Oldt1mer - Keith's photos with the keyword: Explore

The beautiful Great Spotted Woodpecker – Dendrocopus major – is a medium sized woodpecker which can be found in North Africa and across the Palearctic and is resident in most of this area. I was very lucky to get a shot of this one as it made its way through the trees, appearing through the branches for just seconds before being hidden or flitting on to the next tree searching for food. They inhabit woodlands, parks and will also come into gardens in the search for food which includes insects, nuts, seeds and even eggs and young birds. This one was seen whilst walking along a wooded pathway at Martin Mere. Explore No 409, 07 Feb 2024. This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.

The lovely little Nuthatch – Sitta europaea – is a small tree climbing bird which loves to run up, down tree trunks and along branches in search of small invertebrates which it plucks from crevices with its long pointed beak. In winter they feed on seeds and especially nuts which they will hide in gaps in tree bark to be eaten later (hence its name). They prefer broadleaved woodland with large old trees but will also visit parks and gardens especially if food is involved but they rarely travel far from the area in which they were hatched. This beauty was seen at Pennington Flash. Explore No 227, 10 January 2024. This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.

This was a lucky grab shot which actually turned out very well. I was sitting, watching absolutely nothing happening on a small lake, small ducks bobbing around, a Mute Swan – Cygnus olor - swimming peacefully, a couple of gulls flying about …. Then something must have spooked the swan, it reared up and started to run on the water and take off. I lifted my camera, the zoom was on full reach, no time to focus, zoom out or even get a good bead on him, and took the shot. That was it, I didn’t even bother to check if I got anything. Then, when I got home and downloaded my pics for the day, I was amazed at how the shot had turned out. The picture is out of camera on width, just a bit cropped off the top for balance. Seen at Pennington Flash. Explore No 380. 06 Dec 2023. This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.

The European Goldfinch – Carduelis carduelis – is a small, colourful (brown, black, white, red and yellow) bird in the Finch family. Although native to Europe, North Africa and western Asia they have been introduced to other countries such as Australia, New Zealand, and Uruguay among others. Both male and female are very similar but the female has a slightly smaller read area on the face. This one was seen with it’s face in the sunlight at Martin Mere. Explore No 428, Nov 08 2023 This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.

Here we have a female Eurasian Bullfinch – Pyrrhula pyrrhula – which has the same black cap as the male but rather than the rose red (as seen in my picture of the male a few pictures back) breast, the female is pinkish-grey and not quite as striking overall as the male. Other facts can be found with my picture of the male. Seen at Pennington Flash. Explore No 362, Oct 11 2023. This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.

The Greylag Goose – Anser anser – is the largest goose native to Britain with a wingspan of 1.6m (over 5 feet) and weighing 3-4kg (up to 9 pounds). They are very sociable birds except when nesting when they become very territorial until their chicks have hatched. Living up to 8 years they love to graze pastures and fields where cattle or sheep graze but they will also eat potatoes and other root crops, various leaf vegetation and grain. This one was caught just after take off at Martin Mere Wetlands. Explore No 293, Sept 13 2023. This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.

I spotted this lovely Red-Tailed Bumblebee – Bombis – landing on the flower of a Perennial Wallflower – Erysimum linifolium and just managed to grab a shot before he buzzed away to new flowers. The Bee can be distinguished by the (only just visible) yellow facial hair. Seen at Martin Mere. Explore 8th august 2023 No 301 This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.

This is the Eurasian Teal – Anas crecca – which is a small dabbling duck which breeds in Eurosiberia and migrates south in the winter. Also known as the Common Teal or Eurasian Green-Winged Teal it is commonly found in sheltered wetlands feeding on seeds and aquatic invertebrates. This is a male in nuptial plumage, as can be seen by the white stripe running along his flanks, which was seen at Martin Mere Wetlands. Explore No 254, 19 July 2023. This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.

The captivating European Robin – Erithacus rubecula – or Robin Redbreast to many, is a very friendly little creature and is the UK’s favourite bird. They sing nearly all the year round and have very loud voices for such little birds. It belongs to the Old World Flycatcher family as opposed to the American Robin which belongs to the Thrush family. This lovely little one was seen at Pennington Flash. Explore No 485, May 23 2023 This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.

The Eurasian Bullfinch - Pyrrhula pyrrhula - is a very easily identifiable bird of the Finch family, especially the male with his bright pinkish-red breast and cheeks, black cap and tail and grey back being the most pronounced. They love feeding on the fresh buds of various trees in the spring and seeds throughout the year, they take insects but mainly to feed their young. They breed across Europe and into temperate Asia and can be seen pretty much anywhere there is a supply of food. This one was seen at Pennington Flash. Explore No 244. 28 March 2023 This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.

The amazing European Kestrel - Falco tinnunculus - is a bird of prey also known as the Eurasian Kestrel or Common Kestrel and is the only Kestrel to commonly inhabit the UK. The female is larger than the male weighing around 184 g to the males 155g. Kestrels can be found in a variety of habitats from towns to the open countryside eating voles, mice, shrews and small birds as well as worms and insects with most prey taken from the hover as can be seen here. A little known fact is that Kestrels can see ultraviolet light, meaning that they can detect urine trails left by rodents on the ground enabling the tracking and location of the prey. This female (or possibly a young male), was seen at Martin Mere Wetlands. Explore No 282. 07 March 2023. This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.

The mere sight of a Common Wasp - Vespula vulgaris - hovering around is enough to send many people running and flailing their arms about trying to get rid of it. It is exactly this action, though, that may cause it to sting because under normal circumstances it will usually not sting without being provoked by sudden movement or threatening behaviour. The sting is, however, rarely life threatening and is an alkaline venom as against Bee venom which is acidic. I find it fascinating how the body flexes at the middle. This one was spotted peacefully enjoying nectar at the Three Sisters Recreational area, Wigan. Explored No 466, Jan 18th 2023 This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.

The Patchwork Leafcutter Bee - Megachile centuncularis - is a solitary bee which carries pollen on the underside of the abdomen instead of the legs as other bees do. It is resident in both North America and Eurasia and will visit gardens as well as the countryside collecting pollen from various flowers but especially from Thistles and Brambles. This one, which I think is a female, was seen digging deep into the Thistle flower at Three Sisters Recreational area, Bryn, Wigan. Explored No 302, Nov29 2022 This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.

The Chaffinch - Fringilla coelebs - is a very widespread and abundant bird in GB and is commonly seen in gardens hopping about under feeders or taking food from the feeder itself. It is a very colourful bird with the male having a blue-grey cap, rust-red underparts and black and white wing bars whilst the female has a duller greencap, grey underparts and not as much white on the wings. This male, as you can see, has white lesions on its left foot and to a lesser extent on its left foot. This is called Viral Papilloma and is caused by a mite (Cnemidocoptes) which is passed on by contact or even just perching on a place where another infected bird has sat. The disease is also known as 'Tassle Foot', 'Mange' or 'Scaly Foot' and can affect not just the feet but also the legs of infected birds. The disease mainly affects the Chaffinch but has also been found more rarely on Bramblings, Bullfinches, Greenfinches and Goldfinches. The disease which, strangely, can spontaneously disappear, develops slowly over a period of weeks to months and the bird can live quite happily unless it gets too severe causing lameness. Seen at Pennington Flash, Leigh. Explore No 329, Nov 09 2022 This Picture is fully © Copyrighted. None of my images may be copied, reproduced or altered in any form or manner or placed on the internet or any other social media, or in any form of publication either print or otherwise, in any form or manner without my written permission.