Living inland and a good hour from the coast is sometimes frustrating, especially when I spent my days growing up only a 10 minute's walk from a very productive section of Welsh coastline. The majority of my birding training was done on coastal habitats and it would be fair to say I sometimes struggle deciding on locations for inland wildlife watching. Therefore, when a friend of mine offered a tour around his local marshes on the Wash, Lincolnshire before xmas, I couldnt turn it down especially as there was the likelhood of some great winter sunshine. The weather didnt disappoint and we were soon watching flocks of Brent Geese, Shelduck, Golden Plover and lots of Lapwing aswell as many other bird species. From a photographic perspective, my aim was Brent Geese and I had two shots in mind; a skein coming across a morning sky in v-formation. Objective achieved:
My second Brent Goose objective was to capture a close-up flight shot showing the detail of this beautiful species. Second objective achieved:
There was a few Shelduck mixed in with the Brent Geese and because I havent many images of this lovely duck species, I thought I would give them a try. Unfortunately, they didnt really come close enough but they were still great to watch as they banked left and right before coming into land.
Last but certainly not least were the Lapwings. Again, this is a species which represents a rarity in my collection so when a winter plumage adult came walking across on frosty grass in front of the hide, bathed in low winter sunlight, I couldnt resist a flurry of images. This was my favourite as the light has really emphasised the intricate plumage colouration. If only hides were built so you could operate your camera at a lower angle to the subject.........
