More doorstep.

Another day of mixed weather, a commitment with my son and a desire to watch Starlings roosting meant a day of grabbed opportunities.

Cannop ponds gave me some opportunities.


The Coots and the Little Grebes were very active.

They were catching little fish for fun.

A female Mallard was lovely.

A drive on the outskirts of Ross found two Herons together on a field. Here is one of them.

More stuff on the doorstep, isn't life brilliant.

On your doorstep.

You don't have to go far if you live in the forest to find a plethera of wildlife.

During the spell of good weather on Sunday I decided to check out one or two locations all within a five mile radius of my house.

Cannop Ponds provided me with these Mute swan shots.

and this shot of a Little Grebe.

The stoneworks end of the larger pool had this Blue tit feeding with others.

New Fancy had a number of Bramblings present.

A drive through Eastbach gave me the chance for this Red legged Partridge.

Of course there were plenty of other birds that I saw such as, Chaffinch, Great Tit, Blackbird, Great spotted woodpecker, Coal tit, Nuthatch, Coot, Moorhen, Mallard duck, Mandarin duck, Robin, Crow, Rook, Collared dove, Pheasant, House Sparrow and Greenfinch.

We are so lucky living in such a beautiful area.

One of those days

Every now and then I have a day where I really enjoy myself. I had one such day yesterday at Slimbridge WWT.

Chris G and I went there intent on getting flight shots. On our arrival it didn't look like we were going to do anything as it was raining and grey. The weather men had got it right though and the sun soon began to shine.

There was a good breeze blowing, not as strong as we'd hoped but ok.

Soon the flight shots were coming.

This small flock of Pintail Duck for starters.

Buzzards were flying over steadily, putting the birds up.

The Bewicks were very obliging.

But the star of the day was this Peregrine falcon who was continually buzzing across the open ground. The lapwing and curlews were continually being put up.

There were a large number of Curlew present.

All in all a great day. Lots of pics to sort through.