Tuesday, 3 February 2026

Cormorant on Scotman's Flash

This is my favourite photo from yesterday. I've done very little processing in this shot, it's just the way the light hit the water a that particular moment. The Cormorant is almost incidental. Worth viewing at full screen size, IMHO.  Here's a cropped version too. Which do you prefer?

Monday, 2 February 2026

Great Northern Diver at the Wigan Flashes

I finally caught up with this juvenile Great Northern Diver on Scotman's Flash in Wigan today. I started looking on the yacht club side of the flash before driving round to the canal side where I quickly found the bird. However I could only get a record shot as the light was poor and the bird was quite mobile. When the sun actually came out for a while I decided to stay for a few hours in the hope it might come closer, but it was always distant and eventually I lost it altogether.


Whilst I was waiting for the Diver to reappear I took a couple of shots of some feral birds on the canal. I don't care what anyone thinks about them, you can't deny the Canada Goose is a handsome beast! 


And the same goes for the drake Mallard, especially in good light. Such beautiful colours on a very common bird on our canals and inland waterways.  What a shame it isn't appreciated a little more.