Kennell Vale Dipper

Kennell Vale is a beautiful wooded valley with the River Kennell's white waters cutting and tumbling down through it passing many old and derelict Gunpowder mills along its banks,  Geographically it is protected from most wind directions and the sunlight filtering through the woods yesterday created a lovely spectacle.

I had returned hoping to capture display and possibly mating images of the rivers pair of Dipper,

After an hour or so of waiting at one of their favoured fishing locations with no show I moved off down stream and eventually found one of them working a different swim and it was very successful in catching several Nymphs in the shallows by head dipping without having to dive under the water,

With lunch taken care of it settled down to some relaxed preening on the waters edge but their was no sign of its mate

Other birds photographed at Kennell vale while waiting for the Dipper included the Nuthatch, Grey wagtail and Gold crest posted below :

Male Teal's Winter Courtship Display

During the summer months the male Teal closely resembles the duller colours and plumage of the female bird.

By contrast during these winter months it takes on a more dramatic roll with bright and contrasting plumage that it is seen here showing off to its full potential as it goes through a courtship ritual demonstrating to the female and other males in the area showing just what a fine specimen he is.

Woodpecker Portraits

I returned to  Stithians southern cut-off hide bird feeding station where a local pair of Great Spotted Woodpecker had been showing well.

I was looking for front facing close-up portraits to add to this years portfolio so I trained my lens onto tree branches that surrounded a seed feeder which appeared to be favoured by the female.

Each time she eventually came back to the feeder location she hesitated knowing that I was close by and this gave me the opportunity to snap off several shots with good eye contact before she moved onto the feeder,

Feeder images of birds such as the image below do not fit well into wildlife portfolio but capturing the opportune moments that are presented around them certainly can be well worth the effort.

Ryan's field yesterday

It was a wet and windy morning at Ryan's field yesterday but the local bird life still put on a bit of a show starting with this female Kingfisher patiently waiting for fish to rise.

She was followed by the Black-headed Gull below that was having some trouble getting its prey:  a very lively Ell down the hatch,

A pair of Black-tailed Godwit and Shell Duck were feeding at a more leisurely pace while a lone Red shank and an Oystercatcher seemed to be having trouble finding any

Birds at Stithians southern cut-off yesterday

While working with the Great Spotted Woodpecker recorded in the previous blog I also recorded the following birds which started with a dark form Pheasant in the fields on the way into the hide and was followed by a disturbed Grey Heron on arrival.

Next up came a feeding Coot and many rather well fed male and female Chaffinch and Blue Tits, Goldfinch and Great Tits.  A rather wet looking raiding Magpie. Two pairs of reed Bunting and to finish a fine looking pair of Bullfinch

Pair of Great Spotted Woodpecker

I visited Stithians Reservoir southern cut-off hide yesterday morning looking for some positive sightings of the local Great Spotted Woodpecker to start off my wildlife blog for 2019.

I was not to be disappointed with many sightings recorded during a five hour visit.  The female was first to show but was a little guarded as there were four birdwatchers in the hide two of which didn't seem capable of watching quietly but following what seemed like an eternity they eventually departed and the female woody gradually started to show better.

When the male first arrived there was a bit of a dispute going on between them over pecking order rights to the fat ball and peanut feeders which resulted in the female disappearing for a while but she eventually returned to produce a few nice pair portraits along with the male on a favoured moss covered perch point near the hide

It was good to be back behind the camera again  after my recent lay-off and I am looking forward to seeing what wildlife encounters will unfold in the oncoming year.