Whooper Swans

One of my favourite places to visit is the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust reserve at Martin Mere, and especially during the Winter and early spring to see the Whooper Swans. As I have previously mentioned these magnificent birds travel down from Iceland to over winter in the UK, with many stopping at Martin Mere, in fact some birds are known to have been returning to Martin Mere for at least 15 years. They are real great birds and I never tire of seeing them, and the great thing about Martin Mere is that the trust feed the swans twice a day, so close up views are guaranteed.

















A few more images of the other Wildfowl seen

Shelduck





Pintail



Mallard




Greylag



Canada Goose



Wigeon



Eider

Woody and the LTT's

Only a quick 20 minute session this morning watching the feeders in the garden, but was very productive, in gloomy light, these were all shot at ISO 2000. Was great to see so many Long Tailed Tits, and one of my favourites, Great Spotted Woodpecker

Willow or Marsh Tit

Many years ago I created a bird feeding station on the edge of the Shopping Centre I manage, as the Centre borders open countryside we have had all sorts visit it over the years, and it is an ideal escape when the stresses of the office become to much, or to take your lunch out and sit and watch.
In awful light this morning, grabbed the camera for a quick look at what was about, nice to see it so busy with lots of Tits, Robins, Dunnock, Collared Dove, Wood Pigeon, Wren, Wood Pigeon, Blackbird all the usual species I would expect to see. Whilst snapping away, a Tit came down to the feeders, and it was that age old dilemma, Willow or Marsh Tit. Now I am hedging my bets on a Willow Tit, but see what you think??











And a snap of the resident Robin, and nice to see the Long Tailed Tits







And this is our feeding area

Findlays Birthday and Frodsham Marsh

Today Sharon and I joined some fellow bloggers to celebrate the 11th birthday of Findlay Wilde, if you have not heard of Findlay you should check out his blog site HERE, a truly inspirational young lad.
His parents Nigel and Heather had organised a surprise afternoon for him, inviting his blogging friends, for Findlay to take us on a walk around his local patch. It was a great afternoon, a lovely walk, and I dont know how they did it but also a Kingfisher put in an appearance. Followed by Nigels delicious stew and dumplings on our return.
Thanks Nigel and Heather for the invite, and we hope you had a great birthday surprise Findlay.
As I didn't get a group shot, I have pinched this from Findlays page!!

The rest are my photos.... honestly

Firstly that great surprise, a Kingfisher, that was actively feeding in the pools along the river

Didn't really photograph a lot else, this Coot looked nice in the afternoon sunshine

On our way to Findlays, we had called in at Frodsham Marsh, only briefly to have a look about for a future longer visit, on our brief wander....

we saw some Buzzards circling above, and also perched

and mobbed by crows

scaring off the Starlings as it lands

there were quite a few of these up in the hedgerows, we have come to the conclusion they are Linnet?

and a female Stonechat

Lastly.... the rambling artist in her nifty new head wear.... love it!!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

What a start I had to Valentines Day, my amazingly talented Sharon painted me my Valentines card, and its of one of my favourite images from last year, that tender moment when the male Lion gently nuzzled one of his ladies..... I loved watching and photographing that intimate moment, and it means so much that Sharon has painted it for my Valentines Card, thank you my love xx

Carneddau Ponies.... and our latest walk

Yesterday Sharon and I had a great walk over the Carneddau mountains in North Wales, this beautiful area is also home to wild ponies. Whenever we are out walking in this area we are constantly on the lookout for them, they really are amazing animals surviving in such a remote and harsh environment. Yesterday they were quite low down in the valleys as the weather was quite extreme high up as we found out, but the ones we came across were beautiful.













Our latest walks can be seen over on our walking blog site, pop across using the link below.

http://twopairsofboots.blogspot.co.uk/

Ravens

Whenever Sharon and I are out walking in the mountains, one bird that we are always guaranteed to see are Ravens, they are magnificent birds that when looked at closely are beautifully marked, and have a very characteristic call. Whilst we were out walking the Fairfield Horseshoe in The Lake District on Friday, we reached the top of Dove Crag, and a pair of inquisitive or should I say hungry Ravens dropped in to see what was on offer, all we had to hand was a bit of Kendall Mint Cake, which they weren't sure about at first but soon ate it. A few snaps below ...