Monday 21 December 2009

Forest of Dean 21st December 2009

It snowed again during the night and this could mean only one thing? My friends would need feeding again!

While I was out there feeding the birds, a sparrow hawk came through, swiftly gliding as if on a blanket of warm air, not a sound, but very powerful.

For a moment I thought it was my fault, for attracting a large number of birds to one location? This is true, as the sparrow hawk will often use regular feeding locations as a source of food, but you have to weigh up the situation!

You feed up to and usually over 100 birds at one time, sometimes one will be taken by a bird of prey! This is unfortunate, but to lose one while helping over 100 to survive the winter has to be worth it?

Below is a video of a snow covered Forest of Dean, from one of our famous viewpoints, New Fancy View! With some birds and pics at the end.

Turn the volume up!

Rob

Sunday 20 December 2009

Snow Birds - 20th December 2009

Woke up to snow this morning, but I knew it would not be around for long so I took a trip up to my favourite spot for photographing birds, near Speech House.
Birds find it harder to locate their natural food when the weather is severe, so by taking some seeds and nuts out with you, you are effectively helping them through the hard times, as well as enticing them closer so you can have a better view!

When you leave, you leave with a feeling that you have helped something to survive the hard times and if you have never felt this, "then I advise you to give it a go" because it is one of the best feelings you can have.
Great Tit

Dunnock

Robin

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Robin

Thrush
If you like birds, click and watch the video below of them feeding in
slow-motion!

Rob

Friday 18 December 2009

Symonds Yat Rock - Viewpoint (video)

I took a trip down to Symonds Yat Rock viewpoint "early" this morning! It was sooooo cold that a crow froze solid in mid flight and flew straight into my eyeball, breaking his beak off!
Honest, here is the pic!

Click pic for larger view.


Anyway, enough of that. Here is a short video I put together from around 10 min of footage.


Turn the volume up!







Rob

Tuesday 15 December 2009

Birds of Prey

Here are a few pics of some Birds of Prey. Three are native and two are non-native to Britain! Do you know which is which?
Pics were taken at the International Centre for Birds of Prey at Newent, Gloucestershire.


White Tailed Sea Eagle.

Great Grey Owl.

Goshawk.


Verraux Eagle.


Red Kite.




Rob

Monday 14 December 2009

The Forest and it's Wildlife

Well we are supposed to have some snow this week? If we do I will be hoping to get out and photograph some wildlife!

Here are a couple from earlier this year when we had the bad snow in January. Taken at Speech House.



Robin in the snow

There is quite a lot going on here. They seem to like my seeds?
A female blackbird with male and female chaffinches.
A red kite.

The bluebells in 2009.

Finally, a male mandarin duck




Rob

Saturday 12 December 2009

Birds in the Forest of Dean

A few from Friday 11th December. It was cold, but still good to be out.

What's down this hole, I wonder?

Let me see, I've got a longer neck!

Too late suckers, I already found it!

Mrs. Blackbird.

A Greenfinch.
Rob


Tuesday 8 December 2009

Forest of Dean Visitors Guide 2010

The visitors guide is out now and I found myself looking at some familiar photographs throughout!
They have very kindly included some of my nature and wildlife photographs for 2010 and (without being big headed) it looks very cool indeed.

Look out for them, but in case you miss it, these are my pics used for 2010.






Sunday 6 December 2009

Sad News

Very sad news!

To everyone who is not aware, a pure white fallow deer buck was filmed by a local guy and then a still was taken from the film and sent to the local Forester newspaper.
This would have been fine if the location had not been printed, but to say that he was filmed in the woods at ?????? ?????, kind of narrows down the vicinity in which he lives!
A national newspaper has picked up the story and is also using it! The problem now is that this deer will have a huge price on its head and there are too many people out there, which will hunt him and kill him for money.
I know the person who filmed him and he is a genuine nice person with a massive passion for our wildlife. He loves to go out filming our wildlife around the forest and would never intentionally do anything to harm it.
The editor responsible for printing its location in the Forester should have known better. It would have made no difference to the article if he had left the location out?
Very sad day, as this magnificent beast is only around 4 years old and probably won't see 5!

I could have gone public with my pics and video, could have made a lot of money also, but it would have been blood money and this is why I have never done it.

I have filmed him and photographed him many times and I have even posted his pics on here, but I have never given his location away.
The Forest of Dean covers over 42sq miles, so reporting a rare sighting does not jeopardise the subject’s safety unless you give the vicinity or exact location away.

I have said this before, in one of my recent posts... The media can be a great and effective tool in looking out for and protecting our wildlife, but it can also be the worse enemy any animal could possible have, if used in the wrong way.

Tuesday 1 December 2009

The Prince's Rainforests Project

A message from Briony Mathieson.

We are delighted to inform you that HRH The Prince of Wales will be making a keynote speech on December 15th 2009 at the opening ceremony of the High Level part of the UNFCCC Climate Conference in Copenhagen.

This is the first day of the second week of the conference, when the Heads of State and Ministers participate. This invitation reflects the impact of the pioneering work carried out by The Prince of Wales in the environmental arena over the last thirty five years, of which The Prince's Rainforests Project has been the most recent example.

The Prince will use this opportunity to highlight that the future of mankind can only be assured if a consensus is forged on how to integrate economic development with a real understanding of the ecological carrying capacity of the planet. This is the fundamental requirement of any solution to climate change and must be built on a public, private and NGO sector partnership. HRH will stress the urgent need to find a way to live as part of, rather then apart from, Nature.

A transcript of the speech will be available on our website later that day.
http://www.rainforestsos.org/

Briony Mathieson
The Prince's Rainforests Project

http://www.rainforestsos.org/