The Arrival of Spring

After what can only be described as an atrocious winter, it has been nice to finally see and enjoy the sun the past few weeks! Over this time, the first signs of spring have revealed themselves and this weekend I caught up with 2 of the earliest migrants.

Chiffchaffs have been singing their typical (and frankly quite irritating!) song for a couple of weeks now but I hadn't actually seen one until this morning. Although they are a rather common migrant I have never really photographed them before; so this year they are one of my top priorities. There is some way to go before I get the shots I want, but this is a very nice way to start the project. It's amazing to think that this bird weighs no more than 10grams, yet has probably travelled from the Mediterranean or even West Africa!

Yesterday I caught up with one of the most attractive migrants, the Wheatear. A fairly regular passage migrant in my area (though usually later in the year) but it is normally a very difficult bird to approach! I was alerted to this bird's presence on my local patch by a friend and I'm rather glad I made the effort to go and see him! Like the Chiffchaff, this is another long-distance migrant, wintering in the somewhat warmer climes of sub-Saharan Africa!

Finally, I would like to share some success! Over the past month I have been awarded 2 competition titles. The first is the Oasis PhotoContest; an Italian-based international competition, where I was delighted to be awarded 1st place in their Junior section with this image of a Glaucous Gull.

The photo can also be seen here on the Oasis PhotoContest website (please note this will be only available if viewed on a computer).
http://www.oasisphotocontest.com/gallery2013/junior/

Last week I was notified that I have won this year's Junior British Mammal Photographer of the Year with my image of a Common Seal. I was really chuffed to win this award (not least because I also won it last year!) but because I have been awarded my very own Bushnell Trailcam, which could become a real asset to my photography! The winning image can be found on the link below:

http://www.mammal.org.uk/photo_competition

Hopefully the first Willow Warblers will be appearing in my area over the next couple of weeks, and I will have to revisit the Dartfords at some point!

As always thanks for reading :-)