Hares and Deer at Welney WWT

After a morning session in the hide watching the ducks and swans on the very flooded Ouse Washes, I went for an afternoon stroll around Lady Fen and was rewarded with great views of Hares, Roe Deer and Chinese Water Deer (in retreat but characteristic small size, Teddy bear ears and lack of tail markings). Because noone else was walking on the Fen, I managed to get close to some of the hares before they noticed me and hared off!! Very pooor light so high ISO.

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.

Bradgate Birds etc

Final few from the Bradgate trip - mainly birds that I enjoyed for various reasons - the Jackdaws intent on removing ticks etc from very patient Fallow deer, pictorial views of Peacock and Pheasant, water-level views of Swans etc.

Wicken Fen with RPS Nature Group

A dull grey day on Saturday made photography difficult with high iso requiring noise reduction. The star was definitely the Little Owl pair. It was also good to see a tree creeper and, of course, the roe Deer and Konig ponies.

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)