ABOUT ME

I live in a camper van with a West Highland Terrier for company.
My passion is creating images but it is a work in progress.
I am always willing to share what knowledge I have and can be contacted through the comments on this post or e-mail ADRIAN
ALL IMAGES WILL ENLARGE WITH A LEFT CLICK

Wednesday 10 February 2010

LIKE A LOTTERY WIN (10/02/10)

Why I bother planning anything I often wonder. Managed to access the internet briefly yesterday. Sorted a new access code this morning and surprise surprise it refused to work. The site manager couldn’t have been more accommodating but as he has no idea what a computer even looks like he wasn’t too much help. Several calls to the provider later we now seem to be up and running.

I fully intended going back to the owls and will do so but we had to content ourselves with a wander around the woods shore and fields. The place is awash with birds but pride of place goes to this chap………Felt like I’d won the Pools!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA                      A Great Spotted Woodpecker the result of three hours trailing through trees over the past two days. I can hear them but can I find them. I have found it an extremely hazardous business. One ideally needs eyes like a lizard one looking up the other looking down. Avoiding rabbit holes, tree roots and even the trees themselves proved nigh on impossible.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA     Still the weather holds fair, actually could have done with a quick shower to wash off the muck collected on my forays to the forest floor. This is another view of Ravenglass or as the Romans called it ITVNOCELVM. The tide was in so little in the way of waders or ducks.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA       These are the same Wigeon as yesterday and so are these Oyster Catchers but they were miles away.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA     Back to yesterdays owls, I only hope that I have them titled correctly. I suspect that for once there is little chance of contradiction but one must try and I must not presume that you are as ignorant as I am.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA A Spectacled Owl he hails from Central America.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Southern White Faced Owl, I neglected to note his nationality.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Pearl Spotted Owlet it comes from Africa.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAA Striped Owl it flits about from Southern Mexico down to Argentina. It was fascinated by Molly and no matter what I did it would not look at me. Suppose I could have poked it with a stick.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAA Borrowing Owl he digs his hole from Canada to Argentina. It’s puffed itself up because Molly was at it’s level and only a few feet away.

 OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA A Pharaohs Eagle Owl from North Africa.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAVerreaux’s Eagle Owl Africa south of the Sahara. There’s a better than evens chance I have spelt this incorrectly.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA A Greyish Eagle Owl, my sort of name for a bird, it lives across Africa from Somalia to Guinea. There are roughly the same number of birds again but the cages, branches or nest boxes prevented pictures. Well worth a visit if you are up this way. Even worth coming specially for a visit.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAA Red Kite. No idea why this is in an owl centre or for that matter why it is locked up at all as there are plenty living free in Wales and even just north of Leeds in England. Big impressive bird and though it would take a young lamb they tend to favour carrion.

Overkill with Owls, nice though, a bit like Death by Chocolate.

Will think of something different for tomorrow.

16 comments:

  1. Wonderful photos Adrian. Owls are my my fovourit
    nice to se the Kite in close up.
    My next blog is on the move,, flats that is!
    horse and cart job, want to get to know a place take a horse and cart through the back streets of a city will explain on the blog.

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  2. Ta Tony, and of course it's a Burrowing Owl so pleased with the connection that I forgot to spill chuck!

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  3. Enjoyed the pictures of the owls! Never saw a collection of so many different ones put together before. :)

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  4. Nice Owls. I think like you, what is Red Kite doing there?

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  5. Dawn, no it's overkill and with my skill it helps having the beggars locked up.
    Bob, ideally the Owls shouldn't be there. They have a pair of Kites. Maybe rescue, maybe tourist attraction. Their web is at www.owls.org
    That chuffed with a bad Woodpecker today that I can't be depressed. Cheers.

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  6. Woooohoooo for the woodpecker! Don't you love it when a plan comes together? :o)

    I, too, enjoyed the owls. They're a favourite of mine.

    Have a wonderful day!

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  7. You nailed that Woodpecker shot Adrian The Owls are fantastic...what a great collection and If I am up that way in the future I shall have a look at them.

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  8. I'm jealous again - I 'collect' owls and I haven't 'got' a Pearl Spotted Owl. I've also never got a decent photo of a Red Kite. When I find them in captivity they're behind the sort of bars that are camera-proof.

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  9. Penny, they drive me mad, such a racket and can you find the beggars. Am like a dog with two tails. Still didn't get all of him.
    Trevor, wee buggers must have crept about stopping under the sound for an hour then out of boredom focussed on a Chaffinch and there it was!!
    John, you are welcome to a Hi Res image. The bars or netting are a nuisance drop down to f5.0 or as wide as you can and put the camera on the bars and they shouldn't be too obtrusive. I've loads of good netting images! CHEAP!

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  10. The Woodpecker takes pride of place.

    I too like the idea of a borrowing owl. Perhaps it wants to borrow a spade?

    The Verreaux’s Eagle Owl seems to be camouflaged as a Koala. Or maybe it's a Koala camouflaged as an owl?

    I'm glad to see a closeup of the Red Kite. There has been some thought that they are moving in round near where I live but I haven't seen one yet and, if ever I do, it's likely to be in flight. I hadn't realised they are so impressive. I'd imagined something like an over-large kestrel.

    Lucy

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  11. Lucy, my mistake it should be Burrowing as you have realised.
    Red Kites are getting quite common. They are about the same size as a Buzzard but with a big forked tail in flight. If you know a farmer get him to leave a dead lamb out they will come down for that, as will Buzzards and any of the crow family. Will try and ascertain why they are there and not free. I hope not as a tourist attraction.
    Woody made my day.

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  12. Great Owl photos Adrian. There used to be a small 'animal gardens' near me which had quite a few owls. Great subjects but as you say cages and wire mesh make a photographer's life difficult.
    Well done with the GSW.

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  13. John, one dayI will get a complete Woodpecker.

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  14. Marion, glad you popped by and happier that you enjoyed it, thank you.

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  15. Well your persistence with the woodpecker certainly paid off. I'd have had three tails!

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  16. GB. Ta, I had but after the initial euphoria realize that I now have to capture a complete one.

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