A week or so ago it was a nice surprise to discover that a black necked grebe in breeding plumage had appeared on a lake at Bispham Blackpool. This is a very uncommon bird in Lancashire and nationally only a few pairs breed in Britain. In breeding plumage it is a stunning looking bird and […]
Author: Brian Rafferty
I am based in Preston. Lancashire. This central location enables me to travel easily to a wide variety of habitats in the North of England. I tend these days not to travel very far as I find that there is plenty to see not very far from home. On my own doorstep are a wonderful variety of habitats - natural woodlands, open fells and hill country, unspoilt river valleys and I have easy access to the delights of the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks. As you will see from my bird images much time is spent at the wonderful coastal sites forming part of Morecambe Bay and the Ribble Estuary e.g. Marshside and Leighton Moss. In recent years Digital Photography has taken over from Video and as time has moved on I have acquired more and more equipment - as you do!!
I use Nikon Camera Equipment and currently use a Nikon D200 for general work and a D300 specifically for bird photography. The D300m is usually coupled to a 500mm F4 lens which has dramatically changed the quality of images that I am now able to obtain.
I am enjoying being able to post images on Flickr and share the rewards of our wonderful interests with the rest of the world!!!
Return to Bowland
At long last the weather had warmed up and Spring was well and truly on the way in fact for a few days it was more like Summer with temperatures soaring into the seventies!! Nature responded and migrants started arriving and spring flowers were blooming. I decided therefore to visit Bowland where I hadn’t been […]
March Mix
I haven’t done much birding or photography this month. This has been due to lack of mobility and poor weather. I did however manage a few rides in the car to one or two favourite locations and returned with some reasonable images for you to see. First up is the well known little owl near […]
Feeding Time
It is a while since I posted. The weather has not been good and I am currently restricted as to how far I can walk. I did however last week manage a couple of trips to Martin Mere Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust. I could manage to get to the Discovery Centre where at Feeding Time […]
Glasson Dock…Goldeneye
Three years ago about this time there were a good number of goldeneye duck on the marina at Glasson Dock. I think there were around fifty birds present and I remember having a good day with the camera. A few goldeneye had been reported recently so last week I went for a look. Sure enough […]
New Year – Barn Owl
It had been a long time since I had seen a barn owl so it was a nice surprise to find a hunting barn owl during my recent travels. I was travelling the back roads and quiet lanes in the Pilling and Cockerham area. The barn owl was very active and it was a challenge […]
Christmas Geese
For my last post of 2017 it is more of the same!! Pink footed geese have definitely been on my menu this Christmas.Each time I have been out this holiday period I have come across some large flocks of pink footed geese. They were all in the Pilling area and I suspect that it is […]
Super Whoopers
At the end of last month I visited the Pilling and Cockerham area of Lancashire. This area is visited in the winter months by large flocks of pink footed geese and whooper swans. There are rich pickings to be had in the fields with left over remains of potato and other vegetable crops. This winter […]