Wading Birds

 Today I had my first proper outing of the year. The sun was out, the temperature was in double digits and the top came down on the car as i headed off to Dunham Massey where there is a fabulous garden and deer park, maintained by the National Trust. It is 2 years since my last visit so it was nice to get back. I was able to photograph some spring flowers, some water fowl and of course some of the deer that live wild in the park.

I was really pleased when I got home to upload the pictures and start to work on them when I realised I also had a few pictures from last week when I had been for a walk along the waterfront near my home.

So before I get into the pictures from Dunham Massey here are a few shots of some of the waders that grace our shores.

The first two pictures show a couple of Black Tailed Godwit. I am not very good at recognising some of our waders because from a distance I find it difficult to differentiate, however these I was quite confident in my identification.

Pictures in most  of my guide books show these birds in their breeding plumage which is a bit richer than these two however it can be differentiated from the bar tailed godwit because it is larger in size, has longer legs and has a long, slightly upturned bill which is black at the end.

The bird in the other pictures is a Common Redshank, easily distinguishable by its bright red legs (hence the name) and its straight red bill, although in these images its bill is covered in mud as it has been searching for worms, molluscs and crustaceans. These are quite nervous birds generally so it was nice that this one did not fly away.

Feed Me! Now!!!

 A few days ago I went to visit Sizergh Castle in Cumbria. It was an interesting day to be sure. I took some rather nice shots of the castle itself as well as some of the flowers and insects in the gardens. I also spent some time watching this group of hungry young swallows, lined up along the ridge of an old cottage, and their harassed parents trying to keep up with the constant demands for food.

For this series of shots I was on the wrong side of the building as I was shooting into the sun and so I will start by using that as an excuse for the images being less sharp than I had hoped, even shooting at 1/5000 sec. Nevertheless I think the series as a whole tells a nice story. There were a couple of families of birds lined up and each time an adult bird flew in all the young would cry out demanding to be fed next. Sometimes they would sit waiting but more often than not they would leap up into the air to get their parents' attention and snatch the tasty bugs from their beaks. The parent birds never settled down, each food exchange was done on the wing and as quickly as they flew in they would swoop off again in the hunt for more food.

December Days

 I could have called today's post "Tits and Teasels" but decided against it.

These three pictures were captured at Burton Mere, the Blue Tits were waiting patiently but noisily to feed on sunflower seeds at a feeding station. I love these little birds with their black bandit masks. Talking of masks I have used a mask in the third image to create a black and white background so that I can show of the beautiful coloured plumage.

In the second image I have also chosen a black and white finish because I think it best shows off these wonderful plants.

Monochrome Twilight

I had gone looking for a series of ponds where I was told there would be some good opportunities for some wildlife shots. I had followed the sound of a large and very noisy flock of birds that I think were settling to roost for the night but the area was too overgrown for me to get access for any good photos. As the light was fading anyway I decided to head back to the campsite that was home for the night. 

Walking back along the track through the barley I was struck by the lines drawing my eye to the oak trees at the edge of the field directly ahead and I knew immediately it would make a great shot. Initially I thought that the soft light of evening would lend a warm glow to the image however the sun off to the right was just too low and the scene was a little too cool so I tried again in black and white and I feel this creates a much more atmospheric landscape.

Something to make you go OOOH!

Here's another of my abstract ripples and reflections pictures. 

I love the light, depth and motion in this image.

I am loving these images and hope you are too.

Rooftop Garden

It may be difficult to work out exactly what you are looking at in today's picture so the title of the post might help a bit.

You are actually looking down onto the top of a wooden fence post which has rotted away to form a concave space which has been colonised by lichens and moss and what looks a bit like a bramble. 

I think it is rather beautiful and it is one of those things that we would more often than not walk past without a second glance but I think it makes a wonderful image and from this particular perspective it looks really good.

Standing Proud

Here is another shot of one of the Dunham Massey stags. It really is such a beautiful creature and I was so lucky to be able to get close and appreciate how truly beautiful it is.

It is easy to forget seeing them so close that these are wild not domestic animals. Because they live in a large estate where there are lots of visitors they have become used to people but while they are not as timid as deer that truly live wild for example in the New Forest or Forest of Dean or in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland they can still be skittish and need to be treated with just as much respect.

I think that herds like this are an important part of our nations wildlife and really are a national treasure.