Highlights of the year

 Before I start, a big thank you to everyone who has commented, shared, liked and enjoyed my photographs this year - all much appreciated.  There will be plenty more in the next 12 months I'm sure. So here we go with my Wild Life photo highlights of the year, in roughly chronological order....

Started the year with a strange garden tick.

One of the first photos of the year, and my first decent one of this species, this Marsh Tit from Devon has also been very popular on Flickr

There was a Med Gull in Thorpe, which even enticed a rare selfie out of me.  Just to show how confiding it was.  I like Med Gulls.

This Short-eared Owl at Halvergate was an early morning treat.

And this Stonechat was a nice patch bird, normally much more distant than this one.

Many people enjoyed the murmuration in Norwich at the end of the winter and I made a couple of trips to see them.  Very nice it was too. 

This Partridge was particularly noisy, but did sit still for a couple of minutes to allow a nice abstract image.

This is a pigeon in a flange.  Not many people can say that have that shot in their library...

In the spring I came across a Fox sleeping on a rock.  Many people came across it during their breakfast when it was published in the EDP.

This Gull portrait is a particular favourite of mine for the year.

My favourite Little Owls had a successful breeding season this year.  

In the early summer I worked out how to get close to some Fox cubs. I hadn't been this close to Fox cubs in the past and they were quite fearless for a few days while they played intermittently . They  were absolutely fantastic.  More images of them to come and hopefully another litter in the spring.  Many  more Fox photos on this link...

This Barn Owl wouldn't face me, which was annoying.

At long last I managed to see a Bluethroat!

This Wheatear was supposed to sit on a stick that I put out.  It didn't.

Kestrels generally elude me, but this one made an exception.

This image from 2014 was on the telly.  Unfortunately the wrong name  was used in the caption.  This produced copious apologies from the BBC and a handwritten apology from Chris Packham.  He liked the photograph.  I have accepted the apology.

I managed to make time for some Seals at the end of the year too.

However, despite all of the above (which is only the photographic highlights) without a doubt my personal highlight was the Merlin that seemed to have followed the influx of Goldcrests across the North Sea in the Autumn.  It arrived with them, it fed on them (voraciously) and it left when they did.  Over the course of a week it just kept giving...

 ...in the end one of the images was used to promote Autumnwatch and another was the Amateur Photographer Magazine photo of the week. Social media very much liked the photo showing the crown of the Goldcrest during it's demise.  I've still got plenty of pictures yet to publish and some video of it scoffing a Goldcrest but that is for another day.  From the feedback I received there are plenty of people who also enjoyed the shots of this cracking little hunter.


Keep up to date with my latest images via my website, Flickr or even by following on Twitter or Facebook.

Happy new year!