And A Robin For Luck

I have been so frustrated recently because it is about five weeks since I was able to get out at a weekend to take some photos and when I saw the weather forecast for today I thought it would be another washout.  However I decided that I would head off to Mere Sands Wood and if the weather turned nasty at least I could take shelter in the hides.

I had hoped to get some pictures of some of our winter visitors however I was told by the warden that due to the unseasonably warm weather the usual migrant species from Scandinavia and the Arctic haven't turned up yet (if they do at all) and so there wasn't very much in the way of bird life and waterfowl to see.

Undeterred I walked around the quiet woodland and had a really lovely day. The light was really poor so getting good shots was a challenge, as you can see from the first two images I had to use a high ISO (10,000) and the resulting images are a bit grainy.  I was however pleased to get the shot of the Grey Heron just as it landed and you can see its wings extended to slow it down and the feathers along the leading edge of its wings extended further to act as air brakes.

The third picture is of a male Goosander, there is not a lot of detail in this picture but I like the reflection and the sense of motion created by the ripples in its wake.

The final picture is my first photo of a Robin this winter, I know that everyone loves Robins so thought I would add it to my blog for today.

I had a great day out, it was peaceful and quiet and although I did have to take shelter against a really heavy downpour I was happy.