Marsh Harriers and Cuckoo at Lackford

Ellie chose to visit Lackford with me today on her day off, hoping to see a Kingfisher - no luck with that wish but we did have great views of Marsh Harriers, Heron, Egret, Lapwing in the Irises etc and, best of all, a really good view of a male Cuckoo, who conveniently then landed in a tree and proceeded to call just to confirm the ID. A lot of Common Blue Damselflies and a quite late Orange-tailed Mining bee

Morning Light at Hunstanton

In addition to the possibility of a stunning sunset, Hunstanton can also provide beautiful lighting for morning bird photography as the sun climbs above the cliff accentuating the intricate plumage of our winter waders, gulls and egrets. Sanderlings are always a challenge but worth the chase!! 

Flight Shots at Hunstanton

 I spent some time on Saturday at Hunstanton trying to get flight shots of the various birds there especially the Fulmars. The light level was low with the cloudy conditions so high ISO and difficult to get high enough shutterspeeds  but it did allow detail in the whites and certainl;y gave the camera a task to pick up the birds against backgrounds

Welney Lady Fen

Welney Wildfowl Trust reserve only has the main hide and part of Lady Fen open due to flooding but we had a very enjoyable day there including a walk in the afternoon on Lady fen watching Cattle Egrets, Hares, Hares, Roe Deer and Tree Sparrows. The final image sums up the habitat and abundance of birdlife. The black bones showing through the feathers of the Cattle Egret in two of the images interested me.

Birds at Hunstanton

Some shoreline birds from my visit on July 8th on a mostly overcast afternoon. I was trying to capture movement and flight as flocks of waders etc moved through when the tide receded and exposed the mussel-bed-feeding grounds. I also attempted to capture the Fulmars and Swifts that nest in the cliffs - not a great success rate!!