5,000 VIEWS ON MY BLOG!

My blog has reached 5,000 views! I have been thinking of lots of new ideas to mark this milestone, and one of those ideas was to install a bird feeding station into my garden. 

As it's winter and the birds are very brave, as there is little food around, I have decided to put the feeding station directly outside out french doors. This will hopefully allow me to get some nice close up shots of the visiting birds. Within minutes of installation I had spotted a female blackbird, a blue tit, a great tit, a coal tit, a robin and a wren on (and around) the feeders! I also spotted a few fieldfares among the trees. 

The sunset the other nice was spectacular. Whilst taking a few shots, I almost felt like I was on an evening game trip in the African bush! I wondered if I could try to create a shot that illustrated this African vision even more… I set the camera to manual focus, and then blurred the image ever so slightly. This created a really nice image, almost representing the haze you would experience in an area such as Africa. I was really pleased with the final image.

The next morning also had a really photogenic aspect to it, with the frozen due on the grass and the leaves. I spent a few minutes capturing some images around the garden, whilst watching the birds on my new feeding station.

I love how the sun is highlighting the edges of the frost in this picture. The robin below spent the morning perched on the top of the bird feeding pole… and if any other birds, especially robins, came nearby it would fight them off and then hop back onto its sentry perch!

I have to admit, I have been quite lazy with bird feeders recently, mainly because of school work and other commitments. However, I have made sure to break the ice on the pond every morning as the water is vital to the birds and other local wildlife. I was amazed about how quickly the birds discovered these new bird feeders, and even started to form a hierarchy! 

Lindor Chocolate Bird bath!

For christmas I received a huge lindor truffle full of little lindor truffles! The clear plastic sphere which formed the big truffle gave me an idea. I used one of the half-sphere segments to create a modern, and very unique, type of bird bath. It was pretty simple to assemble. I used a chain from another previous bird feeder to attach to either side of the bowl. 

I really like the way you can see an inverted image of the surrounding in the bowl. As the bowl is transparent, I will also be able to see the birds drinking and washing in it underwater! I have also thought of using my GoPro somehow to film the birds from under the water, by positioning it at the bottom of the bowl.

I also received another suet bird feeder for christmas, and I am planning on putting that up tomorrow. Gosh, the birds aren't going to be hungry this winter!

HARVEST MOUSE HOME FOR HOLIDAYS!

I have taken home on of the harvest mice which are kept at our school in the biology department.

 I will be keeping he/she for 3 weeks, and will therefore have loads of opportunities to photograph and film this little creature! I have made its enclosure as natural as possible, using straw, wheat and small twigs, whilst also providing seeds and nuts for it to feed on. 

 

I have been experimenting with different types of lighting, as I didn't want to use a flash as it could damage or distress the animal. In this photo above, I have used a Orange A3 piece of card as a backdrop to extentuate the orange tones of both the what and the harvest mouse. I am going to continue to experiment with different camera shots over the holidays, in amongst all my revision for my GCSE mocks coming up. 

If you have any ideas/advise,  please contact me: wildlifeonfilm@gmail.com.

 

Autumnwatch Adventure!!

Well, what can say! The past three days have been incredible. 

Last week, I got an email saying one of the producers of Autumn watch had seen my 'My Autumn' video on my youtube channel. They asked if they could feature some of the clips on this years Autumn watch series. I obviously said yes! And so it began...

I later got asked if I could like to travel up to RSPB Leighton Moss just south of the Lake District, and I too said yes! My seal birth video got shown on the opening night (Tuesday 28th) of Autumn watch. A massive 2.7 MILLION people saw my clip, according to the BBC's statistics! To know that millions of people have now seen this spectacular event (the grey seal birth) is amazing, and it's even better knowing that it was my footage! Below is a still of the birth, seconds after the event. If you want to watch all the footage, click here. My footage is 57 minutes into the program.

Michela and Martin loved the clip! Martin said 'what an amazing thing to see, to actually capture on camera' followed by Michela saying 'thank you very much Billy for that.' I'm so pleased they like it, even if Martin did find it a little 'shocking'!

I spent the day looking around the RSPB reserve with my mum, and I managed to get quite a few nice shots. Pheasants were originally introduced from China by the romans, but I still love to photograph there amazing colours.

They have such elaborate characters. I really don't see why people take these magnificent animals for granted, and even purposely breed them to shoot. This individual was very confident!

The birds around the reserve were so tame, probably due to so many visits from the public. The huge variety of birds amazed me! At one point, there was a chaffinch, a great tit, a blue tit, a dunnock, a robin and a nuthatch in one tree, all the the same time! This is why reserves like Leighton Moss are so important, providing a safe haven for all different types of animals.

I don't get nuthatches on my patch, so it was a real treat to get some shots of this little chap! I think the bird below is a Dunnock, but do correct me if I'm wrong.

Me and my mum visited lots of the different hides around the reserve. At one point we saw a marsh harrier being mobbed by two crows. It was a really interesting thing to watch, as I really enjoy spectating animal behaviour between different species. 

We even spotted 3 Red deer emerging from the reed beds. It was a shame that we didn't get to see any otters or bearded tits, but it was still great to be able to see all the other wildlife. I have found out that it is possible for me to get a train all the way to Silverdale (which is very close to the reserve)! Knowing this, I am positive that I will be visiting again soon in the future.

If you watched the show, you would have seen this tawny owl. Martin was doing some live experiments with him about how they managed to fly so silently. We got to meet the owl before the Unsprung show. Whilst we were watching the main shown, I could hear all the editing and production teams contacting the presenters and cameraman on walkie-talkies. It was really exciting, and reassured  me that it is definitely the profession I want to persue. 

Here's me and my mum in the crews dining tent. Whilst we were having diner we were amongst all the crew, including the producers, the cameramen and some of the presenters. 

I'm sure most of you know who Georgia Locock is. It was great to meet her briefly, and we are hopefully going to make arrangements to meet up again in the future. Visit her blog: http://georgiaswildlifewatch.wordpress.com

I met Nick Baker after Unsprung, and even shared a car with him on the way back to the RSPB visitors centre. I managed to give him my blog details too! 

It was a long day, but it was a very exciting experience. I am going to try so stay in contact with some of the great people I met. Remember to keep tune into BBC 2 at 8 O'Clock tomorrow for the main show, and then Unsprung straight after! 

What is WildlifeBilly?

Hello Everyone, and welcome to my wildlife blog which I have been developing over the past 3 years. I have loved every second, and I hope you enjoy reading about my passion, hobby and (hopefully) future job as much as I do. I primarily use my blog to share my wildlife experiences with everyone who is interested, writing about my latest projects, my photography and my youtube videos (and much more). 

For me, the wildlife is the most important thing, and I love to watch wildlife spectacles such as rutting deer and the birth of seals. However, when I get these spectacles on camera they suddenly seem 100 times better. I think it's the fact the I can re-live that moment for a second time, or a third, or fourth. Thats why I created my blog. So I can let you experience the wonders of wildlife with me! And learn about ways to protect our wildlife…

About me

"I'm a 15 year old captivated by the magical wonders of wildlife, whether in the back garden or in the Peruvian rainforest, it's all special."

Below are some of my best shots and clips of footage, giving you a taster of what I do : 

My Magical Autumn Video

The Hedgehog and the cat!

Blue tit Stories 2014

Those extracts sum up some of my work, however feel free to have a browse round my blog using the tabs at the top. Enjoy!

Bird box Building Blast!

Over the past few days our garden has been invaded by cameras and gadgets to monitor and record our wildlife!

 I have set up 2 camera bird boxes, and wired them back to the computer, enabling me to watch, record and share the footage. Another camera has been positioned filming my bird feeders, which I hope will get some nice shots of the huge variety of bird visiting my patch! Here are some pictures illustrating my progress! Don't hesitate to comment or give me any tips. 

I have installed a camera in the bird box above, which primarily attracts larger species such as Great tits. Last year, a group of 5 chicks successfully hatched and fledged. I hope to capture this amazing story again with the help of my camera, which is tucked away at the top of the bird box!

The bird box above has been installed with the latest HANDYKAM camera, which offers crystal clear images and excellent audio quality, not too far off Springwatch's standard! This bird box has successfully homed two families of blue tits, which were both a joy to watch.

To read more about my bird box projects please head over to the 'Bird Boxes 2014/5' page at the top!

Flying Formations

There has been a question on my mind for a while now…. What factors affect the flying formation of birds? 

As it is now autumn and getting colder there are many birds starting to fly to warmer climates (either in the UK or abroad), and I have therefore seen lots of birds past whilst walking Pippin. 

In the typical 'V' shaped formation, what affects the order?

• Hierarchy (the pecking order)
• Fastest flying birds at front
• Random formation
• Relationships within the group
• Confidence of navigation

Why do bird fly in the 'V' shaped formation?

• Aerodynamic 
• Easier to navigate? - less likely to veer off in the wrong direction
• slip-stream (like with cyclists) - why don't they fly in the straight line then?
• Easily shows hierarchy
• All the birds can see the leader - presuming its in order of hierarchy 

Why are some formations not 'V' shaped?

• Number of birds in the group
• Species of birds
• Experience of birds 
• Not as effective with too many birds
• some species may have better aerodynamics and therefore don't need to be in a formation

Why does the formation constantly change?

• gusts of wind could move them about
• slip-stream (cyclists) - tired birds move to the back as the bird at the front do more work
• birds need to communicate with the leader?
• competitive within the group, some sort of race

Why are there sometimes sub-groups or individuals flying alongside the main group?

• Different families
• Different ages/species/social classes?
• outcast birds could fly solo alongside the group
• more anti-socials birds fly solo
• could be a completely different group of birds

A large group of 25 birds in a typical V formation

 The group of 25 is then joined by 2 sub-groups, each 6 birds strong.

The front 8 birds on the left hand side (not including the leader) then peel of and form a soldiery diagonal line.

Here is another group of birds, 9 strong in a V formation. From the birds perspective there are 3 birds on the right and 5 on the left, and the leader up front.

As the birds passed over head, it became very clear that the V was unevenly distributed. The formation could have been even (4 on each side, leader at front,) but the birds instead flew like this. Why did the birds choose to fly like this? Could 2 birds of split up from the group, leaving it uneven? 

As the birds flew into the distance, the bird at the front speeds up and separated itself from the group. Why?

These are all questions I want to look into and maybe even figure out myself. 

New fox footage!

After setting up my trail camera in various woods, I have managed to gather various clips of foraging foxes! 

Here are a few of the clips. I am going to continue to use my trail camera in the areas where these shots were taken, to see if I can gather anymore footage! 

A fox caught in the daylight!

The two clips below were taken in the same locations. However, the two foxes filmed are different individuals shown by the shape of their ears. 

I am currently contacting the owner of another wood near my patch to see if I can use my trail camera in there too!

NEW PIECE OF CAMERA KIT

My dad's friend has kindly lent me one of his lenses which allows you to zoom incredibly close to items, such as flowers and insects. 

The use of bellows allows you to focus on very small objects. Because the item moves in and out of focus very easily, the items I'm taking photos of will have to either be plants or dead organisms  (dead flies, butterflies etc.) I obviously won't be killing any living species to photograph, but I will use already dead organisms.

The photos which I have got so far are either very detailed and have a clear composition, or a very abstract photo.

I have not had enough time to experiment with the camera fully yet. But when I get the time I will upload the results! 

I'm excited to see the results!