Bradgate Park in the Rain

The forecast was for thundery showers in Leicestershire on Sunday morning but, undeterred, 6 RPS members met up around dawn to visit Bradgate Park. We didn't get the thunderstorms, just torrential rain with occasional 'drier' interludes when we could move on from one tree shelter to the next until the afternoon. Challenging conditions with obviously low light; the first shot was at 1/30th second handheld! The Grey heron was even grumpier than last year in the snow and it is amazing what other 'hobbyist' do in the rain - I am surprised they risked electric cars in the rain (my telephoto lens proved not to withstand such extreme conditions and is residing in a bag of rice at the moment - hopefully drying out)

Paxton Pits Birds

 While the numbers of birds and species on the water at Paxton Pits yesterday were impressive, the song birds were almost entirely absent during our Third Thursday public walk with the only sightings being a flock of blue tits and long-tailed tits and a friendly but not very healthy-looking robin. We watched several very confiding young Grey Herons, one with a damaged bill, around 30 Little Egrets, a Great White Egret, numerous Cormorants, Gadwall and Black-headed Gulls, Wigeon, Great Crested Grebe, Lapwing and Kingfisher. White balance control was made quite difficult by the very reflective green algae in the shallow water and the overcast conditions .

Wicken Fen (NT) in the Summer

An attempt to show the essence of  Wicken Fen on a sunny day. The stars are the White Water lillies at their best in all the Lodes. Large numbers of Willow Emerald Damselflies and Ruddy Darters as well as larger species such as Emperor and Brown Hawker - too fast to capture. Birdlife fairly limited and the heat produced too much haze for clear shots across the water. Common Blue and Argos Brown butterflies photographed

 

Second Visit to the Pools

This Reed warbler sang almost continuously on both my two visits to Venus Pools. It was the closest bird I photographed.  The Goslings and the Heron also obliged but this is a place where a very long telephoto lens would be very beneficial. Lovely to watch and listen to the birds regardless.

Ducklings Versus Midges, Shropshire

 Yesterday's sunshine brought out the midges in their thousands at Venus Pools. The Mallard ducklings had great fun catching them. It was also good to see a Little Ringed Plover on one of the scrapes together with Oystercatchers. 

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