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Saturday 5 November 2016

LETS HAVE ANOTHER TRY FOR THE GLOSSY IBIS.

I decided on Wednesday the  2nd of November to have a quick trip out,  firstly to visit Swithland Reservoir to look for the Mandarin ducks { which didn't materialise } so I then had a quick visit to Cossington Meadows and Rectory Marsh to see if the Glossy Ibis was still in attendance.  This time I parked at the other end of the site and walked through the fields so as to finish by the water with the sun coming from my right hand side. On arriving I found a lady and gent already on site and stood about fourty metres from them was the Ibis. I took my first safety shots at about 50 metres and then slowly approached them. The lady said she had been on site for about an hour and the bird had been reasonably stationary all the time she had been on site. The gent had apparently only arrived about five minutes before me so we all settled in and watched until it got into the right position sun wise and then fired a few shots to check settings. 

Eventually another couple arrived, one with a small camera and her husband with a camera phone. We all tried to be tactful and say not to go close to the bird, but after about ten minutes it became evident we would have been better telling the Ash Tree behind us, She got closer and closer to the bird, so I said please stay where you are, other people are arriving and it would be most unfair to flush the bird. Her answer was "we haven't all got big lenses" and proceeded forward yet again. She eventually flushed the bird so then she and her husband got both barrels, I then remembered some words that had been used on the LROS site and finished with them. " Please do us all a favour and take up a different interest". With that they both set off with the husband trying to retaliate against me to the other side of the water where the bird had flown again only to disturb the bird and luckily send back to us.

With that they obviously decided not to come back via us and took the long walk back to the car via Cossington. We all said good riddance, and carried on with getting some images. This was followed very shortly by a gent with two dogs who walked up to me and said  "its still here then" and then proceed to walk towards the bird and disturb it. I will not repeat what I said to him but I apologised to the lady who was I must admit in fits of laughter and said " I could not have put it better myself". After this we gave it best and left the poor bird in peace.      





First safety shot taken at about fifty metres.  









I then walked up to the other people on site so the rest of the images are between thirty and fourty metres. 




 So far the bird has been stood on one leg.

 








And eventually had a scratch. 




And this is when the stupid woman disturbed the bird. 




And it flew to the other side of the pool, also frightened the Teal.  




This is after she chased the bird round the other side of the pool and it returned to within about fifty metres from us. 







It then walked closer to us, this at thirty metres approx. 












It then proceeded away from us feeding at speed with head down. 



Very dificult subject to get decent images from. body in the sun but the head completely in the shade. 














Even with this image very little of the sheen is visible, really critical at getting it totally in the sun and then pulling the EV into a negative value.





Thank you for your visit, I hope you have enjoyed it as much as I did in the getting of the images. {Even with the IDIOT factor we had to deal with}

19 comments:

  1. Precious Glossy Ibis, love them.

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  2. Hi Bob, yes it really is a stunning bird, but through this I'm amazed its still staying in place due to the idiots disturbing it. Thanks for the visit, all the best. Regards John

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  3. Really beautiful shots of the Ibis. Even though it was disturbed by the couple, great shot showing it's outstretched wing. All the images show the subtle colouring of the feathers. Hope your leg is not too bad after your slip getting the them! M

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  4. Hi Margaret, knee is some what better, have some tablets and a hinged knee support to take the weight from it when moving, sound like a proper old codger??. Thanks for the visit, it really is a stunning bird with such a variation in its colouration. So glad I managed another visit before these people eventually frighten it away. See you both soon. John

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  6. Now we can see why it's named a 'Glossy' Ibis, John! You really caught it well in great light.

    I'm going to be more conscious of intruders in future, and trying to capture them on camera. They'll then appear on my blog and on Twitter.

    I hope that the leg is easing now, and that you'll be OK for Thursday's adventure.

    See you soon - - - Richard

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  7. Hi Richard, it really is a stunning bird and as you say at last we can see why its got the name'Glossy'. Even in the light I had its still a difficult bird to get a decent image from, the glossy section of the bird tends to make the camera over compensate and the rest of the bird appears to be in the shade. Great idea with the idiot intruders, they are not fair at all on other visitors, some of which have not come to get photo's but just to see the bird. Leg is easing and look forward to our Thursday excursion, not sure as to whether we will walk a great deal however. All the best John.

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  8. Hello John, despite the disturbance by those people you managed some great captures of this Glossy Ibis. Sorry to read you injured your knee. I wish you a speady recovery.
    Regards,
    Roos

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    1. Hi Roos and thanks for the visit, I must admit it was a disturbed afternoon with these people but I am pleased with the outcome. Hopefully the bird however long it stays will have a more peaceful time. Knee was feeling a lot better but did a little too much gardening yesterday. Have a good rest of the week. Regards John

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  9. It´s really beautiful the plumage of this Ibis.. Nice series of pictures.. Congrats John.. :-)))

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  10. Hi Ana, thanks for the visit, it really is a beautiful bird and we are so lucky to have it on a reserve so close to home. All the best Regards John

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  11. Well John, looks totally incredible to me. The sheen on its feathers is extraordinarily beautiful! Your photographer's eye really comes through in these shots and each post I see, fantastic! Thank you for all your kind comments on my blog. Slowly catching up on my visits, which I have missed greatly.

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  12. Hi Denise and hope you are feeling considerably better. It really is a stunning bird and at last I managed to get the sheen by getting the bird and sun in the required position, mind had no control over either. Glad to have left comments on your posts, loved your Mandarin, they are beautiful ducks but another still missing to me. Keep getting and feeling better. Regards John

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  13. Oh don't talk about stupid people, I know all too well how frustrating they can be especially when the bird is a rare site.
    You managed very good shots considering the circumstances and you even caught some iridescence on the plumage. On thing though... maybe you could straighten some of your pics, it happens to me too when I use the heavy lenses!! LOL!
    Congrats John, I would have loved to there with you :)
    Enjoy your weekend!

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  14. Hi Noushka, yes some people leave you to despair, if it was not such a rare bird for us it would still be aggravating but these types seem totally ignorant to other people. I am at the moment looking into another lens and will then have to start to either use a monopod or tripod and then hopefully get straighter images, it would have been good to have you with us, I could crib some of your expertise. Have a good weekend, look after yourself. Regards John

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  15. I guess this all goes to prove, John, that some people are total assholes!!

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    1. Hi Both, couldn't agree more, but so disappointing when you are with others and trying to watch this wonderful bird. Regards John

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  16. Hi,
    Thank you for the visit and comment.
    All the beat, John

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About Me;


Titus White:
Hi I am Richard Peglers friend Titus White, and those who follow Richards posts will understand the name and reason for it. I have been birding with Richard for 3 years and a volunteer at Rutland Water on the Osprey Project for 2 years. My early images were taken on a Nikon D80 with a 70 - 200mm lens. I updated the lens to a 70 - 300mm VR lens but still was not happy with the results. Eventually when Nikon announced the D7100 I decided to change so upgraded the camera and also invested in a Sigma 50 - 500mm lens.
I first met Richard through Arthur Costello as I was having the occasional visit from Little Owls on our land. We eventually found the Little Owls through another contact about 100 metres away. Photo's will follow on future posts.
I have recently upgraded my camera to full frame, this is a challenge I am at the moment enjoying trying to get the best out of the beast.
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