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.

Birds on Lady Fen Welney

Up till very recently, it would have been impossible to see three species of Egret, Little White, Greater White and Cattle Egrets, all together in England but here they are feeding together on Lady Fen Welney sharing the habitat with Grey Heron, Curlew and Pied Wagtail. It seems at Welney the Magpies have taken over from Jackdaws delousing the deer.

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.

Toft Christmas Lights

As usual, several of the houses in Toft have decorated their exteriors with lights. I had fun using the full-spectrum Panasonic which has a 14-42 Zoom to do some zoom bursts either gradual or in steps. Some small aperture images to complete the set.

Afternoon at Wicken

The rain stopped after lunch and I enjoyed a couple of hours on Burwell Fen before the very strong winds arrived. The herons were the most confiding - otherwise the birds were at a distance including male and female Kestrels, Short-eared Owl and two Marsh Harriers.  The landscapes were with my not-very-good mobile camera!