Hello and welcome to my first blog of 2022. I hope you all had a great time over Christmas and the New year. Also I hope my photography has inspired you to buy/borrow or steal a camera to take some photos for yourself in the new year!!

As for the weather over Christmas well it was certainly different. I saw butterflies, ducklings and goslings probably due to the climate change here in the UK. Temperatures of 13°C were recorded on New years day then a few days later they plummeted to -6°C! Weird weather. It must be confusing for wildlife and nature in general.

My first outing of 2022 was to the British wildlife centre in Surrey. I visit this place usually once a month and it's great to see how the animals act/look during different times of the year.

Red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris)Red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris)
British wildlife centre, Surrey.

This Red squirrel was my first image of the New year! British wildlife centre.

During the depths of Winter I like to visit the wildfowl and wetland trust reserves of Slimbridge, Arundel & London. Many wild birds spend the Winter at these places which have habitat that suits them plus their breeding grounds in Greenland/Russia are more than likely to be frozen. Hence the reason many birds migrate South.

Wigeon (Mareca penelope)Wigeon (Mareca penelope)
WWT Slimbridge, Gloucestershire. Wigeon duck. A Winter visitor to the UK.

Common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)Common kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)
WWT Arundel, West Sussex. Kingfishers can be spotted easier in the Winter due to lack of vegetation.

Another bird that is often heard and seen is the UK's favourite bird, the robin. Winter is when they claim territories and find a mate. They are often heard singing at all hours even in the middle of the night!

Singing RobinSinging Robin
Marsworth reservoir, Tring, Herts. A Robin in full song.

I recently joined the Warwickshire wildlife trust which gives me early morning access to another of my favourite places, Brandon marsh near Coventry. It's only an hour away for me and it is a fantastic place. It also has a great cafe which has cake to die for. But that's another story!!

Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandarius)Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandarius)
Brandon marsh, Warks. The UK's most colourful crow. A European Jay at Brandon marsh, Warks.

Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris)Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris)
WWT Arundel, West Sussex.

Seldom seen birds like this Treecreeper are easier to spot in Winter.

Grey heron (Ardea cinerea)Grey heron (Ardea cinerea)
Spade Oak nature reserve, Marlow, Bucks. A Grey heron at Spade Oak near Marlow, Bucks.

Great egret (Ardea alba)Great egret (Ardea alba)
WWT Slimbridge, Gloucestershire. Great egret at WWT Slimbridge, Gloucs.

Water vole (Arvicola amphibius)Water vole (Arvicola amphibius)
British wildlife centre, Surrey. Water vole at the British wildlife centre, Surrey

During 2022 I will hopefully spend some time in Scotland. I had a holiday booked there just before Covid started so I have been putting it off until things get back to normality. Also I would like to visit more locations on the East coast of the UK such as the Farne islands and of course several trips to the seabird mecca which is Bempton Cliffs. Hopefully other opportunities will arise during the year to try new locations. Also I have started to invest in mirrorless camera technology. The beauty of this set up is that the cameras are totally silent and incorporate new auto focus technology. Something I'm really looking forward to getting to grips with, so I will let you all know how I get on with the new set up.

Thank you all for reading my latest blog and thank you all for your support and kind comments.

Please continue to upload your photographs to my Photo's Page. There are some great photographs being posted.

Many more of my images can be viewed on my Instagram gallery page.

Thanks

Steve