Had a little lie in this morning, got up at around 06.45 looked out of the window to see a dull overcast morning, but at least it was dry. So decisions decisions today as there were two birds I wanted to go for, one was the Green or Greenish Warbler out on the Lizard Peninsula or the Radde's Warbler which was at St Leven Church near Lands End. So after a bit of deliberation and throwing grass into the air to check the wind direction St Leven won. So drove down and on arriving in the car park the first people I saw were JR & SUE and their other birding companion Chris. First thing was to take a photo of the beautiful old church to give you some idea of the area,then walked with the others up to where the bird was seen. As soon as we arrived we got onto it for about five seconds then it disappeared over a hedge, about 1 1/2 hours later it was rediscovered in some trees down the lane it showed well on occasions tho very mobile so only managed to get a couple of shots, one of which I have added below but this did not detract from seeing a really nice visitor. So that was about all for the morning so drove back home where my family were waiting to welcome a gentleman of lesuire as I retired from work yesterday, and it was my birthday today. Wow no more being penned up in work when rareites occur and can please myself when I want to do my own thing, as long as the wife agrees. PS Welcome to Donaldthebirder as a follower, Thanks and hope you enjoy the blog.
Many Happy Returns Monty & best wishes for a long and wildlife full retirement. I'll be joining you shortly (albeit enforced!) & will endeavour to stay well out of the other halfs way as much as possible.
You definitely seem to have plenty of interesting migrants to chase in the far west and capturing excellent images. I'll be popping back regularly to see how retirement suits you. Cheers Frank.
At the risk of making a fool of myself I will be completely honest and say I have never heard of a Radde's Warbler but congratulations! I am very envious and well done on getting a photo.
Many happy belated birthday wishes too and I wish you a very long and happy retirement!
Thank you all for the good wishes and hope to get out and about as soon as the weather improves although I have a few chores to do first. Jan have a look at some of the Collins bird guides of Britain and Europe in paperback, as they are not expensive and are great identification for Europe ,North Africa and the Middle East. Each year quite a few species turn up here In the UK.
Oh, the churches of England. I was there in the 1960's and loved to visit the old musty smelling churches and their beautiful paintings. Thanks for bringing back the memories.
All Photographs are the copyright of Monty Curtis and are not for download or use without permission. If anyone would like a copy of any picture, please E:Mail me at lannerjanner@gmail.comI will forward one to you with pleasure.
The Land Of Pasties and Cream
Sun,Sea, Sand, The Place I Love. Click on the image and see where it will lead you.
Il vento d'aprile
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*"... Stava acciambellata, gli occhi chiusi, forse sognava, e
all'improvviso saltò con un balzo in avanti come un pallone calciato da un
piede invisibile e...
The long drive home
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On the drive home I was mainly following the same route, except for the
first day when I headed east through Kalgoorlie before re-crossing the
Nullarbor ...
Seawatching highlights during 2023
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SEAWATCHING in Cornwall is my main interest in birding, mainly because the
county lends itself perfectly to an incredible passage of seabirds and a
its ...
NEWLYN HARBOUR AND STITHIANS RESERVOIR.
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*JUST LIKE EVERYWHERE ELSE, THE WEATHER HAS BEEN*
*DREADFUL BUT THANKFULLY, VERY LITTLE FLOODING *
*COMPARED TO SOME PARTS OF THE COUNTRY.*
*I DID GET TO N...
Storm Ciara at Porthleven
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With all the media hype you would expect to see a storm of epic, earth
shattering proportions!!! Luckily I checked the swell charts which
forecast a bigge...
Collezioni
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*Basta osservare come un collezionista *
*maneggia gli oggetti della sua vetrina. *
* Non appena ne prende in mano uno, il suo sguardo ispirato sembra
t...
Gull update.
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An update on the yellow ringed gull X468.Apparently the original
information of the gull being a Yellow Legged Gull were wrong and it is in
fact a Caspi...
Coastal Surprise.
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During a very recent camping holiday in the New Forest we made a visit to
Keyhaven Marshes and spent a few hours wandering along the coastal path.
*Pied W...
Blowing the cobwebs away.........
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After spending most of my free time during the winter months making and
erecting Barn Owl boxes and barrels I had a very welcome and overdue
"owling" sess...
Waxwings in Swansea
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Some beautiful Bohemian Waxwings turned up in Winch Wen in the East of
Swansea, back in January, 2017. I just had to head over there to take a
look. Havin...
Duke of Burgundy Butterflys
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First post for a while but I have been out and about when both weather and
work permits. These are a few of my images of some Duke of Burgundy
Butterfl...
On retirement from work in 2009 I was presented with two vouchers to visit The Birds of Prey Centre at St Columb Major.
One was for an hours bird handling, and the other for an hours Bird Photography. I arranged to do this in September 2010, and arrived on Thurs 30th.
I was greeted by the proprietors Mick and the Falconer Andy, my first impressions were how clean the reception and Cafeteria area were. After a short introduction, Andy took me through an hours Bird Handling.
This has to be one of the best hours I have spent in a long time, imagine having, Harris Hawk, Gyr Falcon, American Kestrel, Perigrene x Saker Falcon, sitting on your hand, also Scops owl, Tawny Owl, Barn Owl. and Bengal Eagle Owl, also Andy's imparted knowledge shows how much he cares for his charges.
Next it was an hours Bird Photography split into two half hour sessions with a public flying display in between.
(No they did not throw people into the air).
Again nothing was to much trouble as Andy brought out all the birds that could be handled for me to Photograph at lesuire.
So overall thoughts about my visit.
A very clean complex both in the public and animal areas.
Very friendly and helpfull Staff.
Offers super value for money for both individuals and familys.
So if you are on Holiday or local to the area go along and pay them a visit, you will be pleasantly suprised.
As Arnie once said "I will be Back " Below are the shortcuts to the posts of my visit
Hi and welcome to my Blog, I hope that you enjoy your visit and will return again soon My name is Monty and I live in the village of Lanner in the County of Cornwall SW UK.I have been married for 41 yrs, we have two beautiful daughters who have given us three georgous grandchildren .Lanner is situated about 40km North East of Lands End. I have lived here all my life and really love the area.Cornwall is a very diverse area from the wide open moorland of Bodmin Moor in the North and the deep wooded valley's of the Southeast, moving Southwest the rolling farmland of mid, and West Cornwall give way to the coastal moorland in the West of the county.Add to this some of the most beautiful coastal scenery in the world, and quaint fishing villages in small coves, and you have a magical place steeped in history, myth and legend.Main Industries these days are Fishing/Tourism andAgriculture.MAIN INTRESTS Photography,Birdwatching ,Walking, and a interest in all things natural. So I hope to share some of my Photos and thoughts with youI am also a Radio Ham for the past 20+ years, call sign is G4ZKH or as a friend in St Johns Newfoundland calls me (Zoo Keepers Helper).
ANY COMMENTS WILL BE APPRECIATED, ALSO BY CHECKING THE REACTIONS BOXE'S IT WILL GIVE ME AN INDICATION OF WHAT PEOPLE THINK ABOUT THE BLOG AND IF I NEED TO TRY AND IMPROVE IT.
PLEASE CLICK ON THUMBNAILS TO BRING UP A LARGER IMAGE.
Also active on SKYPE : monty.curtis2
Visit my FLICKR page http://www.flickr.com/photos/100118552@N06/
CAMERA EQUIPMENT
Canon EOS 50D SLR
Canon EOS 20D SLR
Canon G5x Compact
Canon EF 400mm F5.6L Lens
Canon ef 70-300mm f4-f5.6 IS II USM
Canon EF S 60mm Macro Lens
Canon EF 1x4 Extender
Tokina 28-70mm f2.8 ATX PRO Lens
Canon EF Speedlite 430EX Flash Gun
Marumi DR14 Ring Flash
Canon 12mm Extension Tube
Plus various filters and accessories
CAMERA SUPPORTS
Velbon 635 c/f Tripod with Giotto Ball & Socket head
Happy Birthday Monty,nice to bump into you again.
ReplyDeleteYour Raddes seems to be a fitting present,great shot well done.
John and Sue.
Well done Monts lovely shots in a difficult light today. How old are today, 21!!
ReplyDeleteMany Happy Returns Monty & best wishes for a long and wildlife full retirement. I'll be joining you shortly (albeit enforced!) & will endeavour to stay well out of the other halfs way as much as possible.
ReplyDeleteYou definitely seem to have plenty of interesting migrants to chase in the far west and capturing excellent images. I'll be popping back regularly to see how retirement suits you. Cheers Frank.
Hi Monty.
ReplyDeleteWell done with the Radde's . Hope you enjoy your retirement.
At the risk of making a fool of myself I will be completely honest and say I have never heard of a Radde's Warbler but congratulations! I am very envious and well done on getting a photo.
ReplyDeleteMany happy belated birthday wishes too and I wish you a very long and happy retirement!
Thank you all for the good wishes and hope to get out and about as soon as the weather improves although I have a few chores to do first.
ReplyDeleteJan have a look at some of the Collins bird guides of Britain and Europe in paperback, as they are not expensive and are great identification for Europe ,North Africa and the Middle East. Each year quite a few species turn up here In the UK.
Oh, the churches of England. I was there in the 1960's and loved to visit the old musty smelling churches and their beautiful paintings. Thanks for bringing back the memories.
ReplyDeleteWell done Monty - Belated birthday wishes and enjoy your retirement.
ReplyDelete