Bird On A Wire

Bird On A Wire, originally uploaded by julian sawyer.

There a plenty of these around at the moment, the young have fledged and are placing incredible demands on there parents.
Whitethroats are great to watch, but this one sneaked up on me last night when I wasn't ready.

After The Rain

After The Rain, originally uploaded by julian sawyer.

After a few days of clouds and rain it was good to get out for a wander this evening. The skies were trying to clear and the Sun was doing its best to give me a little light.
Time then to get a rather soggy backside and sit down with three of our Roe Deer.
This one, a young female, has just had her first fawn and it lay in a patch of grass not too far away.
No pictures of the youngster, I'll leave that until it is older.

High Winds And White Horses

High Winds And White Horses, originally uploaded by julian sawyer.

I am always disappointed when the weather is dull and overcast, but this evaporated as soon as I reached the cliffs The wind was whipping up the slate grey sea and white horses capped the waves all the way to the horizon.
After a heavy night there is nothing like a walk on the cliffs to blow the cobwebs away, and a chance to sit with a Herring Gull and watch the birds fly by is a good way to spend the morning.

Dandelion For Starters

Dandelion For Starters, originally uploaded by julian sawyer.

I thought it was about time for another attempt at a Hare close-up, but although they didn't run away completely this time, they made sure there was always enough of a gap between us.
The are great to watch but I am a bit wary as to how far to push them so I will take it slow.

Singing The Sun Down

Singing The Sun Down, originally uploaded by julian sawyer.

Top of the pops on last nights wander was the Dunnock. He sat at the very top of the hedge and belted out his song for quite a while. Lovely little birds they are too.

Splitting Hares

Splitting Hares, originally uploaded by julian sawyer.

After last weeks encounter with a Hare I decided to go and have another go. Something that became obvious after a very short time is that my Hare Stalking skills are not great. Watching these too was fun but as soon as I tried to get closer they ran off in opposite directions.
I think I need to brush up on my wounded Carrot impression....

Low Level Flypast

Low Level Flypast, originally uploaded by julian sawyer.

Once he had finished searching for lunch and clearly unwilling to continue posing for photographs, the Oyster Catcher was off!.He flew for only a few minutes before landing next to the only other wader around, a rather bored looking Turnstone, but he was too far away to be bothered by me.

No Oysters

No Oysters, originally uploaded by julian sawyer.

I spent quite a while trying to get close to this Oyster Catcher that, in turn spent quite a while hopping along the rocks looking for food.
We were at Peveril Point, perched on the rock formations caused when the African continent collided with Europe and sent out ripples (this was at the same time as the Alps were formed, so I suppose we were quite lucky). These ripples stretch out to sea and churn up the water rather nicely, but you have to keep a close eye on the tide.

Temporary Hare Loss

Temporary Hare Loss, originally uploaded by julian sawyer.

A very brief glimpse of a pair of long ears made me pull over and take a longer look at this chap.
It was not easy getting a shot though, he kept on disappearing into the long grass leaving only the top of his head visible.
It is not easy finding Hares around here and if you are bald like me, asking if anyone knows the whereabouts of Hares is liable to get dodgy comments.

Fish Supper

Fish Supper, originally uploaded by julian sawyer.

You don't want to mess with these guys. Greater Black-backed Gulls are big old birds with appetites to match. I have seen these take adult Guillemots from the water before and there isn't a lot around here that can bother them. This discarded fish head didn't put up much of a fight either.

FEEEEED MEEEE!!!

FEEEEED MEEEE!!!, originally uploaded by julian sawyer.

This mornings wander took us to Dancing Ledge, a quarry well known locally for its rock-cut swimming pool and the occasional sighting of a Puffin or two. Three Puffins showed their painted faces in fact, but they were quite a way away, as well as a couple of Yellowhammers and a family of Stonechats. The Stonechats are always good to watch and we spent quite a while doing just that.

In Flight Meal

In Flight Meal, originally uploaded by julian sawyer.

Both Stonechat parents were busy this morning, bringing fly after fly back to the kids. Then, all of a sudden Mr Stonechat turned up with a big old butterfly and both kids started really playing up.

Phalacrocorax

Phalacrocorax, originally uploaded by julian sawyer.

The name is just as prehistoric as the bird! Plenty of Shags around this morning, flying to and from the cliffs but this one decided to sit for a while.
It was difficult to get the feather detail on the wings without overblowing the pale rocks.

What Has Grey Wings, A Waggy Tail & Flies?

What Has Grey Wings, A Waggy Tail & Flies?, originally uploaded by julian sawyer.

While Mrs Grey Wagtail worked tirelessly to keep her chicks full of flies, the Moorhen family (still with six youngsters) paddled in the stream to a chorus of 'ooohs' and 'aaahs' from passers-by.
Still not much light under the trees and by this time the Sun had well and truly disappeared.

Confusion

Confusion, originally uploaded by julian sawyer.

I suppose when you are hungry you don't mind who brings your dinner. There were three young Grey Wagtails here, keeping mum very busy. There wasn't an awful lot of light under the trees and not even me doing my finest wounded fly impression could temp them into the Sun.

Evensong

Evensong, originally uploaded by julian sawyer.

It is good to have the evening walks back again and even better when the clouds stay away as the Sun goes down. There is an amazing chorus of birdsong in the evenings and fighting for the top slot is the Thrush. There seems to be one of these at the top of every tree, each one singing his little heart out.

The Prancer

The Prancer, originally uploaded by julian sawyer.

Always good to see Roe Deer, what ever they are up to. This buck wasn't really showing off in front of his missus, but decided to make a run for it when an idiot with a camera made him jump.

All The Better To Hear You With

All The Better To Hear You With, originally uploaded by julian sawyer.

There were four Roe Deer on my walk last night, one of last years young, a two year old, this lady and the prancing buck. Seeing that many in such a small area, at this time of year, has got to be good news.
She seems to be looking a little plump too, I hope its not just the remnants of her winter coat making her look heavy.

Catching The Red Eye

Catching The Red Eye, originally uploaded by julian sawyer.

As there was just one Large Red Damselfly (10/10 for the name Mr.Scientist!) catching it wasn't easy. Then of course I wanted it on something green because I thought the setting would be nicer. Oh, and a bit of Sunshine would be good and were rapidly losing that!
I didn't manage too many shots and most of those weren't very good, but I quite liked this one.

High And Drying

High And Drying, originally uploaded by julian sawyer.

You will probably get bored of this Kestrel way before I do. He and his main squeeze are setting up home on the cliffs again and I can't resist taking too many shots. The angles, settings and backgrounds you can get form the cliffs are almost never ending.
This was taken just after the rain had stopped and he was taking time to dry out.

Feeding Time

Feeding Time, originally uploaded by julian sawyer.

There was a patch of sunlight, about a foot square, on either side of the bridge and the Moorhen family were doing there very best to stay out of it! Finally, with a huge amount of luck, all six chicks and the important bit of mum and dad mad it into the Sun.
No hide needed for this shot, Mr & Mrs Moorhen have chosen the stream that runs through town as home again.
Not as save as you might think, a couple of years ago a big dog Otter decided to come here for lunch!
View On Black and large

A Little Dingy

A Little Dingy, originally uploaded by julian sawyer.

On a hillside full of little blue butterflies, I saw just a single little brown one. This is the very poorly named Dingy Skipper, looking decidedly un-dingy like in the morning sunshine.

Sun Bathing

Sun Bathing, originally uploaded by julian sawyer.

After a night of thunder, lightning and plenty of rain the clouds cleared and you could really feel the warmth of the Sun. Time then, if you are a Common Lizard, to spread out and reap the benefits before the clouds return.

Oh Canada

Oh Canada, originally uploaded by julian sawyer.

With little time to pick up the camera this week, I have to grab any shot that I can.
This little chap lives on the lake next to my office in the middle of a busy industrial estate. This time last year I posted a shot of a family of Canada Geese bringing the estate to a standstill while they went for a walk.
Today it happened again...
Now, Canada Geese aren't everyone's favourite, but the kiddies are seriously cute.

Golden Hour

Golden Hour, originally uploaded by julian sawyer.

The beautiful blue sky day turned in to a beautiful blue sky evening and this meant that I could have an evening walk. After failing to get close to a couple of Roe deer, it was nice to find some, far more relaxed Sika.

Had A Hard Day?

Had A Hard Day?, originally uploaded by julian sawyer.

The day started well enough with the fine sight of a Tawny Owl flying near the car. But from then on it went down hill rapidly. When things get too hard, it must be nice to take time out and have a kip in the Sun.

Thunder Struck

Thunder Struck, originally uploaded by julian sawyer.

Walking in the rain is something I have always enjoyed, but since I have had the camera surgically fitted to my right arm it is something I rarely do. Just the dogs and I made the trip to the cliffs today, accompanied by a soundtrack of rain and distant thunder.
Regardless of the weather there was plenty going on including the now familiar views of our resident Kestrel. This shot was taken yesterday though, just after his breakfast.

Red Light District

Red Light District, originally uploaded by julian sawyer.

Not a great place for a nest, but I suppose when there is a housing shortage anywhere will do. A pair of Collared Doves have been here for a few days now, dad was in a nearby tree as there was no room for him on the traffic light!

Durlston Blues

Durlston Blues, originally uploaded by julian sawyer.

Superb weather for a walk along the cliffs today, cloudy with a good breeze whipping up the sea.
One slope, sheltered from the wind, was alive with little blue butterflies. So it was time to find a space, fit the macro and wait for little visitors.
Not a bad way to spend the morning.

Lady Bull

Lady Bull, originally uploaded by julian sawyer.

Still no sign of the Grasshopper Warbler, not that I would know it unless it was singing! But there was a rather fine looking pair of Bullfinches. I couldn't get a clear shot of the bloke, but the lady was much more cooperative.