Today was going to be a little different from the normal wildlife photography day today it was more about getting out into the countryside and enjoying the views and fresh air while still looking for wildlife.
Going for long walks like this is an ideal opportunity to find wildlife in new areas that you may have not been to before, just going out to an area and sitting with no idea of what could be around, seems a bit of a pointless task to me. Walking along the river edges through the fields and in the woods slowly quietly and alone will give you a good idea of what wildlife can be seen so that on your return you know what to expect to a certain degree.
Anyway today I started my walk at Dunsop bridge it was a 7.7 mile circuit route that crossed over the river Hodder, through some fields, along dirt tracks, through the woods, over rolling hills and back down to the river before reaching the car.
After leaving the car I headed off along the public footpath following the river as it wound its way through the fields.
It was not long before I saw my first rabbit running along the embankment, and standing up on its back legs having a look at me I'm wondering whether or not I was a threat on the other side of the water. After a few minutes, I think the rabbit was more than confident that I couldn't cross the river and I was no threat, so he happily continued on his way, minding his own business.
This was a good opportunity for a nice photo of the rabbit standing up on its hind legs.
On the approach to Whitewell, the hedges were full of wildlife with wrens and blue tits, great tits Goldfinches and Bullfinches, however, they were off like a shot as I approached, but a good spot to come back to with a hide or a camouflage canopy to sit and photograph the birds on another day.
As I approached the river Hodder to make its crossing, the water was quite high and just flowing over the top of half the stepping stones, with a big log blocking the path halfway across, making for quite an obstacle to step over whilst trying not to fall in.
Safely across I made my way up the field and onto a road that leads down to several farms along its track, as I came up and over into a wide open space I noticed to my right a kestrel sitting at the top of an old dead tree, making for a fantastic photograph, it was just a shame it was so far away, however, I still managed to get a nice image and a little video for my YouTube page.
With not a lot of activity, I headed off and continued my walk up towards Mellor Knoll, which provides fantastic scenery and views all around, an ideal place to fly the drone.
With a Buzzard flying around there was not much to photograph, so I made my way down to the river following the intended route where I was hoping to be able to sit and photograph for a couple of hours, unfortunately, it was busy with people, dogs, bicycles and horses, a busy Sunday afternoon.
However, I did find myself on a road leading to a farm which provided an opportunity to photograph some birds, namely a pheasant tree creeper and some grey tits, one of which was extremely fluffy and looked like a juvenile.
Rounding off the day as I approached the car with a feeling and a sense of achievement, knowing that the walk and area has the potential for further visits in the future, a great day out with my camera, and taking a few photos home with me.
