Happy New Year!
- Louise Ward Photography
- Feb 1, 2024
- 3 min read
Welcome to 2024! January has been a long, cold, wet and windy month! I
wasn’t sure I’d found much to photograph this month with birds (and me!)
hiding away from the weather, but looking back through my images there
were still a handful of times I managed to venture out and explore.
January began for me in Southern Eryri (Snowdonia), along the Mawddach Estuary
where there is always something to be seen. Wrapped up warm I ventured
out through Abergwynant Woods to the Mawddach Estuary to see what
would appear. And I wasn’t disappointed! Despite the cold, shelducks, teals,
curlews, and oystercatchers all made an appearance, as well as the highlight
of the day, a goldeneye which was a first for me!
After a hairy drive back through torrential rain (the day of the floods!) I laid
low for a while as the storms passed across the country and only made it back
out on my photography adventures once the sun came back out, though
temperatures were still below zero. I headed to Upton Warren near Droitwich and Bromsgrove where there are two parts to the reserve. The pools at The Flashes owe their existence to past underground brine extraction, which has caused subsidence and flooding. These saline pools, the southern part of the reserve, receive brine from underground seepage and salt-tolerant or salt-dependent plants form a rare inland saltmarsh. The northern Moors pools are freshwater lakes formed on previously agricultural land; the great expanse of water attracts a wide range of birds with lakes often frequented by sea birds passing through. It hadn’t occurred to me that it was cold enough for the lakes to be completely frozen over, but frozen over they were!
This did mean that apart from a couple of swans that were VERY ungracefully
attempting to walk across the ice, the lakes were pretty empty of birds. But
undeterred I turned to watching the hedgerows instead, and soon spotted
wrens, dunnocks and robins hopping through the bushes, as well as a flock of
goldfinches perching on top, making a stunning scene against the gorgeous
blue sky.
I returned a week later and was greeted by much more activity – tufted
ducks, reed buntings, and dozens of long-tailed tits!
Both times I rewarded myself with a well deserved chai latte and cake from
The Shack which is always a lovely way to end a day out. Next time I might
be tempted by one of their amazing sandwiches!
I’m always reminded in these cold months that you don’t always have to
venture far afield to find wildlife. The two foxes that live on our road have
been spending most days in the garden, and putting on photoshoots just for
me! We have a residential vixen and dog fox – the male is a bit of a scaredy
cat but the vixen will boldy wander right up to the edge of the garden to see
what’s going on inside. Both make terrific models and I’ve been filling my free
afternoons capturing their funny characters.
We’ve been lucky enough to have fox cubs almost every year that we’ve lived
here so with any luck, come May, I might have some cute cub photos to
share.
It’s also been a good reminder to take my camera with me where ever I go –
even on a trip to our local farm shop! As we pulled up into the car park a huge
flock of Redwings were darting around the fruit trees. We didn’t get our
shopping done for a while but I got some super images!
I’ve also been taking advantage of the time indoors to sort out my website and
book some craft fayres in for the year. Having had a blast at the summer fayre
at Harvington Hall I’ve booked in for their April fayre, as well as some National
Trust properties later in the year. Keep an eye out on my blog or Facebook to
see where I’ll be!
So that was January! Lots planned for 2024 so keep an eye out on my social
media for what I’m up to, as well as plenty more blogs on here.
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