As with all wildlife during this time of year their whole life depends on getting enough food to keep themselves alive during the shorter daylight and as this cold spell seems to be staying with us for a while the temperatures make it all just that bit harder for the animals to obtain food to live as everything is frozen.  As a consequence you can witness alot of different and interesting behaviour during this time of year with the onset of the breeding season just around the corner. I love working in testing conditions where you are up against the power of mother nature in all her might.

The Peak District is an eerie peat covered moorland sitting about 600m (2000 ft) above sea level.  Where large wind carved eroded rocks sit among vast plateaus and rock formations supporting a healthy population of Red Grouse. These iconic moorland birds make their home on these moors and are reliant on their camouflaged plumage to blend in to this habitat.

The weather was testing, with limited visibility alot of the time but it really added to these images where after the slow ascent and the privateness of the place you really feel you are in a very untouched environment that is the Peak District. Once we got to the top the mist came in which made seeing the Grouse just that bit harder.  Where sometimes you got lucky by seeing their long outstretched necks sticking out of the snow covered habitat, forming a perfect straight line as they observed you, an almost look of disbelief as they paused for a few seconds watching you.

However, during this weather seeing them was a little harder, hidden from view, your only knowledge of them being present was when you almost stood on them as they exploded from the ground with great force leaving a trail of snow behind in their wake and that deafening and unique call piercing your ear drums.

After lunch the weather did break a little, covering the place in a blanket of sunshine for a brief moment, warming up the whole area.  A flurry of activity began with the wildlife awakening and feeding as though their lives depended on it, but in reality the cruel truth is in a lot of cases it does. We saw the blue sky and the Grouse came out in good numbers before a decent down into the valley below us. A great day yet testing so thanks Paul & Kevin.

I have also had a few One To Ones where the clients wanted to learn more about their equipment and capture some nice images so I headed over to Norfolk on one of the days, where again the weather made things just that bit more testing etc.  I also headed up to a popular site in North Lincolnshire for Owls and raptors.  The roads were almost impossible once you pulled off the main motorways and we were unable to get close and use the car as a hide so we walked and applied some fieldcraft skills, managing to capture a few images of Barn and Short eared Owls in winter conditions.

With temperatures of -10 in the wind chill it was cold but fresh as we walked this area which is a stronghold for Short eared Owls during the winter months.  They come down from their summer breeding grounds of high moorland to lowland habitat to feed during the winter months.  It was very enjoyable as we were on the move, using natural cover to break the wind at the same time hopefully hidden from view, we hoped and prayed they’d land next to us on the fence posts that litter this place but in the end they never did nor did they come as close as we wished for, but we still had an amazing time seeing these Owls hunting over the rough grazing they love.

With the extreme temperatures came extreme colours to the sky as the sun set, the orange hue covered the whole area in a warm and wonderful colour where the Barn Owls, Short eared owls and Kestrels were all out hunting in the very last rays of light, each one mobbing and seeing the other off, such was the demand for the same prey. When the sun had passed over the horizon you got that amazing light that’s not bright or dark but a wonderful glow and we managed to captured a few images, small in the frame which I love showing the habitat of rough grazing covered in snow.

As one species would hunt and catch something the other would try are mob him of their catch, stealing the food and making off with the prize. Really sad to see as one bird put all the energy in then the other comes along and steals the food.  I briefly managed a few images tiring to portray that behaviour on this day with that amazing sky I described earlier you get at this time of year where cold meets warm air.

Here the Short eared Owl is mobbed by the Kestrel and drops the vole only for the Kestrel to be quicker on the wing, turning its wings to catch up with the vole as he falls through the air. Great to witness this behaviour and a good day all in all so big thank you to Sean for your company.

As 2010 comes to an end and another year is dawning I would just like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Merry Christmas and happy New Year.  Many thanks to all the wonderful people I have met this year, the people who have attended my workshops and one to ones, where I hope that I have helped you all in improving your wildlife photography at the same time learning more about the ‘wild’ in wildlife. 

I am looking forward to meeting all the people booked onto workshops, one to ones for next year 2011 where I can promise you all some magical moments in nature where you will be equipped to capture those moments with your camera.  India, Africa, Mull, Texel, Sumatra, Shetland, Cairngorms, Finland and a few other places, it promises to be a fantastic, action packed 2011, all the very best.

Autumn is a great time to get out with your camera as the ground is laden with fruits and nuts forming a carpet of food.  A very rich bounty in which all animal’s take advantage of this extra food source before the onset of Winter.  Capturing behaviour in some animals during Autumn makes for some beautiful encounters with wildlife. The most commonly known one is the Deer Rut , which was very late this year, I have been to several places around the UK over the last month and seen some brilliant behaviour and great moments.

This time of year is also one of the best times to see and witness one of the most secret and shy birds within the bird world, the Jay, part of the Crow family.  You only normally hear these birds in the tops of trees, but during the plentiful bounty on offer during Autumn you’ll see them on the ground feeding on the acorns and other nuts and fruits the trees shed at this time of year.

The changing seasons and the yearly life cycle of animals, plants and trees will enable you to photograph many different images throughout the year, which will tell the story of the changing weather and colours of the different habitats in which the wildlife live in.  The season of Autumn for me is arguably one of the finest times of year to enjoy and view wildlife with a backdrop of amazing colours, while most summer birds have now gone. Vast numbers of new arrivals make up for their departure, with the likes of Fieldfares, Redwings, and various Geese and Ducks that spend the winter months with us.

One of my favorite winter visitor’s is the beautiful Whooper Swan that have started to arrive from Iceland along with the slightly smaller but equally beautiful Bewick Swan.  When they have all arrived numbers can surpass more than 1,000 Whoopers in and around the various places I visit, one of the best is on the North West coast of the UK.  So graceful and elegant for a large bird they truly are beautiful and amazing to watch in flight.

I have also been photographing a real comical and funny bird, always on the move and constantly calling  as they climb and pose up and down trees with great finesse and ease, the Nuthatch.  I wanted to try and capture a few different view points of these charismatic, iconic woodland birds with their bold mannerism’s.  I waited out of site to where they were landing, hoping to capture their cheeky side within an image.  The following two photos I feel demonstrate this, with the amazing colours of the autumnal woodland as the back drop.  Very funny birds and just one of the many wonderful animals you can photograph now as they feed on this rich source of food nature provides them with during Autumn.

Autumn marks the transition from Summer into Winter and is a short season compared to the other three so make the most of it with the colourful foliage on offer, adding great impact to any photographs you take. With the cooler temperature’s you maybe lucky enough for some amazing sunsets as I was with this lone Kestrel hunting in the very last rays of light over marshland.

With so much happening now my best advice would be to just go out into nature and capture this amazing and visually beautiful time of year, your reward will be views of animals you may not be able to see during the other seasons of the year, at the same time witness these stunning colours. 

The migrants that these shores attract along with the special winter wildlife we have, finally show up in good numbers from now onwards giving you a unique insight into their lives, some of the best for me are Short-eared Owls that come down from the mountains to feed at sea level during our winter months, Mountain Hares that change colour to pure white to avoid predators and blend in with their snow capped landscapes along with Ptarmigan and many more species of wildlife where the only downside is that it becomes colder but you get to put more layers on!!.  Whatever you do you will not be disappointed with the beauty of mother nature.

While out walking over the last few days my attention was drawn to a few feathers, one a primary and the others being belly or flank feathers softer in appearance than the primary, white in appearance and in and around a prominent natural perch I had come across.  There was also white droppings at the base telling me this was a popular perch maybe for a Barn Owl,  I found a few small pellets or a mass of hair as they looked and upon separating them, something I loved to do as a child, tiring to rebuild the skeleton to found out what the prey was.  I found a small set of bones and a jaw bone from a tiny rodent and I knew then that this area and perch were being used by a Barn Owl.

And here he was, with primary/secondarie feathers missing in his wing, the sunrise was amazing with a small blanket of frost all over the ground, not a bad frost but just enough to give that crunch sound under foot when walking, which by the way is not great when you are stalking a wild animal. I have spent a few days there and have watched this male hunt, he seems to have appeared from knowhere, as often Barn Owls do outside of the breeding season as they can become quit nomadic, wondering the countryside on the lookout for prey.

Amazing birds that I call the Ghost due to the fact without warning and no clue they can just turn up, hunt for a few minutes make eye contact with you as you witness their very distinctive appearance with a white heart-shaped face with no ear tufts and sharp black eyes all contributing to its striking appearance. Those large black eyes only let the Barn Owl look forward in a fixed position and cannot move to the side so consequently the Barn Owl has to turn its head to see to the side or back. Their hearing is amazing and the ability to locate prey by sound alone is one of the best in the animal kingdom.

Barn Owls are fascinating creatures and anytime I spend with these amazing birds is priceless.  I have been back a couple of times and been able to capture him a few more times, I do feel with no sightings in the past here he may just be passing through so in the meantime its a very welcome treat for me among my other projects I am working on at present including;  Mountain Hares, Short-eared Owls and my little female Kingfisher on the river Trent. 

My advice would be to walk the land and watch and look for clues of whats around and you maybe surprised at what you find as this time of year so much wildlife is on the move in readiness for the oncoming winter.  This for me is the true meaning of fieldcraft a word I hear used alot within wildlife photography, but fieldcraft means to use whats around you, reading the clues and signals all animals leave behind where most if not all the clues are right there all you have to do is just look that bit closer. 

Your reward will be something you have seen and learned all about yourself and when the subject appears as did this Barn Owl its a great moment as you view a moment in their lives something I truly love.  Its one of the main things I teach and show on my One To Ones and Workshops in order for the client(s) to take this skill away with them.  So they can apply this in their own photography and get close to wildlife without impacting on the subjects life. If you would like any further advice or help on anything I have raised then please send me an email here many thanks.

We had perfect viewing conditions as the sun shined,with a thick blanket of snow on the ground adding to a real winter feel to the day.A good number of people turned up and I captured them using almost the same composition as I do when photographing wildlife,and I must say is a lot easier!.A good day was had by all,great to help beginners to see the beauty of birds and other wildlife around this mighty impressive site,so for the full story pick up a copy of the March issue.These walks run on the first Sunday of every month,they also do more advanced walks so for further information,or to book on the free Carsington Water Walk,call 01629 540696

I was trying out the Nikon D3S at low light and all these shots were at iso 2000 in almost near darkness.The sharpness/clarity of the camera is amazing,the feel of it in your hand is brilliant,and at 14 bit Un-compressed Neff (Raw) file size the frame rate is 9 fps, has a buffer capacity of 35 shots in FX (36×24) mode,In Dx (24×16) mode the frame rate goes to 11 fps and buffer capacity increases to 52.

The images I captured of a lone Kestrel frantically hunting in the very last rays of sunshine,composed small in the frame to include as much of the sky can be seen below.

I was praying a Short-eared Owl or Barn Owl would just come out to hunt but it was’nt to be,the colours of the sky more than made up for it though.Winter sunshine and it’s colours are really beautiful to see,coming about when a cold front meets a warm front resulting in these magic colours and cloud shapes.So when you have finished photographing or walking at the end of the day just hang on that little bit more to see if the sky changes colour as the sun is setting and you too maybe treated to the sight I witnessed last night.

They favour coastal,marshland,reedbeds and rough grazing habitat during the winter months,often coming down to lower altitudes from their upland/moorland summer habitats. With the weather being so wet over the last few weeks the opportunities to see them, let alone photograph these most beautiful of the owl family have been very slim on the ground but I managed to capture some images.But over the next 2 months I hope to get some beautiful shots of these owls hunting like I did last year with the image below.

I love their faces with their ’Disc-Like’ shape to it and those ‘Fierce’ looking eyes that for me make these a beautiful looking bird.They are one of the few owls that regularly hunt and appear in broad daylight,often visible at long range,listen out for the males call, a deep, booming sound - ‘boo-boo-boo-boo’  when you are looking for them.During this time of year they are very tollerate of other birds/owls and most of the time can be seen hunting together over the marshland here where numbers of 15,20+ have been counted in the past in this area alone,with one communal roost with a maximum of 28 owls in it.

I will keep my blog updated on my progress in capturing these birds ,weather permitting,but in the meantime when you go and visit marshland,coastal reedbeds etc just look out for these birds especially at this time of year and listen out for their calls and remember their eye sight is amazing so wear muted,camoflaged clothing to ensure you give yourself the best chance of seeing these beautiful birds and try to stay as still as possible.Good luck and if you would like any futher help and advice on these birds please contact me and I’ll do my best.