“To me, nature is a retreat whenever you feel exhausted or sad. I’m more happy when I’m surrounded by the sound of birds than sound of people”
-Keanu Reeves
It is easy to think that most birds are dull if you don’t spend the time to properly observe them. In reality there are many interesting behaviours at play including territorial disputes, courtship displays, hunting for food and battles against predators.
I have an emotional response to a number of the birds below, particularly those which I encountered as a child. Our wrens may not have the pretty colours of those in other parts of the world, but they more than make up for being brown with their loud, beautiful calls. And the call of the curlew is so distinctive and haunting.
It’s fair to say I was trying to focus on other species when I encountered some of the birds below. One of the exciting things about wildlife is you never know what you’re going to see when you head out and it’s so great when something surprises you. You never stop learning!
Loud Mouth. Wrens are such tiny birds but they more than make up for it with their loud and beautiful calls.
Showing Off. These two little egrets were in fact having a territorial dispute. One of them, nicknamed Grumpy, wasn't keen on sharing his space with anyone else!
Gold. A juvenile kestrel posting in the late evening sun.
Balancing Act. Curlews are one of my favourite birds, with lots of memories of seeing and hearing them in the Yorkshire Dales when I was a child. They're another species which is struggling and it's horrendous to think of not being able to hear their haunting call.
Pat-A-Cake. Another territorial dispute where a pied wagtail wanted to keep an area with lots of tasty bugs to itself. It's only when you spend time watching wildlife that you see some incredible behaviours and interactions.
Baby Love. Mum preening one of her three young. This one was really getting too big to be carried but was still getting a free ride.
Mr Handsome. A goldfinch sat on a teasel.
Feeling Shy. A glance of a snipe through the greenery.
New Life. A juvenile kestrel posting after making one of its first ventures away from the nest. You can still see the down on its head.
Strike A Pose. I love the position of the wren (singing again!) on this branch with a lovely clean background.
Yellow. A whitethroat hunting bugs on the top of a field of peas. The heatwave through the summer sadly destroyed many crops, including these.
Greedy Guts. This baby great crested grebe and its siblings spent a long time trying to swallow this big fish that dad proudly caught. After a really good go, it was far too big so dad got to enjoy it in the end!
White Lines. It's fun watching little egrets hunting for fish. They suddenly start to run, sway their long necks and quickly plunge their beak into the water. Here he was unsuccessful but created a line of spray as he pulled his head back up.
Eats, Shakes and Leaves. My local park was lucky enough to have three female mergansers visit for a few days last winter. They emptied the lake of its fish, did some preening and hassled the gulls before moving on. They were good fun to photograph and I love their big moppy ginger heads.
My Religion. A pair of kestrels nested in the spire of a local church and their young enjoyed exploring the building. A number of old churches and minsters here are used by birds such as peregrines or kestrels as nesting and perching areas.
Fine Lines. A wren's silhouette light up by the light behind. I underexposed the shot ensuring the background which was in shade, became black.
Baby Blues. A blue tit sat amongst the gorse bushes.
Shoulder Pads. A newly hatched cygnet snuggling in mum's wings.
Tranquil.
What Are These For?? A newly hatched cygnet sat on mum's back.
Mummy's Boy.
Hitch Hiker. I still haven't got the shot I want of cygnets being carried but it's so fun to watch them trying to hitch a lift!
Snug As A Bug. A newly hatched cygnet snuggled under mum's wing.
Shaker Maker. Well that's one way to stop your child taking a lift....
Bashful. Every now and again unusual birds land in the UK from other areas after being blown off course. In this case a black browed albatross somehow crossed from the southern to the northern hemisphere and has spent the last few summers on the gannet colony at Bempton Cliffs, UK. He is incredible to see!
Tail Feathers. A soaring gannet with its tail feathers lit up by the evening light, coming into land. Taken at Bempton Cliffs, UK.
Ministry of Silly Walks. A penguin taking a walk on a wall on Inner Farne Island, UK.
Fly By. This shot was taken with a wide angle, laid on the floor, capturing a gannet soaring over the pink campion that covers the top of the cliff face. Taken at Bempton Cliffs, UK.
Hands Up! A backlit puffin coming into land. It was a particularly windy evening and the poor things made a number of aborted landings. They did keep going back for more though!
Glider. The black browed albatross uses his long wings to catch the wind and glide, hence limiting the amount of energy he needs to fly. Here he is trying to come into land, which seemed to be quite tricky with a number of attempts before he got there.
Gold and Black. A puffin and the grass in the foreground, are in the light whereas the cliff in the background is in the shade. By underexposing it results in the gold and black effect. Taken at Bempton Cliffs, UK.
Slow It Down. Another slow shutter, taken at 1/30th of a second, which results in the sea becoming a smooth background.
It Must Be Love. Two puffins showing affection to each other, on Inner Farne Island, UK. The white blur is from the wall that they were stood on and the fact that I'm short and caught the lip of it!
It Was This Big! A kittiwake backlit at Bempton Cliffs, UK.
Taking It Slow. A soaring gannet taken with a slow shutter speed of 1/50th of a second.
Flying High. The black browed albatross, commonly known as Albie, (it's not known if its a boy or girl!), on a fly past. Taken at Bempton Cliffs, UK.
Love Is.... Gannets showing affection, with the pink captured in the photograph from flowers on the cliffs of Bempton, UK.
Hovercraft. Kingfishers have a few different strategies to catch fish. Often they will use posts to directly dive from but occasionally they will rise into the air, stop and hover, before taking their dive. I was pretty relieved I managed to catch this!
Sitting Pretty. A kingfisher taking time out on top of a bullrush.
Down Periscope! For some reason this photo reminds me of a submarine. with the kingfisher on watch.
King of The Castle. One of the kingfishers stands his ground as the juvenile circulates around him.
Precision. A kingfisher lands on the very top of a depleting bullrush.
At Full Reach. A kingfisher splaying its wings as it starts to fly.
Blowing Bubbles.
Oops! A kingfisher returning with nothing but pond weed after diving for fish.
Things Are Looking Up. A kingfisher posing for the camera!
Don't Look Back. Another kingfisher showing its hovering skills.
Colour. I particularly like the blend of colours in the background.
Feeling Proud. A successful kingfisher and look at that left foot!
Chatterboxes.
Shake It Off. A backlit kingfisher shaking off some excess water after a failed fishing trip.