tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49791081140831975582012-01-25T00:05:38.561ZMike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.comBlogger841100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-10180795002310476802012-01-04T21:58:00.001Z2012-01-17T17:15:38.140Z

'Ole blue eyes'. White kites are often bullied and chased off by the others but this one holds his own and appears to be accepted by the rest. This one has just been released from the rehab centre and is quite used to feeding on the ground.. Magnificent birds and a joy to photograph.

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-32504963422845743062012-01-03T19:32:00.000Z2012-01-25T00:05:38.567Z

'Ole Blue Eyes' was present on most days during my two week stay. On occasions it was joined by the other white kite No 51, still displaying its wing tags after at least seven years, they are supposed to fall off  by three. Red kite feeding on the wing. Most birds of prey feed on the ground by covering their food with outspread wings, this is called mantling. Kites prefer to eat on the

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-17012179038610500152012-01-03T19:20:00.001Z2012-01-21T20:01:48.396Z

The weather was pretty bad for the whole of the two weeks over Christmas and my photography was very limited. After a shopping trip to Llandrindod we went up to the lake for a cup of coffee where last year we found a young goosander vieing with the local ducks for the bread being thrown to them by a couple of kids. Low and behold there was small flotilla of them, scoffing the bread and as a

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-87632437351860038702011-12-15T20:07:00.001Z2012-01-09T09:11:57.310Z

Putting my feet up over the festive season so I will wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-17089933666485071262011-11-28T20:04:00.001Z2011-11-28T20:16:26.514Z

It seemed a good way to spend Sunday afternoon and it turned out to be more than we expected. The shorties were flying early and the light was excellent. Ted and I decided not to walk by the river but parked on the road by the railway bridge and we soon realised we had made the right decision. We had some good views as they quartered the fields, coming quite close at times. The

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-26941466706987123802011-11-25T21:56:00.001Z2011-11-25T22:13:02.275Z

Well after the previous evening I never expected to get shots like these. Again the light was not good but after a little help from photoshop I think I got a reasonable result. This one came quite close. This one of four that was around this evening. Altogether a very enjoyable hour before the sun went down.  A big thankyou to Jake who told me where to go.

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-64679417291985398152011-11-25T11:27:00.001Z2011-11-25T11:53:30.545Z

Nuthatch stocking up his larder ready for the winter. Coal tit waiting his turn on the feeders. A marsh tit sat still long enough for me to grab this shot. I have just learned of the location of three short eared owls. The light was very poor and this was the best I could do. I shall give it anoyher try later today.

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-83112362954224858452011-11-04T23:57:00.001Z2011-11-04T23:58:26.084Z

Grey Heron poses for a snap. Little Egret came close to the hide. Often heard but rarely seen was this Water Rail checking the rubbish deposits. Still havn't done much with the camera lately although I have found time for my morning walk on the reserve which can come up with a bit of interest. I often hear the water rails squeeling like stuck pigs in the reed beds but can never find

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-24643916985930377602011-10-26T21:38:00.000+01:002011-10-26T22:07:57.329+01:00

Don't you dare bite my nose AAAAGH!!!!!! Give me the camera and I'll show you how to do it. This is a very busy time of the year for me so looking for a bit of time off Ted and I spent a quiet afternoon at the British Wildlife Centre at Lingfield near Godstone in Surrey. www.britishwildlifecentre.co.uk With combined ages of over 160 its a relaxing place for us when the old legs get

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-12359134779065675392011-10-16T18:22:00.002+01:002011-10-16T18:22:34.480+01:00

            I was recently handed a report that was published in the Guardian newspaper in which the contents somewhat alarmed me. It appears that radio transmitters fitted by harnesses to red kites for tracking purposes can be damaging the health and welfare of the birds. Post mortems on kites fitted with radio transmitters have have aroused suspicions that the equipment could cause lesions and

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-73667091360436228532011-09-17T19:06:00.000+01:002011-09-17T23:17:35.084+01:00

Wet and windy was the only way to describe my latest escapade. The weather kept the ospreys low at Cors Dyfi. Two had left on their journey to West Africa and the other three sat in the trees to escape the wind. So nothing was seen. The peregrines at Claerwyn for the same reason were tucked away on the bluff, just occasionally the youngster got a bit agitated through not being fed and made short

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-79116955421650373972011-08-30T21:07:00.000+01:002011-08-30T21:07:49.842+01:00

Going through my pics of the other day (183 in all) of the episode with the kingfisher I found this one that I thought was worth showing. I waited for him this morning and he flew straight past and that was all I saw of him in an hour and a half. Thats life. 

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-73123953680018114882011-08-29T15:50:00.000+01:002011-08-29T15:50:38.895+01:00

Never been so close to a kingfisher for so long. For nearly an hour I watched it taking many shots. It gave me a kick to know that this little fellow new I was there and wasn't bothered. I thought he must have been showing me just how clever he was. The sunlight made it difficult to get good results. After a hectic week with a craft fair and trying to build up my stocks

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-17164011198295676442011-08-17T20:47:00.003+01:002011-09-01T16:25:40.267+01:00

Well, what do you think of my new header. Well drawn by Jessica Knights, a very tallented young lady and the daughter of a good friend. I added the wildlife of course. I know the tiger is obscuring the word photographer but as I tell people he's a tiger and he can sit where he likes. The summer months are a busy time for me with lots of craft shows so the photography has been side lined a bit.

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-70983271341011119682011-07-11T16:16:00.001+01:002011-07-11T16:19:59.520+01:00

I have had a torrid time with Google of late. Unable to post comments, not recognising me (anonymous) and having to sign in each time. I still haven't got it completely sorted so if any of you have got any ideas they will be much appreciated. Down to business. Warnham seems to have had a successfull breeding season, albeit a bad start when the swans nest was raided by what appeared to be an

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-42014164362068460072011-06-27T00:06:00.002+01:002011-06-27T00:09:56.922+01:00

A raven tries to muscle in on the TV celebrity white kite. Redstarts nest on the farm. Pied flycatcher and young. A pair of buzzards fight over a meal. A raven takes flight.

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-66497749955633686482011-06-23T21:56:00.000+01:002011-06-23T21:56:48.183+01:00

 Red kite diving for food  Almost at the end of a long hard week at a craft fair in Arundel I feel that I can relax a bit and put fingers to keys and catch up with my blog. Although the weather in Wales was not good for my photography I did manage a few decent shots of the kites. As always the kites put on a magnificent display coming in to feed in their hundreds, lasting up to two hours. If

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-53477236429213619172011-06-21T00:01:00.000+01:002011-06-21T00:01:17.730+01:00

Slipstreaming kites Red kite about to snatch a piece of meat of the ground I had great plans for the last couple of weeks but the weather played havoc with them. After finishing a craft fair in Arundel I scuttled off to Wales for a week or two. I had nests to check on, peregrine, kite and osprey. It all went wrong when the weather changed and it rained and rained then when it stopped the wind

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-78507486404256734412011-06-06T23:52:00.000+01:002011-06-06T23:52:40.491+01:00

It's been some time since I was able to sit and compose a blog. I've had a long hard week at a craft fair in Arundel, unable to get away and use my camera. Sunday morning was escape time and I spent a couple of hours doing what I am so good at, sitting in a hide with my camera waiting for something to happen. Nothing did happen so I ended up with just these shots of the grebe on the nest. She is

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-39472635486798829522011-05-15T09:00:00.001+01:002011-05-16T00:31:33.708+01:00

 Breeding common terns find plenty of small fish Visiting herring gulls tend to let others do the catching then stealing what they can. This year there is 3 pair of  grebes lending a hand The herons of course deal with the larger stuff. Kingfishers just sit around looking pretty. Warnham nature reserve is one of my favourite haunts. It is on the western edge of Horsham between

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-15011353584109158562011-04-25T23:38:00.001+01:002011-04-25T23:39:43.790+01:00

 Waited a long time to capture this shot.  Well did you see me? My one claim to fame on national television and I bet none of you saw my two very brief appearances totalling less than two seconds. Oh what the heck, I don't like being on that end of the lens anyway.  He looks pretty pleased with himself, doesn't he? Back to reality, I took my morning stroll over to the Warnham nature

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-89874651141104956252011-04-18T17:19:00.005+01:002011-04-18T17:28:46.489+01:00

    During my last visit to the farm I took a drive up to Cors Dyfi, a nature reserve on the Dyfi estuary. I was drawn to this place when I heard that ospreys fished there. On my arrival I was impressed by the organised way that everything had been done. The viewing hide was excellent, high enough to see over the the tree tops to the nesting platform which has cameras mounted to transmit

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-74389019601028425652011-04-15T19:30:00.000+01:002011-04-15T19:30:28.931+01:00

I can't visit the farm without my morning walks along the River Wye. The path is not long no more than a few hundred yards long. It starts by the bridge in the town and heads upstream and about halfway it crosses a footbridge to the other side. It is a busy path used mainly by dog walkers but the wildlife is something to see. This pair of goosanders had sorted out their bit of  space with another

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-90814890502937829772011-04-15T17:55:00.001+01:002011-04-21T16:47:56.164+01:00

All you need is patience, knowledge of your subject and a lot of luck and you never know what may turn up. I have been photographing this bird for more than 10 years and this year she did me proud by chosing a new nest site. This nest is much easier to approach without disturbance and as you can see good views of the nest can be had. This is 'Ole Blue Eyes', Out of the two white kites

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-21170211110900366432011-04-15T17:16:00.000+01:002011-04-15T17:16:40.300+01:00

Julia Bradbury and Colin who did the feeding. Just returned from a fantastic 10 days at the farm. We had a visit from Country File who did some filming for an episode to be shown on Easter Sunday 24th April. The kites must have known they were going to be on TV because they turned up in their hundreds with two white kites hogging the limelight.  Red kite feeding  The weather was

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-10466820641712462852011-03-20T13:16:00.002Z2011-03-20T13:27:48.450Z

 A youngster from the 2010 brood  There has been concern over the past few weeks on the resident barn owl at Chesworth Farm. I have seen a barn owl on several occasions during the past fortnight. Last weekend I saw it come out of the box and sit for a while before dissappearing back into the hole. It appears to be a young bird (sex unknown) and not the old man that we know so well. I saw it

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-32782505030649657512011-03-01T14:03:00.003Z2011-03-02T09:52:36.938Z

 Buzzard about to lose his breakfast to a red kite.  Young buzzard ever watchful over his meal.  Looking for scraps in the snow.  The weather this year has not been good for photography so here are some shots I did earlier. Wherever you find kites buzzards are not far away. They are quite sociable birds and will feed happily along side each other until there is

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-66125205554338779712011-02-18T14:39:00.002Z2011-02-18T14:42:09.451Z

 Yesterday turned out to be a nice bright day, just right for a morning walk with my camera, and what a morning it turned out to be. I had not seen so much bird life on the reserve for a long time. There was more than 50 lesser redpolls with a sprinkling of siskins, greenfinches with all the tit family, including a marsh tit.        This lesser redpoll came very close and

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-77748955468533715022011-02-13T17:49:00.008Z2011-02-19T14:59:37.209Z

On lookout duty.  Not easy to spot with leaves on the trees.  Enjoying a bit of sun       The Claerwen pair  Once again its a miserable day, raining and no good for photography, so I shall spend a bit of time at the computer and tell you about a couple of old friends. About 18 years ago we spotted the red kites that had been released in the Chilterns and immediately

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-19397893755346185012011-02-08T23:11:00.003Z2011-02-09T00:26:44.544Z

Monday morning I braved the cold and damp and ventured over to Warnham LNR to see if I could find something interesting as I don't seem to have used my cameras much this year. I hadn't been long watching the tits on the feeders when this handsome lesser redpoll joined them. Not many minutes had gone by when a siskin shared the feeder. I waited patiently for some time hoping they would find a

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-59599782752028482652011-02-02T20:58:00.009Z2011-02-03T00:28:54.259Z

No not that type of grouse. I don't often voice my opinion but this one really smacks of stupidity. I read in the media the other day of a scheme to cull birds of prey in selected area's of Great Britain at a cost of  some £88,000. It is said that the fall in the numbers of song birds is probably due to the rise in numbers of birds of prey. This is because scientists believe that there is a

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-87223462969149337972011-01-04T16:41:00.001Z2011-01-04T21:06:48.652Z

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-30729297701161904582011-01-03T16:20:00.001Z2011-01-07T01:11:51.730Z

A few more shots from the Christmas escapade. Kites are very versatile flyers so its not unusual to see one turn over on its back in flight to avoid another bird. What happened here was the bird on the right dropped its food after being harrased by the other two, the lower bird making the catch. A pair of buzzards having a good old tug o' war with a peice of meat. This

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-33672045034040449202011-01-02T23:05:00.002Z2011-01-07T01:14:50.399Z

Kites are not the only bird of prey that are present on the farm. Common buzzards are plentyful too. The one on the right I call Cyclops because of the severe damage to his right eye (see inset). His disability seems to have affected his hunting skills and has made him more daring when it comes to humans proximity. He was only 30 feet away when I took this picture. http://

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-27872540022444739692011-01-02T22:03:00.004Z2011-01-07T01:20:36.054Z

The snow seems to make more kites feed on the ground. They usually pick up food and find a bit of air space and eat while they are soaring. On most days over the Christmas period as many as 600 birds came in to feed. Normally the food lasts up to 3 hours but on one occasion it lasted just 14 minutes. Kites main food other than carrion is earth worms, so with the snow and frozen ground they depend

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-10834617386405873832011-01-02T19:45:00.021Z2011-01-07T01:17:23.537Z

What a Christmas. We were due to go to the farm in Wales on Saturday 18th December for the two weeks over Christmas, on the Thursday evening (16th) we got a call from the farm saying come at once as heavy snow was expected. The Friday morning we set of on the 200 mile journey, all went well until with about 40 miles to go it started to snow, we pressed on with the snow falling heavier and to our

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-1185943497384617642010-12-07T00:24:00.005Z2011-01-02T20:38:25.897Z

http://www.gigrin.co.uk/I have very busy with craft fairs and the like for the past few weeks so I haven't been up to much. I have got on top of it all now and I am looking forward to Xmas in Wales and spend a little time with my favourite bird, the red kite. The picture is of luecistic red kite ( lack of melonine in its skin) I believe there are only two in Wales and both have been seen lately

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-55410356009276912272010-11-29T20:37:00.005Z2010-11-30T00:06:20.025Z

Yesterday (Sunday) I decided to brave the elements and took another drive down to Pagham Harbour. I'm always on the lookout for the rarer species as most of us do but to no avail, Sunday was just going to be another cold and miserable day. Never venturing more than a couple of hundred yards from the warmth of the car and never for more than half an hour at a time. This little dunlin was all I saw

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-33444601186776442552010-11-18T16:47:00.001Z2010-11-19T00:28:48.729Z

I don't seem to have done much just lately what with the build up to Christmas, the weather and losing a friend so I decided to put up a picture I took earlier this year of a white red kite. My mate Mick always wanted to go back to Wales and see this particular bird but his health stopped him. So as a tribute to him here is his favourite kite picture.

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-5078952406814343682010-11-16T18:39:00.001Z2010-11-16T18:41:14.742Z

I had to go down to Selsey on Sunday to make a few final arrangements for the Xmas Market I am doing at The Brent Lodge Wildlife Hospital this coming week-end. I took a camera with me as you never know what you may see in that area. I stopped at the Ferry Pond which is on the opposite side of the road to the harbour and within minutes I saw a marsh harrier (too far off for a pic), kingfisher, a

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-31773708821373257352010-11-01T19:27:00.000Z2010-11-01T19:27:08.313Z

I've had a trying few days due to the loss of a great friend and colleague. Mick was a true friend and was always ready to lend a hand although he suffered with his health over the past few years. He wanted to be a short story writer and his intention was to post stories chapter by chapter on his blog. I know that his first one was under way when his various ailments finally caught up with him.

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-15021118814484417042010-10-17T20:42:00.003+01:002010-10-17T20:55:04.641+01:00

Sunday was bright but colder than of late and I was looking forward to my walk on the reserve before the hordes descended. I sat in Heron hide for about an hour without much luck other than a fleeting glimpse of a pair of kingfishers. I was feeling a bit on the cold side so started to make my way back to the centre stopping of at the feeding station where I spotted a very obliging nuthatch posing

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-73721545303378682392010-10-10T21:30:00.001+01:002010-11-11T20:33:45.958Z

I went on my usual Sunday walk over to the Warnham LNR. It does'nt open till ten o'clock but I have a key which gives me access when the place is nice and quiet before the hordes arrive for their morning coffee in the tea rooms. Having this privilege enables me to see what's around before it goes into hiding or is frightened off. This morning was no exception, creeping into Heron hide I spotted

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-78438482301018625062010-10-06T20:46:00.010+01:002010-11-11T20:35:08.004Z

To get a break from photography for a mornng during our last trip to Wales I took Jacque on a shopping trip to Llandrindod Wells. In the town is a lake with a good cafe overlooking it. Whilst enjoying a beverage I noticed a bit of a commotion in the water which is not unusual as the kids like to feed the ducks. Amongst the mayhem I spotted this young gooseander squabbling with the mallards over

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-35503573358279945372010-10-03T23:17:00.002+01:002010-11-11T20:37:03.156Z

After nearly two weeks in Wales photographing the high flying red kites I came back down to earth and spent a rather wet morning at my local nature reserve. Being a bit of a miserable day I wasn't expecting much. Approaching one of the hides I spotted a young roebuck sitting in the grass, it turned and looked at me and to my surprise it totally ignored me. Jake, the warden was attending to the

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-2054819715974024232010-10-01T22:16:00.001+01:002010-11-11T20:38:40.319Z

 I don't often get this close to buzzard in flight. Come to think of it I don't nomally get this close to red kite either. Sometimes you just happen to be in the right place at the right time. I think I have said before that wildlife photography is 50% skill and 50% luck, and of course you make your own luck.

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-65340615814767012332010-09-27T16:56:00.028+01:002010-11-11T20:39:52.664Z

I came back from my latest trip to Wales more than a week ago, took so many pics it has taken me a week to collate them. The weather was not that good but still managed to get plenty of photography in when the sun did shine. The red kites were of course the stars of the week, with an odd buzzard here and there. There was a marked absence of peregrines, only catching a brief glimpse of a pair in

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-17344772220522663522010-08-09T23:59:00.000+01:002010-08-09T23:59:42.189+01:00

Well the owls have flown and it doesn't look as if the female is sitting on another clutch so I am now at a loss as to what to do with myself. While I was watching the owls some cows had been put into the field to graze, this is an excellent way to cut the grass without too much disturbance to the voles that live there. The cows most of the time were filthy from their own excrement, they ate the

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-41744858119157036952010-07-21T09:17:00.006+01:002010-07-24T20:08:08.682+01:00

As you can see the owlets are doing fine. All five are now flying and I managed to capture three in this picture. This was a little battle for supremacy as to who had the right to this particular post, there are about twenty posts to chose from but  these three decided this was the one they wanted. They are getting more adventurous flying further afield but never far from dad. Still no sign of 

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-66661070732581865882010-07-16T22:44:00.002+01:002010-07-16T22:47:23.558+01:00

What a time I've had with computer problems, Unable to get good connection because BT in their wisdom decided to make a few alterations. With a little help from my friends it seems to be OK now (I think). Update on the barn owls is that all five owlets are out of the box sitting in the tree with the two eldest having a fly round the field with dad. Still no sign of mum. This is a picture of dad

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-83238230630325172392010-06-25T01:35:00.003+01:002010-11-11T20:45:10.468Z

My trip to Wales was a bit disappointing. The buzzard nest had been abandoned, the kite nest had failed, two peregrine nests had also failed, but my favourite site which had one failure and had been robbed twice in the past three years had two youngsters just on the point of leaving the nest. I was able to spend much time watching their antics practising the fine art of flying. I am glad to say

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-33186998576158369972010-06-12T00:30:00.002+01:002010-06-12T00:36:38.505+01:00

A few days ago the nest box was inspected and I am pleased to say that it contained five healthy youngsters. A couple of weeks from fledging so it will give me time to pop over to Wales and have a look at the peregrine and kites nests that I have got lined up.

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-29066660183408794672010-06-03T00:46:00.001+01:002010-06-03T00:50:25.944+01:00

Alls well with the female( I know its the female, she was wearing a ring). Got this shot while she was busy hunting this evening and looking in good condition after her 3 months in the box. Caught 2 voles in 10 minutes, giving the male a well earned rest. Just as a matter of interest a friend of mine Jeff Paynter photographed a young red kite over his house in Horsham on Sunday. Having studied

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-14142403324859421332010-05-25T22:12:00.005+01:002010-05-26T00:13:26.752+01:00

I have been spending many hours watching the owl  hunting. I havn't seen the female since February 17th. The male has been doing all the work and has now taken to sleeping in the tree and not in the box. I believe there are young and he seems to have no trouble in catching enough food for them, up to 5 voles an hour. But what has happened to the female? I would welcome any comments as to whether

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-14434463424068746832010-04-20T23:05:00.012+01:002010-11-11T20:48:41.233Z

It seems a long time since my last trip to Wales. This one was timed to coincide with the birds pairing up and nesting. I timed it perfectly. I found 3 peregrine nest sites with 1 sitting, 1 pair mating (as per pic.) and 1 pair going through the motions.The nest sites were a bit too much for my 500 lens so with a bit of  help from my other half I bought a digiscoping kit but I haven't had a

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-82718988063444921052010-03-24T20:12:00.009Z2010-11-11T20:50:45.658Z

I havn't been able to do much over the past few days but was rewarded with an evening of pure delight with some good sightings of the barn owl. The light at ground level was low as the sun dropped behind the trees, but the owl was about 15 feet off the ground in perfect sunlight. As you can see with the sun over my shoulder it produced this dramatic lighting effect. I believe that with wildlife

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-48260072963644170972010-03-07T22:41:00.018Z2010-11-11T20:52:37.519Z

With the good weather we are having I couldn't miss the opportunity to get out on one of my local walks with my camera. When I arrived at a spot which is good for the sighting of the odd barn owl or two I saw about 20 magpies hanging around. After about an hour I decided enough was enough and I let out a squeal like an injured animal and to my surprise the magpies flew off. A few minutes later a

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-64680707878681696822010-02-19T22:00:00.004Z2010-04-02T17:54:57.609+01:00

  After the horrible weather we had lately (at my age the cold and wet gets to you) I finally got a decent afternoon watching for the barn owls. As the sun began to drop I saw the male come out of the box, sit for a while before flying of to hunt. He returned a little later with what appeared to be a vole sat outside the box where he transfered the vole from his talons to his beak before entering

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-77031089139937842392010-02-05T20:38:00.007Z2010-11-11T20:54:01.137Z

After such a good time over the Xmas period the weather has not been condusive for good photography. I have been out a couple of times with little success. With the sun this afternoon I ventured out and took a walk along one of my favourite routes. For an hour I saw nothing, and then suddenly it happened. Just as the sun started to set behind the hill a barn owl appeared. I got a good few shots

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-59690972107088928662010-01-15T23:28:00.015Z2010-11-11T20:55:26.547Z

A few more shots from my Xmas trip to Gigrin. I have said before that those of you that follow my blog will get fed up with my kite pictures.

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-78204650384543602822010-01-10T12:25:00.037Z2010-11-11T20:56:50.979Z

                                                                                                             http://www.gigrin.co.uk/I have waited 8 years for it to snow at Gigrin and Xmas 2009 I got more than I bargained for. It started to snow on the drive to Wales and continued to snow on and off for the next 2 weeks. The sun shone in between the snow showers which made it perfect for

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-43064838601970018052010-01-06T17:16:00.006Z2010-04-02T21:21:37.668+01:00

The Common Buzzard is also a very frequent visitor to Gigrin. Feeding along side the kites and corvids, easy to snap as they come within 50 feet of the hides. On one occasion I counted  27 birds on the ground feeding. In Sussex over the past 10 years I have seen a tremendous increase in their numbers, with 1 local estate reporting 4 successful nest sites last year. They are also regular vistors

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-75088917158657811392010-01-06T09:12:00.019Z2010-11-11T20:57:42.743Z

http://www.gigrin.co.uk/ Just come back from two glorious weeks at GIGRIN FARM. The best place in the U K  for Red Kites. There was snow on the ground for most of the time which meant an abundance of kites feeding every day. These pictures show a very rare white variety. This bird is leucistic not to be confused with albinism, it has blue eyes instead of pink normally found in albinos. Albinism

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-74530324044200619532009-12-15T18:23:00.005Z2010-04-02T23:28:27.684+01:00

I have not been able to do much with the camera lately, mainly because of the weather, but also a bit busy with the build up to Xmas. So I am showing this picture of a young peregrine that I took a couple of years ago at a nest site that I watch every year. The day after I took this picture it disappeared. As it was not yet able to leave the nest I can only assume that it was taken by some

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-15599390713680557172009-11-28T15:33:00.010Z2010-11-11T21:07:32.573Z

On the left is a young woodmouse of not more than a few weeks old. This one was snapped on a Welsh mountain side living in a stone wall. The adult on the right lives in and around Westmead hide at Pulborough Brooks, the RSPB reserve. I have had them living in my garden shed. Somewhere, I have a picture of one climbing six feet up the side of a house to reach a bird feeder. They are very active at

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-42273775204423854062009-11-28T14:51:00.009Z2011-06-02T08:30:09.107+01:00

Nature is cruel. I love the little bank vole as I do the barn owl. Unfortuneately the barn owl loves the bank vole in an entirely different way, being its favourite food, but thats nature I suppose. These two little fellows  snapped at one of my haunts, Warnham Nature Reserve in Horsham. Often mistaken for mice they have a much shorter tail, blunt nose and a reddish brown coat. Most welcome in my

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-17187518597004216042009-11-23T18:18:00.003Z2010-01-13T00:11:04.076Z

http://www.britishwildlifecentre.co.uk/ Most of my fox pictures are taken in the wild, but I couldn't resist this one taken at the British Wildlife Centre at Lingfield in Surrey. It is one of my favourite haunts and I get a very nice welcome at each visit. Peoples attitude to the fox varies a lot, from a cunning, villainous animal to an endearing creature just trying to exist. I am with the

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-28433576043683126432009-11-13T22:45:00.010Z2010-01-13T00:13:01.699Z

 http://www.gigrin.co.uk/                                                                                                                         The red kite is a spectacular bird in flight. Rarely feeding on the ground, prefering to swoop down and snatch its food and carrying up and eating it on the wing. I have photographed them feeding on the ground but they have been birds that have spent

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-61221700866326636792009-11-12T21:55:00.007Z2010-11-11T21:04:57.311Z

To prove you don't have to go to exotic places to good shots of big cats both of these were taken in the depths of Kent. With only a chain link fence between you and your subject its easy to lose the netting with the aperture wide open. I'm a huge fan of big cats and the nearer I can get the better I like it. These were taken at Howlets in Kent which is a wonderful place for viewing these animals

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-66407731825340612192009-11-11T16:19:00.003Z2010-12-01T14:16:24.554Z

I took this picture just recently on Horsham mill pond. The heron can take rather large fish but this one amazed me. It took some time for it to swallow this carp after which it stood for about 10 minutes while it let it go down. I know a few fishermen that would have proud to make a catch like this.

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-77121760604458318682009-11-07T17:45:00.005Z2010-01-13T00:19:57.855Z

The water vole known to all readers of Wind in the Willows as 'Ratty'. This one was photographed in Arundel, not as you might think in the Wetlands Centre, where they were released some years ago, but in the stream along side the road by the castle. This one had burrowed under the water line and came up in the middle of the grass on the edge of the footpath. He wasn't bothered about me it was

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-17423253141146742702009-11-06T22:55:00.004Z2010-01-13T00:21:14.411Z

This little chap I found wandering around a busy car park. It was a young bird probably on its first trip out of the nest. I ushered it back on to a small birch tree where it sat quite happily and allowed me to take plenty of pictures.

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-49203270029137181292009-11-06T20:43:00.004Z2010-01-13T00:22:13.359Z

This shot was taken in the Elan Valley in Mid-Wales near the Claerwen Dam. I was standing on the road up to the dam looking across the valley when Jacque shouted to me I turned to see this peregrine flying across the rock face at about 70mph. I had just enough time to get four shots off as it flew past. This was the best one. I always keep my camera on 5 shots per second and on f2.8, anything

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-20424144531299499532009-10-31T00:01:00.010Z2010-01-25T19:31:00.700Z

roydennis.org This was a real moment of excitement. Enjoying a quiet sunday afternoon with friends on our local reserve about a year ago, a shout went up OSPREY!!! and everyone rushed to the lake. I ran in the opposite direction, to the car park, my camera was in the car. As you see can I made it back to the lake in time to get  a couple shots before it disappeared. I was told that they had never

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-24819581463795508812009-10-29T14:07:00.034Z2010-11-11T21:02:28.572Z

This roe deer I spotted in the reed bed on Warnham LNR. She stared at me for several minutes while I took a few shots before I left her in peace. The following day I discovered that she had given birth to one fawn. This explained why she hadn't run away. Two days later whilst I was in the company of several friends she came out of the reed bed with two youngsters stood for a few minutes as if

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-32560824796253388002009-10-28T18:05:00.034Z2010-12-02T00:09:45.782Z

I was very lucky with this shot of a barn owl. As it flew in front of an oak tree it caught a patch of evening sunlight illuminating it beautifully. This one is a bit of local celebrity. It gets quite an audience watching it hunt on summer evenings. This is the male with three hungry mouths to feed.

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-24280633925863341032009-10-26T18:23:00.005Z2010-12-02T00:11:27.041Z

Just to show you don't need a macro lens to take close-ups of insect life. This picture of a painted lady butterfly was taken with a 500mm lens at a distance of about 30ft. As usual, no tripod, most of my pictures are hand held.

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-85182927035242594962009-10-25T12:50:00.006Z2009-11-21T15:35:30.264Z

http://www.gigrin.co.uk/ This is my favourite bird. Those of you that follow my pages will see a lot of kite pictures. They rarely feed on the ground, picking up their food and carrying it up to a clear piece of air space and feed as this one is doing. This shot was taken at Gigrin Farm in Wales, the best place I know for kites. I visit every couple of months or so.

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-77920157334518762372009-10-24T15:36:00.003+01:002009-11-11T15:57:47.004Z

Up until the time I took this picture I had a real fear of snakes. I know that this is just a harmless grass snake but that did not make any difference. This is the picture I wanted and quickly overcame my fear to get it.

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-19933610504826632372009-10-21T22:59:00.007+01:002009-11-11T15:58:52.800Z

The kingfisher is one of my favourite small birds. Most of the pictures I have (over 150) have been taken on my local nature reserve pond. They breed every year but can be affected by hard winters. As the pond is very still it often freezes over and the birds cannot feed. This picture appears on my key rings and cards and is very popular.

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-50326399934647947222009-10-21T09:46:00.008+01:002010-02-01T15:40:53.656Z

This one is of the western lowland variety from Africa. Very much an endangered species. This an adult male. What I like about them is their all knowing look in their eyes.

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-40645088262907565402009-10-17T23:43:00.011+01:002010-01-13T00:02:44.146Z

I started photographing red kites about 15 years ago. Seeing one for the first time in the Chilterns I immediately arranged a trip to Wales to see more of this beautifull bird of prey. I now have a stock of well over 1400 pictures on file. I spend many weeks at Gigrin Farm in Rhayader where you can see as many as 400 at feeding time.

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-44842338028570967542009-10-16T15:47:00.011+01:002009-11-11T16:01:30.441Z

My favourite animal is the tiger. This picture is one of my best shots. I waited a long time for the creature to push its way through the bamboo. This is a bengal tiger from India. I am hoping to add other big cats to my collection soon.

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4979108114083197558.post-65119783482048487642009-10-14T16:35:00.009+01:002009-11-11T16:02:36.328Z

I have over the last two years been photographing a pair of barn owls. The one pictured is 'Dad'. I have found over the years that creatures of the wild get used to you being around and form a sort of trust. This one often flew very close to me, too close to photograph.they raised 3 owlets this year. All fledged successfully.

Mike Attwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17314216249222074615noreply@blogger.com0