A few photos from recent days around my local patch. Birding is very quiet at the moment and the weather has been difficult for photography – grey, dull and rainy. However the sun did come out a for a few hours, when I managed to photograph a very obliging Robin.
The first winter drake Ring-necked Duck, that I was party to finding back in December 2020, is still staying faithful to a small lake, called Home Lake, at Staunton Harold Hall on the Leicestershire/Derbyshire border and only a mile or so from home. The species is a major rarity to my home county of Derbyshire,
I decided to pay a visit to Melbourne Pool on 10th February 2021. It was a glorious morning, plenty of snow, clear blue skies, ideal for some local photography. The pool is only a 10 minute walk from where I live. The pool was around half frozen over, with several large areas of open water.
I completed a 5 mile walk this afternoon, incorporating my local patch of Staunton Harold Reservoir. Heavy snowfall from yesterday and over night frost had made local road conditions very difficult. The weather today, however, was glorious, making the countryside very picturesque. I thought I would stand a good chance today of finding a Yellowhammer
The Coronavirus Pandemic has certainly put paid to travelling any distance to go birding. So I’m very fortunate to have Staunton Harold Reservoir, Melbourne Pool and some excellent farmland within a 2km circle of my home. Staunton Harold is just a 5 minute drive or 15 minute walk from home, so well within the “Lockdown
On the 15th December I had a very brief view of what I was sure was a Diver species. I was in a rush due to work commitments and already running late, but I decided to head back to the main car park to see if I could relocate the diver as it was working
Well 2020 has been a mighty strange year to say the least. The COVID Pandemic has caused chaos across the world and may have changed our lives. I’m not so sure things will ever be the same again. I managed a trip to Mongolia in March, to finalise my Snow Leopard Quest but I paid
Whilst counting the waterbirds on Staunton Harold Reservoir, I came across a gull roosting on one of the buoys. I paid little attention to it as I was distracted by the Great Northern Diver out in the middle of the reservoir. The diver disappeared so I went back to the gull and immediately discovered it
