NorthernPixl

A small selection from last weeks trips out to see what was about. I do love a little Wren too, normally difficult to capture but this little one kept coming close to say hi 😊

Second attempt at the Andromeda galaxy and you can see the difference! Picture one is from Holy Island last night and picture 4 was taken a few days ago. Definitely a lot better and more detail but still room for improvement. A quick shot of the milky way and Pleiades too from last night as the sky was so impressive. Unfortunately couldn't stay as long as I planned as the wind played havok with the tripod 🙄

Looking forward to getting out again and getting more data to process and see how far I can push my kit and learn more too!

I've always wanted to get a clear photo of Andromeda and I'm not there yet but I'm getting closer! The milky way photo was from Saturday night's trip out up to Kielder and you can just make out Andromeda in the top left corner of the photo.

The image of Andromeda was taken last night just near my house. I only spent about 30-40 mins on Andromeda last night so I know that a lot more time is needed and a bit more attention paid to focusing properly. Every days a learning day 😊

Blakehope Nick on the Kielder Forest drive. This has long been on my bucket list and this is one I'm pretty pleased with. Freezing fingers and a timelapse not possible as I'd forgotten my dew heater 😭.

The lens kept fogging up making it tricky and also it was very eerie being so remote on my own. Once my nerves settled down, I gazed at the milky way for a few hours and lost count of the number of shooting stars. I'll see if I can piece a short timelapse together once I've got some sleep and warmed up.

Wow! What a night! She's still dancing too! I have taken over 3 hours worth of images and cannot wait to put them in a timelapse. Hands down, one of the best night's I've ever had! Here are a few as a teaser for what's to come. Colours not enhanced, this is literally how amazing and vivid it has been. Colours visible to the naked eye too!

Fantastic evening last night on Holy Island. No aurora but you can't complain when you have skies and a backdrop like this. Breathtakingly beautiful! ❤️

Red Squirrel Awareness Week!

Here's a small selection of one of my favourite animals to photograph. Well done to everyone who contributes to the conservation of our red squirrels in Northumberland and other counties 👍

A very damp evening at the nature reserve yesterday but that didn't bother the resident deer. Always nice to stand and watch these animals as they go about their business 😉

Canny few hours out and about this morning. Grey and overcast but lots of activity including a male kingfisher occasionally flying by 😉

Decided to chance it and headed to Winters Gibbet last night to see if the aurora kicked off. Unfortunately it didn't while I was there but I did take a couple of photos to show just how bright the moon was. It was like daytime, no headtorch needed and the stars were difficult to make out in places. Also, it's a very eerie place to be on your own so I didn't hang around 😂

You can't see me! 😂

Love seeing these cheeky reds darting about all over the place. Yesterday I had a spare couple of hours so I headed up to see them and as usual, wasn't disappointed at all. It was also nice to chat to one of the volunteers who manages the red population and controls the greys. They do amazing work and I'm very grateful to be able to admire these reds in my local area.

They are always looking for volunteers so if you have some spare time and you would like to help the red squirrels, look them up on Google and get in touch 😉

Not the best or sharpest of images but I thought I'd share these anyway as I absolutely loved watching these beauties catch fish this morning. Three Osprey sitting on the nest and occasionally they went on the hunt, the weather was dreadful, the wind was howling but these birds still have the ability to spot fish close to the surface in the choppy waves. Absolutely incredible to watch ❤️

A few from some recent wanders along the local river 😊

Just when I thought seeing a kingfisher the other day was a very nice treat, two appeared this morning on my wander along the river! Plus a dipper and I think maybe a kestrel keeping a eye on things?

Three different poses of a visiting Kingfisher yesterday at a local nature reserve. Always a pleasure to see these lovely little birds 😍

This heron had an eye on a different type of lunch yesterday. Lucky for the chicks, the mum was alert and though she be but little, she is fierce!
Tufted duck 1 - heron 0 🦆👏

Also a marsh harrier passed by and probably thought better of it after seeing how angry mum got! 😂

A few snaps taken locally over the last couple of weeks. It was lovely to see a kingfisher again, seems like ages since I last spotted one.

Fingers crossed for sunny weather for the rest of summer. Long walks and wildlife spotting along the way 🤞

Absolutely gorgeous day spent climbing up and over the Cheviot on Saturday. I was very surprised at how few people I saw along the way. I decided to come back down through the valley and I can honestly say, it's not my favourite. The last 3 miles seemed more like 10!

The great crested grebe is quite a unique looking diving bird with an incredible ability to catch fish.

Not this time though! This bird spent ages diving and came up empty each time. I think the bird may have been teaching it's young one at the side of the pond. Hopefully the young one will get the idea eventually 😊

I spent ages watching this reed warbler this evening. Spotted it flitting about singing away to itself non stop 😊🎶

The majestic red kite! A quick trip down to a place I'd not been for a while looking to spot one of my favourite birds of prey, the red kite.

While there, two kind gentlemen pointed me to a good spot to see the birds pretty close up. They certainly weren't wrong!

There were 4 circling at one point and I was going dizzy to keeping track of them! Absolutely stunning birds 😍

Yesterday I went up to Kielder to see if I could see an osprey out and about. As luck would have it, as soon as I parked up I spotted it in the distance and took a couple of very long range photos with the hope of seeing it again later. This wasn't to be unfortunately but the 9 mile walk in the sunshine with so much to see along the way more than made up for it. Here's what I spotted along the way 😉.

A few from yesterday's wander from druridge along the coastal path. Also spotted a cuckoo for the first time 😊. It was quite far away and I thought it was just a pigeon until it started to get bullied away by other birds 😂

In between the heavy rain we've had for the past couple of days, I managed to get out with my camera. I think the highlight was this evening with a nice break in the weather. The setting sun made an appearance and helped the resident barn owl to get out and hunt 🦉

Fingers crossed for nicer weather soon 🤞