Saturday 30 June 2012

Run And Hide

Run And Hide by julian sawyer
Run And Hide, a photo by julian sawyer on Flickr.


With four Kestrels and a young Peregrine hunting over the meadows this morning, it was a bad time to be small and furry.

It's All In The Preperation


Weather permitting, I have a field trip planned for the middle of the week and so today was a good time to see how my potential subjects were getting on.
Durlston is a great place to visit at any time of year, but now the meadows are bursting with flowers and countless little beasts and bugs.

Thursday 28 June 2012

Feeling The Heat

Feeling The Heat by julian sawyer
Feeling The Heat, a photo by julian sawyer on Flickr.


Every now and again, the Sun comes out and we have a little bit of summer!
This young Thrush (I think it's a Thrush), was doing its best to keep cool without going to the trouble of getting into the shade!

The Race

The Race by julian sawyer
The Race, a photo by julian sawyer on Flickr.


Watching Otters in the wild is a real privilege but already these animals are getting blamed, by some course fishermen, for a drop of fish numbers in our rivers.
I had a chat with a very opinionated chap about just this subject, the other day.
Now, I am all for people having fun in the countryside, but it may be handy to remember that Otters catch fish to live, not just for something to do on a Sunday afternoon.

Tuesday 26 June 2012

The Young Need Boundaries


This is one of the three young Roe Deer fawns that I saw last night.
It was happily wandering around, picking fights with the butterflies and causing trouble for his mum.
After a while she hopped overt the wall and left him to play on his own for while.

Eat Buttercups, Stay Beautiful


With the promise of a blue sky evening, I went off in search of our Roe deer youngsters.
There were three seperate mums with fawns but I don't get too close when they are tiny, so I stayed with this one instead.
Now this may look very similar to the deer shot that I took couple of days ago, but it is totally different.
This one is eating a buttercup!

Sunday 24 June 2012

Short Walks and Loud Voices


Short walks are all I seem to manage these days which is very frustrating and my poor old camera is feeling a little unloved.
Still, I did manage a walk to the cliffs when the Sun came out and that is always good.
On full-time backing vocals duty was the Whitethroat, plenty about and very noisy!

Shadows

Shadows by julian sawyer
Shadows, a photo by julian sawyer on Flickr.


I have been watching these Herring Gulls for a while as it seems to be one of the few that have a nest in view of the path (well, with a little leaning).
I arrived too late to see the chicks in the Sun though, which was a shame, but it is always good to see them

Friday 22 June 2012

...And In The Morning, There Be Pirates!


As a new day dawned and the Sun released itself from the shackles of a white tipped horizon, a ship appeared.
It had sheltered, protected by the dark of night as well as by the cliffs of our bay, before braving Old Harry and the race into the harbour.
The Lord Nelson is now back in this place, silent and almost motionless on a grumbling sea, waiting for the night and the mist to make her invisible again.

Tuesday 19 June 2012

And Smile

And Smile by julian sawyer
And Smile, a photo by julian sawyer on Flickr.


Evenings are just about perfect for walking and the Sun, as it sets, shows off the Roe deer very nicely.
We saw six last night, four females and two males, not in a herd but within a few hundred yards of each other.
This evening I saw three and managed to get a bit closer to this one.
No sign of any youngsters here, but it is good to see so many.

Sunday 17 June 2012

Hop-a-Long

Hop-a-Long by julian sawyer
Hop-a-Long, a photo by julian sawyer on Flickr.


The Robin is another bird that I can spend hours watching and because of its curiosity and boldness, you tend to be involved in whatever they are doing.
This one had a youngster that was very demandinging and a bad foot!

A Garden Full Of Youngsters


In all of the houses that we have lived in, we have never been lucky enough to have much of a garden. This has now changed and the garden we have now is just about perfect.
This morning we have had Magpies, Jackdaws, Starlings, Robins, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Sparrows, Greenfinches, Goldfinches and Dunnocks all feeding their young and costing me a fortune in bird food!
We moved here about three months ago and have had 25 species of bird here, the latest being a Jay that hopped in and had a look around.
Now, I don't know if this is a normal number of birds or not, by I am really enjoying it!

Saturday 16 June 2012

More Wind Problems

More Wind Problems by julian sawyer
More Wind Problems, a photo by julian sawyer on Flickr.


When the wind is as strong as it was this morning there really is only one place to go and the cliffs at Durlston didn't disappoint.
There were three Kestrels today, doing there best to look cool in the high wind, but this one looked very grumpy!

Time To Leave Home

Time To Leave Home by julian sawyer
Time To Leave Home, a photo by julian sawyer on Flickr.


This is another shot from yesterdays encounter with the Great Spotted Woodpeckers.
All was going well, with both mum and dad feeding the inmates, when another youngster decided to get over curious.
I have no idea whether it was from the same brood as the ones being fed, but when mum found out she wasn't happy!

Slight Westerly Winds

Slight Westerly Winds by julian sawyer
Slight Westerly Winds, a photo by julian sawyer on Flickr.


Among the usual suspects along the cliffs this morning were the Gannets! Normally they stay well out to sea, but today they came very close.
Strange then, that I managed to get a shot of an in-focus Black Backed Gull, but all of the Gannets were blurred!

Friday 15 June 2012

More Bracken Than Cub

More Bracken Than Cub by julian sawyer
More Bracken Than Cub, a photo by julian sawyer on Flickr.


This mornings walk just got better and better. The weather changed completely from wet and windy to blue skies.
After spending far too long watching the Woodpeckers I stumbled across this little chap.
After using up all my legendary tracking skills (this took about 5 minutes) he disappeared, only to turn up again later when I gave up and sat under a tree.

Room With A View

Room With A View by julian sawyer
Room With A View, a photo by julian sawyer on Flickr.


I spent quite a while watching the woodpeckers this morning. Both adults were busy feeding the kids, who were doing there best to shout the house down.

Wednesday 13 June 2012

Evening Exercises

Evening Exercises by julian sawyer
Evening Exercises, a photo by julian sawyer on Flickr.


A couple of shots from tonights exercise involving the R.N.L.I. and the Costguard.
Always good to watch.

Evening Exercises

Evening Exercises by julian sawyer
Evening Exercises, a photo by julian sawyer on Flickr.


A couple of shots from tonights exercise involving the R.N.L.I. and the Costguard.
Always good to watch.

Sunday 10 June 2012

Take A Bow

Take A Bow by julian sawyer
Take A Bow, a photo by julian sawyer on Flickr.


We had to leave the Wrens before they had finished singing but as there was a break in weather we decided to carry on.
There were plenty of Turns in the bay, but no sign of the Dolphins or the Seal that had been over the last couple of days.

Singing In The Rain

Singing In The Rain by julian sawyer
Singing In The Rain, a photo by julian sawyer on Flickr.


This mornings walk was a little damp and more than a little windy.
Not a great day for taking photographs but whilst sheltering in one of the old gun emplacements at Peveril Point we were entertained by a family of Wrens.
The rain didn't stop them making a racket and they were great fun to watch.

Saturday 9 June 2012

Difficult Flying Weather


It was a little windy along the cliffs this morning but it didn't put off the braver Kestrels.
It is always good to see these birds and even better with the youngsters around.

Small Reds

Small Reds by julian sawyer
Small Reds, a photo by julian sawyer on Flickr.


Red Squirrels are incredible cute and not too common. We have them on Brownsea Island in the middle of Poole Harbour and it is well worth a visit.

Tuesday 5 June 2012

An Owl For Geoff

Short Eared Owl by julian sawyer
Short Eared Owl, a photo by julian sawyer on Flickr.

I bumped into one of our hard-working fishermen today and he told me of a time when, many miles out to sea, an Owl decided to take a break and land on his boat.
Now I don't know whether Geoff's Owl was a Short Eared Owl, but this is one of my favourite shots.
Cheers Geoff, it was good to chat.

A Seagull Rose

A Seagull Rose by julian sawyer
A Seagull Rose, a photo by julian sawyer on Flickr.


The Seagull Cafe, at the old Pier Head in Swanage serves the finest coffee in town and the view is superb! Before the rains came, their roses were looking pretty good too.

Meadows Or Rocks

Meadows Or Rocks by julian sawyer
Meadows Or Rocks, a photo by julian sawyer on Flickr.


So what do you call a Pipit that lives in the meadow and on the rocks? My money is on a Rock Pipit, but I have been caught out before and so this one is just a Pipit! Neither Rock nor Meadow.

Stag Weekend

Stag Weekend by julian sawyer
Stag Weekend, a photo by julian sawyer on Flickr.


Well, what a weekend! Four days of walking, sitting, eating and drinking. The weather hasn't been great but there was time to inspect the local Roe deer population. This chap was getting close to losing his winter coat and deep in the long grass, not too far away was his main squeeze with a new arrival.

Monday 4 June 2012

The Race

The Race by julian sawyer
The Race, a photo by julian sawyer on Flickr.


It is not easy to get both dogs in the same shot. Sika is incredibly fast, but Benny has the agility to cut her off while she corners.
Both dogs were abandoned in the past and this makes watching them happily charge about even more rewarding.

Benny

Benny by julian sawyer
Benny, a photo by julian sawyer on Flickr.


I don't take enough photographs of our dogs and so today I decided to make amends.
We spent quite a while letting them charge around the field and I took plenty of blurred pictures.
We have had Benny since he was eight months old (about six years ago) and he is special, very special.

Sika

Sika by julian sawyer
Sika, a photo by julian sawyer on Flickr.


It is hard to believe that we have had Sika for over two years now and she fits into the family quite nicely.
She is a beautiful dog, full of life and as mad as cheese.

Sunday 3 June 2012

From The Roof Tops

From The Roof Tops by julian sawyer
From The Roof Tops, a photo by julian sawyer on Flickr.


I have been watching this Herring Gull for a while now, waiting for a glimpse of the youngsters.
Today, for the first time, we saw three chicks tottering between the pots with no space for mum to sit.

From The Cliff Tops

From The Cliff Tops by julian sawyer
From The Cliff Tops, a photo by julian sawyer on Flickr.


A slightly more natural home than a chimney stack and perhaps a better place for a young Herring Gull to grow up.

Saturday 2 June 2012

Garden Greens

Garden Greens by julian sawyer
Garden Greens, a photo by julian sawyer on Flickr.

Hide & Seek

Hide & Seek by julian sawyer
Hide & Seek, a photo by julian sawyer on Flickr.


Always the favourite, our Robins have just one youngster. It stays in the dark of the trees while mum and dad pop backwards and forwards nicking the mealworms before the Jackdaws get a chance.

Feeding Time

Feeding Time by julian sawyer
Feeding Time, a photo by julian sawyer on Flickr.


Four different birds were feeding their young in the garden this afternoon which made up for a rather misty, dull walk this morning.
The Sparrows were the noisiest and the most numerous

Quiet but never silent.

I missed the Sun this morning, not because I was late but because the early wander was done and dusted by the time the clouds cleared. When...