An Old Favourite

 Despite the miserable weather I headed out to Mere Sands Woods this morning for a couple of hours. I had a lovely time although it was pretty much useless for photography as the light was so poor and with the fast shutter speed needed to get sharp images of birds the ISO was also high so almost all of the shots are not useable due to the amount of noise. It didn't help that a large part of the reserve was closed off so some of the better hides were off limits.

Nevertheless I did manage to spot a fair selection of birds; a nesting pair of Canada Geese, Grey Lag Geese, Mallards, Tufted ducks, Moorhens, Coots, Great Crested Grebe, Grey Heron, Coal Tits, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Reed Buntings, Chiffchaff, Cormorants, Shovelers, Shelduck, a female mallard with a clutch of 5 beautiful ducklings, all manner of extremely noisy gulls, a song thrush, crows, jackdaws and a Jay which was being mobbed by blackbirds.

Despite this variety as I say most of the photos are not that great, in fact I didn't really bother to take that many shots. 

I could not resist however when it came to this robin which was pretty inquisitive and although the light was poor he came close enough for me to get a few fairly decent pics. So although they are a familiar sight I think that they will always raise a smile and so they are worthy of a share here. Enjoy...

A Morning Kiss

These are Roe Deer, the two females in the first image were quite a distance away but it was nice to capture a tender moment as they touched noses in greeting. 

I had actually been following the buck in the second image and hadn't realised that there were three deer altogether so it was a nice surprise to see them all. It was nice also because although they were very wary of my presence they did not immediately disappear into the woods and i was able to watch them from a distance.

It was yet another reminder to me that it very often pays off to be up early. That's not such a bad thing either when I usually wake up at stupid o'clock.

 

Could It Be Love

I doubt that insects experience emotions like love but they are hardwired to breed to ensure survival of the species and these two beautiful dragonflies are doing their bit.

I spotted these on a walk alongside the canal near Glasson Dock and while this is a private moment it is also a good opportunity to get a close up and appreciate how lovely these fairy like creatures are. 

Posting this I thought of my niece who sent me a cool picture recently of flies on her bin so hopefully she will like this one...

Striking Birds

I have had a hard time in the past getting half decent shots of these birds because the places where I have seen them they tend to swim too far out or they seldom stay still for long and they will dive for ages and come up in a completely different place.

In the spring they perform beautiful courtship rituals using their elegant ruff to show off and attract a mate, and they dive down and collect nest materials also in an effort to prove that they have good breeding potential. I hope one day to be able to photograph that behaviour because it really is spectacular.

For now here are a couple of shots of a pair that were serenely swimming at Longton Brick Croft in Lancashire. I have been there a few times in the past and while I have always enjoyed my visits there has never been very much to photograph so I was pleased on this occasion to capture these images to share today. They were a fair way off so I have had to crop these pictures a bit but I'm fairly pleased with them.

A Chance Encounter

I had planned oo getting up really early this morning to go up to Boilton Woods near Preston. Every morning I have been waking at around 5am and so I thought it would be easy for me to get up and at the woods for just after sunrise. So confident was I that I didn't bother to set my alarm. Of course that was a mistake and I didn't wake up til 6.20. I managed to get to the woods around 7.45 so much later than hoped but not too late to enjoy the early morning sun.

The main reason I had gone was to try and photograph the bluebells and also some birds as it is a great spot for both at this time of year.

I met another photographer who lived nearby and who had been there since just after 6, he happily told me about the early mist and the  Brown Hares and Roe Deer that he had seen on the field near the car park, he even very kindly showed me a couple of shots that he had captured. Of course I was pleased for him but I was quietly kicking myself for having missed a good photo opportunity.

We spoke about the deer but I didn't expect to see one. 

I went on to take some pictures of bluebells and put some seed down to attract some birds in a shady spot and then as I was sat on a bench to change lenses out of the corner of my eye I caught movement less than 30 feet away. I looked up to see this beautiful Roe Deer. I was still changing my lens at the time so had to be really quick and then the deer skipped off through the trees and I thought I had completely lucked out. As you can see however luck was on my side, just briefly because it paused in a small clearing just long enough for me to catch this one shot. You can see that it is poised to move and having glanced towards me for the briefest moment it took off up the hillside and into the trees. I was so thrilled to see it, even happier to get a shot and really pleased that the one shot I got was half decent too.

The rest of my morning was a success too with shots of several species of bird including a Kestrel and also pictures of a Bank Vole and a Wood Mouse as well as lots of the gorgeous bluebells. I can hardly wait to share them.