Fallow Deer. Norfolk.

 Selection of images of Fallow Deer in Norfolk, taken during my week there in October.














Siberian Stonechat. Caister Norfolk. Sunday 25th October 2015.

SIBERIAN STONECHAT
After my holiday to Italy there was just one day before Sarah and I travelled to Norfolk with daughter Abby and her French Bulldog Tucker. The week before, whilst in Italy, had seen a lot of good birds in Norfolk but typically the wind direction had changed and they had all departed. I set my sights on the Siberian Stonechat at Caister until I realised that the pager message was an older message and the not the day previous!! Damn!!
 And so I cancelled my early start on the first morning of our stay at Trimmingham, but low and behold once I awoke and read my pager set next to the bed, the very first message was.....you guessed it...Siberian Stonechat Caister still!
It didn't take me long to get ready and I was on my way, the traffic was quiet being a Sunday morning and I was there in under an hour. I set off along the dunes and joined the already waiting birders and photographers, whereby the Sibe' was already on view perched on the wire fenceline.
 The paleness of the bird really stood out.


The clean white rump was easy to see.



 Here you can see the black underwing coverts.
A lovely bird and a new one for me, I stayed for a few hours then had to get back for lunchtime, by then it was favouring an area just further in on the golf course so I was happy with the views I had been given.
*Result as it was not seen the next day!*

Italy. Sorrento and the Almalfi Coastline.

View from the Hotel, Mount Vesuvius as a back drop.
Italy
Sarah and I were joined by my Mum & Dad for this holiday, we were staying just outside Sorrento on the shores of the Bay of Naples. Immediately opposite the hotel was Mount Vesuvius, what a sight to be greeted with every day, we had adjoining rooms and most of the time when in the rooms my dad and I were normally scanning from our balconies looking for any birds flying past. There was quite a lot of shrubs around the hotel which held a few species of bird. Being next to the water the most numerable birds were Yellow legged Gulls, we saw Italian Sparrows,White Wagtails,Robin, a surprise sight was a Kingfisher seen a couple of times and the best birds were a Subalpine Warbler, Blue Rock Thrush and a very low flying Honey Buzzard. One day we watched a school of fish leaping out of the water which was a great sight to see.
 Almalfi
 Yellow legged Gull
 Yellow legged Gull
Anyone seen my tail!
Yellow legged Gull
 Pompei
Pompei was a fascinating and great place to visit, shame about the weather that day but worth getting wet for. Even here amongst the ruins we found Italian Sparrows, Blue Rock Thrush and Black Redstart.
Pompei
 Sunset from the Hotel
 Yellow legged Gull
 Summit of Ana Capri
The day we visited the Island of Capri was a glorious warm day. Yellow legged Gulls frequented the port, birds could be heard when we took the chair lift to the summit of Ana Capri but couldn't be seen. Once at the summit we had stunning views all around and to top it off we watched 2 Peregrines swoop and fly overhead. Here we also saw the tail less lizard, pictured further up, and Wall Butterflies.
 Wall Butterfly
 Italian Sparrow
We had a superb holiday visiting this part of Italy and would visit there again. Other species seen were during our travels included Buzzard, Raven, a couple of terns, possibly Gull Billed, a probable Eleonora's Falcon, Tree Sparrow. But considering the habitat and surroundings we were surprised of the lack of birds around.

Catastrophic Failure! Worrying Times.

It's been a while since my last entry, holidays in Italy and Norfolk have been great but before them I had a fatal crash on my computer. Despite being looked at the situation seemed to get worse and as of writing I don't know if any photos and work will be recoverable. There was a lot of images awaiting being put onto disc including some rarities and previous holiday trips to Spain, to say I'm gutted is a huge understatement, but fingers crossed for some luck in saving stuff.

Show & Sale and "Tiger Cub " finished.

Last weekend we had our village Show & Sale, which was great fun. The weather for once was in our favor and it stayed rain-less. I spent the afternoon chatting about my paintings, photos and wildlife and really enjoyed it, got to sell some of my work too which was very nice.
Here is the latest finished painting, "Tiger Cub"
I didn't have it completed in time for the show, but after around 13 hours in total I put the brush down on it.

Puffin Fox and Rain!

 Puffin Portrait
My final 2 paintings before the Ashwell Show. It was a great experience but the weather was awful with rain all day long definitely keeping the thousands of visitors at home!
More on my Artwork Blog

 The Fox
Ashwell Show.

Musings for the Month.

 With the Lion painting taking up most of my time off work,and looking after the mischievous little puppy that we are looking after at the moment, I was only able to watch the wildlife from the window. Until a neighbour came round with a Elephant Hawkmoth he had found. I took some photos then placed it among the garden shrubs for it to feed. Such a weird looking thing but what a beauty they turn into.

 On one day I took some time to watch the butterflies around the Buddleia to the front of our house, highlight was a Painted Lady, but in total I watched 7 species feeding away.

And finally to the last painting I have completed "The Lion".