Ptarmigan

Tweets by @Gone_Birding

5th November 2024 I can't believe where the past year has gone. With elderly parents and full-time work, Gone Birding has very much been on the back burner. Although we have been updating our kit further. We bit the bullet and bought the latest version of Final Cut Pro, just need to work out how to use it, as its very different from the previous versions we're used to. We've also been updating our camera gear- purchasing a traditional style viewfinder for the 4k camera we have, again, something we're used to using.

We have still been out birding. Mostly locally around SK58, but occasional jaunts to the East Coast!

Roche Abbey, in SK58

2nd August 2023 So we have a fast M2 Mac. Big decision now, can we get away with using iMovie or is it an upgrade to Final Cut Pro. Will test it out.

9th June 2023 We've bitten the bullet! We purchased a new 4k camera and supplemental kit over the winter. We're just awaiting delivery of a new high spec, fast Mac to process/ edit the footage we shoot.

10th November 2022 I can't believe another year has passed! Although we haven't, on the face of it been up to much, although we continue to do stuff behind the scenes. We've decided we are taking a back seat from tours and concentrating more on the video production side of Gone Birding. In fact we've spent several thousand pounds this year upgrading out kit so everything we capture will be filmed and edited in 4K.

Once we've got to grips with our new kit we'll be out and about making use of our camper and new kit to film, initially in the UK, but on the horizon are filming trips to Spain. Watch this space.

30th November 2021 Apologies for being quiet for almost a year! And a year on and we are still under the shadow of Covid-19, albeit to a lesser extent than the series of lockdowns. A bit of an update- most of the website has been given a 'tickle', but there are still a few pages to titivate, so I haven't been idle. As expected no tours in 2021 and to be honest, unlikely for 2022 as travel restrictions and rules fluctuate. Although there were no tours in 2021, I did make use of my camper van with several jaunts to various points along the east coast and a successful 14 day tour to Ultimate Scotland, from the Cairngorms, the Great Glen, over to Skye, out to the spectacular North/ South Uist, back to Skye then up the coast to Handa & Scourie. It was a magical trip with an abundance of raptors and waders- the highlight was an adult White-tailed Eagle mobbed by three Hen Harrier and a Buzzard!

Causeway, North Uist to Benbecula

So what will 2022 bring, to be honest I'm undecided. Certainly overseas tours will probably be out, whether I organise a few weekends or longer tours to Scotland, I'm unsure. I will almost certainly return to North Uist for at least ten days at the end of May. Keep coming back to this page for updates.

Houghharry, North Uist

30th November 2020 As I write, we in the UK are about to emerge from a second Covid-19 lockdown. By now all tours, trips and filming projects would be almost complete planning wise. But I sit here with a fairly blank piece of paper wondering what to do for 2021 as the future still looks uncertain. Outline plans can be made and thus amended, subject to the restrictions in place at the time.

I think 2021 will be a consolidation year. Hopefully recce trips to Norfolk over the winter and certainly the Outer Hebrides in June will feature, with a focus on day tours or UK based tours taking priority as I feel folk are generally uneasy with many restrictions on international travel in place. These recce trips and plans should then come to fruition in 2022.

If the situation looks favourable it may be a recce trip in the spring in the camper to Extremadura, as it's been a few years since we were last there and things change. That's as far as we planned thus far, but watch this space.

21st August Well, it's been quite an interesting year so far. All plans of trips and tours went out of the window. The camper van has been sat on the drive all summer and barely turned a wheel with trips to Spain and Scotland scuppered. Initial lockdown was not eased until the end of May, so little effective birding here was undertaken (currently living 20 miles from my patch of 30 years!). The pandemic bubbles along and although many measures have been lifted, social distancing and just getting out and living are compromised. As we enter the autumn period it's hoped to be able to get out more, although the countryside has become the release for many people with unprecedented numbers now spending time on 'staycations', so those once tranquil spots are now much busier. Personally I have no wish to travel far, having witnessed the lack of social distancing and having to isolate for a further two weeks when a family member tested positive, I will continue birding in relatively uncongested SK58 and catch up on birding missed in the spring. It would be grand to visit favoured haunts on the east coast, but I fear these will be very busy, maybe midweek? Lets hope we have an excellent birding autumn. If it's anything like the spring, it'll be a corker.

7th April I sit at my keyboard, looking out over a tranquil scene, no commuter traffic on nearby roads, amplifying the sound of bird song around. I'm overlooking a nearby country park, binoculars at the ready-just in case something exciting drifts past! We are in week 3 of lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic. This time of year would see any birder worth their salt, out looking for the first summer migrants, hoping for something a little rarer. All this is now on hold, aside from exercise within walking distance of home. It's all very frustrating as we race head long into the spring period. Luckily I'm working from home, safe and secure, looking forward to the day when I can go a wandering around the magnificent countryside we have, binoculars in hand, and further afield on filming trips and tours, making use of the camper, which is currently sat idly on the drive.

Birding is much more than just a hobby, it's a way of life, it's an escape, a balance to all the woes in the world and has personally steered me through various turmoil's and angst life has thrown my way for the past 42 years I've been birding. It has been the constant companion when I've needed to clear my head or escape for a few hours from the pressures around. I came across this quote a few years ago, written well over 150 years ago-"Essays on Natural History, Chiefly Ornithology" By Charles Waterton (1838 or 1844). Seems apt given the current situation and I offer it to you.

16th December Firstly, let me wish you all a Happy Christmas, and a Prosperous and Peaceful New Year. Secondly, we may have been quiet on the Gone Birding front, but things are still ticking over. In the summer we bought a camper van, this has delayed the purchase of a 4k camera until 2020, so no progress on the filming front. However we have been out and about putting the camper to good use in Norfolk, the Cotswolds, Spurn and Flamborough to name a few locations. If you see us out and about, give us a wave!

Come spring 2020, we hope to go to the Highlands & Islands of Scotland, having kitted ourselves out with a 4k camera-watch this space.

16th March I have been out and about birding in SK58 and just had a great weekend in Norfolk. However I've been laid low with a shoulder injury which has kept me away from the keyboard for over a month. However all seems well now, but it's probably too late in the season to look at tours, so I'll have to write this year off. But will look at sorting out my filming kit for next year, so still busy birding and working behind the scenes at Gone Birding.

6th December It's been a while since the last update, so with Christmas rapidly approaching, we thought it high time we wrote a few lines. We've held off organising any 2019 tours thus far on two counts. Firstly I've had a dodgy knee most of the summer, which has now thankfully been rectified by physio, and secondly, and more importantly we're looking at concentrating on the filming side of Gone Birding and hoping to upgrade to the latest 4k kit soon, from camera to editing suite, which means after a hefty investment, we'd better make use of it! We're not ruling out any tours next year, but it will be scaled back.

We are hoping to ramp up our filming efforts, which will hopefully mean more GBi products. Follow us on Twitter (above) and Facebook to follow our progress.

Home