Wednesday, 29 October 2014

Leighton Moss Waders

Back in September I spent a couple of mornings at Leighton Moss RSPB Reserve in Lancashire. The target was waders and hopefully some nice reflective shots. Of course things never really go to plan and with a breeze picking up on the first visit, the perfect mirror reflection was never going to happen. On the second visit the levels were so low that there was more mud than water. Still, a few good shots were taken and here's a selection.

bird, nature, wildlife
Black-tailed Godwit

bird, nature, wildlife
Greenshank

bird, nature, wildlife
Great White Egret

bird, nature, wildlife
Greenshank

bird, nature, wildlife
Greenshank

bird, nature, wildlife
Spotted Redshank
bird, nature, wildlife
Dunlin
bird, nature, wildlife
Little Egret

Thursday, 9 October 2014

Little Bitterns from France

As I noted in a previous post, I put in quite a few hours of my family holiday in France to photographing Little Bitterns. I have finally gone through the several hundred images of them and processed 50 of the best for my website. There were several pairs which were feeding well developed juveniles in the reedbeds. So I was able to get a good variety of shots, including many in flight, especially of the males which were constantly back and to with food.

More images here - Steven Round Bird Photography
 
bird, nature, wildlife

bird, nature, wildlife

bird, nature, wildlife

bird, nature, wildlife

bird, nature, wildlife


After a few days I was shown an area where they were feeding and would come within 3 or 4 metres. Quite a bit of patience was needed though and on my first session I had to wait over 5 hours before one came in, by which time the sun was too high and the light was a bit harsh to say the least. The next day I was there at first light, and within 15 minutes I had a male land and walk towards me, too close at times. I soon realised that I didn't have to be so still or hidden as I had been, he wasn't bothered by me being there at all. I was able to change lenses and even stand up to stretch my legs, without him even looking at me. It was a great experience.

bird, nature, wildlife

bird, nature, wildlife

bird, nature, wildlife

bird, nature, wildlife

I even managed to photograph them sunbathing.

bird, nature, wildlife

bird, nature, wildlife

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