choose the best ones.