Last weeks visit to Trentham Monkey Forest was delightful.  I have just received an email that 4 healthy new born baby girls arrived in the days following my visit.. The first one of the season the very next day ! … A photo opportunity missed. but I have no complaints I am happy with my photos..

Visit Trentham Monkey Forest yourselves and experience a walk amongst the 140+ Babary macaques roaming free in 60 acres of beautiful English woodlands. Spot the new born May babies. Stroll through the forest and be transported into a different world. It is truly amazing, and loads of fun -  even on a cold and wet day.

We’ve had a barn owl visiting our property in Maui for 8 years now. I wonder if its the same one still.

I was walking down the drive at sunset, taking a stroll, and I should have had my camera with me because the barn owl flew right over my head.

He landed in a tulip tree about 100ft away, and seemed quite settled there, so I headed back to the house to fetch my camera. AND yes ! he was still there when i returned..

What a Beautiful bird !  Next time I should have my camera with me.. Tomorrows another day !

Japenese White Eyes, blooming sunflowers, a budding spiderlily and a black and white pussycat called Guinness

Spring has arrived in Maui.  The Cardinals have been singing at the tops of the tall bamboo, claiming their territory and attracting their mates.

I have a pair of Red Cardinals that have been singing their hearts out just outside the house, and I have started putting out sunflower seeds on the deck railings.  In no time the male started coming for the seeds, soon followed by his pretty mate, and he breaks open the seeds and then leans forward to feed her while she begs for the food. She must be laying eggs already, although I haven’t watchied close enough to see where she flies to, to try to spot where she is nesting.  The male is getting very tame now.

So out came the camera.. The shutter scared him. I was too close, but he came back both times for more food.  Greedy little thing.

Yet to get a picture of him feeding his Mrs, so watch this space….

 Check out my Maui Blog HERE

Up on the slopes of Haleakala, at a lovely spot overlooking a gulch at Hosmer Grove, a rare sight can be seen when you sit quietly and patiently waiting for the I’iwi to come and feed on a flowering bush nearby.  You hear them before you see them… They dont stay long on any one bush. They move quickly onto the next one..  The camera has to be ready… They are gone almost before its too late.

Dumb or what? They really were blonde! I had never seen such huge blonde bumble bees before.  They were about 1.5” head to toe! There were two of them, and all they did was hover, looking directly at  me, and buzzzz very loudly at me…

They were so persistent that I went back up the driveway to get my camera, in hope that they would still be there when I got back. And sure enough, they were. And they were still hovering!!! If i moved, they followed, and just hovered again, facing me head on…  They never got closer than about 4ft and hovered at my eye level.  Quite extraordinary! SO I snapped away until the sun went down.

I thought I would share some with you so you would believe me…  They were gone the next day, and I haven’t seen (or heard) them again since…  Bizarre, but just so cute.

My cat Guinness brought my attention to the lizards in the garden yesterday. They are wise to him. They see him and they dont move. Same with me, they saw me and they didnt move…  They come out to bask in the last rays of sun in the afternoons. So I  just had to go get my camera…

What a loud song for a small bird.. Well he needs to protect his territory for the coming winter…

See more of Britain’s Wild birds (click link) in  my photography gallery