There haven't been any updates for a while, bad weather has severely limited worthwhile opportunities and family commitments have also taken more time.
The Christmas break was welcome and a good walk would have been welcome, unfortunately we were limited to one short and breezy outing on a local moor.
Sightings of red grouse were plentiful though distant at first...
Efforts at intruding carelessly into closer proximity end in only one way..
Once located though, and with some patience, it is possible to approach quite near to them...
We covered about three miles in the cold wind, the grouse were the only wildlife we saw. On other days there can be a wide range of wildlife on the moors.
With heavy rain on our available walking days we were not able to get out again until the 12th January when the opportunity of a visit to the RSPB reserve at Leighton Moss was too good to resist!
The robins on the reserve are a delight, almost pleading for their photograph to be taken...
The intermittent sunshine was welcome too, we had almost forgotten just what a bright day looked like!
Pausing on the way to our first hides we spotted first a nuthatch, then a great tit.
Settled in a hide and scanning round for wildlife we spotted a group of red deer stags having a rest by the reed beds..
A male teal was having a nap near the hide...
The reserve has four marsh harriers over wintering, the rest having returned to Africa, one appeared quite close to us.
Stunning birds, they hover over the beds in search of prey and swoop quickly when they are in pursuit of a meal. I should have had closer and better shots but unfortunately I forgot to adjust my settings as a dark spell of cloud briefly passed by, must do better photographer!
The morning passed quickly by and we returned to our car for some lunch before heading out again in the afternoon.
A pheasant strolled boldly by..
A group of long tailed tits passed by, one paused briefly in the trees to examine us!
As soon as we were in the hide a flock of curlew flew past...
There are always plenty of coots around...
You may also discern a couple of snipe to the left of the coot..
There is always an audible lift in excitement levels when a rare bird appears, and so it was again when someone announced the visible presence of a bittern, scopes, binoculars and lenses raked the far bank, most found it but a few unfortunate visitors completely missed the brief appearance...
The fantastic camouflage of the bittern is amply demonstrated here...
We decided to call it a day in the hides to spend a little time by a causeway which can yield great kingfisher sightings, another good decision as a male allowed me a great variety of images...
A fabulous day!!!
On Monday I had time for a short walk and chose the canal bank, sensibly I put my wellington boots in the car, what a muddy slithery mess!
I persevered and found a female blackbird in some lovely light..
A male goosander sailed by...
And the moorhens always appear for my lens...
It was good to get out in the fresh air again and I have had some great wildlife sights to enjoy.
Many thanks to all who read, don't forget if you do post a comment that they come to me first for moderation.
