Martin's Bird Blog & Nature Photos

Tag: photography

  • 23rd July 2026 – Yeo Valley Organic Garden, Somerset

    23rd July 2026 – Yeo Valley Organic Garden, Somerset

    We feel we get very good value out of a number of annual subscriptions we have to bodies such as The National Trust, the RSPB (Royal Society of the Protection of Birds), the WWT (World Wildlife Trust) and, at this time of the year, to the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society).

    We were very excited when the RHS announced that, this year, they were going to replace the annual Garden Show at Hampton Court in London with a show much closer to home at Badminton House (famous for its Horse Trials). However, come the day earlier in July we were rather disappointed as we had chosen a day in the middle of a heatwave and didn’t enjoy ourselves as much as when we had visited the RHS Garden Show at Hampton Court a few years ago. This year there were long traffic queues to get there (at least at Hampton Court a lot of people were able to use public transport which was not really an option here in the heart of Gloucestershire); the popularity of these events also meant that there were huge number of visitors and the facilities were stretched to their limit.

    There is no doubt that the setting for the RHS garden show in front of Badminton House was very special

    We did enjoy seeing some of the “show gardens” but were not allowed to venture through them as had been the case at Hampton Court

    As close as I could get, fighting my way through the crowds

    An award winning “Cricket Pavilion” show garden – a six would have cleared the crowds of onlookers

    Everyone was considering drought tolerant plants

    Although there are no major RHS gardens near to us there are a number of “partner” gardens that we can visit with our RHS membership. One of our favourites is the Yeo Valley Organic Garden close to Blagdon Lake in North Somerset, south of Bristol.

    Our visit last week also corresponded to another very hot day but, at least, we didn’t have to contend with large numbers of visitors. There are some fabulous sections to this garden, which I have reported on in the past, but on our last two visits I have been fascinated that they have developed a new section (replacing “The Big Grass Bed”) which I would describe as the sort of terrain that you might see on the edge of a quarry or next to a building site. This “dry” garden is well suited to the hot conditions which we are enjoying at the moment and feature lots of plants which are drought tolerant. Clearly something all gardeners are having to consider in this part of the world as climate changes affect us.

    Salvias are doing well in my garden too this year

    A sneaky photo of a salvia in my garden before we set off on our trip to the Yeo Valley Organic Garden – they have been attracting bees in huge numbers.

    Quarry/building site?

    Gatekeeper butterfly

    Daucus carota – wild carrot

    Digitalis ferruginea – rusty foxglove

    Painted Lady butterfly on verbena

    Kniphofia – I like its common name of “torch lily”

    Painted Lady would be well camouflaged in the Knophofia

    The gravel garden is full of pollinators and butterflies

    There are great views of Blagdon Lake from the garden

    My only bird photo – very very distant cattle egret next to the lake

    Now there’s a thought if you have the space

    Interesting water feature surrounded by drought tolerant flowers

    Common blue damselfly

    Water feature to die for

    Southern hawker in the bronze garden

    Large white butterfly attracted by the verbena

    Flower bed in the Gravel garden

    Still loads more to see but the heat was getting more intense and the garden café was irresistible: the frittata and the zero degrees Goram IPA (from the local Butcombe brewery) are both highly recommended.

  • 10th-17th July 2026 – Buckler’s Hard, Hampshire

    10th-17th July 2026 – Buckler’s Hard, Hampshire

    It’s been over seven weeks since my last blog as, again, we have been “confined to barracks”. 

    Unfortunately, on our last holiday my wife had a fall when we were out walking on a coastal path and the resulting fracture has restricted any meaningful sorties since then. With good support from her osteopath (and determination on her part) she made sufficient progress for us to embark on another trip to the south coast and make the most of the wonderful summer that we are enjoying in the UK.

    We found an amazing rental cottage at Buckler’s Hard (the shipyard where boats for Nelson’s Navy were built) on the banks of the Beaulieu River, in the heart of the New Forest. This fabulous venue enabled us to do some local birdwatching and to visit some other nearby birding sites which were easy for us to access.

    Buckler’s Hard

    The cottage, a unique Grade II listed former bath house with thatched roof and rustic tree trunk veranda, was set in an idyllic location beside the Beaulieu River and was ideal for our purposes.

    The Duke’s Bath House

    The Beaulieu River

    In the secluded extensive garden we enjoyed seeing a variety of birds and regularly heard redshank, curlew and oystercatcher on the river banks.

    The garden to the rear of the Duke’s Bath House

    Some of the birds that we saw in the garden:

    Greenfinch

    Song thrush

    Common blackbird

    Juvenile European robin

    European robin

    House sparrow

    Goldfinch

    Starling in the evening sunshine

    Pied wagtail on the lawn

    Reed warbler seen from a nearby bird hide

    Common redshank on the banks of the Beaulieu River

    … and even a pup seal

    In the evenings we were treated to the sight of adult barn swallows feeding their young and rabbits playing on the lawn.

    Barn swallows

    Barn swallows

    Barn swallow

    Our first trip out was only a dozen miles away to Calshot, a coastal village at the west corner of Southampton Water where it joins the Solent. Calshot is notable for its role in the development of aircraft and flying boats. In 1913 the Royal Flying Corps established Calshot Naval Air Station (later known as RNAS Calshot and RAF Calshot) at the end of Calshot Spit and there are still the large hangars which are put to good use as activities centres.

    Little egret

    Oystercatcher with muddy bill

    Curlew

    Common ringed plover

    Common ringed plover in flight

    Oystercatcher in flight

    Sandwich tern

    A colony of Sandwich terns on Southampton Water

    Black-headed gull

    Our next birding trip was again only a very short ride to Lymington and Keyhaven Marshes. The internationally important coastal marshes and mudflats are teeming with fish and, as a result, thousands of sea birds and waders flock here.

    Curlew with sea lavender

    Common linnet

    European stonechat

    Barn swallow

    Meadow pipit

    Common tern

    Both of these sites we would love to visit again, outside the summer season when we might expect to see even more birds.

    For non birding activities we visited nearby Lymington and Beaulieu (but unfortunately we did not have enough time to visit the estate with its country house and excellent National Motor Museum) and spent a lot of time absorbing the atmosphere of Buckler’s Hard by visiting its excellent museum and taking a river cruise on the Beaulieu river.

    We also had several visits to the Master Builder’s House (now a pub and restaurant) which, fortuitously, was only a hundred yards from our cottage.

    The village of Buckler’s Hard

    Outside the excellent museum at Buckler’s Hard

    Representation of Buckler’s Hard in its boat builder heyday in the early 19th Century in the museum

    The Montague Arms in the village of Beaulieu

    Part of the Beaulieu Estate

    It was good to enjoy a pint of our local (Bristol) zero percent bitter on a stop-off for lunch on the way home!

  • 17th May 2026 – Aust, Severn Estuary, Gloucestershire

    17th May 2026 – Aust, Severn Estuary, Gloucestershire

    This morning we had a walk locally along the Severn Way on the Severn Estuary.

    I had cataract surgery on one of my eyes just two days ago (in and out in about an hour) and was keen to get out and test my “new”eyesight. The surgery has definitely been a success but, even though it was quite dull, it was very windy and I had to wear sunglasses to protect my eye.

    At first I was disappointed as I could see no birds but we were very heartened as we could hear skylarks all around us. Eventually, I was able to pick out quite a few and, although I only had a 200mmm lens with me, I was able to get a few shots.

    The Severn Estuary

    Eurasian skylark in flight

    Eurasian skylark

    Eurasian skylark

    Eurasian skylark

    On the way back we could just make out shelduck and good numbers of oystercatchers on the estuary.

    Shelduck and oystercatchers on the estuary.

    I was pleased to pick out a common buzzard at some distance and obligingly it stayed around a while as we got closer to it.

    Common buzzard

    The same common buzzard

    Before we arrived back at the car there was a reed bunting making itself known to all and sundry, possibly looking for a mate.

    Common red bunting

    Common reed bunting

  • 9th May 2026 – Yeo Valley Garden, North Somerset

    9th May 2026 – Yeo Valley Garden, North Somerset

    Definitely one of our favourite gardens to visit locally, Yeo Valley Organic Garden set in the beautiful countryside of the Chew Valley and adjacent to Blagdon Lake was as stunning as ever this morning. This was not a birding visit but it was pleasing to see our first hobby of the season, even if it was rather distant hunting dragonflies over the lake. There were also a few butterflies and insects to challenge my photography skills.

    A distant Eurasian hobby in flight

    There’s always a robin

    Painted lady butterfly on allium

    Speckled wood butterfly on beech hedge

    Rose chafers

    Rose chafers

    The wisteria were probably the stand out plants of today

    Selection of photos of some of the wonderful plants in the garden:

  • 3rd May 2026 – Bristol, UK

    3rd May 2026 – Bristol, UK

    I only occasionally see jay in our garden but each year, at about this time, they come to my neighbour’s garden to collect nesting material.

    This morning 2 jay provided quite a spectacle until the bully boys of the bird world, magpies, came and saw them off.

    Eurasian jay

    Pair of jays

    Eurasian jay

    Eurasian jay

    Eurasian jay

    Eurasian jay

    Eurasian jay

    Eurasian jay

  • 27th – 30th April 2026 – Pembrokeshire

    27th – 30th April 2026 – Pembrokeshire

    We have spent three nights visiting friends in Pembrokeshire in Wales. As I am building up my strength and confidence, 3 nights has been perfect as we had leisurely trips there and back (about 300 miles in total), two full days exploring parts of Pembrokeshire and plenty of time to enjoy our friends’ company.

    Monday 27th April

    On our outward journey we stopped off at Dyffryn Gardens, an Edwardian garden being restored by the National Trust, on the far side of Cardiff in the beautiful Vale of Glamorgan. This is only the second time we have visited these gardens and there have been huge improvements since our last visit in 2018. As the Dyffryn website says: “Dyffryn has something new to discover on every visit, from intricate themed garden rooms to sweeping formal lawns and productive kitchen gardens to a large arboretum”. We particularly enjoyed the show of wisteria which are at their best at this time of the year.

    There always seems to be a robin to greet you in formal gardens – Dyffryn was no exception

    A view of the front of the house at Dyffryn from the edge of the arboretum – lots of orange tip and holly blue butterflies to see.
    The rear of the house
    Splendid beech tree and very old wisteria

    The acers too were at their best

    Wisteria in one of the themed garden rooms

    Close up of wisteria at the rear of the house

    Our second stop was at the delightful town of Laugharne, on the estuary where the River Taf flows into Carmarthen Bay, and which is synonymous with the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas who lived in Laugharne from 1949 until his death in 1953. The National Trust maintains the Dylan Thomas boathouse which has magnificent views across the estuary.

    Laugharne Castle

    We had a brief moment for birdwatching but mainly enjoyed the company of a local resident who engaged with us in conversation in the beautiful mid-afternoon sunshine.

    Little egret and Eurasian curlew

    Barn swallow over the estuary

    Closer view of the barn swallow

    Tuesday 28th April

    Our main focus was a a spot of birdwatching at Pickleridge Lagoon and the Gann on the coast near Dale.

    The weather was rather dull but we saw some good birds including oystercatchers, whimbrel, a grey plover, common ringed and dunlin.

    Grey plover

    Common ringed plover and dunlin

    Whimbrel

    Distant oystercatcher on the low tide

    Not the Strait of Hormuz but the refineries around Milford Haven

    Wednesday 29th April

    Back to sunshine even if the breeze was rather stiff and fresh. We spent the day close to our friends house near to Cresswell Quay. This area is particularly beautiful and there was plenty to see and photograph.

    Dunnock in our friends’ garden

    House martin at Cresswell Quay

    The view from Cresswell Quay

    It would be strange to see puffins (unless you had drunk too much of their local brew) at Cresswell Quay but Skomer Island, famous for its puffins, is not far from here.

    Whereas, London is 237 and a quarter (!) of a mile from here.

    Red kite at Cresswell Quay

    Common buzzard at Creswell Quay

    Later we visited Carew Castle which is also close to our friends’ house

    Lots of house martin here but no sand martin which have been reported recently

    Early purple orchid near the castle

    After a leisurely lunch at Stackpole we visited the nearby Lily Ponds at Bosherston but not many birds in evidence.

    Even too early for the lily ponds

    … but the ramsoms in the woods were spectacular

    30th April

    On our journey home we stopped at the wonderful Aberglasnay Gardens near to Carmarthen. Besides the gardens we enjoyed close up views of robins, wrens, blackbirds, a song thrush and a red kite which came close overhead and which I managed to photograph with my compact camera.

    Song thrush

    Eurasian wren

    European robin

    Red kite

    Aberglasnay gardens

    Aberglasnay gardens

    Wisteria – a speciality here too

    Red kite

    Camassia were the stars of the plant show

    Post script:

    Great spotted woodpecker in the garden at our friend’s (taken through the window)

    Great spotted woodpecker

    Great spotted woodpecker

  • 19th April 2026 – Pilning Wetlands, Severn Estuary, Gloucestershire

    19th April 2026 – Pilning Wetlands, Severn Estuary, Gloucestershire

    We had a Sunday morning walk along the Severn Estuary between the two bridges that cross the River Severn from England to Wales. We had underestimated the warmth of the sun and had too many warm layers on – it’s not very often you can say that along this stretch, especially in April.

    The new Servern Bridge crossing – The Prince of Wales Bridge

    Looking north towards the old Severn Bridge crossing

    The best of what we saw were a northern wheatear on the warth (the grassy bank next to the river) and a pair of linnets. To the right of the footpath there is a private wetlands (Pilning Wetlands) which you generally need a good telescope to see birds but, by venturing along another footpath, we did get close enough to photograph some little ringed plover and pair of avocets (but not very well). Along the path there were also common whitethroat and another linnet.

    Common reed bunting on Pilning Wetlands

    Northern wheatear

    Common linnet

    Little ringed plover

    Little ringed plover

    A pair of avocet with black-headed gull

    Common linnet
    Common whitethroat

    Common whitethroat

    Common whitethroat
  • 9th and 10th April 2026 – Avalon Marshes, Somerset

    9th and 10th April 2026 – Avalon Marshes, Somerset

    We have spent a couple of days on the Avalon Marshes, a group of nature reserves in the Somerset Levels, about an hour south of our home city of Bristol.

    We stayed overnight in Wedmore (a large village situated on raised ground in the Somerset Levels) and this was my first night away (other than in a hospital bed) for 6 months.

    Our accommodation in Wedmore “The George” was excellent

    It was not all “birding” – we visited St Mary’s Church in Wedmore, right next to “The George”

    The day before our trip we were enjoying temperatures of over 20 degrees celsius in our garden but we were sharply brought back to reality with temperatures at least 10 degrees less and with a cold wind to boot.

    The poor light was not ideal for photography but I am not complaining in the least and we both thoroughly enjoyed our short break and saw some lovely birds.

    The first reserve we visited was RSPB Greylake, a small reserve to the south of the Avalon Marshes. Here we had good views of common crane, little and great egrets, a few waders including northern pintail, shovelers and teal; and heard lots of Cetti’s warblers.

    Common crane and a little egret

    Common crane

    Common crane in flight

    Common crane

    Great egret

    Common crane

    Home from home – a European goldfinch greeted us on arrival

    After RSPB Greylake we moved on to RSPB Ham Wall to the north. We restricted ourselves to just one hide here, mainly because it was so cold. However, despite the poor light we did see great crested grebe, tufted ducks, sand martins, grey herons, cormorants and a marsh harrier. Glastonbury Tor is always a nice backdrop from this hide.

    Long-tailed tit on arrival at RSPB Ham Wall

    Great crested grebe with its supper

    Great crested grebe

    Great crested grebe shooing off a competitor

    Great crested grebe preening

    Sand Martin

    Grey heron with Glastonbury Tor in the background

    Grey heron with dark sky

    Western marsh harrier

    Western marsh harrier

    Western marsh harrier

    Western marsh harrier

    Our second day we only spent a short time birding at Somerset Wildlife Trust’s Catcott Nature Reserve. The best here was a solitary (and very secretive) black-tailed godwit and a pair of Egyptian geese,

    Black-tailed godwit

    Black-tailed godwit

    Egyptian goose

    On the way home we stopped in Glastonbury for a cream tea (just as good here in Somerset as the Devon and Cornwall ones) and meandered back through the lanes of North Somerset rather than take on the motorway which might have been congested with end of Easter holiday traffic.

    The view of Chew Valley on our way home – we resisted bird watching here despite a brief moment of sunshine.

  • 1st April 2026 – WWT Slimbridge, Gloucestershire

    1st April 2026 – WWT Slimbridge, Gloucestershire

    It was a very gloomy morning at Slimbridge but, even though we are between seasons with not so many birds around, our spirits were lifted with some exciting moments. We even heard our first willow warbler.

    Avocet from the Rushy hide.

    Western marsh harrier high over the Rushy hide

    Common crane on the Severn Estuary from the Estuary Tower hide

    Common buzzard from the Estuary Tower hide

    European robin with plenty of flies for company (or food?)

    Eurasian spoonbill from the Robbie Garnett hide

    Eurasian spoonbill from the Robbie Garnett hide

    Kingfisher from the Decoy hide

    Kingfisher from the Decoy hide

    Collision avoided

    Kingfisher from the Decoy hide

    Yesterday there was a little sunshine and I managed a few photos of garden birds in our garden.

    Eurasian jay (from the dining room, in fact, as I fetched my camera)

    Eurasian jay

    Blue tit

    European goldfinch

    Starling

  • 17th March 2026 – WWT Slimbridge

    17th March 2026 – WWT Slimbridge

    What a joy to be out and about and immersed in nature again today. I know with the wet weather we have had this winter many others would also be feeling the same. 

    However, I’m especially grateful as in the past 3 and a half months since my last blog I have had some serious surgery to contain bladder and prostate cancer. I am very pleased that today I have got to the point where I could make the 25 mile journey to Slimbridge and even happier that I could manage to carry a camera to capture some of the beautiful moments.

    I was restricted to the two nearest hides to the centre’s entrance but that was more than enough for today. The highlights were 3 Eurasian spoonbills but each and every bird was a special delight for me. Hope you like some of the photos too.

    The whooper and Bewick swans have all headed back to Russia and we are left with mute swans

    … and black swans too.

    I felt this robin, only a few steps away, came to greet us personally.

    One of my favourites, a Northern pintail

    There were plenty of raucous rooks looking for nesting material

    Eurasian spoonbill

    Eurasian spoonbill

    Eurasian spoonbill posing for the camera

    Eurasian spoonbill up close and in flight

    A sense of scale – Eurasian spoonbill and Eurasian curlew

    Another sense of scale – male and (smaller) female shelduck

    Wigeon

    Canada geese

    Barnacle geese

    Greylag goose
    The teals were very colourful in the sun

    … as were the blue tits

    Common moorhen

    A showy mute swan

    The 3 Eurasian spoonbills together

    Lots of work to be done at this time of the year – cutting the willow

    This is what it would be like without a long lens!
  • 30th November 2025 – Chew Valley Lake, North Somerset

    30th November 2025 – Chew Valley Lake, North Somerset

    Chew Valley Lake

    We had a fabulous time in the winter sunshine at Chew Valley Lake this morning. Chew Valley Lake, just south of Bristol, is the sixth-largest artificial lake by area in the United Kingdom, with an area of 1,200 acres (4.9 km2), but only the forty-seventh largest by volume, reflecting the fact that it is a shallow lake. It is a national centre for birdwatching, with over 260 species recorded. It is particularly shallow at the moment following the dry summer and today there were lots of birds benefiting from the ideal conditions for waders and waterfowl and plenty for me to photograph.

    However, the most exciting aspect of our birding session was meeting 7 year old Stanley and his dad who, in fact, pointed out the common kingfisher to us. It was a sheer delight to chat to Stanley who was most knowledgeable about birds and clearly loved being out and about in the fresh air with his dad pursuing his hobby. Stanley told us all about the places he had been recently and what birds he had seen. He told me that he had recently seen a bittern and that one of his favourite birds was a Bewick’s swan. When I told him that we had just seen a pair of Whooper swans at another part of the lake he was very keen to go and see them. Stanley’s dad told me that Stanley much prefers being out birdwatching rather than staying at home, as many young people do, absorbed in electronic games. I am sure that Stanley will become a well adjusted and decent man just as, I imagine, his dad is.

    It was very interesting watching the kingfisher as it moved from one side of a sluice to another (and from shade to bright sunshine) as it seem to change considerably in colour. I remember reading that the common kingfisher is in fact brown and that the bright blue colour you perceive is due to a phenomenon called structural colouration. Structural  colouration is seen throughout the animal kingdom and makes creatures appear much more colourful than they actually are. So while the coloured pigments in the kingfisher’s feathers are brown, you actually view them as a brilliant blue. It takes some believing, I know.

    The common kingfisher just catching a few rays of sunshine in the dark reeds.

    The kingfisher on the other side of the sluice.

    Common kingfisher

    … and away.

    Common kingfisher

    Cormorant in flight just above the kingfisher

    Whooper swans – bigger than Bewick’s: it is mainly a winter visitor to the UK from Iceland, although a small number of pairs nest in the north. 

    Great white egret

    Cattle egret – the third egret we see in Britain, the little egret, was also to be seen on the lake.

    Black-tailed godwits in flight

    Northern shoveler in flight

    Black-tailed godwits feeding

    Black-tailed godwits flying over a northern shoveler

    Canada goose

    Black-headed gull

    Mute swans

    And just one more kingfisher shot

    … or maybe two, just to show the different colours.

  • 25th November 2025 – WWT Slimbridge, Gloucestershire

    25th November 2025 – WWT Slimbridge, Gloucestershire

    The bright sunlight tempted us out again to WWT Slimbridge, just half an hour up the motorway from where we live in Bristol. However, we weren’t quite prepared for the cold winds which greeted us when we arrived on the estuary of the River Severn.

    The Severn estuary

    I don’t know whether I was affected by the cold but my photos were pretty dreadful and I have very few that I want to publish today.

    In the last few blogs I have been experimenting with video and so I offer a short video of some of the birds we saw today. I have left the wind noise (but toned down) to give you a feeling of the cold wind!

    Despite my excitement in my last blog about the Bewick’s swans there was not one to be seen today.

    There were lots of geese and a few curlew but not much aerial activity except occasionally for flocks of lapwings and shelduck.

    Mainly lapwings

    Shelduck

    Northern pintail