It has been a long time since my last blog; a lot has happened during the last year including quite a bit of travelling around Britain.
Ever since dropping my Pony Watching job with the National Trust in order to concentrate on my degree (that is finally over!) I hadn't really put as much effort into going out to take photographs.
However, I did manage to get some great shots throughout the year:
First off, had a trip to the Isle of Wight which was beautifully hot even though it was relatively early in the year. Sadly I saw no butterflies on the chalk grasslands but it was a little too early in the year; however the flowers had started to bloom especially one of my favourites, the bluebell.
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| Bluebell-Isle of Wight |
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| Red Clover-Isle of Wight |
The Isle of Wight also provided the best views of Red Squirrels I have ever had; most were bold enough to come close enough to touch and were quite mischievous jumping from their poses as I trained my camera on them. Thankfully there are no Grey Squirrels on the island; although they did have to "compete" for food with rats, a variety of birds and a very nonchalant fox.
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| Red Squirrel-Isle of Wight |
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| Isle of Wight |
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| Isle of Wight |
The Needles, with the great weather and clear sea, looked out of place in a Caribbean-like setting.
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| The Needles-Isle of Wight |
When leaving the island we took a detour through the New Forest which allowed me to get some comical shots of the very young foals.
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| I don't think he liked the smell of his foot all that much! |
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| New Forest Ponies- New Forest |
While studying in Cumbria I managed to take some time from doing my dissertation to take walks around the forest. While writing some coursework in the forest I once looked up and saw a brown hare not 10 feet away washing its face, completely unaware of my presence (the best close-up view I've ever had except for when I practically stepped on one!). The many trips to the forest also gave me some great views of Roe deer and my first ever sighting of a badger!
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| Badger-Cumbria |
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| Bracket Fungus-Cumbria |
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| Roe Deer-Cumbria |
In the Summer I also had a trip to Mull which was a great highlight to the year and gave me sightings of animals I had never seen before including short eared owl, Irish hare, hen harrier and the white tailed eagle!
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| Fingals Cave- Isle of Staffa |
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| Isle of Staffa |
Basking sharks were also a new sight for me and the trip offered may views with some passing under the boat so you could see their gaping mouths.
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| Basking Shark-Mull |
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| Mull |
My favourite (also a first) sighting has to be the minke whale which surfaced right next to the boat with little warning. It followed for a couple of minutes before diving deep below, disappearing as quickly as it appeared.
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| Minke Whale-Mull |
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| Minke Whale-Mull |
The trip also offered sightings of a variety of bird species including Arctic tern, puffin (which, by sitting close to their burrows infested me and then the tent with ticks!), shag, razorbills, golden eagle and white tailed eagle to name but a few!
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| Arctic Tern-Mull |
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| Mull |
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| Shag- Treshnish Isles |
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| Gannet-Mull |
The White Tailed Eagles offered great photos with their close appearances and were also another first for me; they were also another of the highlights of the trip and you really do see how big they are with that seven/eight foot wingspan...especially when you see them being mobbed by ravens!
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| White Tailed Eagle-Mull |
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| White Tailed Eagle- Mull |
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