Welney WWT Visit Highlights

 The rain stayed away and we even had a few brighter intervals for our Paxton Pits Volunteers visit to Welney WWT yesterday. Amazing numbers of Lapwing, several flocks of Black-tailed Godwits and all the usual ducks including good numbers of Pintail. Swans were limited to a few resident Whoopers and maybe a few distant Bewicks. The first image is going to rate as one of my all-time favourites - a Cattle Egret flying past one of the sheep walking along the bank. 

Welney WWT on a Grey Day

Some images taken at Welney on a very grey misty day on Saturday. I enjoyed trying to portray the flooded Ouse Washes with ducks (Pochard, Mallard), Geese, Lapwings and Whooper Swans.

Lady Fen Welney Sightings

A very enjoyable day at Welney yesterday in the company of RPS Nature group members and volunteers from Paxton Pits. The dull light all day did not lend itself to distant photography but I enjoyed the challenge of finding and capturing the variety of wildlife on Lady Fen in the fenland landscape. The first Short-eared Owl took us by surprise as it flew close and over the bank. Other views were more distant. In the afternoon Steve located a Hare in its 'form' - amazingly camouflaged - just the eye giving it away. Good to get some closer photography of the Tree and House sparrows and Stonechat. Three species of Egret (Cattle, Great and Little), two deer species (Roe and Chinese Water), Heron and Kestrel completed the roll call

Exploring Movement at Welney

I wanted to try to get a feel for the excitement of the flight of the large flock of Black-tailed Godwit and the frenzy when the ducks etc are fed at midday at Welney. I used  a slow shutterspeed (15th to 50th/sec) and achieved a few images that came near to meeting my previsualisation.

Ducks and Swans at Welney WWT

No visit to Welney can ignore the elegant and noisy Whooper swans and the Scaup made a pleasant change from Mallard and Pochard.