http://www.mikecurtisphotography.co.uk en-gb mikecurtisphotography.co.uk 2010-4-4T00:00:00Z mikecurtisphotography.co.uk http://www.mikecurtisphotography.co.uk/page16.htm#62166 Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Style Definitions table.MsoNormalTable msostylenameTable Normal msotstylerowbandsize0 msotstylecolbandsize0 msostylenoshowyes msostyleparent msopaddingalt0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt msoparamargin0cm msoparamarginbottom.0001pt msopaginationwidoworphan fontsize10.0pt fontfamilyTimes New Roman Spring has finally arrived and the birds are resplendent in their breeding plumage and busy building nests. Ive been hoping to photograph Long Tailed Tits for several months but Ive never been able catch these extremely busy birds in one spot for long enough. However through a bit of careful observation and a large slice of luck I recently located a Long Tailed Tit nest so I set up my portable hide and waited for the chance to get a nice portrait of this delightful little bird. I was fortunate to capture a few nice images when the birds and sun coincided at the nest but what... 2010-4-4T00:00:00Z http://www.mikecurtisphotography.co.uk/page16.htm#60037 Tragic news from Ranthambhore National ParkTwo sub adult tigers have been found dead poisoned on the edge of Ranthambhore National Park.All evidence points to local villages taking revenge for the young tigers lifting their livestock. This is another case where tigers have been badly let down by the authorities who are supposed to safeguard them as there appears to have been no one monitoring them at this critical stage in their lives. Also the tiny village had not been prioritised for relocation as part of a centrally funded scheme to safe guard the national park and improve villagers lives. Third it seems that villagers rarely get the compensation they are entitled to when they lose livestock to tigers.Body of poisoned tigerBody of the second tigerImages from httpranthambhorediary.blogspot.comThese cubs represent almost 2.5 years of investment by their mother who they had recently separated from In a tigress life she may be lucky to have 34 litters only they are the future for th... 2010-3-7T00:00:00Z http://www.mikecurtisphotography.co.uk/page16.htm#58654 The red kite centre at Llanddeusant near Brecon is an amazing place to see this magnificent rare bird. There must be in excess of 100 birds at feeding time offering great photographic opportunities. I took a valentines day trip there recently as the weather was perfect in South Wales. Alas to the north of the Black Mountains was an unbroken layer of cloud edging over the kite centre. By the time the feeding started the stunning winter sun was gone Still its a fabulous site to see and its always great practice trying to photograph this agile bird especially when there are so many of them.Therell be other opportunities..... 2010-2-17T00:00:00Z http://www.mikecurtisphotography.co.uk/page16.htm#58451 Well its officially the Chinese new year the year of the tiger. I wish all the worlds tigers a safe future and with our help through conservation efforts protection and financial support for tiger charities they can still have a place at the apex of a complex ecosystem. 2010-2-15T00:00:00Z http://www.mikecurtisphotography.co.uk/page16.htm#57554 Machali is the most famous wild tiger in the world who has her own facebook site and was recipient of a Life time achievement award to Indian tourism Although shes actually Machali the 2nd she was mistaken for her mother Machali by a BBC crew and the name stuck. For years shes delighted wildlife enthusiasts photographers and film makers by her confident and regular public appearences to the extent that no visit to Ranthambhore is complete without sighting her.Our audience with the Queen of Ranthambhore came after a sad encounter with an 18 month old orphaned cub. During mid 2009 the little Berda tigress and her brother were being fed supplementary meals by the forest department to give them a chance to learn the hunting skills following the death of their mother killed in a fight with a male tiger. Having spent an hour or so waiting at a known hang out of the orphans our guide made a tiger call to see if they were around. Instantly a head popped up within a cave on the hillside. A... 2010-2-2T00:00:00Z http://www.mikecurtisphotography.co.uk/page16.htm#57531 Well I had a fantastic visit to one of my favourite wildlife parkszoos at the weekend Whipsnade ZSL. Its a great place as the animals have pretty large enclosures with excellent viewing facilities. In particular the Amur Tiger exhibit has two very content looking cats with a large natural wooded area large pool and if you like photography the opportunity to get close to the fence to get clear images with natural looking backgrounds. On this visit the late afternoon winter light was simply perfect while both tigers posed beautifully.Whipsnade is pretty unique amongst the zoos I have visited in the respect that there are many small deer wallabies and Mara roaming freely around the zoo which together with the presence of prey species housed nearby gives the big cats some intellectual stimulation Below is a picture taken in August 2009. The Tigress stalked the deer for about 3 minutes creeping up to the fence and hiding behind every plant tree and fence post in the process. It was gre... 2010-2-2T00:00:00Z