Tufties and Pochards

The Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula) and Pochard (Aythya ferina) are amongst my favourite duck species. There is a lake in north-east Lincolnshire where both species congregate in the winter months and become tame due to the proximity to humans. Therefore, its an opportunity for me to get some camera time with them and so last weekend, with a cold spell hitting the UK and a couple of free hours, I thought I would pay them a visit. The weather was overcast with intermittent sunshine and I was hoping that the thin layer of snow and ice covered water would enable some different images. What constituted 'different' I didnt know until I got there! After an enjoyable couple of hours I had managed to increase my image portfolio of these two species and with the Tufted Ducks, finally got some images where I was virtually happy with the balance between water colour, exposure of the bird itself and their golden coloured eyes.

First up are the Tufted Ducks.....

Now for the Pochards.....

Before I left I also managed to find another species of wildfowl on the lake, which was a surprise and also a new species for the camera for me. Thats coming next.............

Common Darters

I have had a couple of short visits recently to local parks to focus on increasing my portfolio of common waterbirds. To fill the gap before I process them, I thought I would share some Common Darter images, which I took last summer. I set out to capture more images of one of our most common dragonflies at the beginning of last year's macro season but for some reason never posted the results here.   

A morning at the marshes

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.........