Kitty Kat

 I always love photographing wildlife whether it is near my local beach, at a nature reserve or even in a zoo. I would love to travel and photograph exotic creatures in their natural habitat but there are lots of reasons why that isn't possible every now and then it is great to visit a zoo and get some exotic shots closer to home. Just as in the wild taking photos of any of the animals in the zoo requires a lot of patience and a degree of luck, especially if you want natural looking shots. 

I especially love the big cats and I was lucky enough to see the snow leopards, a Siberian tiger and the cheetah all of which are absolutely beautiful. I am always drawn to the cheetah though because they have such grace and despite being an apex predator with some serious skills they can still manage to charm like a domestic cat.

Here are a few of my cheetah images from my recent zoo visit...

Interloper

Most people , I think, will be familiar with he Cuckoo's habit of laying its eggs in the nest of another species and turfing out the eggs of the resident bird. This duck has a slightly different approach in that the female Carolina Duck or Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) which is native to Canada, the United States and Mexico where it lives on shallow lakes, woodland pools and marshes is known to sneak into a neighbours nest and deposit her own eggs, leaving the unsuspecting mum to be with up to 30 eggs. Often they make their nests in the hollows of trees close to water however due to competition for suitable nesting sites (from birds of prey or mammals such as squirrels) they can nest up to one mile from their water source and this may account for the habit of laying eggs in a fellow Wood ducks nest. This is known as "nest dumping" and unfortunately leads to unsuccessful incubation. They can produce two broods in a season which is unique to this species in North America.

When they hatch young wood ducks will jump down from their cavity in the tree, sometimes from as high as 50 feet landing on the water or a soft surface such as leaf litter. The mother duck will then call to her day old chicks and lead them to where the can find their food. They have a varied diet of berries , seeds and insects, they also eat acorns which  after swallowing them they can crush in their gizzard.

Elegance in Black and White

My second outing of the year was another trip to Martin Mere Wildfowl and Wetland Centre in Lancashire. This time however I had a couple of my grandchildren with me and so I didn't expect to get that many photos. Much to my surprise though, I took just shy of 140 shots while my eldest grandson also managed to take lots of pictures with his own mini digital camera. It was such a lot of fun.

As well as the birds out on the mere we also went around the collection of more "exotic" species and so I have a nice mix of birds to share, when I get round to editing all of the pictures and sorting out the ones worth posting.

Today here are some shots of a Whooper Swan and Black Swan, you will be able to work out which one is which...

The Whooper Swan is a winter visitor which comes down from its breeding grounds in Iceland. They are so elegant and normally as they swim around they hold their necks straight. In these images the bird has been feeding hence its curved neck. They are an Amber Listed species in terms of their conservation status and they are a Schedule 1 listed bird which means it is illegal to disturb them. They are regular winter visitors to Martin Mere.

The Black Swan is a native of Australia but it is now thriving in New Zealand and in the UK. Their plumage is entirely black except for some flight feathers which are white.

My favourite image today is the second one which is a much softer image as a result of reducing texture and clarity and adding a slight vignette giving a slightly dreamy quality which enhances the elegance of this beautiful bird.

Did You Get My Best Side

 My first post for 2026, and the first in some time is from my first foray with my camera in quite a while too.

Even though I am retired life is still very busy and finding the time for hobbies can be difficult, and at this time of year when the weather is colder, my bones are creakier, and the light is less predictable getting out for a spot of photography is a challenge.

All of today's shots are from Martin Mere Wetland Centre from 14th January. It was a really cold day and the light conditions were changeable most of these images were shot with a high ISO (as much as 12800) so I have had to a little work to reduce the noise. I think they have mostly turned out alright. 

    Male Pochard

    Male Pintail

    Black Tailed Godwit

    That Pintail again...

    Male Reed Bunting, coming in to land

    Reed Bunting, about to take off...

    

     Male Greenfinch

    Male leucistic Reed Bunting with a chaffinch looking on

    Launch time for a male chaffinch 

    One of my favourite birds, a Long-tailed Tit. Did you know that these are truly social birds, over 50% of their nests have non-parent birds assisting with raising the chicks. Wonderful little things.

Fun Times with Fungi

 This is going to be another one of those times when I post a load of photos from one day's shooting because if I don't who knows when I will get round to it. 

When I was last at Martin Mere I noticed quite a few different fungi but I didn't have a tripod or macro lens with me so I didn't try to photograph any of them. However this is the perfect time of year to get out into your nearest woodland and look for  some of our fabulous fungi. So taking advantage of a few free hours and some dry weather I headed off to Thurstaston Common to see what I could see.

I hadn't gone very far before I spotted something and from then on I found loads of different species and I only stopped searching because I needed to go back home for some lunch. I should have known that I would get absorbed and taken some snacks along with me.

Anyway below is a selection of images from todays wanderings. I won't pretend to know what most of these fungi are called, I know there are a couple of shots of some small Jelly Ear Fungus and a couple of Fly Agaric, but not in the vibrant red you might expect. Many of the others were very small and hidden away. When I say small I mean the heads were   a lot smaller than my small fingernail and the stems no thicker than a blade of grass. Such small and fragile plants that do such an important job in our woodlands and heaths. Some of these may be edible, but as I told the various dog walkers who stopped to ask, I have no idea which ones so unless you know its safer to get your mushrooms from your preferred retailer.

Our natural world is full of wonder and beauty, so scroll down and take a look.