The Mother of all Geese

Greylag Geese on the Isle of Mull Scotland

Happy Wild Bird Wednesday :0)

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The Greylag Goose (Anser anser) is believed to be the ancestor of most modern day domestic Geese. It is the largest of the native UK and European native Geese and, to my eye, it is very similar in size to a Canada Goose (Branta canadensis).
This beautiful bird is officially classed as amber status in the UK, meaning moderate cause for concern for the population numbers.
In the South of England release of birds has been on going for a number of years to help re-establish their population with some success, but the population found in Scotland are from the original native stock and retain more of the natural behaviors of true wild birds.
This was taken on the Isle of Mull, the second largest of the “Inner Hebrides” off the West Coast of Scotland.
Another first for me on a really rather wonderful trip to magical Mull :0)

Shot with the my trusty Canon 100-400mm f/4.8-5.6 L lens wide open on the Canon 7D to get the shallow depth of field to give the soft focus bokeh of the 2 Geese in the background

The Sad Sentinel on the Isle of Mull, Scotland

Heron on a loch on Mull, Scotland

Happy Wild Bird Wednesday :0)

Click the link below to see photographs from many talented folk around the world and feast your eyes on our fine feathered friends!!

More from my trip to Magical Mull, one of the small Inner Hebrides Islands off the West Coast of Scotland.
At the start of this amazing holiday, I reached dry(ish!) land at Tobermory and found a B&B for the next few nights. Nice and early, so set off in search of the Otters I had travelled so far to see.
The weather was awful, so I decided to drive around the island making notes of where to visit if and when the rain stopped. A small Island, so after one circuit, I did stake myself out in the rain for a few hours to find these elusive creatures, but no luck.
I was joined by this Grey Heron. I am a huge fan of these guys and they always remind me of rather comical, grumpy old men all hunched up.
There is no denying that the surroundings were beautiful, with the Kelp covered Granite and the calm, Loch water, even in the misty rain, and I enjoyed his company very much
I have broken the rules by placing him centrally, but I have never been a great one for rules and for this shot I think it works and I am happy to break them :0)
I do adore the hugely therapeutic time, just me and wildlife, and on this occasion I felt particularly at one with the heron – cold, wet and bloody miserable!!!

An encounter with the magnificent White Tailed Eagle on Mull

The magnificent White Tailed Eagle on Mull by MBK Wildlife Photography

Happy Wild Bird Wednesday :0)

Click the link below to see photographs from many talented folk around the world and feast your eyes on our fine feathered friends!!

My apologies for many weeks without a post. Normal posting will be resumed from today, but I have been struggling with health issues.

A few weeks ago I drove from Kent to the Isle of Mull, one of the “Inner Hebrides” islands off the west coast of Scotland in search of Otters!

Mull is a wildlife enthusiast’s dream as (notwithstanding Seals, Dolphins, Otters and Minke Whales), it is one of the very few places in the UK where you can see the White – Tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla)

This is the largest bird in the UK and less than 100 can be found in the UK

It has a wingspan of more than 8 feet and is similar in size the the American Bald Eagle. They are also known as the Sea Eagle and primarily feed on fish, but will take lambs, otters and any other creature unfortunate to be spotted by these huge predators!

The sheer cliffs of Granite, interspersed with Grass and Heather provide the rugged natural background
A truly awe inspiring example of wildlife to encounter!!

I have been fortunate to have been able to travel to some remarkable parts of the world in my time, to see magnificent wildlife, but this really does rank pretty much at the top of all these amazing experiences :0)

Avocets crossing bills

Avocets crossing bills

Happy Wild Bird Wednesday :0)

Click the link below to see photographs from many talented folk around the world and feast your eyes on our fine feathered friends!!

A square format photograph of a pair of Avocets (Recurvirostra avosetta) at Elmley Marshes in Kent, England. Very similar in appearance to the American Avocet (Recurvirostra Americana), but lacking the apricot coloration. Delightful nonetheless. I had one of those moments which sometimes happens to wildlife photographers, when everything works in your favour and caught these two in perfect crossed beak symmetry. These beautiful birds are something of a rarity in England, officially Amber Status with 1,500 breeding pairs in the UK, confined largely to the East cost in Summer (where these were) and in the South West over winter. They are a huge success story and had been absent for many years until a few pairs arrived in East Anglia in the 1940s and began to breed. The importance of this successful breeding gave rise to the Avocet being used as the emblem of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (The RSPB).

Taken on the Canon 7D with my trusty canon 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 L lens

The Northern Plover or Peewit (Wild Bird Wednesday)

The Northern Plover, Green Lapwing or Peewit, a striking British bird

Happy Wild Bird Wednesday :0)

Click the link below to see photographs from many talented folk around the world and feast your eyes on our fine feathered friends!!

My Wild Bird Wednesday photograph from last week was the Australian Masked Plover. A great nature photographer whose blog I follow ( All downhill from here ) comes from England and now lives in Hong Kong was talking about the “Peewits he used to see in Hampshire, so this ones for you Andrew :0)

Here we have a charming and beautiful British bird, known variously as the Northern Plover, Green Lapwing and the Peewit, after the sound of its call. It goes by the scientific name of Vanellus vanellus. It was a common sight while I was growing up in Hampshire in England, but recent years have not been kind to it and due to loss of breeding grounds and changes in farming methods, its numbers have dropped dramatically and it is now on the Red List as threatened. I had not seen one for years, but on a recent visit to Elmley Marshes near my home in Kent, I came across a thriving population. A wonderful sight they were and a delight to hear their calling and their fast and erratic flight. I tried some flight shots but they resulted in what my Son would call “an epic fail”. They are crazy fast, but the main difficult is that they veer and change direction like no other bird I have seen. A challenge for another day I feel :0). Very similar in build, shape and and size to Plovers the world over and if you have seen my recent shot of the Australian Masked Plover, you can see a more than superficial resemblance

More of my bird photography here

Jabiru (Wild Bird Wednesday)

Happy Wild Bird Wednesday :0)

Click the link below to see photographs from many talented folk around the world and feast your eyes on our fine feathered friends!!

My offering for WBW is another unconventionally beautiful Australian bird, the Black-necked Stork (Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus), also known locally as the Jabiru (not actually the correct name, as a rather different to the real Jabiru from the Americas). An imposing bird up to 5 feet tall and another Australian bird with the most stunning iridescence if viewed in the right light. A water bird and a carnivore, it feeds on other small water and crustaceans and amphibians. A delightful bird you will certainly not forget meeting!

Click here to see more of my Bird photography!!

Perfect camouflage

Buff Tip Moth

The Buff tip moth, Phalera bucephala. A truly fascinating British moth, which is easily visible here, but if found on its food plant, the birch tree, remains virtually unnoticeable. The wings have the same colours, shades and patterns as the twigs and the head and the tips of the wings both have the pale yellow colours of broken birch twigs. Like all moths which rely on camouflage, they remain completely still during the daylight hours, even when touched, to avoid giving the game away. Isn’t nature remarkable :0)

Seen on my artist websites’ Macro and close up Gallery http://mr-bennett-kent.artistwebsites.com/art/all/macro+and+close+up/all

The Iconic Australian bird, The Laughing Kookaburra

Laughing Kookaburra

My last blog for about a week – I am in Paris tomorrow until Friday with work, so I leave you with one of my favourite Australian birds, the Laughing Kookaburra

“Kookaburra sits on the old gum tree,
Merry merry king of the bush is he.
Laugh, Kookaburra, laugh, Kookaburra, Gay your life must be”

The Laughing Kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae) is such an iconic Australian bird that they wrote a song about it (above), which we all knew in England as children.
It is hard to believe that the Kookaburra is a Kingfisher, the largest of the family, I understand.
It is a tree dweller and a carnivore, feeding on small birds, reptiles and small mammals. They are stocky birds compared to their fishing relatives, and much larger, reaching 17 inches in length.
They are most famous for their call (which, of course gives them their name), which sounds like sustained laughter for several seconds and carries large distances.
I can do a passable impression, but my children have banned me from doing it 😉

Common Myna (Wild Bird Wednesday)

Common Myna In Cairns

Happy Wild Bird Wednesday :0)
Stewart Monkton has set up a weekly page with links to bird photographers from around the world’s pages each week
Follow this link to see links to all the submissions and feast your eyes on our Feathered friends!!

Here is my first WBW and this is a Common Myna (Acridotheres tristis), also known as the Common Mynah under the shade of a Eucalyptus tree by the Boardwalk in Cairns, Queensland Australia. These are a medium sized bird of the Starling family and a bout the same size as the European Starling. They are disconcertingly clever and will watch you with knowing eyes and I clearly remember, as a child, people having these as Pets un the UK and that some could say a few mimicked words. These are pretty tame when near to cities as the get used to humans easily, so I did not need much bush craft to get close enough for this shot, but it was still a thrill to see one of these birds I saw caged as a child living free. I personally love them, but they are hated by most Australians as a pest and known as “Flying Rats”!. The shadow has made for a fairly richly coloured shot with the bright yellow beak, seeming to shine out, and the dappled light on the multicoloured leaves on the ground around the bird make an interesting diversion

Great Blue Heron Portrait

Great grey heron Portrait

The Great Blue Heron (Ardea Herodias), a beautiful bird, seen here in close up at Shark Valley, the Everglades National Park, Florida. A large heron standing over 4 foot tall with as wingspan of more than 6 foot with subtle pink tints to his feathers against the main colors of black, gray and white. A beautiful and impressive bird, typical of the birds to be found among the rich and diverse wildlife to be found in the Everglades. It was an absolute privilege to be able to get so close to him. The natural reeds of the Wetlands provide the bokeh background here