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Wednesday 19 April 2017

ANOTHER OSPREY DUTY WITH A NEW VOLUNTEER PARTNER.


As Richard has decided this year to only do some fill in duties with me and any others where no one is available I had a trip to Lyndon and the Ospreys on my own, this seemed really strange having only previously carried out duties with Richard.

My trip over was completely Little Owl less even though the weather was not that unfavourable.

On arriving at the centre for about 16.15 hrs, I booked in with Kayleigh and was told that Maya had laid a fourth egg that morning, lets hope they manage to raise all four young. I then headed down the site so as to be able to call in at both Deepwater and Tufted Duck hides, neither were that productive so I eventually arrived in Waderscrape Hide at 16.55 hrs and the previous volunteers could go and as they were leaving my fellow partner in crime, Jan arrived, an absolutely delightful lady with a wonderful sense of humour and a good knowledge of birds which is always a help for me.

On arrival I was told that 33/11 was away on a fishing trip so it was keep an eye out for his return. On his return the trip was hardly worth the effort as he brought back a very small fish. he ate a small amount and then took the remainder to the nest and the female took this to the T post and the 33 took over incubating duties.

After a small flight around the bay and a return with some hay for the nest, 33 was removed by the female from his duties { he can cover 3 eggs but 4 is a little over size for him } and he eventually went on another fishing trip and after a short time returned with a Pike of about 1 1/2lbs, this he took to his favourite tree and certainly was struggling with the fish as it bounced about. He was still having his supper when we finished our duty at 20.00 hrs but would have given some to the female when he had his fill.

It was up to the car park and away as it was nearly dark and a check for Little Owls on my return. I saw a bird at site No 9 and new bird in the headlights near to Site 5, this is a site we must watch out for and try to find the bird again. 


RUTLAND WATER.
13th April.



Mute Swans in field on the way To Deep Water Hide.

Mostly Mute Swans with two Canada Geese and three Greylag mixed in. 



Cormorant in Dead Tree, Tufted Duck Hide.

We have a dead tree to the front of the hide about 150 metres away and also one to the front of Waderscrape Hide, both always have Cormorants in when ever you visit. 






Canada Goose, Tufted Duck Hide.

Couldn't resist and image even though it was a reasonable distance away.  



Teal Drake, Tufted Duck Hide.

Still about the reserve in reasonable numbers. 



Mallard Drake, Waderscrape Hide.

Such a common bird but so beautiful, we can all ignore them but its only when you take an image you can take in the beauty. 








Greylag Goose, Waderscrape Hide.

This pair arrived in the channels to the front of the hide and disturbed a Water Vole I was trying to get an image of. The Vole appeared a second time and I missed it again??. 



Canada Goose, Waderscrape Hide.

They are such a proud looking goose, this one is on the edge of Manton Bay.




MANTON BAY OSPREYS.
13th April.

Osprey duty 17.00 hrs to 20.00 hrs, a most enjoyable but cool evening until the wind died down. 





Male Osprey 33/11 with the first fish he returned with
.
Not the best of images but the birds are a very long distance away from the Hide. You can just about make out the fish. Have just checked the distance at 370 metres. 



 Female Osprey on T post with the small fish.



She then transferred to an adjacent tree to finish the fish.  






And then had a quick flight around the bay.{awful images} 







She then went out of view for a short time only to appear carrying a large lump of hay. 




Female Osprey dumping hay on top of 33/11 whilst he was sitting on the eggs. 





Female Osprey having taken over from 33/11 who then went away on another fishing trip. You can see the hay she had just deposited to her right.



33 away fishing. 



Female Incubating, you can see the heap of hay to the front of her. 






     
Male returns with a nice sized Pike but was having a struggle 
in keeping it still.


So a quick fly around to see if he could get a better place to land.




Not a much different position than previous, but he got stuck into his catch and was still feeding when we finished our duty. 




Thank you for your visit, I hope you have enjoyed the images as much as I did in the getting of them.

Sorry for the poor quality of the Osprey images, being a late duty the sun was to the front of me and the light was going.

20 comments:

  1. Didn't he take some beautiful shots, all of them were excellent John.

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  2. Hi Bob and thank you for your visit, great to see the Ospreys getting on with incubating the precious eggs. All the best, John

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  3. I must admit, John, it does seem rather strange not to be doing our regular fortnightly stint at Rutland together. However, I suspect that you'll find it much more interesting having a change of partners each time - and then you're stuck with me again in three weeks!

    Whilst you images admirably show how wonderful the plumage of the male Teal and Mallard are, The simple plumage of a Greylag Goose is, in my opinion, extremely elegant, as your images show perfectly.

    Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow for our (not so regular, these days) Thursday afternoon out - - - Richard

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  4. Hi Richard and yes it seemed most strange having a duty on my own or with another side kick. Think I would have rather been with my original partner. The Greylag are a very stylish goose and were swimming at the far end of the channel to the left of the hide. Very poor images of the Ospreys unfortunately even though it was amusing when the female dumped the hay on 33's head. See you tomorrow and lets hope for decent weather, John

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  5. Las primeras fotos son todas fantásticas y el seguimiento de las águilas pescadoras es muy interesante como siempre. Buen reportaje John, un abrazo desde España.

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    1. Hola German, y gracias por las visita, los Ospreys son una delicia para ver, como pajaros maravillosos, pero yo estabo muy decepcionado con las imagenes de esta semana, una mezcia de distncia y light. Glad disfrutaron de las primeras imagenes. Todo lo mejor para Inglaterra y cuidar de ti Mismo. John

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  6. Wow John, absolutely brilliant photos. I have never seen swans other than those in the water, never on a hillside like this. Thoroughly enjoyed, thank you so much!

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    1. Hi Denise, I have been following your trip with great interest, keep up the good work, must be feeling tired after traveling about all day and then blogging at night. Thanks for the visit and comment, we on a regular basis get swans in the fields at all the local reservoirs, glad you enjoyed the post, I was disappointed with the Osprey images, All the best and enjoy your journey. John

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  7. Ho John,
    370 m, WOW!!! Such wonderful observations!
    Wish I could be there too watching the birds in theirs chores!
    Lovely duck images :)
    Enjoy your we :)

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    1. Hi Noushka, you would be fascinated to be watching, they such wonderful birds to watch, and it can only get better once the eggs start hatching, 33 will have his work cut out this year with four young to feed but I'm sure he will manage it with ease. Glad you enjoyed the ducks but I was disappointed with the Osprey Images after the previous weeks. All the best to you and have a good weekend. John

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    2. Hi John,
      Well I am sure you will manage more satisfying photos when the chicks will start hatching.
      It reminds me of the Black eagle we hatched in our facility once!
      Thanks for you kind comment on my Wheatear :) Do you get them in England?
      Enjoy your evening :)

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    3. Hi Noushka I am looking forward to when the young fledge as we get them flying round the bay and chasing each other but I'm getting in front of myself, they have got to hatch yet?? We get Wheatear as summer visitors but not the Black-eared Wheatear. I was very disappointed with the Osprey images, lets hope with the lighter evenings I will stand a better chance this week. All the best and the Wheatear and Ringed Ouzel were great. John

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  8. Hi John, fantastic to see the Ospreys.. Congrats.. Beautiful ducks and geese and nice shots.. Have a great week..

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  9. Hi Ana and thanks for the visit, the Ospreys are a delight to watch and we are all really looking forward to the eggs hatching. You have a good week. All the best, John

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  10. Hi John,
    The photos of the Canadian geese and ducks are very pretty sharp. The details in the feathers are so beautiful to their right. Really nice pictures. The eagle's photos are sensational. The eagerd in flight is really very beautiful. You also know how to photograph the nest.
    I enjoyed your photos.

    Kind regards,
    Helma

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  11. Hi Helma and thank you for the visit. I am always so delighted to get a decent image of a Mallard, they are a duck that is very often ignored being so common but are so beautiful. Had great problems with the Ospreys with the light, hopefully with the nights getting lighter things will improve. Hope you are starting to feel better, pleased you have enjoyed the visit. All the best and get out taking some images when you feel better. John

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  12. Stunning shots of geese and ducks! Also like the image of cormorant and how unusual to see so many swans in a field . M

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  13. Hi Margaret, hope you had a good visit away, the ducks a geese came to me in the hide, mind not that close but it does make things easier if you are shooting down and not into the sun. We see swans in the fields around the reservoir on a regular basis. See you tomorrow, all the best. John

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  14. Hi John: if you can't have Richard share your shift it seems to me that spending time in the hide with an agreeable woman doesn't seem bad at all!

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  15. Hi David, the lady was most agreeable with a wonderful sense humour, it was a wonderful evening and she also taught how to shut down the computer in the hide properly. All the best, 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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