Sparrowhawk and Red Deer

One bird that I have ever only managed rushed snap shots of is the Sparrowhawk, so it was with great excitement that I had the opportunity to photograph a stunning male Sparrowhawk that has been regularly visiting a hide in Galloway, South West Scotland.
On the two visits I made it was an amazing experience to see this stunning bird relatively close up, and to be able to photograph it happily feeding.















We are now in one of my favourite times of the year, as I patiently wait for my favourite Whooper Swans to return, I am kept occupied by stunning Red Deer stags rutting, and there is no better place to watch this spectacle than Tatton Park, Cheshire. And the best time of day is very much at firest light, on a stunning misty morning that makes it even more magical.















And a bit of video from both visits

Sparrowhawk

Red Deer Stag mud wallowing

A busy month ......

Its been quite a busy month since I last posted, I have been lucky enough to get out and about a fair bit with the camera, the weather hasn't always been on my side but it has been enjoyable nonetheless.

About an hour down the welsh coast is a delightful little North Wales Wildlife Trust reserve called The Spinnies, and recently a pair of Kingfishers has been showing really well. The only difficulty is that where they have been perching only gets the sunlight on it mid afternoon, and the background isn't great, but I still managed to grab a few nice images and this is very much work in progress, and hopefully they will be about over the winter, worryingly the local Sparrowhawk has had a few goes at them, as much as I like Sparrowhawks ( see next post coming soon) I hope this one leaves them alone.











An area that I have recently starting visiting is Dumfries and Galloway, I wish I had been sooner as it is a beautiful place and extremely rich in wildlife. A bird that is thriving is the Red Kite, and it is these birds that I went looking for and photographed on part of the Galloway Kite Trail... sadly the conditions were difficult with a flat grey/white sky which doesn't show off the stunning colours of the Kites, but I will be back...













Jays are beautiful birds, often very secretive and difficult to photograph, but whilst I was up in SW Scotland photographing Sparrowhawks (see next post) I was lucky enough to photograph some Jays coming in to feed on peanuts, often involved in disputes with each other









and also Great Spotted Woodpeckers



Dumfries and Galloway is also a stronghold for Red Squirrels







As we approach Autumn, the days are already starting to feel more autumnal, my mind is already switched on to the approaching Deer Rut, I just love being out photographing these awesome animals, with this in mind I had a pre Rut visit to Tatton Park to see what condition the Stags are in as the Rut approaches. And I wasn't surprised they are fit, ready and all tooled up for the fights ahead.













As I have mentioned my next post will be a bit special, I have been up in Dumfries specifically to photograph Sparrowhawks, I am back again later this week so will hopefully have some more special images to share.

My blog posts share a small amount of images I take, more can be seen on my Wildlife Photography Facebook page.... Gary Jones Wildlife Photography

Thanks for dropping by and I appreciate any feedback.

Ospreys....the last session

With a heavy heart earlier this month I left Aviemore after my last session of this Osprey season, photographing diving Ospreys at the little Lochan in Aviemore.
I had hoped for the last session I would be blessed with some lovely early morning light, but shortly after the 4am alarm call it became apparent it was to be another dreich Scottish morning. Nevertheless it was still a great morning, lots of Ospreys over the Loch, many of them younger birds following the adults to learn the fishing game.
The poor light meant all these images were shot at ISO 8000+, hence the quality, but it was just as thrilling to see the birds diving, catching the trout which will build their strength for their imminent migration to West Africa.