Three became four

I have been to Slimbridge again today, I went with Andy Carey and once there we teamed up with Chris G and Mike Smith, both of whom were a tad put out by my comments in my last post regarding their poking fun at me. Ironically if the cap fits wear it.

That aside, it wasn't such a good day today. the weather wasn't brilliant and the birds were scattered all over the reserve. I did manage to get the following shots, I hope you enjoy them.

I want to add one thing, which may cause a few raised eyebrows, I cannot for the life of me understand why the powers that be at Slimbridge cannot accept that photography is becoming more and more popular at the reserve and speed up the changes that we keep being told are just around the corner. They have added to the number of viewing spaces to the feeder station at the rear of the Robbie Garnett, but despite repeated requests to the wardens to make the spaces wider this was not done. I do not blame the wardens, they do what they are told, but I would hope that they tell their bosses what we are asking.

Anyway back to the photography. Click on the pictures for larger versions.

I love the little Teals.






The Pochards are looking great.



The Pintails, minus the "pin".



Hundreds of Moorhens.

A stalking Heron kept a number of photographers happy for a while.

Finally this Buzzard was again the only raptor seen.

Back for a mere 5 days and already 2 visits, I love being there with the birds.

Three's not always a crowd.

I finally moved back to the area on saturday, its not the forest but nearby at Ross on Wye. Having hardly settled in I was asked by Chris Grady if I'd like to join him on a visit to Slimbridge on monday morning. How could I say no?

A quick telephone call to Mike Smith and he was joining us too. I arrived at Slimbridge just after 8.00am and the sun was shining and there was no wind. I was in the reserve as soon as the gates opened and very keen to get the gear out. A quick check of the Rushy pen confirmed that the Bewicks were back. Nine in total.



The next stop proved a little disappointing. Not much outside the Robbie Garnett hide although the light on the water, which was millpond still, was absolutely amazing. This pair of Shoveler ducks were feeding in the shallows.



A Wood Pigeon came down for a drink.



A pair of Jackdaws were strutting their stuff.



Thr Teal weren't in the best of condition but again the light made for great reflections.

The star of the show was definately this Water Rail which kept making fleeting appearences.

Not high numbers of anything just yet but with the weather promising some winds hopefully it won't be long before lots more stuff arrives.

A Sparrowhawk flew right across the front of the hide but too quickly for any shots. The only raptor to be photographed was this distant Buzzard.

It was so nice to be back at Slimbridge with some of my closest friends, even if they did seem to be more interested in poking fun at me. The place has a quality, although hopefully if any attention is paid to the survey proformas that were being handed out for completion, it may even be improved upon.

More Inner Marsh Farm

The weather has been so changeable this last few days hasn't it. I took advantage of breaks in the cloud this afternoon to go back to Inner Marsh Farm RSPB reserve. I wanted to look at it more objectively than I have on my last few visits.

Unfortunately as always seems to be the case the hide was obviously designed with bird watchers in mind, those with scopes. It is too high and too far away from the action for photographers, certainly too far away. The viewing openings are a little too narrow although one can get a 600mm lens through the openings, just.

All this said though I find myself loving the place. I have sat for hour after hour in the hide on three occasions and despite the fact that stuff is too far away I have seen so much. Today for example I saw: Little Egret, Redshank, Golden Plover, Lapwing, Black Tailed Godwit, Greylag, Canada Goose, Peregrine, Raven, Wood Pigeon, Water rail, Goldfinch, Coal tit, Blue tit, Great tit, Wren, Long Tailed tit, Buzzard, Rook, Magpie, Black Headed Gull, Teal, Snipe and, Mallard duck.

The place has meadow, marsh, water, and Wooded areas and must appeal to a very varied range of bird and wildlife.

Here are a few pics of what I saw today.

Greylag Geese.

Black Tailed Godwit.

Redshank, lots of little groups.

But also odd individuals.

Little Egret.

The most interesting were a pair of snipe, Unfortunately this is quite a heavy crop.

This not so much so, the pair were about one foot apart. You can see them both in this picture.

The weather really was hit and miss. I still enjoyed the afternoon though.

Inner Marsh Farm

Its funny how when the weather is nice theres always something else to do, I have had no chance to go out with the camera until today, and you guessed it the weather up in Cheshire was pants.

However I took the opportunity to visit Inner Marsh Farm RSPB reserve again. The Dowitcher were long gone I believe they've moved further up the coast in Lancashire. There were things to see however.

Golden plover, Lapwing, BT Godwits, Shoveler, Teal, Heron, Merlin and Water Rail had been seen on my arrival. I was therefore hoping that it was going to be a good chance to get some shots, despite the ever increasing cloud.

Well after sitting there for nearly three hours the only thing that came close enough were, surprisingly, the water rail. There were two of them, one of whom came reasonably close to the hide. These shots are only small crops. I just wish there had been better light.

It could have been so much better.

I decided it wasn't going to get any better and cut my losses, however on the way out of the reserve at the very nearby Burton marsh I saw this little beauty sitting on a ornamental post. Again not great light but beggars can't be choosers.

I'll try again when the weather improves.

Big News

Hi all,

Some big news, I've sold my motorhome. Unfortunately problems with my health and some disappointment in not doing what I hoped I would do with it has left me feeling that it had to go.

I'm very disappointed with myself. I had such big dreams and expectations, but living it and dreaming it were very far apart. The biggest problem was my health. I have become reliant on my sleep mask which meant electric hookup, My back has continued to cause me problems and I am increasingly suffering with arthritis problems in my fingers.

In addition to this It was also very lonely. I have never had a problem with just my own company, but in fairness I have also spent great lumps of time with friends and family. Being on my own 24/7 for any length of time quickly lost it's shine. Dont get me wrong I sometimes still long for solitude.

So all in all, and before I lost too much cash on the van I decided to cut my losses. I am gonna stay with my mum for a little while and then at the beginning of Nov I am going to rent in Ross on Wye. I will then be back to the area I've grown to love over the last 16yrs.

I hope that you will all understand my decision, and continue to support me.

Thanks