To enter this free competition

Simply name the species of bird (photographed in Andalucia, Spain) depicted in the image presented above and if you are drawn out (correct answer only) of the hat by my business partner Fee Lord, you stand the chance to win an A3 signed digital art print, printed on the world’s finest digital art media, Hahnemuhle Matt Fine Art Paper of any image shown on the website. In addition the print will be embossed with the Visionwild relief seal making the overall print appearance extra special. Naturally the chosen image will be printed to the standard of presentation one would expect from a fine art institution or museum. Such prints we normally sell through the business to corporate organisations or private buyers for €350.00 or more (unframed).

Please email: hello@geoffsimpsonphotography.com with your answer on or before Tuesday, 29 February 2012 (yes I remembered it’s a leap year)

The Winner and the correct answer will be announced on Wednesday, 1st March 2012 – we will deliver anywhere worldwide.

The winner of our January 2012 competition

Andy Gregory of Buxton, Derbyshire, England who selected the BWPA International Year of Biodiversity 2010 winning image of the male southern race Sand Lizard as his prize.

January 2012 competition stats

142 people entered the competition though only 16 answered the question correctly…… Fire Salamander - Salamandra salamandrawas for  the most popular incorrect answer - Spotted Salamander - Ambystoma maculatum. A similar looking American species however apart from visual appearance the clue lay in the location given.

Ospreys are one of the most charismatic and cosmopolitan of all bird species. The species’ global distribution and migratory habits lend it to collaborative projects. As Yossi Leshem has demonstrated through his work in the Middle East, migrating birds like Ospreys cross national, cultural and religious boundaries and have great potential to link communities separated by hundreds if not thousands of miles.

Osprey migration

We believe Ospreys provide us with a truly unique opportunity to engage and link communities across the world. For further information please contact us.

Osprey Migration

Most northern European Ospreys winter in sub-Saharan Africa. Recent advances in satellite tracking have enhanced our understanding of their migration greatly. GPS transmitters give hourly fixes for tracked birds, providing data on location, altitude, speed and orientation. This has allowed researchers to follow the journey of migratory Ospreys in unprecedented detail. The work has shown that Ospreys from Western Europe – UK, Germany, France and Sweden – follow a westerly migration route taking them into Spain and across the Mediterranean into Morocco. They then skirt around the Atlas Mountains before crossing the western part of the Sahara. Satellite tracked birds have then wintered at various points along the West Africa coast – from Mauritania south to Guinea.

The map below shows a typical migration from England to Senegal. Birds nesting further east – in Finland and Estonia such as – use a more easterly route. They fly south through Eastern Europe and into the Middle East. From there they head into North Africa across the eastern part of the Sahara before wintering in countries such as Sudan and Cameroon. Others continue further south, with one Finnish-tracked bird wintering on the southern coast of South Africa – a record-breaking migration of 12,500 kilometres.

Linking Schools and Communities

The Osprey Migration Foundation

(OMF) has been set-up to link schools along Osprey migration flyways. Using satellite-tracked birds as a guide, the OMF has already initiated links between primary schools in England and The Gambia. Children at the schools have exchanged letters and videos diaries. With Ospreys as the common link, this provides them with a unique way to learn about other cultures, religions and languages. It will also greatly enhance their knowledge of bird migration. The OMF now plan to expand the project to include schools along other major flyways. In Europe this will include both the western and eastern flyways as follows: Western flyway Sweden-Scotland-England-France- Spain-Morocco-Senegal-Gambia Eastern Flyway Finland-Eastern Europe-Israel-Egypt- Cameroon Along each flyway we plan to link each school with two others, thereby creating groups of three. The three schools will be from different cultural backgrounds. A link on the western flyway could include various combinations, for example: Sweden-England-Gambia Scotland-Spain-Gambia France-Morocco-Senegal The link lends itself to children of all ages.

The initial links between English and Gambian schools involve seven/eight year olds and thirteen/fourteen year olds. Schools close to key Osprey breeding/migration sites will be approached by associate partners of OMF who will then visit the school to talk about the project and initiate the links. The OMF will develop educational packs for each school involved in the link. This will provide teachers with enough background information on Osprey migration to introduce the concept to the children. It will also include lesson plans and suggested web links to further each school’s migration studies. Although education packs will be provided for all schools participating in the project, the OMF will provide more support for education in developing countries where facilities are limited. The Foundation is already providing educational opportunities for children in several Gambian schools through the provision of optics, books and computer equipment. This work is being coordinated in The Gambia by Junkung Jadama a local bird guide who is visiting schools to give talks and lead field trips. This model could be repeated in other areas where education facilities are poor. Schools from more affluent areas may wish to hold fund-raising events to assist with this education work. As more schools join the project we hope to organise an international meeting for all the children involved. The meeting would be held at a well-known migration watch point in the spring or autumn when large numbers of migrant birds, including Ospreys, will be passing through in spectacular numbers. The meeting would enable the children to experience migration at first hand, and at the same time, provide a unique opportunity to bring children and their teachers from many cultural backgrounds together. Tim Mackrill & Tim Appleton, Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust Dr Yossi Leshem, Tel Aviv University Peter Jones, Andalucia Bird Society Tracking an individual Osprey’s migration: No. 09 (with AW) tracked through Spain and crossing to Morocco 09.09.2011 Arriving to feed off the Moroccan Atlantic Coast on 10.09.2011 Our bird heads inland to roost and then makes its way south near Agadir to roost again 11.09.2011

Published with the kind permission of my good friend and colleague Peter Jones – Chairman (Andalucia Bird Society) All images copyright Peter Jones.

Further to the recent interview the Talk Radio (Europe) I have pre-recorded an interview with Chris Clifton Psaila, that will be broadcasted on 31 January 2012 between 8.00 – 9.00 a.m. (Central European Time) on the Jonathan Scott Breakfast Show on Radio Gibraltar. Don’t forget to tune in http://www.gbc.gi/radio 

Chris Clifton Psail, one of Radio Gibraltar’s main newsreaders and interviewers

We are now taking confirmed bookings for the use of our Griffon Vulture hide  are now ready for hire at £150.00 per day or £225.00 for 2 days per photographer. This purpose built hide is capable of housing up to 3 photographers at a time. And constructed in such a way to give both ground level and in flight images. The hide is located on private land next to our home in the amazingly beautiful Guadiaro Valley, Andalucia, Spain and baited with a carcass.

As a paying client what can you expect?

Between 50 and 200 individual birds to pay a visit at anytime, plus Ravens.

Nearest airports are Gibraltar (46km) and Malaga (102km) There’s a superb local venta to stay at with great traditional spanish food, including black pig, great hospitality and very generous measures of refreshment.

I also have permanent hides for bee-eater and water reflection shots in the spring and summer months.

So what are you waiting for get booking! To reserve your place by requesting a booking form by calling the office on 0034 951 168 059 or email hello@geoffsimpsonphotography.com

One of the best known butterflies in the world, the Monarch – Danaus plexippu belongs to in the family Nymphalidae that includes other impressive species such as the Camberwell Beauty, Red Admiral and Small Tortoiseshell. A resident of North America where each year an estimated billion migrate to Mexico. Since the 19th century it has been found in such far away locations as New Zealand and Australia.

A resident of the Azores, Canary Island, Maderia, Algarve (Portugal) and Andalucia (Spain) where it is commonly found along the coastal scrubland where its food plant Milkweed grows. A very rare migrant to the British Isles and Western Europe.) Male Monarchs have a distinctive spot called the “androconium” located in the center of each hind wing, from which pheromones are released.

An image of idyllic childhood as Niamh reads a book in the cork oak on the edge of the forest

Niamh and Zadie spend all there time building a tree house from holm oak branches

Bethan in the tree house

Despite living 1,200 metres above sea-level it can as it did today reach a balmy 22c, more like an English summers day and its only January.

Tomorrow, Saturday 21 January I have been invited by the Andalucia Bird Society to deliver a lunch time presentation at their monthly meeting being held at the spectacular bird sanctuary that is Fuente de Piedra where wintering Bluethroat, Common Cranes, Greater Flamingos occur in good number and where the far rarer Lesser Flamingo resides and breeds.

One of many information displays (flamingos) at the Fuente de Piedra centre

As part of our extensive marketing campaign we have formulated here in southern Spain I have a radio interview this coming Thursday at 2.40 pm with Hannah Murray, Presenter & Producer with Talk Radio Europe, the regions largest radio station. So if you would to like to here about all the goings-on here in Andalucia; our fantastic new Andalucian Photo Adventures 2012 program and much, much more about working as a professional outdoor photographer in Spain. Follow this link to be able to listen. http://www.talkradioeurope.com/

Sierra del Pinar mountain range at sunset – Grazalema NP, Andalucia, Spain

The images presented below were all taken in a 1-hour period earlier today and just goes to show the diverse weather conditions that often occur in the most stunningly beautiful and dramatic landscape in my humble in Europe – Grazalema National Park, Andalucia.

Spring starts in January – Almond blossom

A hint of summer sun though only just, saying that it was 24c last week – Salto del Carbrero

Autumn runs from October through to February in Andalucia – Holm Oak in the mist

The first snowfall of the year and I’m sure not the last in Grazalema National Park