Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley: Blog

Clouded Yellow, Holly Blue and Small Skipper

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Mon, 06 May 2019 20:01:22 GMT

Clouded Yellow, Holly Blue and Small Skipper

In addition to Fritlllaries and Large whites, I had opportunity to photo 3 other species of butterfly whilst camping in Italy, two them new species for me. The first of these was the Clouded Yellow.

Clouded Yellows are fast flying butterflies, and you can easily find yourself chasing them as they flit from one place to another. However with patience, I was lucky enough to capture a few images.

The second was a much smaller butterfly, a Holly Blue - it was sitting low down in the vegetation by the Mincio River so I only got a couple of quick grab shots.

The final species, is a butterfly I have seen and photographed many times before. Small Skippers are tiny little butterflies, which presents a challenge in terms of photography. But they also hold their wings at an angle that creates an almost 3D effect, meaning you need additional depth of field. They also fly around very quickly and I had to wait patiently for one or two to come to rest before carefully approaching them for a photograph. The image stabiliser on the Canon 100mm F2.8 IS lens is invaluable in these circumstances.

I really enjoyed my early morning walks along the riverside. It's great to photograph new wildlife species and others that you don't see too often (and of course one or two common ones too!)

For more images please go to the Butterfly gallery here.

Spotted Fritillary

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Mon, 25 Mar 2019 19:42:55 GMT

Spotted Fritillary

The most abundant species of butterfly on my trip to Italy was the Spotted Fritillary. Quite a distinctive butterfly, it is, again, common across southern Europe, but not found in this country. On both my photographic mornings, there were a few butterflies roosting on plants by the side of the path. As I arrived early in the morning, I found one or two whilst they were still covered in early morning dew. This makes them a lot easier to photograph as they can't fly until their wings are warmed up. You still need to take care though not to disturb the butterfly.

In other cases there was no dew, but the butterflies were nonetheless confiding in the cool morning air. I tried a range of shots, these first two shot against the light. The sun was low in the sky for both shots, but is slightly higher and gives a warmer light in the second.

These shots are in the other direction, with more direct light on the butterfly.

I managed to get a range of shots over my two visits, including the more traditional shots of the butterfly, with wings open.

As well as some slight less convectional shots from side on.

I was particularly pleased with this image.

Finally, here is an image I posted previously - one of my favourite compositions is to go in close with a wide aperture setting on the camera, focussing on the eye of the butterfly.

I think these butterflies are beautiful. I hope you enjoy these images as much as I enjoyed taking them.

For more shots of these butterflies, and other Spotted Fritillary images, please go to the gallery here.

Purple Gallinule

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Thu, 07 Feb 2019 20:19:50 GMT

Purple Gallinule

I always enjoy having the opportunity on photograph something new. And holidays often bring those opportunities, as long as I can negotiate some photography time alongside the family fun. One such opportunity presented itself in the form of an October holiday to the Algarve in Portugal.

I had never been to Portugal before but I didn't know what to expect, although I have seen photos from a couple of friends that suggested there might be opportunities for bird photography. We stayed in the coastal resort of Villamoura. A bit of preparation in advance, scouring the internet, revealed this to be a relatively new resort, set amongst one or two areas that showed some promise. Although we were going to hire a car, and some of the main reserves were not that far away, I recognised that I needed something quite close - so I was pleasantly surprised to find, and keen to explore, the Villamoura Reedbeds.

I managed to fit in two early morning visits to the reserve. The first I used to get my bearings, including discovering that I had to park a little way out of the reserve and walk into it, to get anywhere near the hides. I decided to head to what is actually called Bird Hide 2 at the far end of the reserve.

I had the hide to myself. These images show the views from the hide, taken with my Galaxy Note 8 phone.

And in this image you can see my Canon EOS 7d mark ii with Sigma 150-600 mm lens. I include this image to demonstrate the pull of the lens. I continue to be amazed by the difference between a 400mm lens (the upper range of my 100-400 mm) and 600mm. Whilst a couple of the images below have minor cropping, they are cropped to make minor improvements to composition (often to trim off a reed highlighted by the sun), rather than to make the bird bigger the frame. I am really pleased with the combination of camera and lens.

I managed to photograph just 3 species from this hide - Little Grebe and Kingfisher were two that I had photographed before (see a future post which will include these images). But the bird that made my visit really worth worthwhile, was one that suddenly appeared in the gap in the shaded reeds to the right of my view.

It was a Purple Gallinule.

Also known as Purple Swamp hens, these birds are effectively large purple Moorhens. I love their purple colouring and their bright red beak and legs.

The bird skulked in the reeds....

before moving closer through the reeds from right to left.

stopping occasionally to check its surroundings.

It then flew to the reedbed to the left of the hide. I have quite a few blurred images as I tried to get it back in frame. Eventually, it stepped out into the open and allowed another photo.

It then disappeared out of sight, and didn't return.

Although I was frustrated at the pictures I had missed, I was really pleased to have grabbed some images - and it spurred me on to make a second visit to the reserve later in the week.

On my second visit I started in Bird Hide 1. Imagine my delight as I found another Purple Gallinule right in front of the hide. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, it heard me entering the hide, and flew to a point further away.

The early morning view out of this hide was almost entirely into the sun. But it wasn't long before another Purple Gallinule came out into the open, and started to wander around on the flattened reeds some distance in front of the hide.

After making sure I had a couple of images of the bird in silhouette, I made a serious adjustment to the exposure values on my camera to see if could get any more detail. Naturally this has turned the background very white, but I did get a couple of images as the bird played with, and ate, a crab.

The light was really quite tricky, so I decided to visit Bird Hide 2 again - and amazingly I was in luck. A third opportunity to photograph Purple Gallinule, albeit that the bird insisted in skulking in the reeds, and standing behind one brightly lit reed in particular.

These are great birds, with lovely colours, and nice and large, making photography that bit easier. Well worth getting out of bed early for!!

I will post further images from Villamoura Reedbeds in future posts. In the meantime, if you would like to see the full set of Purple Gallinule images please go to the gallery here.

Reflection pool - part 1

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Mon, 21 Jan 2019 21:08:59 GMT

Reflection Pool - a taster

One of the things I have wanted to try for a while was a reflection pool. I have seen some excellent photos taken at these pools and fancied trying something similar. Those of you familiar with my photography will know that I take a lot of photos in my own garden - so it seemed a natural progression to set up a pool at home.

The idea is to attract birds down to water, where I can photograph them with their reflections. As the birds need to come quite close, all photos are taken from a pop up hide. I will go into the practicalities (and difficulties) of the set up in a later post - but first, here are a few images as a taster of more to come.

Firstly a Starling

a Male Blackbird

a Female Blackbird

a Collared Dove

a Robin

Woodpigeons (and yes this is exactly how it was taken)

And finally, for now, another Starling. I love the irridescent colours of these birds!

More reflection pool shots to come soon!

Knapweed Fritillary

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Fri, 18 Jan 2019 19:12:46 GMT

Knapweed and Heath Fritillary

One of the other species of butterfly I found alongside the Mincio River, was the Knapweed Fritillary. Whilst they are widespread and common in southern Europe, they are not found in the UK. I have photographed them before, in the Dordogne, but I always like to see and photograph species that I can't find at home. They can be found in flowery fields and hillsides, with its larval plants including, as the name suggests, the Knapweed flower.

They have a particular attractive patterns on the underside of their wings.

I also manged to photograph a third species of Fritillary. It is sometimes more difficult to identify butterflies than you might imagine, particularly several months after seeing them. But I think the following images are of a Heath Fritillary - distinguished by the lack of distinct spots on submarginal band (the band towards the edge) of the underside of the hind wing.

Again the undersides of these butterflies are quite beautiful. This particular one fed on this flower for over a minute. In the first image it doesn't seem to mind that it has been joined by a friend!

It turned on the flower head as it fed, allowing a variety of images.

Eventually it opened its wings to show its upper side - again very attractive.

For more images of Knapweed Fritillaries please go to the gallery here.

For more images of Heath Fritillary please go to the gallery here.

Italian insects - part 1

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Sun, 13 Jan 2019 18:01:48 GMT

Italian Insects - introduction

For our summer holiday in 2018 we stayed near the southern tip of Lake Garda in Italy. This was, of course, a family holiday with friends, so I had limited photography opportunities, which I also had to balance with my new found obsession of running! Fortunately, we stayed in a caravan park next to a riverside path that allowed opportunities for both.

Our caravan was located in a perfect position - sufficiently far way from the pool, bars and shop to be nice and quiet, and with easy exit off site to the River Mincio.

It was a great place to go for a run but also provided lots of riverside vegetation to look for butterflies and other insects. But the size of the river meant that the insects were often too far away, and I was a bit wary about getting too close to the water's edge as the water was very deep. I also had to be careful of cyclists and runners (!!) coming along the path.

Just downstream there was a large sluice, with a number of control structures to manage water levels. Behind this sluice was a lovely wilderness area and a number of back channels, much quieter and better for taking photos.

I managed two early morning trips to this area and took a range of photos. One of the first insects I found was a Brown Marmorated Stink Bug. At about 1.5 cm long I had to get really close with my Canon 100mm F2.8 mm macro lens to get a decent image. These two images show the different effects that can be achieved using different apertures. The first uses a narrow aperture of F11, the second a wide aperture of F3.2.

There were a number of dragonflies around as well. These Banded Darters were a first for me. This first image is a rather striking male.

The second, as is often the case, the slightly less colourful, but no less beautiful, female.

In both cases the bands on the wings, that give the dragonfly its name, are clearly visible.

But it was really butterflies that I was looking for. The first was this Large White butterfly. It sat quite still allowing a close approach, and I was able to take two very different looking images, one with the butterfly sitting in shade, and another as it was lit by the early morning sun.

And this Spotted Fritillary sat very still whilst the sun heated its wings after roosting over night.

Again, I enjoyed taking different compositions, using different apertures. I love getting in close, to focus just on the eye, using a wide aperture to render everything else out of focus.

This is just a taster of the images I took on these two visits. There are plenty more to come in future posts, including more Spotted Fritillary, Heath and Knapweed Fritillary and Clouded Yellow butterflies.

Holme Fell

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 17:51:20 GMT

Holme Fell

For my next post I go back to last November, and my latest trip to the Lake District. In total I spent 4 days there with my good walking friends, ticking off a few Wainwrights in my quest to complete all 214 (more of that in later posts where I plan to show routes and /or summit photos for them all). The weather was mixed to say the least, ranging from dull to down right cold and wet for the most part. The best weather and photographic light came on the third day, with one of the shortest walks of the weekend.

A fairly simple path from Glen Mary Bridge National Trust car park, took us in the direction of our latest Wainwright, and the second of the day, Holme Fell. The fell itself has extensive views of the Langdale Pikes in one direction, and Coniston Water in the other. Some of the most spectacular views can be found from Ivy Crag on route to the Wainwright summit itself.

Again I have included images taken from both my Canon EOS 7D (this with 15-85mm lens) and my Samsung Galaxy Note 8 phone. The phone takes a wider field of view, and also allows me to try my hand at some panoramic shots.

Holme Fell summit cairn is not far away - this summit provides better views over Coniston Water in the opposite direction.

At times, the light was quite dramatic, resulting in one or two images I was really quite pleased with. I love the way the light plays over the hills, picking out the autumn colours.

This was a lovely walk, taking just over two and a half hours. After this we didn't feel the need to chase anymore Wainwrights, instead heading for a coffee and cake at the nearby Chesters tearoom.

A map of the route we took is shown below.

Further photos from this walk can be found in the gallery here.

Happy New Year

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Fri, 04 Jan 2019 19:29:00 GMT

Happy New Year

Happy New year everyone. It's while since I have posted to this blog but a new year brings new opportunities, as well as a huge backlog of photos to process and share with you.

In the spirit of keeping things up to date, I will start with a few photos from New Year's Day itself - a trip to the coast and a pleasant walk along the cliff tops at Hunstanton with an attempt to return back along the beach. The hide tide meant that we had to retrace our steps, but it did give me opportunity to grab a few shots of the Fulmar soaring overhead.

Fulmar in flightHunstanton,Norfolk, UK

Fulmar in flightHunstanton, Norfolk, UK

Fulmar in flightHunstanton,Norfolk, UK

This was by no means a photographic walk, so these were really just grab shots (and there were a lot more that I missed than I grabbed). The light was lovely, and I would have loved to have had more time. The birds seemed easiest to photograph as they turned back at the edge of the cliffs, hanging there for a moment, before moving off quickly again.

Fulmar in flightHunstanton,Norfolk, UK

Fulmar in flightHunstanton, Norfolk, UK

The Fulmar photos were taken with my trusty Canon EOS 7d Mark II and 100-400mm lens, a combination I can easily carry around with me on a waist belt. But the scenery along the foot of the cliffs was bathed in glorious light as well. There was no time to change lenses - but these days I can always grab a quick image or two on my phone - the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 takes a half decent image in its own right!!

It was a lovely walk and great to take a few pictures. Hopefully this will be the start of a great photographic year ahead.

For more images of Fulmars please go to the gallery here.

For more images from Hunstatnton beach please go to the gallery here.

Northern Cardinals

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Mon, 05 Jun 2017 21:39:11 GMT

After a bit of a break I am now posting again. First the final couple of posts from last year' strip to Florida - soon more from the Lake District, and birds from the UK.

Northern Cardinals

One of the birds we didn't see on our previous trip to Florida was the Northern Cardinal. On this visit though we saw quite a few. The male Cardinal is a very distinctive, brightly coloured bird - I was excited about the potential for some stunning images. Unfortunately, they were quite hard to photograph, as they stayed high in the trees or flitted from one branch to another. I got quite close to a group of birds in Disney's Animal Kingdom - but the dappled lighting and network of branches made it hard to get any decent images.

Northern Cardinal Northern Cardinal Northern Cardinal

Northern Cardinal Northern Cardinal

Northern Cardinal

Northern Cardinal Northern Cardinal

For more images of these birds please go to the gallery here.

Osprey

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Wed, 22 Mar 2017 20:57:50 GMT

Osprey

Whilst it was great to see hawks and vultures, the bird of prey I particularly wanted to photograph was the Osprey. Obviously in the UK these birds are quite rare, and opportunities to photograph them quite specialised. Not so in Florida. Even 20 years ago in Florida I remember seeing them all over the place and remember commenting that they seemed as common as sparrows. Ironically, sparrows seemed to have declined since then - but there were still plenty of opportunities to see Ospreys in Florida.

My first opportunity to photograph Ospreys was as they few overhead whilst we were on the beach at Clearwater. I think they were flying to and from a nearby island where they famously nest (one for a specialist photographic trip rather than a family holiday).

OspreyClearwater Beach, Florida, USA

The next opportunity was on one of my early morning visits to Gatorland. As I pulled the car into the car park just outside, I happened to look up to the top of a tree just the other side of the wall. At the top of the tree, bathed in early morning light, was an Osprey!! I couldn't believe my luck - although noticed that as I took photos, other photographers didn't - maybe an indication of the fact these birds are not seen as a rarity in those parts.

OspreyGatorland, Florida, USA

Later in the morning I managed to grab a single shot (cropped here) as the same bird started fishing in one of the large pools.

OspreyGatorland, Florida, USA

But the closest I got to an Osprey was when I was least expecting it - and it proved again the worth of carrying my camera and 100-400mm lens around with me, as they were taken whilst we were shopping!! Just as we were coming out of the Lego store at Disney Springs, an Osprey flew right overhead. I quickly lifted my camera and fired off a few shots - in many respects they are the photos I am most pleased with from the whole trip!!

OspreyDisney Springs, Florida, USA

For more images of these amazing birds please go to the Osprey gallery here.

Red Shouldered Hawk & Black Vulture

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Sun, 19 Mar 2017 20:33:34 GMT

Red Shouldered Hawk & Black Vulture

Where I live in south Lincolnshire we are fortunate to see range of birds of prey - from Kestrels and Buzzards, Tawny Owls and Barn Owls, to the glorious Red Kite. But although we see these birds quite frequently, they rarely come within photographable range, and if they do, I don't have my camera with me.

This is not the case in Florida. There are a range of birds to be seen and they seem more accustomed to humans than the birds in the UK. This post includes images of two species, the Red Shouldered Hawk and the Black Vulture.

The Red Shouldered Hawk is a medium-sized hawk, with broad, rounded wings and medium-length tails that they fan out when soaring. In flight, they often glide or soar with their wingtips pushed slightly forward, with a distinctive, “reaching” posture. Adults are colorful hawks with dark-and-white checkered wings and warm reddish barring on the breast. The tail is black with narrow white bands. Immatures are brown above and white below streaked with brown. All ages show narrow, pale crescents near the wingtips in flight.

Red-shouldered Hawks soar over forests or perch on tree branches or utility wires. This particular bird, flew directly over our rental house in Kissimmee as we were getting in the car - against the light but thankfully I managed to grab a couple of images.

We saw two species of Vulture in Florida, the Turkey Vulture and the Black Vulture. Turkey Vultures could be soaring high on the thermals above many of the themes parks - but they were always far to far way for photography. The smaller, Black Vulture, on the other hand, was a lot more confiding, allowing quite a close approach in places like Gatorland and Disney's Animal Kingdom. The following images are all from Gatorland.

Black VultureGatorland, Florida, USA

For more Red Shouldered Hawk images please go to the gallery here.

For more Black Vulture images please go to the gallery here.

Garden Birds 2017 - part 1

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Fri, 17 Mar 2017 21:49:35 GMT

Garden Birds 2017 - part 1

Those of you who have followed my blog for a while will know that one of my favourite photographic challenges at this time of year is photographing garden birds. I set up a hide in my garden, with a series of attractive perches, with the hope of photographing the birds on the way to bird feeders close by. Using this approach I have successfully photographed a range of bird species only feet from my back door and the warmth and comfort of home.

One of the things I have never tried before is introducing water into the photos. I have seen other photos, professional and amateur, at setups similar to mine, but with the birds bathing, drinking or simply reflected in a pool of water. This year I have decided to give this a go.

The opportunities for photography have been limited this year, with work commitments, my new found love of running, and some very gloomy weather, particularly at weekends. In setting up a reflection pool I have blatantly copied the approach taken by a fellow photographer, who published details of his setup on facebook. I would strongly recommend reading this post if you are interested in doing this kind of thing ( I will provide a link in a subsequent post).

Even with this guide it is quite difficult to get things right - and I don't think I am there yet. I will provide more details soon. In the meantime here are a few images of common garden birds, taken on the perches I have set up alongside the pool. The 150-600mm lens means you can really fill the frame, even with the smallest of birds, and the fact that it is a zoom lens allows a range of compositions.

Firstly Blue tits.

Also a Great Tit.

And one of a pair of Robins that live in our garden.

More to come soon.........

Wood Stork

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Sat, 18 Feb 2017 17:07:05 GMT

Wood Stork

The largest bird we saw at Gatorland rookery, and indeed on our entire trip to Florida, was the Wood Stork. A very large white bird, characterised by a dark naked head, the birds nest in the tree tops around the swamp, and can also be seen feeding in the pools alongside the boardwalk. When feeding they keep their head down and walk, unlike some birds who remain motionless waiting for prey.

For more Wood Stork images please go to the gallery here.

Little Blue Heron

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Sun, 12 Feb 2017 22:40:11 GMT

Little Blue Heron

On our first visit to Florida I had managed a few photos of one of the smaller species of heron, the Little Blue Heron. There were just one or two birds, but they showed quite well, sitting out on the bushes. On this trip, there were reports of one or two birds again, but they were very hard to find. When I did find them they were actually quite close, but well hidden on or near a nest in the reeds and vegetation by the side of the trail.

One bird in particular, was close enough for a full head shot using my 100-400mm lens.

For more Little Blue Heron images please go to the gallery here.

Great Blue Heron

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Thu, 09 Feb 2017 22:43:09 GMT

Great Blue Heron

I still have quite a few images to process from Florida - so here are a few more from my two visits to Gatorland Bird Rookery.

One of the largest birds I photographed was the Great Blue Heron. Superficially very similar to the Grey Heron we see in the UK, they stand motionless when finishing, making for some interesting images.

I was also fortunate to be able to get some action shots - first a series of images of a bird shaking its feathers dry.

And secondly a series of one bird fishing. The light was quite harsh by this stage but I was pleased to catch the moment the bird stuck into the water.

For more images of these magnificent birds please go to the gallery here.

Bonscale Pike, Arthur's Pike, Loadpot Hill & Wether Hill

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Fri, 03 Feb 2017 21:41:33 GMT

Bonscale Pike, Arthur's Pike, Loadpot Hill & Wether Hill

My final Lake District walk of 2016, and the finale of my weekend in the Lakes with Duncan, saw a walk in the eastern Martindale Fells, gaining 4 more Wainwrights and taking in some very impressive views along Ullswater.

I have visited the Martindale area on a number of occasions, walking nearby fells and visiting the summit of Hallin Fell on more than one occasion. The area is a part of the Lakes you most definitely have to decide to go to, as it requires a drive all the way along the southern shore of Ullswater, to park at St Peter's Church at the foot of Hallin Fell. But instead of romping up the side of Hallin Fell, we set off in the opposite direction, past the church, down over the Fusedale Beck, to Mellguards and, with increasingly impressive views, up to Bonscale Pike (524m). From Bonscale Pike we continued along the fell top, taking in the views over Ullswater, before heading inland to the summit of Arthur's Pike (533m). From there we headed inland to complete a circular route via Loadpot Hill (672m)and Wether Hill (670m), descending via the side of Steel Knotts and back to our cars.

When we were sat in the Brother's Water Inn having breakfast, I don't think either of us had appreciated quite how steep the initial climb was going to be Looking at the map now, the contours are very close together!! I don't think it is much of an exaggeration to say that at one stage I only had to lean forward slightly to put my hands on the grass slope in front of me. But the views were spectacular and well worth the climb - with an overall walk of about 7.5 miles just right before the journey home.

When you travel down to Martindale you gain a little bit of height above lake level, with some interesting roads on route. St Peter's church is located in a bit of a dip and the views of the Lake only start to open up as you walk in either direction. The start of our walk was relatively flat, allowing a bit of time to get our legs warmed up. Soon, the views down Ullswater started to open up.

As we started to climb, the views opened up down Martindale behind us, with Hallin Fell prominent in the view.

But it was the views down Ullswater that really took the eye.

As we got higher, we could see over the top of Hallin Fell to the lake beyond.

For a few minutes, the Ullswater steamer added some human interest to scene, creating lovely patterns in the water behind it.

From Bonscale Fell the views were also specular looking north.

With the Bonscale Towers just beneath us.

Our next summit was Arthur's Pike, the summit of which is inland - and largely without views. The views are far more spectacular from the bigger cairn nearby.

There is a second cairn further inland - still with views - but still not yet at the summit of Arthur's Pike.

From the summit of Arthur's Pike you would struggle to know there is a lake there.

The route then took us inland and on to the two highest summits of the walk, Loadpot Hill and Wether Hill. Neither have particularly spectacular summits - Loadpot Hill has a large stone pillar, with Wether Hill summit marked by just a small pile of stones.

Our return route took us down along Martindale, with the light and shadow playing constantly across the valley floor

It had been a great walk on a beautiful day - a good one to have as my last Lakeland walk of the year. I am already looking forward to more in 2017!

For more images from this walk please go to the gallery here.

And for those of you who enjoy my Lake District posts - I still have some more photos to process from walks in 2015. From memory some of the best walks I have done, with some great light and great views. And my next trip is only 3 months away!!

Frampton - Lapwing & Corn Bunting

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Tue, 31 Jan 2017 16:08:46 GMT

Frampton - Lapwing & Corn Bunting

On my return back from the East Hide I was able to get more practice at a few flight shots. The manfrotto tripod makes a huge difference in being able to manoeuvre into position with the added bonus of being free standing (unlike the monopod which you always have to hold up somehow).

The slower, bobbing flight of the Lapwing should make it easier to photograph in flight - again I think I just need a bit more practice! I managed to get a few groups shots.

I also managed to capture a Black Tailed Godwit in amongst the Lapwing.

I managed to get one final set of images as I returned along the path reserve. I have previously photographed Corn Buntings at Frampton during the summer - with their strident calls being heard across the reserve. On this occasion, one isolated bird sat singing high amongst some bare branches to the side of the path. Thankfully it was quite a confiding bird and I was able to move the tripod closer and closer, taking images as I went.

My best images though were when the bird briefly flew back the way I had just come. I quickly picked up the tripod and was able to approach quite close and get a couple of really pleasing shots, as the bird perched on a branch with a completely uncluttered background.

Overall I was pleased with my tripod on its first outing - it is considerably lighter than my uniloc, and more practical than my monopod in most circumstances. And as always, I was just pleased to get out and take some photos - and I can't wait to get out again!

For more Lapwing images please go to the gallery here.

For more Corn Bunting images please go to the gallery here.

Frampton - Black Tailed Godwit

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Sun, 29 Jan 2017 13:14:14 GMT

Frampton - Black Tailed Godwit

As I entered the East Hide, it was clear that there was a photographer already in the hide...with a flock of Black Tailed Godwit right in front of him!! I very very carefully set up my tripod and settled down next to him - thankfully I hadn't disturbed the birds! The light was glorious and I took a few initial images, with the only real difficulty being isolating one bird from another as they fed along the shoreline in front of us. All of a sudden though, something spooked the birds and they flew off to the centre of the reserve. But they returned a short time later, and whilst I would have liked them to stay longer, I was happy with the selection of images I was able to get.

For more images of these gorgeous godwits please go the gallery here.

Frampton - Brent Geese

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Fri, 27 Jan 2017 17:28:10 GMT

Frampton - Brent Geese & Wigeon

Those of you that read my blog frequently will know that I am really pleased with my new Sigma 150-600 Sport lens. It takes sharp images, and the extra reach is fantastic. But it is a heavy lens. Up until recently I have carried it on my Manfrotto monopod, using a Lensmaster Gimbal head. And that works well, but has one major drawback - you can't just let go like you can when using a tripod!! And the lens is far too heavy to carry round on my 4kg uniloc 1600 major. So before Christmas I decided to take advantage of Black Friday deals, and I became the proud owner of a Manfrotto CX055 carbon fibre tripod.

My first opportunity to try out the new tripod came with a morning visit to Frampton Marsh. I was keen to see how much the carbon fibre made a difference, and Frampton provided the ideal opportunity as you have to walk some distance from one hide to the next. I arrived not long after first light on a beautifully clear morning. I had never really been to Frampton at this time of year before and was keen to see how many birds were around.

In terms of photography, the East Hide, at the far end of the reserve is best first thing in the morning. As I headed round there, it became clear that I would cross the general flight path that flocks of Brent Geese were taking over the reserve, landing in a field nearby. I positioned myself at various points, with the camera set to AI servo, and tried a few flight shots.

Using the Sigma lens on a Gimbal head and tripod really did help - but I think I still need a lot of practice!! I managed just one half decent shot of an individual brent goose as it flew overhead.

And it wasn't just Brent Geese flying over and around the reserve. I also managed to grab some shot of Wigeon as they flew over the reserve path.

Once I got to the East hide I was also able to take this portrait on an individual bird in the early morning light.

But it was the other birds, right in front on the hide, that I was really pleased to see....

Brown Pelican and Double Crested Cormorant

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Mon, 16 Jan 2017 20:48:55 GMT

Brown Pelican and Double Crested Cormorant

After a day on Clearwater Beach we took a quick trip along the coast to Clearwater seafront to look around. I took an opportunity to go to the end of Clearwater Pier. I was interested to see if there were birds at the end of the pier, in the same way that there had been on Cocoa Pier on our trip to Florida a few years ago. In doing so I managed to get close to 3 different species of birds. I have already posted images of the first of these - the Great Egret - please go to the blog post here for these photos.

One of the birds we had seen on Cocoa Pier was the Brown Pelican - and I had seen them from Clearwater Beach during the day, from where I had managed a couple of flight shots.

I was delighted to find they were on the end of Clearwater Pier too. . Obviously accustomed to humans the birds sat on the rails of the pier, allowing for some great close up images of both adult and juvenile birds.

The third bird I was able to photograph on the pier was the Double Crested Cormorant. These birds sat slightly further away, on top of posts that presumably exist to protect the pier from waves and any stray boats that may come too close.

At the end of the day I was able to take one these birds in silhouette, alongside the pier.

But the best shots were taken from the pier itself, where one bird in particular sat sunning its wings.

For more images of Brown Pelicans please go to the gallery here.

For more images of the Cormorants please go to the gallery here.

Willet

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Sat, 24 Dec 2016 16:25:21 GMT

Willet

One of the birds I was hoping to see on the beach in Florida was the Willet. I remember seeing, and photographing, these birds on honeymoon on the same beach over 20 years ago.

Willets are large, stocky shorebirds with long legs and thick, straight bills considerably longer than the head. Their wings are broader and rounder than those of many shorebirds and the tail is short and squared off at the base. Willets are often seen alone. They walk deliberately, pausing to probe for crabs, worms and other prey in sand and mudflats, or to pick at insects and mollusks. When startled, they react with a piercing call, often opening their wings and running rather than taking flight. This characteristic can be quite handy when taking photos - if the bird is disturbed, it remains in the vicinity rather than disappearing.

I was delighted to spend some time with a single bird as it fed along the shoreline.

WilletClearwater Beach, Florida, USA

I took quite a few images of this bird - for more details of these images, and lots of others, please go to the gallery here.

Pike O'Blisco, Cold Pike & Crinkle Crags

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Fri, 23 Dec 2016 21:50:32 GMT

Pike O'Blisco, Cold Pike & Crinkle Crags

For the main walk of our weekend, Duncan and I chose to walk around the head of Langdale. I have previously climbed Bow Fell and Crinkle Crags, but had yet to climb four of the other peaks, two on one side and two on the other. To capture all 4 would mean a total of 6 peaks in one quite significant walk. So we decided to split the six peaks into two groups and concentrate this walk on climbing Pike O'Blisco (705m), Cold Pike (701m) and Crinkle Crags, coming back down The Band into the Langdale valley - a walk of nearly 9 miles. This route had the added bonus that I climbed the Crinkle Crags in the reverse order to my first climb.

We parked in the National Trust car park at Dungeon Ghyll, from where we have started a number of walks in the past. And indeed the first part of the walk was quite familiar, taking us along the road and up past Wall End Farm, starting the steep, winding ascent which eventually takes you to Blea Tarn. But part way up our route took us to the right across the fell and up to Pike O'Blisco. The route was easy to find, and generally a steady incline, although there was one stretch that involved a short scramble.

As we gained height, the views back down Langdale Valley started to open up behind us.

Across the valley, the Langdale Pike stood proud against the skyline.

The summit of Pike O'Blisco has two tops, both of which are marked by large cairns. The northern cairn marks the highest point, from which the views are quite spectacular. In one direction you look over the summit shelter towards Crinkle Crags, Bow Fell and the Scafell range beyond. The long ridge stretching from left from right is The Band - our route down later in the day.

Moving round to the right, you see the Langdale Pikes.

Further round still you can see the full beauty of the Langdale valley.

And yet further round still you can see the cairn on the southern summit, with Lake Windermere in the distance.

We spent a little while around the summit cairn, admiring the views in the changing light.

As we moved across to the southern summit we kept a close eye on an approaching rainstorm.

The changing light made for quite a dramatic scene.

As we descended Pike O'Blisco, we couldn't tell if or when we were going to get very wet!!

Fortunately it stayed dry - and the light remained dramatic all around us.

Our next stop was Cold Pike - a small diversion from the direct route between Pike O'Blisco and Crinkle Crags - but well worth it. Whilst the view from the summit of Cold Pike is slightly obscured in one direction, you can see all the away across the fells to the coast in the other.

As we moved on towards Crinkle Crags, the view of the Langdale Pikes returned.

And we were able to look back down towards Pike O'Blisco where we had been earlier in the day.

The head of the valley is marked by the Crinkle Crags - a series of rocky summits, each separated by distinct rocky descents and climbs and each having its own cairn. We were still a bit uncertain about the weather so we kept going, stopping only occasionally to take photos.

This image looks back over the route we came up.

Towards the far end of the Crinkle Crags, the views open out in the other direction, towards Scafell and Scafell Pike (albeit shrouded on cloud).

Looking back in the other direction, the light was quite spectacular, with a distant rainbow adding to the overall drama of the scene.

As we descended The Band, the valley continued to be bathed in glorious evening light.

I love the play of sunlight and shadow across the hills and the valley floor.

It had been a fantastic day- a great walk with great company. Yet again, my ankle had made it up and down the hills with no problems at all, but caused a long slow hobble back to the car as soon as I hit the horizontal. But it had all been worth it and we had a few pints and good food to look forward to as well!!

For a lot more photos from this walk, please go to the gallery here.

Ruddy Turnstone

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Mon, 19 Dec 2016 20:10:26 GMT

Ruddy Turnstone

Another, smaller, wading bird on the beach that day was the Ruddy Turnstone. Again, similar to its UK counterpart, there were a number of these birds scurrying around the rocks and seaweed. Although they move quite quickly, they were very confiding, and I managed to capture a few images I was pleased with.

For more images of these handsome little birds, please go to the gallery here.

American Oystercatcher

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Sun, 18 Dec 2016 13:35:09 GMT

American Oystercatcher

Another set of photos from Florida!

It was not just gulls and terns that I photographed on Clearwater Beach - there were wading birds too. One such bird was the American Oystercatcher. Very similar to the Oystercatchers found in the UK, there were a few pairs of these birds at one end of the beach. Like the other birds there, they were obviously accustomed to humans, allowing a close approach with my 100-400mm lens. Being black and white birds, it was hard to photograph them against the white sand in bright sunlight!

For more photos of these birds please go to the gallery here.

Helm Crag, Gibson's Knott, Calf Crag, Sergeant Man, Blea Rigg & Silver How

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Sat, 03 Dec 2016 16:30:57 GMT

Helm Crag, Gibson's Knott, Calf Crag, Sergeant Man, Blea Rigg & Silver How

The final day of my first September weekend in the Lakes was gloomy and drizzly. The others decided to do a bit of shopping, so I did a solo climb to Dodd summit overlooking Bassenthwaite Lake - another Wainwright ticked off and a great, but damp way (no photos) to finish an excellent weekend! And I only had a few days before my return visit, this time with my best mate Duncan.

The usual pattern of my trips with Duncan is that I travel up early on the Friday, do a spot of walking and photography on my own, and then Duncan joins me for the weekend. And so again this time I planned a solo walk on the Friday, to take in as many new Wainwright's as possible.

However, as late as Thursday afternoon, I was seriously doubting if this was going to be possible. I have recently taken up jogging, and in the process tweaked something in the back of my left angle. This hadn't caused me any problems at all in the first weekend in the Lakes so I thought I would go for a quick 5km jog on the Wednesday. By Thursday I was hobbling around like an old man - would I be able to walk in the Lakes at all???!!!

My plan was to combine parts of two routes in my book, ascending Helm Crag to its famous summit (405m) before continuing over Gibson's Knott (421m) to Calf Crag (537m) and then on to Sergeant Man (736m). At this point I had a possible diversion round to the Langdale Pikes, to capture Thurnacar Knott. From then I would return back to the more obvious main route by ascending Blea Rigg (541m) before extending the circular route back to capture Silver How (395m) with its viewpoint over Grasmere and Rydal Water.

As Thursday progressed my ankle seemed to get a bit better, and so I decided to give my original plan a go. I could at least attempt Helm Crag, a popular route, so there should be other people walking if I got into trouble.

In the end I was fine. My ankle was a bit sore as I started, but as soon as I started to climb I forgot all about it. I missed out the diversion to Thurnacar Knott, descending straight down from Sergeant Man to Blea Rigg. It turned out to be the perfect length, as I was able to capture the views in late evening light from Silver How, before descending to the car still benefitting from the last remnants of daylight. It was a great walk, with spectacular views, and my ankle lasted the full 12 miles. Bizarrely though, I whilst I was fine walking in the hills, as soon as I got back to horizontal ground, I was hobbling again, a pattern that lasted the whole weekend!!

My walk started in Grasmere village where I parked in the Easdale Car Park. The route to Helm Crag first takes you along the Easedale Road. I then followed a sign to Helm Crag that took me through the grounds of the Lancrigg Hotel. I had to check with someone that I was on the right track, but as I left the hotel grounds the route up to Helm Crag became clearer.

As I started to climb, the view opened up behind me of Grasmere lake with Loughrigg Fell behind.

A number of cairns mark the way. From this one, you can clearly see the route I have come up.

It is a steep climb, but soon the you reach a plateau with views towards and across the summit.

Helm CragLake District, Cumbria, UK

There are some great views from the summit ridge path, leading to the main summit outcrop, known as the Howitzer. The light was great, with a faint rainbow adding to the overall grandeur of the scene.

The light and views across the Scandale Valley were quite spectacular.

And towards Dunmail Raise.

Looking back as I carried on towards Gibson's Knott, you could see the Howitzer standing proud on the hill, with Grasmere lake down in the valley.

The summit of Gibson's Knott is quite indistinct. There are a number of summits with cairns, none of which seemed to correspond with the summit shown by my GPS. I kept taking images of the view behind.

And looking left across the valley towards Blea Rigg and the Langdale range.

Lake District, Cumbria, UK

The summit of Calf Crag is easier to find and offers great views down the valley and of the route I was to return down later in the day.

As you walk from Calf Crag towards Sergeant Man the view disappears and you climb steeply towards the next summit. Looking back you can clearly see Calf Crag summit.

By the time I reached Sergeant Man it was clear that I would have to leave Thurnacar Knott to another day. The view from the summit of Sergeant Man is great. I was particularly taken with the view of the Langdale Pikes and Stickle Tarn to my right - a perspective of this range that I hadn't seen before. The light was quite dramatic too!

And Lake Windermere can be seen quite clearly in the distance.

At the top, I started chatting to a young couple who I discovered live in Lincolnshire like I do. They noticed I was using my phone GPS and Viewranger app to navigate, so we walked together so that I could help ensure they found their route down back to Grasmere via Easdale Tarn.

Easdale TarnLake District, Cumbria, UK

Rather than go down to the tarn, my route kept high, along the ridge to Blea Rigg.

The views were spectacular along the entire ridge, here towards Lake Windermere.

But also right across the neighbouring valley towards the Coniston Fells.

My final Wainwright of the day was Silver How. To include it as part of this walk meant missing several of the quicker routes back to the car - but it was worth it, with great views of Grasmere and Rydal Water.

From here I made my way downhill and back to the car, just in time before it got dark. It had been a great day - a fantastic walk, in good light, and my ankle had behaved itself - and still two days of walking to go!!!

For more images from this walk please go to the gallery here.

Clearwater Beach - Royal Tern

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Fri, 02 Dec 2016 19:11:26 GMT

Clearwater Beach - Royal Tern

It was fantastic to get close to the Sandwich Terns, but there was an even more impressive Tern on the beach as well. The Royal Tern is larger than the Sandwich Tern, with a large orange bill. Again the black feathers at the back of the bird's head form a crest.

I was also fortunate to find pairs of birds on the beach as well.

A low angle allows the birds to stand out from the beach in the background.

I really enjoyed photographing these handsome birds. For more images of Royal Terns please go to the gallery here.

Clearwater Beach - Sandwich Tern

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Sat, 26 Nov 2016 15:32:22 GMT

Clearwater Beach - Sandwich Tern

It was nice to photograph gulls on Clearwater Beach, particularly two species I wouldn't normally see in the UK. But it wasn't the gulls that attracted me to walk further down the beach. There appeared to be a range of other species just a short distance away.

The first of these was a bird you can see in the UK. The Sandwich Tern is slightly bigger than the more frequently seen Common Tern. It is characterised by a long black bill with a yellow tip and black feet. The feathers on the back of its crown are elongated and form a crest, and it gains a white forehead during the nesting season.

Whilst I have seen plenty of Sandwich Terns in the UK, it has always been from a distance. Along with seemingly most birds in Florida, these Sandwich Terns were quite easy to approach to take frame filling images with my 100-400mm lens.

Further details and more images of these birds can be found here.

Tri-Colored Heron - part 3

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Sun, 20 Nov 2016 21:47:53 GMT

Tri-Colored Heron - part 3

There were numerous opportunities to photograph the Tri-Colored Heron.

I was particularly pleased that I managed to take a few images of one bird as it spread its wings - showing the full variation in its colourful plumage.

And was really pleased to grab a couple of shots as one bird came into land.

For the full set of images of these beautiful birds please go to the gallery here.

Clearwater Beach - Ring Billed Gull

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Sat, 19 Nov 2016 12:55:34 GMT

Ringed Bill Gull

Another species of gull found on Clearwater Beach was the Ring Billed Gull. Similar to our Herring Gull, but smaller and more buoyant in flight, it is characterised by a black ring around its bill. It also has yellowish / greenish legs in contrast to the pink legs of the Herring Gull.

The adult birds have yellow bills, whereas the juveniles' beaks are pink.

But again it was the flight images that I was most pleased with, with the birds standing out against the clear blue sky.

The Ring Billed Gull has a lot more black on the underside of its primary feathers than the Herring Gull, as can be seen clearly on this final image

For more images of Ring Billed Gulls please go to the gallery here.

Lingmell, Scafell Pike & Great End

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Sat, 19 Nov 2016 11:19:09 GMT

Lingmell, Scafell Pike & Great End

Scafell Pike remains the pinnacle of hillwalking in England for many people. At 978m, it is the highest point in England, with a number of well trodden routes to its summit. One of the most common routes , starts in the village of Seathwaite in Borrowdale, climbing steadily up to Styhead Tarn, before taking the Corridor route up to Lingmell Coll and then left and on up to the summit.

I had only reached the summit once myself, going up this way a few years ago. This was a memorable trip, which completely re-invigorated my love of walking in the Lake District. But on that occasion, it was a route without any views whatsoever. A group of 4 of us walked up Scafell Pike as part of the Water Aid challenge, which seeks to get people on top of all the Wainwright summits at the same time, to raise money for the charity Water Aid. Despite being in June, the weather was absolutely awful. Fully togged in waterproof gear, we were soaked to the skin as soon as we got out the car - with a full on power shower all the way up. Having bagged the summit we returned back the way we had come, for fear of getting stuck (streams seemed to be turning into waterfalls) or going the wrong way in the awful weather. In fact we met a couple on the way down who had become lost, and were able to guide them down to the path they wanted.

So it was with great anticipation and excitement that I approached a second visit to Scafell Pike. Maybe we would see something this time? The route we chose is shown below (a circular route of nearly 11 miles), and included two additional summits, Lingmell on the route up, and Great End on the route down, both new Wainwrights for me. I had thought that we could return down over Seathwaite Fell, but time and the weather meant this was best left to another day, and from Styhead Tarn we retraced our route back down to Borrowdale .

Even this trip was a bit hit and miss. The forecast for the weekend as a whole had been terrible, with nearly 5 inches of rain forecast at one point. Fortunately, the weather was much better than forecast, but it still looked a bit gloomy as we left the cars at Seathwaite and walked along the valley towards Stockley Bridge. And by the time we got to the bridge it had started raining! Oh no not again!!??

It continue to rain as we climbed up towards Styhead Tarn, so my camera stayed firmly in its bag (however see below for the views on the way down). But as we approach Styhead Tarn the weather broke slightly and I was able to start taking photos. And at this time, four of our group decided to head back, leaving Nigel, Paul, Richard and I to carry on.

The slopes of Great End came into view. Our route down brought us down the left of this picture. But for now we were heading across to the right, first down into the dip and then onto and up the Corridor Route.

As we progressed up the Corridor Route, our first summit came into view. At this time the summit of Lingmell was heavily cloaked in cloud.

The views at this stage though are all to your right. The imposing summit of Great Cable was equally cloaked in low cloud.

With views down Wasdale

and across to Kirk Fell and the Mosedale range.

After a while, the clouds started to break, with shafts of light creating patterns down the Wasdale valley.

Soon the breaks in the cloud got bigger and bigger - we certainly saw views that I simply didn't know existed on my previous visit.

The cloud still hung dramatically over the summit of Great Gable.

Looking back, the views over Styhead Tarn to Derwent Water were very impressive.

For a short period the light over the fells was really quite dramatic. Here Great Grable.

Great Gable , Green Gable and surrounding fells.

The views back down through the jaws of Borrowdale, to Derwent Water and beyond, were quite spectacular.

On reaching Lingmell Coll you can head right to Lingmell or continue up left to Scafell Pike. We decide to take in Lingmell as well. From the summit of Lingmell there are good views down Wastwater., with Scafell (different to Scafell Pike) on the left.

The sun was streaming down the nearby Mosedale valley to the right.

And you could clearly see the route back up to Scafell Pike.

And again there were great views down towards Styhead Tarn.

We traced our steps back and continued to climb to Scafell Pike. The rocky nature of the ground underfoot does not make it an easy route, but hey you are heading to the highest point in England!!! Unfortunately as we traced our steps back towards Scafell Pike, the weather closed in. Heavy cloud hung over the top of Scafell Pike and remained there for our entire visit. So I have no photos, other than a few quick snaps on my phone just to prove I got there (two scary pics of me below!!)- two visits and pretty much the same view each time - although at least this time it was dry!!

And we got similar views as we skirted Ill Crag and Broad Crag and visited Great End. These summits were clearly above the cloud base and we could see very little as a result.

As we came down from Great End we dropped below the cloud base and the views started to open up again. Richard and Paul had to travel home that day so they decided to take the quick route back down to the car, whilst Nigel and I ponded going back over Seathwaite Fell. Just as we were deciding we would give it a go, Nigel pointed at the top of Great Gable. Horizontal rain was bouncing off the side of the summit!! All of a sudden it was lashing it down with rain, with the tops of the fells looking considerably less attractive. So we decided to go down back the way we came up. As we passed back by Styhead Tarn, the light back behind us took a turn for the better.

The summits in view are Great End, Scafell Pike (in the clouds) and Lingmell (far right).

In the other direction a rainbow seemed to stretch from the summit of Green Gable.

As Nigel and I headed down hill, the views opened up down Borrowdale and to Blencathra in the distance.

Here, you can see that bot the start and the of the walk are on the flat valley floor, allowing your legs to both warm up and warm down again before and after steep ascent/decsents.

It had been a great walk and a great day. One of those days where you really know you've done a good walk - a day that makes you really glad to be alive!!

For more images from this walk please go to the gallery here.

Titchwell in September - Greylag Geese & Wigeon

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Thu, 17 Nov 2016 21:17:26 GMT

Titchwell in September - Wigeon & Greylag Geese

One of the other ducks at Titchwell was the Wigeon - they generally kept their distance, out of photographic range. However, one came just within range in the glorious evening light, allowing me just one single image.

WigeonTitchwell, Norfolk, UK

There was also a flock of Greylag Geese bathing in the evening sunlight. Not normally a bird I would leap to photograph, the lighting made all the difference and I was please with the images I got.

Greylag GooseTitchwell, Norfolk, UK

Greylag GeeseTitchwell, Norfolk, UK

These were the final images from my visit to Titchwell - lovely light to end a great fantastic day of photography in Norfolk!

Tri-Colored Heron - part 2

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Thu, 17 Nov 2016 21:15:48 GMT

Tri-Colored Heron - part 2

The Tri-Colored Heron breeds in colonies, often, as at Gatorland Rookery, with other species of wading birds. Nests can be in trees, mangroves etc, sometimes on ground but usually two to ten feet above the ground. The nest is built mostly by the female, with materials gathered by male, and consists of a platform of sticks, with a shallow depression in the middle, lined with finer twigs and grasses.

This bird sat on its nest right next to the boardwalk. These next few images are all taken, first by zooming from 130mm to 300mm, and then moving forwards and photographing at 300mm and 400mm on the 100-400mm lens.

Still more of these beautiful birds to come.

Barrow, Outerside, Scar Crags and Causey Pike

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Sat, 12 Nov 2016 13:25:00 GMT

September in the Lake District - Barrow, Outerside, Scar Crags and Causey Pike

Having decided not to add Causey Pike to our route up Robinson, Knott Rigg and Ard Crags in April, I was keen to go up and see what it was like. There were also a couple of other Wainwright's to capture, Scar Crags, which you get can get to on route to Causey Pike, and Outerside, which we had missed on a previous walk.

So we decided on a walk starting from Braithwaite, that saw us walk up Barrow (456m), which we had previously visited, before walking up Outerside (568m), across and up to Scar Crags (672m), back along the ridge to Causey Pike (637m) and back down to Braithwaite - a walk of 7.5 miles.

The weather on this particular Saturday was not the best. The forecast for the weekend had been terrible, with up to 4.5 inches of rain forecast for the highest peaks over Saturday and Sunday. It didn't turn out to be that bad, but on the Saturday it was particularly windy, and quite gloomy. So much so that I really didn't take many photos at all.

I grabbed this picture of dramatic light over Derwent Water as we climbed up Barrow.

The top of Barrow was quite windy, but nothing by comparison to the top of Outerside. It was hard to stand up let alone take photos. Looking across to the higher ridge Scar Crags, we wondered what it would be like. Four of our party decided to go back at this time (using Ben the dog as an excuse!!) but four of us decided to continue.

Ironically, it seemed less windy (although still more than a bit breezy) on the higher ridge and we were really pleased we decided to carry on. Although it remained gloomy, the views were magnificent, and we could clearly see many of the ridges we have walked on previous trips. It hadn't occurred to me until then, but this is the highest of a series of parallel ridges. On previous trips the view in one direction was always halted by one of the other ridges. But now we could see in all directions. And the summit of Causey Pike has a complete 360 degree view. I would love to go back when the light is better.

These images show the approach to Causey Pike from Scar Crags.

There were good views over to Bassenthwaite Lake and Skiddaw.

The views towards and beyond Causey Pike are magnificent.

But the views back over Arg Crags and surrounding fells are equally good.

This shot shows the view back to Scar Crags from Causey Pike.

But the most dramatic light was over Ard Crags and to the fells beyond.

For more images of this walk please go to the Causey Pike gallery here.

For the view of Causey Pike from Ard Crags, please go to the blog page for our walk back in April here.

Titchwell in September -Teal

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Fri, 11 Nov 2016 18:52:39 GMT

Titchwell in September - Teal

As well as a wide range of wading birds, Titchwell provided opportunity to photograph a few ducks as well. One of the most prevalent duck species was the Teal. The Island Hide in particular provide opportunities for close up images of birds feeding in the shallow water.

TealTitchwell, Norfolk, UK

Later in the day, the Parrinder Hide provided opportunity to photograph Teal in lovely warm evening light, with the still water providing great reflections. TealTitchwell, Norfolk, UK

TealTitchwell, Norfolk, UK

A couple of the birds also started to bathe, splashing around in the water, sending spray all over the place - this kind of shot is always a bit hit and miss, but the 10 frames per second of the 7D Mark II gives you a good chance of catching the action.

TealTitchwell, Norfolk, UK

For more images of these birds please go to the Ducks gallery here.

Clearwater Beach - Laughing Gull

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Wed, 09 Nov 2016 17:28:42 GMT

Clearwater Beach - Laughing Gull

After a few days of wall to wall Disney and Universal we took a well earned break by visiting the beach. On our previous trip to Florida we had visited Cocoa Beach on the east coast of Florida. So this time we decided to go west, revisiting the beach where my wife and I spent the first half of our honeymoon, over 20 years ago - Clearwater Beach.

Although it was a hot sunny day, the beach wasn't massively busy. When we first arrived I noticed there were a number of gulls circling around. And I could also see a group of birds further down the beach. So, on the pretence on finding the hotel we stayed in on honeymoon (I looked for I don't think it is there anymore) I went to see what I could find.

One of the species of gull flying around was the laughing gull, name after its strident laugh like call. It is quite similar to the Black Headed Gull found in the UK, but has black legs, pronounced dark wing tips and the red beak is less pronounced. They were quite easy to approach as they sat on the beach, but the bright sunlight and very pale sand, meant that contrast was a real problem.

I managed to capture some interaction between this pair of gulls.

But I particularly enjoyed taking photos of these birds against the clear blue sky.

For more Laughing Gull images please go to the gallery here.

The Dodds

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Tue, 08 Nov 2016 18:08:48 GMT

Another weekend in the Lakes - September 2016 - The Dodds

One of the walks I had wanted to do for a long time is the Dodds - a series of more rounded hills, towards the northern edge of the Lakes, that are often combined in a classic walk called "Doing the Dodds". Our walk started at High Row, above the village of Dockray, taking the Old Coach Road for a couple of miles before climbing the first of 5 peaks on the route, Clough Head (726m). From here we walked on to Great Dodd (857m), Watson's Dodd (789m) and Stybarrow Dodd (843m) where we stopped for lunch. From then we walked on to Hart Side (758m) and down over Birkett Fell and back to the car - whilst I recorded the walk on my Suunto watch, I accidentally stopped it for ashort part of the route. Fortunately I was also recording it on my Viewranger app, shown below. The full walk was approximately 11.5 miles.

The first part of the walk along the Old Coach Road was fairly flat and allowed us to make good time. Our legs were nicely warmed up before we embarked on the steep climb up to Clough Head. As we climbed the light started to improve producing some interesting cloud patterns over the surrounding hills.

The summit of Clough Head provides impressive views of the surrounding fells. Here Paul takes an image towards Skiddaw, with Blencathra in the background.

There are panoramic views from the summit Trig point and shelter, towards Skiddaw and over to the Grasmoor range.

as well as over Derwent water and to a multitude if summits in the west.

As we moved from Clough Head to the Dodds themselves, there was a great view of Thirlmere and the surrounding fells.

The tree covered hill of Raven Crag could clearly be seen in the foreground.

Unfortunately the light became quite dull again as we visited first Great Dodd, then Watson's Dodd and Stybarrow Dodd. Fortunately, the sun came out when we stopped for some lunch a short way from the summit of Stybarrow Dodd.

With really brooding light over the distant fells.

As we walked on, there were spectacular views from Hart Side summit, firstly over Ullswater.

and also over Great Mell Fell (left) and Little Mell Fell (right). You really get the feeling of being on the edge of the Lakes from here. And you can see the Pennines in the far distance.

And as we walked down over Birkett Fell the view got better and better!

As we came down from the fells I was taken by the composition of this stream winding its way down the valley, with Little Mell Fell in the distance.

It had been another great walk rounded off, as always ,with a pint at the local pub. The feeling in these hills was very different to some of the more rugged parts of the Lakes and the views over Ullswater, the Mell Fells and beyond the edge of the Lakes, quite spectacular.

For the full range of images from this walk please go to The Dodds gallery here.

Titchwell in September - Ruff

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Sun, 06 Nov 2016 15:35:42 GMT

Titchwell in September - Ruff

September is a good time to visit Titchwell as there are a variety of birds around. As well as the Island Hide, and the opportunities provided on the beach, the big Parrinder Hide can also be good for photography. And so it proved again, with a couple of different visits resulting in a range of pleasing images.

During the first visit there were a range of wading birds in front of the hide. One of these birds was a Curlew (see a previous post) but the majority of them were Ruff.

The following range of images show the great variety in the size and plumage of Ruffs at this time of year.

RuffTitchwell, Norfolk, UK

For more images of these birds please go to the Ruff gallery here.

Tri-Colored Heron - part 1

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Fri, 04 Nov 2016 19:10:39 GMT

Tri-Colored Heron - part 1

The three species of Egret I have recently posted are all magnificent birds - but my favourite bird at Gatorland Rookery was the Tri-Colored Heron. It is a superb looking bird, with long bill, neck, and legs. On our first trip to Florida, I saw just one solitary bird, skulking in the reeds at the water's edge. However, when nesting, it is very sociable, often in very large colonies with various other herons and egrets. So on this trip, I was delighted to see a large number of birds, sitting on nests and providing a variety of other photographic opportunities.

This first set of photos is of general portraits and close up images.

Some of the birds were really quite close, allowing some striking head shots. I particularly like the contrast of the purple / blue feathers and the white head crests.

More photos of these beautiful birds soon.

Barf, Lord's Seat and Broom Fell

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Fri, 04 Nov 2016 18:45:45 GMT

Barf, Lord's Seat and Broom Fell

The weather forecast for the final day of our April trip to the Lakes was mixed, so we decided a shorter walk was in order, with a stop off at a tearoom for some lunch before the drive home. I had previously visited the tearoom at Whinlatter visitor centre, so we decided on a short walk through Whinlatter forest and out of the forest to Barf (468m), Lord's Seat (552m) and Broom Fell (511m) - 3 new Wainwrights for relatively little effort, in a walk just short of 5 miles (with judicious use of cars to cut out the uninteresting return stretch up the road).

The walk through Whinlatter Forest was very pleasant but was devoid of many views as we were always surrounded by trees. But as we came out of the tress, the views opened up over Bassenthwaite Lake towards Skiddaw. A number of peaks can be seen in this image, from Skiddaw and Little Man Skiddaw at the back, to the conical shape of Dodd that can be seen if you look closely in the front.

As we climbed Barf the light across towards Skiddaw and, further round, towards Derwent Water and the Eastern Fells, was quite dramatic.

Barf ViewLake District, Cumbria, UK

From Barf summit we headed towards Lord's Seat - continuously looking back to the changing light behind us.

In the following two images, the summit of Barf is clearly visible in the shaded foreground.

By now the weather was closing in, and it was clearly raining in the distance.

The opportunities for photographs became more limited. Whilst the name Lord's Seat conjours up a summit of grandeur, it rather flatters to deceive. The summit cairn at Broom Fell is more impressive.

From this point we took a direct decent down the hillside, winding our way back to one of the cars for a shuttle run back to the tearoom.

For the full range of images from this walk please go to the gallery here.

Titchwell in September - Turnstone

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Thu, 03 Nov 2016 21:08:14 GMT

Titchwell in September - Turnstone

By far the most confiding bird on Titchwell beach was the Turnstone. It is also one of the most camouflaged birds amongst the rocks - so much so that I didn't realise quite how close some of the birds were until I was almost right on top of them. I also managed to get photos of other birds with Turnstones also in the frame, without realising they were there until I got home.

They are perfectly coloured to match their surroundings.

TurnstoneTitchwell Beach, Norfolk, UK

Some birds were so close it was hard to keep them within the frame.

TurnstoneTitchwell Beach, Norfolk, UK

It was quite tricky to get a "clean" image of these birds - one where the bird stands clearly against the background. I was quite pleased with this one.

TurnstoneTitchwell Beach, Norfolk, UK

For more Turnstone images please go to the Turnstone gallery here.

Snowy Egret

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Tue, 01 Nov 2016 17:24:27 GMT

Snowy Egret

I have still lots of photos to process from our trip to Florida at Easter. I have already posted a range of images of the Great Egret. So here are a few of its smaller cousin the Snowy Egret. Superficially similar to the Little Egret , which is found in the UK, the Snowy Egret is a smaller, more delicate bird than the Great Egret. It has characteristic black bill and black legs with bright yellow feet, plumes down the back of the head and a yellow loral spot before its eye, which turns red when breeding.

There were a number of Snowy Egrets at the Gatorland Rookery, although they were a lot fewer in number than the Great Egrets. A few birds were still on their nests incubating eggs.

I had to wait patiently to get a shot of the eggs as well, but eventually one bird stood up to stretch and turn the them.

Many of the birds had pink red lores.

For more Snowy Egret images please go to the gallery here.

Robinson, Knott Rigg and Ard Crags

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Mon, 31 Oct 2016 20:02:59 GMT

Robinson, Knott Rigg and Ard Crags

Returning to our April trip to the Lake District - on the Sunday we chose a walk that allowed two of the group to escape part way round as they needed to travel home - a steep climb from Little Town up to Robinson summit (737m), via High Snab Bank and Blea Crags, and down the other side to Newlands Hause (where we had one car parked for the quick escape) before a second climb to Knott Rigg (554m) and Ard Crags (581m). At this point, Richard and Paul returned to the car whilst the rest of us debated a third steep decent and climb up to Causey Pike. In the end we agreed to do that another day (which turned out to be in September) and walked along the ridge from Ard Crags and back down to Little Town - a total of 8 miles.

Whilst the weather was largely dry, with some drizzle on the way up Robinson, it was really quite dull weather wise. And parts of the climb up Robinson were quite steep, including one "moment" where we took a route that involved a very steep climb up a slippy grass slope, clinging to rocks for dear life. Looking back I therefore only have a limited number of photos from this walk. Most of these are of an increasing expansive view that opened up behind us as we climbed towards the summit of Robinson, with views over the Newlands Valley towards Skiddaw and Blencathra.

The view from the summit of Robinson itself is somewhat more limited. But as you go down the other side you get great views of Crummock Water and Loweswater.

By then though, the light was quite dull. And I have much better photos from a previous walk that included this part of the route (yet to be posted - coming soon).

After the climb down to Newland Hause, the climb up to Knott Rigg seemed quite steep - with the most unremarkable summit cairn I have ever seen - a pile of stones only a couple of inches tall. The walk along the ridge however, was quite spectacular. I would love to do this again in better light.

The peak middle left in the photos is Causey Pike. As you can see it would have been quite an effort to go down from here and back up to that summit!!

For more images from this walk please go to the Robinson gallery here.

Titchwell in September - Redshank

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Fri, 28 Oct 2016 18:57:25 GMT

Titchwell in September - Redshank

Once the tide went out the birds on the beach dispersed. So I decided to return to the reserve itself to see what was going on. The reserve looked completely different now, with the huge ponded areas at high tide being replaced a range of mudflats and channels. I photographed this Redshank as it fed along the exposed mud and shallows.

RedshankTitchwell, Norfolk, UK

More Redshank images can be found here.

Fairfield Horsehoe

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Thu, 27 Oct 2016 18:57:08 GMT

Fairfield Horseshoe

We normally reserve the Saturday for the biggest walk of the weekend, as everyone is staying over Saturday night and we can make the most of a long day. So back in April, we decided to use the Saturday to walk the Fairfield Horseshoe. One of the classic walks in the Lakes, as the name suggests, it is a horseshoe walk with the peak of Fairfield at its summit. Whilst I had reached Fairfield summit before, walking up from the Brotherswater Inn via Hart Crag and Dove Crag, I had never done the horseshoe. And whilst the walk took in the 3 Wainwrights I had been to before, it also allowed me to bag 5 more.

The full walk from Ambleside, in a clockwise direction, takes in Nab Scar (455m), Heron Pike (767m), Great Rigg (767m), Fairfield (873m), Hart Crag (822m), Dove Crag (792m), High Pike (612m) and Low Pike (507m) - we parked cars in two different locations, at the start and end of the walk, cutting out a stretch on the road - leaving a walk of 9.25 miles.

A pdf of this route can be found here.

The initial walk up to Nab Scar soon provides glorious views back towards Ambleside and Lake Windermere.

And Rydal water also soon comes into view.

And further along, the end of Grasmere also comes into view.

As you get higher, the view opens out behind you.

Before you reach the summit cairn of Nab Scar.

At this stage in the walk we were very lucky with the weather, with the sun and cloud producing lovely patterns on the surrounding fells.

As we walked higher, the view behind left now included Grasmere as well.

And as we went over Heron Pike towards Great Rigg, the Rydal Valley opened up to our right.

The summit of Great Rigg provides a wide vista including Windermere, Esthwaite Water and Coniston Water, and the sea beyond.

You can see from the above photo that the weather was starting to close in. The temperature dropped, and for a while we were treated to strong winds and an April hailstorm. As someone said, it was like drawing sandpaper down our faces!!

By the time we reached Fairfield summit I decided to keep my camera in my bag - I had after all got some images from this point before, in much better conditions. So if you are interested in the view from Fairfield summit, towards the Helvellyn range, and over St Sunday Crag and Dovedale, please use the link to the Fairfield gallery at the foot of this post.

Fairfield summit is a small diversion from the quickest route around the horseshoe. By the time we returned to this route, the light was better, with some stunning views down the Rydal Valley.

At this point, the shape of the horseshoe starts to become clear, and our route up Heron Pike and Great Rigg can be very clearly seen on the right.

Hart Crag lies further along the end of the horseshoe.

Light was streaming down the neighbouring Scandale valley.

We then reached Dove Crag, and the start of the route back (marked by the wall).

The route back takes you down the other side of the horseshoe, over High Pike and Low Pike, with the view of Lake Windermere getting closer and closer These final images are looking from High Pike down towards Low Pike (the latter requires a short scramble to get to the summit cairn).

This is a great walk and we had a thoroughly enjoyable day.

For more images from this walk please go to the Fairfield Horseshoe gallery here.

For images from my previous visit to Fairfield summit, please go to the Fairfield gallery here.

Titchwell in September - Knot

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Mon, 24 Oct 2016 18:20:21 GMT

Titchwell in September - Knot

One the most numerous birds on the beach at Titchwell was the Knot. Whilst I have seen Knot on numerous occasions, I didn't have any decent images of them. I was therefore delighted to get really quite close to these birds.

One of the first set of images I took on the beach was of 3 birds feeding along the shoreline, just as the sun came out.

KnotTitchwell Beach, Norfolk, UK

But again, I was interested in taking pictures of individual birds. They were quite camouflaged against the rocks and it was quite tricky to get them to stand out from their background. But some of the birds were particularly confiding, allowing me to get quite close. I spent so long kneeling on barnacles that I think my knee caps will never be the same again. But it was worth it!

KnotTitchwell Beach, Norfolk, UK

For lots more Knot images please go to the Knot gallery here.

Great Egrets - best of the rest

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Sat, 22 Oct 2016 12:36:20 GMT

Great Egrets - best of the rest

This final post of Great Egrets from Florida presents a range of images of these magnificent birds. Most are taken at Gatorland Rookery but the final few are taken from Clearwater Pier following a day on the beach.

These first images show preening activity.

One of a very few flight shots (shame I just clipped the feet!)

A couple of images of a young Great Egret as it left the nest for the first time.

And a pair of Great Egrets tending a nest whilst their chicks sleep.

It was a lovely sunny day when we went to Clearwater Beach. The sky provided a bright blue background as this bird sat on the edge of Clearwater Pier.

There were a couple of egrets flying around the pier.

And finally, a more subtly lit image, helped by the fact the Egret sat in the shade of the buildings on Clearwater Pier.

The Great Egret really is an elegant bird - I hope you have enjoyed these images as much as I enjoyed taking them.

For these, and lots more Great Egret images please go to the relevant gallery here.

Titchwell in September - Bar Tailed Godwit

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Thu, 20 Oct 2016 20:00:17 GMT

Titchwell in September - Bar Tailed Godwit

One of the species I was able to get quite close to on Titchwell Beach was the Bar Tailed Godwit. There were a number of birds in and amongst a bigger flock of waders. I had to move very carefully across the barnacle covered rocks to get close. Having the lens mounted on a monopod is really useful in these circumstances.

I was able to capture group shots, like the three birds below.

But I was particular keen to isolate individual birds as they fed in the pools along the shore.

For more images of these birds please go to the Wading Birds Gallery.

Eagle Crag, Sergeant Crag, High Raise & Ullscarth

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Wed, 19 Oct 2016 20:06:48 GMT

Eagle Crag, Sergeant Crag, High Raise & Ullscarth

We're now going back to the spring of this year for the first of what have become my 3 annual long weekends in the Lake district. Two of these trips are with current and former work friends, with eight of us sharing a house for between 3 and 5 days walking, eating and drinking single malt whisky! On the first day, 4 of us travel up early and do a relatively challenging walk before meeting the others in the evening.

I had bought a new toy for this trip, a Suunto Ambit Peak 3 watch, that can both record, and help me navigate, a walk like this. Coupled with my Viewranger App on my Galaxy Note 4, I planned to add the actual route I had walked, shown on an OS Map, to this blog - well that was the plan anyway.

On this first walk, I spent a lot of time trying to work out exactly what my watch was doing, and in switching between recording and navigating, managed to turn the recording off completely!! Never mind - at least I was recoding it on my phone?

That was true, until half way round I had an experience that I had never had before in the Lakes. Walking along a seemingly normal grassy path, I suddenly disappeared down to my waist in muddy water!! It wasn't even an obvious boggy patch (there are plenty of those in the Lakes), nor an obvious quaking bog like the one that nearly claimed me completely onced in Connemara National Park in Ireland. No this was just a path.

But unfortunately, my phone was in my thigh pocket - and didn't survive the experience. So I have no record of the route - not even my planned route is accurate because we diverted off this towards the end - but watch this space - next time I hope to be able to show the route as well!!

Anyway, this walk was a the head of Borrowdale, starting at Stonethwaite village - a walk along the valley, then a steep climb up to Eagle Crag (525m), Sergeant Man (571m) and High Raise (762m) and then round to Ullscarth (726m) and back down to Stonethwaite village - a total of 9.5 miles of very enjoyable walking. Here are a few photos from the walk.

These first images show the developing view back down Borrowdale as we climbed steeply up Eagle Crag.

As we climbed up Eagle Crag the light came streaming sown the Langstrath Valley to our right (the valley in the bottom left corner above).

We reached the summit of Eagle Crag

and shortly afterwards Sergeant Crag a little further on.

From there we headed to the high point on our route, High Raise. Looking back the light played nicely across the fells behind us. Bassenthwaite Lake can be seen in the background with the slopes of the Skiddaw range standing proudly to the right.

A stone pillar marks the summit of High Raise.

The sun and cloud played lovely patterns on the surrounding fells.

And as we descended from the rather unremarkable summit of Ullscarth, the view really opened up, with Watendlath Tarn, Derwent Water and Bassenthwaite Lake lining up in front of us.

For more images from this walk please go to the gallery here.

Titchwell in September - Curlew & Oystercatcher

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Tue, 18 Oct 2016 17:38:52 GMT

Titchwell in September - Oystercatcher & Curlew

My first visit to the beach proved fruitless as it was still completely covered with water. But later in the morning I revisited and the tide was part way out - the beach at Titchwell is quite flat and it was quite a long way down to the water's edge. I decided to see how close I could get to the birds I could see in the distance.

My trip down to the water's edge proved very successful. As the tide went out, various rocks and pools became uncovered, providing feeding ares for a variety of wading birds. With a slow careful approach I got closer and closer.

Two of the larger species on the shoreline were Oystercatcher & Curlew. Unfortunately, they were also two of the more nervous species, with the call of the Oystercatchers in particular, causing a steady procession of birds away from me as I approached.

I had to approach very carefully to get anywhere near these birds, keeping as low as possible, pausing from time to time. But eventually I got a few images I was pleased with.

The Curlew on the beach were equally nervous, and I had to be satisfied with fairly distant shots.

CurlewTitchwell Beach, Norfolk, UK

Curlew pairTitchwell Beach, Norfolk, UK

Later in the day though , I was able to get closer images from one of the hides on the reserve itself.

CurlewTitchwell, Norfolk, UK

I was particularly pleased with this one.

Back on the beach my attention turned to other species........

Titchwell in September

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Mon, 17 Oct 2016 19:07:16 GMT

Titchwell in September - part 1

I still have loads of images to process from Florida, and I will continue to post them regularly. But I have taken lots of other photos this year too (plus have some from last year as well). So I have decided to mix things up a bit and post some more recent photos in between the older ones.

Having had a very successful trip to Norfolk back in May, I was looking forward to an opportunity to visit again. Whilst there a number of sites I like to visit, my favourite is Titchwell, because of the variety of birds within photographable range, particularly now I have the 150-600mm lens. I used to visit every September, to celebrate my birthday, but work committments have recently got in the way. But an opportunity came up this year, for a full Sunday of photography, coinciding with some very high tides. So I decided to visit Titchwell to see what I could find.

The weather had been very mixed indeed. On the preceding Friday I spent a few hours sat in a hide at Rutland Water in torrential rain, admiring the tenacity of a Grey Heron, but getting very little in the way of decent photos. The forecast for the Sunday was much better, so I travelled early, timing my arrival to coincide with the early morning high tide.

High spring tides along the Norfolk coast are quite spectacular. At Titchwell the beach completely disappears, and half the reserve (the saltwater half, on the seaward side of the flood defence wall) floods with seawater. In some respects this makes photography quite tricky, as it pushes a lot of birds to the middle of the lagoons, well out of reach of a camera. But it has its benefits as the tide goes out.

In the meantime I took a few images from one of the hides, and from along the raised path that takes you straight through the reserve to the beach. Unfortunately, the light at this time was quite dull, but it was very still indeed.

This male Gadwall was one of a small group sat outside the Island Hide.

Male GadwallTitchwell, Norfolk, UK

As I walked along the main path I spotted this Snipe skulking amongst the undergrowth.

SnipeTitchwell, Norfolk, UK

Further along the main path, one of the lagoons had almost completely filled with saltwater, leaving just one small patch of vegetation, not far from the path. At first, I didn't see anything, but fortunately I then saw movement - a beautiful Black Tailed Godwit.

It was still early in the day, and it was still quite dull, but I was quite pleased with the images so far. So I headed for the beach to see what I could find.

Great Egrets - part 4

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Thu, 13 Oct 2016 20:31:47 GMT

More Great Egrets

There were lots of opportunities to photograph interaction between the Great Egrets and their chicks. And a range of birds - some really very close and some more distant, that allowed a range of compositions.

I hope you are enjoying these Great Egret images - there are still more to come!!

Great Egrets - part 3

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Sat, 10 Sep 2016 22:02:05 GMT

Great Egret chicks

There were also quite a few Great Egret chicks around. Two in particular were on a nest really close to the main boardwalk. Whilst the parents were away getting food, I was able to get a few close up shots of these youngsters.

The parents were always close at hand, allowing some nice family shots as well.

Great Egret with chicks

Great Egret with chicks Great Egret with chicks

Great Egret with chicks

I particularly like this shot and the eye contact between the adult and its chick as it feeds.

Great Egret with chicks

More to come soon....

Norfolk - the best of the rest

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Thu, 11 Aug 2016 18:32:15 GMT

Norfolk- the best of the rest

Early in the day, at Cley Marshes, the light was very poor. I did manage to capture a picture of this Lapwing as it walked some way in front of one of the new hides.

LapwingCley Marshes, Norfolk, UK

I also managed a quick shot of this Coot with its chick.

Coot with chickTitchwell, Norfolk, UK

This shot of a Moorhen was taken at Titchwell, later in the day.

MoorhenTitchwell, Norfolk, UK

On arriving at Titchwell, the weather was really quite dull. So after a quick look in each of the hides I made my way to the beach to see what I could find there.

By comparison to other visits, the beach was very quiet. I was however, able to approach a solitary Little Egret - again significantly aided by the Sigma 150-600mm lens. Slowly making my way to position myself between the bird and the sea, allowed me to get quite close.

It seems a shame to finish on images taken in such dull light. So here are a couple more Avocet images to complete the set.

AvocetTitchwell, Norfolk, UK

Great Egrets - part 2

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 18:48:28 GMT

Great Egrets - nesting

One of the things about a visit to Gatorland Rookery at the end of March / beginning of April, rather than in February, is that it is further through the breeding season. This means that more nests are built, more eggs layed, more chicks are born and those chicks that have been born are bigger. This produces a huge range of potential photo opportunities.

This set of images is of birds building, sitting on or tending their nests.

This bird was still collecting nesting material. I love the way it has spread its plume of feathers.

Other birds were sitting on eggs.

I waited quite a while for this bird to stand up and tend its eggs.

But other birds gave me much better images of the nest tending, clearly showing their turquoise blue eggs.

More Great Egret shots to come soon.......

Cattle Egrets

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Mon, 01 Aug 2016 20:57:52 GMT

Cattle Egrets

Looking back tour trip to Florida in 2012 I was surprised that I only came away with 3 images of Cattle Egrets. Whilst I had two trips to Gatorland Rookery on this trip rather than one, I took considerably more photos of these birds. Much smaller than a Great Egret, and squatter and stockier than a Snow Egret, the Cattle Egret is quite a handsome bird, with characteristic orange plume and chest and bright pink legs.

The light on both visits to the rookery was quite variable, making flight shots quite tricky. I was however, lucky enough to capture these two images of a Cattle Egret in flight.

One bird in a particular caught my attention, as it collected sticks and other vegetation to build its nest.

They look very proud birds as they stand on top of the bushes, surveying all around.

For more Cattle Egret images from this visit please go to the relevant gallery here.

Great Egrets - part 1

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Tue, 19 Jul 2016 17:48:47 GMT

Great Egrets - part 1

The Anhinga was not the only bird at the bottom of the garden.

On the very first morning I looked out from the house and was delighted to see a Great Egret walking along the edge of the pond. I quickly but calmly walked around the side of the house to see if I could get a couple of photos - I was delighted to find that the bird allowed me to get quite close. The light was quite dull that morning and, unlike the Anhinga, this particular bird didn't come back. But I was pleased with the images I got on that first morning - hoping for better at other locations later in the holiday.

Great EgretKissimmee, Florida, USA

These were not the only Great Egret shots of the holiday by a long way! On our previous family trip to Florida I had made one early morning visit to Gatorland Bird Rookery. This year I had a pass out for two!!

Gatorland itself is a theme park with, as the name suggests, alligators being the main attraction. Whilst this does make for a good family day out, the real attraction is the bird rookery. Since the early 1990s a variety of birds have come to this area to nest. Unlike the alligators, the birds are all completely wild, and free to come and go as they please. But they have learned that this is a safe place to nest and so come back year after year. Gatorland understand the needs of photographers and you can buy a variety of passes to the rookery outside of normal park opening hours - not only is this much quieter, but, being at either end of the day, the light is much better. You can get remarkably close to the birds!

I was lucky enough to pay two early morning visits - I took literally hundreds (probably thousands) of photos. It was interesting to see that the range of species was different to last time - whether this was a reflection of the different years or of the time of year - I don't know. This visit was in March/ April, and our last one was in February - this certainly meant I was visiting slightly further into the breeding season. There were a couple of species that were present in much larger numbers than before.

But one bird that was common on both trips was the magnificent Great Egret. The male and female birds are very similar. In breeding season they sport feathery plumes and their lores (the area near the base of the beak) go green.

I have a lot of Great Egret images from Gatorland Rookery. I will spread them across a number of different posts, starting with a few simple portraits below.

I will post further images of Great Egrets, including chicks, adults interacton with chicks, nest shots and flight shots, in subsequent posts.

Anhinga

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Sun, 17 Jul 2016 08:09:07 GMT

Bird at the bottom of the Garden

One of the reasons I was attracted to our rental house in Florida was that it is next to a Lake. I was hoping there might be opportunities for photographs without actually wandering much further than the end of the garden.

To describe it as the bottom of the garden is slightly misleading. As can be seen below, the property itself had a lovely pool and outside area, all surrounded, as most similar properties are, by protective mesh to keep the insects (and alligators) out! It was however, possible to walk down the side of the house and down to the water's edge!

On the very first morning, when I walked down to the water's edge I found a bird to photograph. Just to the right of the edge of the second photo, sat an Anhinga drying its wings. Although the light was dull I took quite a few images as I didn't know whether or not it would return. As it happened it was there most mornings so I was able to photograph it in much better light.

AnhingaKissimmee, Florida, USA

AnhingaKissimmee, Florida, USA AnhingaKissimmee, Florida, USA

I was also able to photograph Anhinga during one of my visits to Gatorland Bird Rookery (more of that later). This male in full breeding plumage looked quite majestic against the blue sky.

AnhingaGatorland, Orlando, Florida, USA AnhingaGatorland, Orlando, Florida, USA

But it was the bird at the end of the garden that I particularly enjoyed photographing!

AnhingaKissimmee, Florida, USA

As a footnote to this blog I must mention what we heard on the final morning of our holiday. I was always very wary walking down to the lake because of the potential for Alligators. On several mornings I did hear a grunting noise in the bushes, but it sounded more like a big frog. In any case I kept my distance!!

Anyway on the last day, the pool cleaner came to clean the pool. He said that there is quite often an 11 foot alligator that sits out on that bank - right where I had been taking my photos!!

Food for thought!!!

On reviewing my photos I was interested to note that I only took 3 images of Anhingas on our first visit to Florida. So I was pleased to get these shots, and others. All these photos can be found in the Anhinga gallery here.

Avocets - June 2016 - part 2

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Wed, 13 Jul 2016 16:28:24 GMT

Avocets - part 2

Back to my trip to Norfolk......

As well as photographing Avocets feeding, I was able to capture some other behaviour too. I photographed this individual bird preening in front of the Parrinder Hide. As the sun came down, the water took on a lovely pink / blue colour.

AvocetTitchwell, Norfolk, UK

I was fortunate to capture the bird when it shook its feathers too.

AvocetTitchwell, Norfolk, UK

But some of my favourite images were taken from the Island Hide.

AvocetTitchwell, Norfolk, UK

Where I was able to capture this pair of Avocets mating in the early evening light.

Avocets matingTitchwell, Norfolk, UK

A great end to a great day!

For more images of these Avocets, please go to the Wading Birds gallery.

Florida Birds

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Fri, 08 Jul 2016 19:04:39 GMT

A taster of Florida's Fabulous Birds

We had been looking forwards to Easter 2016 for a very long time - not only was this Easter a break from work and school, but it was our second family trip of a lifetime to Walt Disney World in Florida!! Our first trip, in 2012, had been fantastic - and this time we were going with Rachel's sister and family, and including Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure as well. I have to admit I was as excited as the kids, if not more so (I am after all just a big kid at heart). But I had a second reason to be excited - Florida is a great place for bird photography! And of course, being along way from the UK, it provides great opportunities to photograph birds you cannot see at home at all, as well as the ability to get close to some species that would be very difficult to approach here.

I was not to be disappointed! Even though this was a family holiday, I ended up taking 1000s of photos, covering over 25 different species of birds, many of which will appear in posts over the coming days and weeks. This first post provides just a taster of the range of images to come.

From the birds of Gatorland Bird Rookery, like the magnificent Great Egret

Great Egret with chicks

its smaller relative the Cattle Egret

and the elegant Tri Colored Heron

to the birds of Clearwater Beach, like this Laughing Gull

the Royal Terns

and the Willet

WilletClearwater Beach, Florida, USA

Some birds were found in more general, often surprising locations. Like the Anhinga at the bottom of the garden.

AnhingaKissimmee, Florida, USA

the Northern Cardinals found around the Walt Disney Parks

Northern Cardinal

and the Grey Catbird in a car park.

The great thing was that the trip provided opportunity to get close to, and to photograph, some quite spectacular birds.

Like this Brown Pelican on Clearwater Pier

this Black Vulture - just where do you get this close to Birds of Prey in the UK?

Black VultureGatorland, Florida, USA

and best of all, the Ospreys that were found nearly anywhere near water.

OspreyGatorland, Florida, USA

Our trip to Florida was before I bought my new camera and lens, so all these Florida bird images are taken with my trusty Canon EOS7D Mark I and 100-400 IS lens. They went practically everywhere with me, for what will become obvious reasons.

We had an amazing family holiday. Walt Disney World was every bit as good as we remembered, whilst Universal Studios and Island of Adventures took things to new heights.

But the bird photography wasn't bad either. Goodness knows what images I could have taken if I wasn't just fitting them in around rollercoasters and rapids!!

I will intersperse my posts from Florida, with images taken in the UK at the end of last year and the beginning of this. I hope you enjoy them!

Gadwall

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 20:37:38 GMT

Gadwall

As well as waders and LBJs a visit to Titchwell provides the opportunity to photograph ducks. A number of sea ducks can be seen off shore , particularly in winter. But within the reserve, and often quite close to the hides, you can see other ducks too. One of my favourite ducks is the Gadwall. Nominally quite a dull bird, the males in particular are quite handsome. Despite the variable light, on this particular trip I was able to get one or two images I was quite pleased with.

GadwallTitchwell, Norfolk, UK

GadwallTitchwell, Norfolk, UK

GadwallTitchwell, Norfolk, UK

For more images, of both Gadwall and other ducks, please go to the Ducks gallery.

Redshank

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Mon, 04 Jul 2016 20:09:54 GMT

Redshank

One of my favourite of the British wading birds is the Redshank. Its bright red legs and bright red bill make it a very handsome bird, and also make identification quite easy. On this particular trip to Titchwell, there was just one solitary bird outside the new Parrinder Hide. I have seen, and photographed, birds much closer than this one, but I was against delighted that my new lens brought it into photographic range. I was also fortunate that the light was quite good, and the air quite still - with distant birds, a reflection will double the size of the image in the frame!

RedshankTitchwell, Norfolk, UK

As I'm still exploring the new lens, these images, all taken at 600mm, are not cropped. Arguably they would benefit from a little cropping, and there are some edited versions in the Wading Birds gallery for comparison. It is safe to say though, that I continue to be impressed with the Sigma 150-600mm Sport lens.

Avocets - June 2016 - part 1

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Sat, 02 Jul 2016 10:28:10 GMT

Avocets - part 1

By far the majority of the photos I took at Titchwell were of Avocets. I love these magnificent birds, once really quite rare, but now a common sight on the reserve and many other locations too. There were a few pairs of birds in front of both of the main hides, but they were particularly close to the Island Hide. Whilst I again benefitted from the 600mm end of my lens bringing some birds into range, I also had to zoom out on quite a few occasions and take images at 400mm and even 300mm at times ( you can't do that with a prime lens!).

I love the way Avocets feed by swishing their curved beaks from side to side, although it can make photographing them quite tricky - step up the 65 focussing points and ultra fast focussing of the Canon EOS 7D Mark II. The other tricky thing is the fact they are predominantly white birds, but with a black eye in a black head - a test for any exposure system.

The light was quite dull when I first arrived but soon brightened up, and became really quite beautiful as the sun went down. The variety of lighting conditions allowed a variety of images.

At first the light was quite dull. This helped with contrast and gave a softer feel to the images.

AvocetTitchwell, Norfolk, UK

Later in the day the sun came out, giving brighter images, including some nice reflections.

AvocetTitchwell, Norfolk, UK

AvocetTitchwell, Norfolk, UK It was great being so close to these spectacular birds. But it wasn't just feeding behaviour I was able to photograph.

Continued in part 2......

Little Brown Jobs

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Tue, 28 Jun 2016 18:37:10 GMT

Little Brown Jobs

When I was growing up there was a group of birds which my family called LBJs - Little Brown Jobs - small birds, often brown or green brown in colour, covering many of the species of pipits, larks and warblers found in this country. We used the term LBJ when we were struggling to identify them specifically. My trip to Norfolk provided me with the opportunity to try out my new lens photographing two of these LBJs - although both are actually quite distinctive birds in their own right.

The first of these birds was the Meadow Pipit. There were several of these birds at Salthouse early in the day. They all managed to stay the other side of water filled ditches, but with a steady approach they allowed me quite close, and certainly close enough for some decent shots at 600mm on the crop sensor of the EOS 7D Mark II. The light wasn't particularly good - but somehow this actually complimented the colours of the birds.

Meadow PipitSalthouse, Norfolk, UK

The second of the birds is actually quite easy to identify - much easier than most of the LBJs. I found this male Reed Bunting singing on top of the bushes alongside the main path at Titchwell RSPB reserve. When I first saw him the light was still quite dull. As ever, it was difficult to get a black eye to stand out from the black face of this handsome bird.

Male Reed BuntingTitchwell, Norfolk, UK

Later in the day, the sun came out, adding a different feel to the photos, especially as I was photographing against the light.

Male Reed BuntingTitchwell, Norfolk, UK

I can't emphasise enough the difference the new lens makes in getting close to these small birds. Coupled with the focusing of the EOS 7D Mark II, it makes these images a lot easier to achieve. It seems like a great combination and I am very excited!

For more shots of these birds, please see the Pipits & Larks and Buntings galleries respectively.

Canon EOS 7D Mark II

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Tue, 21 Jun 2016 19:53:45 GMT

First shots with my Canon EOS 7D Mark II

As I mentioned in an earlier post, as well as trying out my new lens, I was eagerly awaiting my new Canon EOS 7D Mark II. I have used the Mark I for quite a while now - it's a great camera. But I was drawn by the potential to upgrade, particularly reports of more focussing points and improved autofocusing, 10 frames a second and reduced image noise. So I was very excited about the opportunity to take a trip to some of my favourite haunts in Norfolk with my new set up - EOS 7D Mark II and Sigma 150-600mm Sport lens.

The weather in Norfolk didn't really understand how excited I was, and it took most of the day to produce any kind of decent light at all. Overall though, I was really pleased with the results which I will include over a number of posts. This first post is a taster, showing the variety of species I photographed in the day.

I am not an expert in any way and I will not attempt to give any kind of proper review of the camera or lens. Suffice to say, I am very impressed with both - I would go so far as saying they could revolutionise my wildlife photography. And I still have my original Mark I and 100-400mm setup as well.

I started along the coastal strip at Salthouse. I have previously found some confiding wading birds in the pools behind the shingle bank - but on this occasion I was out of luck. I decided to focus my attention on much smaller birds, and really test out the reach of my new lens.

I spent quite a while photographing Meadow Pipits. In this first image, the bird is quite small in the frame. But I include it as it was the very first image I took with the new set up. It therefore has some sentimental value, and is certainly an image I couldn't have taken at 400mm, being across a deep, water filled ditch.

Meadow PipitSalthouse, Norfolk, UK

With patience, and after watching the behaviour of the birds for a while, I was able to get a lot closer, still photographing across a ditch.

Meadow PipitSalthouse, Norfolk, UK

This male Linnet was also quite confiding, flitting around a bush with it's mate. I decided to leave them alone though as this was obviously their nest site.

LinnetSalthouse, Norfolk, UK

My next stop was Cley Marshes - but the light was so dull I didn't get any images I was really pleased with. I photographed this Lapwing from one of the new hides - again a shot made possible because of the new lens.

LapwingCley Marshes, Norfolk, UK

With the light not getting any better at Cley, I decided to head back up the coast to my favourite location - Titchwell RSPB reserve.

For the first hour or so the light remained dull. I managed a few images of a Little Egret by carefully stalking it along the beach.

And I was particularly pleased to get some close up images of a Reed Bunting.

Male Reed BuntingTitchwell, Norfolk, UK

But after a while, the light really picked up and I was blessed with a glorious evening!!

I was able to photograph the Gadwall from both the main hides on the reserve, but also from along the main path.

GadwallTitchwell, Norfolk, UK

I love the lighting on this Redshank, taken from the Parrinder Hide.

RedshankTitchwell, Norfolk, UK

I was fortunate to get a second chance to photograph the Reed Bunting, this time against the evening light.

Male Reed BuntingTitchwell, Norfolk, UK

But I spent a lot of the time photographing the Avocets, testing out the AI Servo tracking and autofocus of the 7D Mark II - it is brilliant.

AvocetTitchwell, Norfolk, UK

Avocets matingTitchwell, Norfolk, UK

I had a really enjoyable day in Norfolk, especially when the light improved. I will post a lot more images from the trip in upcoming posts.

The new setup is great. The extra reach of the lens at 600m really makes a difference. The 7D Mark II's additional focussing points really help with composition, and the speed of autofocus is amazing. One additional bonus is that the Mark II has dual card slots, allowing you to save images to both Compact Flash and SD cards. On this occasion I used them separately, significantly increasing the number of photos I could take. This is especially useful when you are shooting at 10 frames a second!! And, importantly, the images are bright and clean, a definite improvement on the 7D Mark I!

Overall I am really excited about the opportunities my new camera and lens will bring.

My first photos with the Sigma 150-600mm sport

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Sat, 21 May 2016 15:14:18 GMT

My first photos with the Sigma 150-600mm sport

I am very excited about my photography this year. After a great trip to Florida at Easter (more of that later) I have finally settled on the way to spend some money that has been burning a hole in my pocket for some time. Overall I have decided to upgrade to an EOS 7D Mark II with Sigma 150-600mm sport, whilst at the same time keeping my EOS 7D Mark I and Canon 100-400mm lens. The Sigma reviews very well but is also very heavy - keeping my current set up allows me to continue to use it as my "carry round" kit (for example it travelled round 8 theme parks in Florida). I recently realised I could finance all of this by trading in some equipment I have had sitting around unused for a while.

The lens arrived first, and immediately I realised I had made the right choice. It is a heavy lens and I will need to revert to my old Lowepro Pro Trekker rucksack to carry it around attached to a camera. I think I may also need to buy a new tripod and go the gym!!

I was very keen to try it out. So I gambled on the forecast being wrong and travelled to Frampton Marsh RSPB reserve - a reserve where I could test out exactly how much extra reach 600mm will give me. The first decision I had to make was how to support the new lens. I had already decided to add the strap that comes with the lens (and consequently removed the one from my camera to stop it getting in the way). The overall combination of my Uniloc 1600 major system tripod, Lensmaster Gimbal, lens and camera (Mark I) seemed quite heavy. So I opted for the gimbal and my manfrotto 681b monopod, with a bean bag over my shoulder for use in the hides.

Fortunately the forecast was very wrong and I had almost completely blue skies. I spent the first hour or so getting used to the setup, snapping distant birds just to see how big they were in the frame. And I spent quite a while unsuccessfully following a sedge warbler up and down a path outside the main hide.

My luck improved with a visit round to the East Hide, where the early morning light is often very good.

The first bird that came within reasonable distance was a Little Egret - fishing along a drainage ditch out the back of the hide.

The three images above have been cropped very slightly for reframing. The rest show the genuine reach of the 600mm lens.

I was really delighted when a Ringed Plover decided to feed in front of the hide.

Back at the main hide I was able to test out the lens on a Mute Swan and Male Shoveler.

I was still keen to capture one of the smaller birds singing in the reeds. Using the monopod gave me a lot more flexibility to move around than if I had been using a tripod. With care and a slow approach, I was able to get quite close to this Reed Warbler skulking in the reeds. I had to use manual focus to start with to make sure I focused on the bird and not the reeds.

It was only short visit to Frampton, but I was very pleased with my initial results. I think the lens , gimbal and monopod option works very well. And I can't wait to add the Canon EOS 7D Mark II to the setup.

Dordogne Butterflies part 1

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Mon, 26 Oct 2015 21:33:47 GMT

Dordogne Butterflies - part 1

For the past two years we've spent our summer holidays camping in the Dordogne. This is very much a family holiday, with friends, and not a photographic trip by any imagination. The fortnight generally involves lots of eating, drinking and relaxing, and playing with the kids in the pool and on the water slides. But, as always, I take my camera equipment just in case (and of course to photograph the kids!)

Last year's trip produced very little in the way of wildlife photography, apart from a few unsuccessful attempts to photograph Nuthatches and Treecreepers around our tent. On the very last morning though, I got up early and decided to wander down to the fishing lake to see what I could find.

It was a beautiful still morning as I strolled around the wildflower meadow at the end of the lake. As the sun came up I suddenly discovered I was surrounded by butterflies - but not just butterflies, three species of fritillary that I hadn't even seen before, let alone photographed.

I ended up being slightly later back than I had promised............

One of the first butterflies I photographed was the Knapweed Fritillary - a striking butterfly both with its wings closed and with them open.

The Meadow Fritillary is slightly smaller butterfly, with less variability in colour on its upper wings.

But the butterfly that made me late back was the Spotted Fritillary. I took a couple of images of Spotted Fritillaries with their wings open (see gallery using the link below) but unfortunately one had an antennae missing and another a damaged wing.

But my favourite images of the session were of a Spotted Fritillary sitting on top of a flower head. It sat perfectly still, allowing a close approach and different compositions - and made me a very happy photographer!

I had a great time that morning, and vowed that if we returned to the campsite, I wouldn't leave it until the last morning before I visited this area again!

For more images from this session please go to the Fritillary gallery here.

Skomer Sunset

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Sun, 18 Oct 2015 20:06:51 GMT

Skomer Sunset

After chasing the Choughs for a couple of hours (see previous post) I decided to stay on the headland for sunset. The main view looking out to sea was dominated by Skomer Island itself, set against big brooding skies and silhouetted against the early evening light.

Looking along the mainland, the evening light also resulted in some pleasing views.

And in the other direction, there were lovely moody views over St Brides Bay.

I love it as the light keeps changing as the sun goes down. Using different focal lengths I was able to capture one or two different compositions.

A tanker anchored in St Brides Bay provided some additional foreground interest.

But it was ultimately the views of Skomer Island itself that will linger long in the memory.

For more images from this evening's shoot please go to the Skomer Island gallery here.

Skomer Puffins - part 2

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Fri, 16 Oct 2015 18:25:14 GMT

Skomer Puffins - part 2

Every day the Puffins on Skomer run the gauntlet as they come into land and take food to their burrows. And as the chicks get older they venture out, and they too run the risk of being caught by their main predators - Herring Gulls and Lesser Black Backed Gulls.

On the morning of the second day I witnessed this daily battle first hand. I was able to capture a few images of a Herring Gull catching and taking a Puffin chick out of the mouth of burrow. Apparently it is quite unusual to see this close up.

Not everyone's cup of tea I know, and the harsh light made photography quite difficult. But for me, this is nature in action, and I actually feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to take these photos. The gull will, after all, have a family to feed as well!

Skomer provides ample opportunity for a range of other Puffin images too.

For more Puffin images from this trip and others to both Skomer and elsewhere, please go the to Puffins gallery here.

Grayling & Chough

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Tue, 13 Oct 2015 21:00:26 GMT

Grayling & Chough

Having spent the evening of Day 1 at Marloes Sands I thought I would try somewhere different for my second evening. So after driving a reasonable distance to find the nearest fish and chip shop, I returned to the peninsula opposite Skomer island itself to see what I could find.

The headland, which includes Wooltack Point, offers great views of Skomer Island itself (more of those later). But it also allowed me the opportunity to photograph two species of wildlife I hadn't photographed before.

The first of these was a butterfly - the Grayling. One of the less colourful species, it's mottled wings blended in very well with the surrounding vegetation, making it well camouflaged. There were a few Grayling around, all of which insisted on staying very close to the ground. But they did stay still enough for me to take a couple of shots, all hand held using the brilliant Canon 100 mm F2.8 macro lens.

But I spent the bulk of the remaining daylight hours chasing a speciality of the region - the unmistakable Chough!!

You are supposed to be able to see Chough on Skomer island itself, but I didn't see a single one during my two day visits. However, there were four or five birds just across the water on the mainland. They are quite shy birds and it took quite a lot of patience getting close to them. And they were very wary when I approached with the light behind me. As with many black birds, the key is to get a catch light in the eye, otherwise it disappears completely!

One juvenile bird was particularly noisy, calling constantly for food. I managed to get a couple of images of this bird and the attendant adult birds that were dutifully always nearby.

Skomer Puffins - part 1

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Mon, 12 Oct 2015 20:07:04 GMT

Skomer Puffins - part 1

Back to my 3 day trip to Pembrokeshire last year. Just to recap, I had planned to spend my first day on the island of Skomer, but I arrived to find that the boats weren't sailing. So I travelled inland to Gigrin Farm and had a fantastic afternoon photographing Red Kites, before travelling back to the coast to photograph the sunset on Marloes Sands (see previous posts).

I was delighted to find that the Skomer boats were running on Days 2 and 3.

There is one main target species when you visit Skomer - the Puffin. They can be seen at various points around the island but the best place to see them is the Wick. Here you can get really close, photographing the birds both on the cliff edge and as they move to and from their burrows. As I was visiting in early July I was also lucky enough to see one of two chicks.

I was able to get a range of images, from simple portraits to birds preening, and of course a few shots with Sand Eels, and even Herring. The burrows were covered in daisies, which I find a lot more photogenic than the rocks you find in places like the Farne Islands.

I am reliably informed that this bird has caught a Herring.

A Taste of Images to Come

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Tue, 01 Sep 2015 21:17:35 GMT

A Taste of Images to Come

Whilst it's a while since I have posted to my blog, my passion for photography is still as great as ever and I continue to take photos on a regular basis. My backlog of images is getting bigger and bigger, stretching back to the summer of 2014. So I thought I would post a few sample images to give a taste of what's to come.

More images from my trip to Pembrokeshire last year.....

Butterflies from two trips to the Dordogne....

Spotted FritillaryDordogne, France

Ducks and wading birds from Norfolk.........

Landscape images from several trips to the Lake District.......

Damselflies and flowers from my local patch.......

UK Butterflies............

And my favourite images of all.

Male and female Kestrel......

Female KestrelWorcestershire, UK

Kingfisher......

And a very close encounter with a Little Owl......

So lots to come - watch this space!!!

Marloes Sands - part 3

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Fri, 24 Jul 2015 20:26:34 GMT

Marloes Sands - part 3

It is often worth hanging around after sunset, as the light, and therefore the colours, can change quite quickly and can make some interesting photos. Rather than the red of a stunning sunset, the dominant colour was blue. I am quite pleased with the resulting images.

Just before it got dark, the wind picked up a little, moving the clouds across the sky quite quickly. I love the way the mottled sky reflected in the pools of water on the beach.

It was a great end to a great day - Red Kites & Sunsets - and this was just Day 1 of my trip to Pembrokeshire!!

For lots more images from Marloes Sands (69 in total) please go to the Marloes Sands gallery here.

Marloes Sands - part 2

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Tue, 16 Jun 2015 21:24:01 GMT

Marloes Sands - part 2

As the sun set I wandered around the beach looking for different compositions. Although the sunset was muted, I was still able to get some shots I am quite pleased with. The sea was a long way out, leaving some puddles stranded a long way up the beach.

But my favourite views included the layers of rocks that protruded into the sea. I was able to get a number of different compositions from essentially the same view.

I love the mood of these images. The cliff faces and rocks in the middle look like pencil drawings.

Marloes Sands - part 1

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Sat, 13 Jun 2015 18:19:39 GMT

Marloes Sands - part 1

I still have a huge backlog of photos to post on my website. So having posted lots of garden bird photos taken this year, it's time to return to my 3 day trip to Pembrokeshire last year. Those who read my blog regularly, will recall that I travelled all the way to Pembrokeshire last year to find that the boat to Skomer Island had been cancelled because of high winds. So I pitched my tent and then travelled in land to photograph Red Kites at Gigrin Farm - please see previous posts and the Owls & Raptors gallery for these images.

It was early evening when I finished at Gigrin Farm, having had a great afternoon. I had always planned to try and get some sunset photos in the evening, so I travelled back to the coast - after all my tent was there and I still planned to go to Skomer the next day. I love taking sunset photos and a visit to Pembrokeshire seemed likely to provide some great opportunities - after all it faces west. So I decided to visit Marloes Sands, not far from my campsite.

When taking any kind of landscape photo, you are obviously reliant on the weather. And when you visit a new location you never really know what you are going to get until you great there (although prior investigation using maps, the internet etc can help). And when photographing coastal sunsets you are also reliant on the tides doing the right thing.

My overall memory of my evening on Marloes Sands is mixed. The sun started to disappear behind a big bank of cloud as soon as I arrived, and from my position on the beach, seemed like it would set behind the islands just off the coast anyway. But there is something very relaxing about being on a secluded beach as the sun goes down. And whilst there was no stunning sunset, there was quite a lot of interesting cloud in the sky, and a lot of interesting rock formations on the beach. And the light as the sun set had a lovely blue hue to it - so overall I am very pleased with the photos I took - with nearly 70 images that will appear on this website.

These first set of images shows the beach in early evening light, whilst the sun's rays were still hitting the beach.

As the sun set , the light gained a lovely colour to it.

Lots more images coming soon.

Jackdaw

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Thu, 11 Jun 2015 20:40:09 GMT

Jackdaw

One of the more nervous birds to visit the setup this year was the Jackdaw. In common with other species of Crow, they seem very wary indeed. They are quite frequent visitors to our garden but often stay sitting on our roof - in previous years we have had a pair of Jackdaws nesting in our chimney.

My only successful images are of the birds strolling around the lawn looking for food. They are quite stern looking birds, but I like the way the light sheens off them, pulling out the detail in what is otherwise an all black bird.

For more Jackdaw images please go to the Crows gallery here.

Woodpigeons - part 2

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Mon, 08 Jun 2015 20:57:25 GMT

Woodpigeons - part 2

It's been a while since I have been able to post to my blog. I still have lots to catch up on, starting with more from my trip to Pembrokeshire last year. But first, a few more birds from the garden earlier in the year - staring with a few more Woodpigeon.

Blue Tits - part 2

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Fri, 01 May 2015 20:29:09 GMT

More Blue Tits

One of the most common visitors to the garden this year has been the Blue Tit. So here are a few more images of these lovely little birds.

For lots more Blue Tit images please go to the Garden Birds gallery here.

Coal Tit & Long Tailed Tit

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Thu, 30 Apr 2015 17:44:24 GMT

Coal Tit & Long Tailed Tit

It's interesting to see each year how the number of each species coming down to the setup varies so significantly. In previous years Goldfinches have topped the numbers, but this year Blue Tits (more later) and Chaffinches have been the most common visitors.

One bird that has visited a lot less frequently this year is the Coal Tit. In fact they have only made one or two very brief appearances, and then they have often flown in directly into the feeders. They are very quick little birds. So I have only one or two images of Coal Tits this year.

This year, however, I was delighted to have a completely new species visit my setup, albeit just once (whilst I was in the hide at least) and for just a couple of seconds.

I love Long Tailed Tits, and I had previously seen one in the garden, looking interested in the food I had put out - unfortunately I was on the way to work, so I had to just hope that it would revisit during one of my photography sessions. But it didn't turn up - that was until my very last session in the hide for this year!

A single bird hopped down onto a perch, shuffled around a bit and then flew off - just enough time for four shots - and one of those doesn't show its tail!!

More images of both Coal Tits and Long Tailed Tits can be found in the Garden Birds gallery here.

Great Tit

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Sun, 26 Apr 2015 09:44:08 GMT

Great Tit

One of my favourite birds to visit the setup is the Great Tit. This year there has been one single bird that has been a very occasional visitor to the garden. When it does visit, it often flies straight into the feeder, making photography very difficult. But occasionally it has landed, allowing me to capture one or two images I am pleased with.

I was actually on the phone to my wife whilst I took the first two (one hand still on the camera, finger on the shutter!). At least she called rather than banging on the window and scaring the birds!! The images really show the characteristic black stripe down the middle of a bright yellow breast.

In the last couple of days before I took my hide down, a pair of Great tits came down to visit more regularly - and in great lighting conditions. The first image below is very similar to the one above, but in much better light.

These are some of my favourite images of my whole time in the hide this year.

For more Great Tit images please go to the Garden Birds gallery here.

Female Blackbird

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Sat, 25 Apr 2015 11:41:22 GMT

Female Blackbird

I actually find the female Blackbird more attractive than the male. I think I prefer the all brown colour to an all black bird, and I guess the light colouring allows you to see greater detail and mottling in the feathers. Again they come very close to the hide.

For more Blackbird images please go to the Thrushes gallery here.

Male Blackbird

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 20:16:05 GMT

Male Blackbirds

Whilst I set my perches and feeders up primarily to attract finches, tits and other small birds, there are plenty of other common species to photograph too. Blackbirds are amongst the first birds to come in front of the hide, feeding off the food that has fallen into the grass. I also put out a few apples to attract these birds, as once they are in front of the hide, other birds seem more comfortable to come down and feed.

Of course, it is only the male bird that is actually black, with the yellow eye ring and bill making the bird really quite handsome. Looking back through my images I actually only have a few of the male birds.

Only occasionally do the blackbirds come up onto the perches.

But they come really close to the hide when they are on the floor.

Male Greenfinch

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 19:18:21 GMT

Male Greenfinch

Eventually the male birds started to come down. They are quite stern, impressive looking birds and I enjoy photographing them!

For more images of male and female Greenfinches, and Goldfinches, please go to the Finches gallery here.

Female Greenfinch

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Wed, 08 Apr 2015 17:02:01 GMT

Female Greenfinch

Soon after the Goldfinches arrived, a pair of Greenfinches turned up too. And after a few days, more birds joined them so that there are 5 or 6 birds now altogether. Male and female Greenfinches are distinctly different. Arguably the male is the more handsome bird, but females are attractive in their own right. The females were the first to come down, offering a variety of opportunities for photographs.

Goldfinch

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Mon, 06 Apr 2015 19:10:03 GMT

Goldfinch

Up until the past couple of weeks, the only finches to have visited the setup this year have been Chaffinches. But just recently we have seen the return of both Goldfinches and Greenfinches. The Goldfinches were the first to return, first just two birds, and now four birds coming down regularly to feed on the niger seed and black sunflower seeds. They quite often fly straight into the niger seed feeder, missing out my perches altogether. But the other day I was fortunate to get the perfect combination - birds that sat on one of my perches, in beautiful light.

They really are very attractive little birds.

Dunnock

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Sun, 29 Mar 2015 21:37:22 GMT

Dunnock

Dunnocks are shy little birds, and rarely come near my setup. There are a pair of Dunnocks in our garden and, at best, they usually hop around the base of my setup, making photographing them very difficult.

Again, Dunnocks are quite attractive little birds when you get close to them. Formerly know as Hedge Sparrows, they are not in fact sparrows at all, as you can tell from their pointed beaks, designed for eating insects, rather than the chunky bill of a sparrow which is designed for eating seeds.

Pheasant

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Fri, 27 Mar 2015 21:54:43 GMT

Pheasant

There are lots of Pheasants in the fields around our village, and for a long time one single bird has wandered into our garden from time to time. The other day, it came wandering into our garden whilst I was in the hide. For a long time it sat right in front of me, feeding on the seed in the grass. Although it was only two or three feet away I couldn't photograph it because my setup was directly behind it. After a while though it wandered briefly into a more suitable position, allowing for full portrait and close up shots.

Today, it visited the garden again, this time accompanied by a female. The male made a really quite loud snorting noise as it ate seed from our lawn, which seemed to put off other birds whilst it was around.

The female is a lot less colourful than the male, although still an attractive bird in its own right. But there is something special about the magnificent male Pheasant!!

Starling

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Tue, 24 Mar 2015 19:34:53 GMT

Starling

Starlings are really quite attractive birds. A bird that we probably all see most days without giving them much attention, they are actually quite colourful and their feathers are iridescent in certain light. This year I have had two or three birds come down onto the perches, particular attracted by fat balls. They have also learned to lift the lids on my bird feeders so they can take food from the top!!

For lots more Starling images please go to the Garden Birds gallery here.

Female Chaffinch

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Sun, 22 Mar 2015 21:37:22 GMT

Female Chaffinch

The female Chaffinch is an altogether less colourful bird than the male and is not dissimilar to a female House Sparrow. They come up onto the perches a lot more frequently than the male birds, although they too spend most of their time on the ground.

For more images of both male and female Chaffinches please go to the Finches gallery here

Male Chaffinch

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Sat, 21 Mar 2015 21:16:12 GMT

Male Chaffinch

Each year I have taken photos in the garden, there have been certain species that have been more abundant than others. In previous years, a lot of Goldfinches or Greenfinches have come down to the setup. This year I have had just two Goldfinches and I have seen no Greenfinches at all. Conversely, in previous years, Chaffinches have been infrequent visitors, whereas this year they are by far the most common bird with up to 7 or 8 coming down at any one time.

The challenge with Chaffinches is that they are predominantly ground feeding birds. So when they do come down it is usually straight to the floor, bypassing any of the branches I have set up. There is usually quite a lot of food on the ground for them to feed on.

As with a lot of bird species, the Male Chaffinch is a far more brightly coloured bird than the female.

I have recently positioned a bird feeder in such away that the Chaffinches occasionally come to it, along or up one of two branches. They don't stay long, obviously feeling more comfortable being on the floor.

I particularly like this last shot, where the sun came out, showing off the beautiful colours of the male Chaffinch to good effect.

Robin

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Mon, 16 Mar 2015 22:11:25 GMT

Robin

One of the frequent visitors to the garden set up is the Robin. Earlier in the year it would come down to the horizontal log to feed on meal worms. More lately, after taking away the horizontal log to discourage the Woodpigeons, it sits on different perches as well as clinging to the sides of bird feeders, pretending to be a Blue Tit. I will never tire of images of these gorgeous little birds.

For more Robin images please go to the Garden Birds gallery here

Collared Doves

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Wed, 04 Mar 2015 21:11:20 GMT

Collared Doves

Not only do we have two pairs of Woodpigeons in our garden, we also have a pair of Collared Doves. Another bird that isn't that high on my target list, they too compete for the seed and other bird food. Collared Doves are less colourful than Woodpigeons, but are still worthy of photography. Again the zoom lens comes in handy!

This final image shows how just a little extra light can make all the difference!

For more images of Collared Doves please go to the Doves & Pigeons gallery here.

Woodpigeons

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 21:20:48 GMT

Woodpigeons

One of the more common visitors to my set up this year has actually become a bit of a pest. Whilst I am happy to photograph any wild birds, Woodpigeons are not that high on my list of target species. This year, two pairs have taken up residence in our garden. And they take great delight in eating the food I have put out, primarily for the other birds.

They are, of course, a lot larger than other garden birds. This is where the 100-400mm zoom lens really comes into its own, allowing both close up images and full portraits.

I was even able to get some action shots!!

For more images of these birds please see the Doves and Pigeons gallery here.

Blue Tits

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Wed, 25 Feb 2015 21:03:46 GMT

2015 images - Blue Tits

More from last year's trip to Wales soon.

I have had a slow start to 2015 photographically speaking, with work and family commitments meaning I have limited opportunities for taking photos. After last year's very successful sessions in my garden bird hide, I thought I would set it up again - at least I don't have to go very far if I do get a spare moment.

The key principle with my garden set up is to arrange a series of photogenic perches around bird feeders, attracting the birds down to feed, taking their pictures on route to the food. As I am choosing the perches and deciding where to put them, I have full control over how the light falls on them and the background to the resulting images.

Each year I visit a nearby wooded area and select a few photogenic branches, setting up them up in the garden with my hide a short distance away. It is often a bit hit and miss, with several sessions in the hide before I am happy with the set up. Last year, I used a combination of a small vertical perches and a horizontal moss covered log, with the added bonus of being able to put food in the nooks and crevices in the back of the log.

I have to be honest I have yet to be fully happy with the 2015 set up. And, so far, the number and variety of birds has been quite limited. Having said this, one of the birds that I have had some success with is the Blue Tit. I have actually taken more Blue Tit images in the past three weeks than the whole of the session last year.

It might sound quite obvious, but Blue Tits are quite small and they move very quickly. They also have a very annoying habit of flying straight into the feeders, missing out the perches altogether. But with patience you can start to work out when they might land, and get the camera ready for a few quick shots.

For more images of these great little birds, please go to the Garden Birds gallery here

Red Kites - part 3

(Wildlife & Landscape Photography by Andrew Mozley) — Sat, 21 Feb 2015 16:48:34 GMT

Red Kites - part 3

After watching the Red Kites for a while, I could tell the flight paths that some would take, and tried to capture them banking or hanging in the air as they came into the best light.

Red KiteGigrin Farm, Powys, Wales

One of the Red Kite behaviours I tried to capture was the bird feeding in mid air. Having swooped down to get some food the kites sometimes hold the food in their talons, biting chunks out of the food as they glide along. I would love to have another go at this but I was pleased with my first attempts.

Red KiteGigrin Farm, Powys, Wales

The Red Kite feeding at Gigrin Farm lasts about two hours. It was a brilliant experience. I had taken lots of photos, but also learned a lot and would have loved to repeat it again immediately.

However, my tent was pitched over 50 miles away and I still planned to get some sunset photos in. So I headed back towards Skomer - I clocked up over 500 miles driving that first day - but the trip to Gigrin Farm was well worth it. I very much hope to go back soon!

Further information about Gigrin Farm can be found using the Links Page here. More Red Kite and Buzzard photos from this trip can be found in the Owls & Raptors gallery here.