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Monday 21 August 2017

A COUPLE OF VISITS OUT AND THE BARN OWLS.


Firstly an apology to all my friends in Bloggerland, I have been somewhat slow in commenting on Blogs but with being out making the best of the Barn Owls most evenings {even in the rain of which we have had plenty } my time has been very limited on the blog.

I had a visit to Rutland Water on Saturday the 12th of August going on a direct route through to Egleton as I had not got a great amount of time, so I missed the Little Owl Sites that Richard had visited on the Thursday.

On arrival I parked in amongst all the marquees that were all ready in place for Birdfair, I booked in at the centre and headed for the Lagoons to see what was about. It was really a very disappointing visit and very little was seen at a reasonable distance, two Marsh Harriers were spotted by some others on Lagoon 4 but even for me they were a silly distance away. 

So after this I decided to have a visit to Eyebrook Reservoir for a look for any Ospreys and Red Kites, saw the Ospreys but no Red Kites.  


RUTLANDWATER,
EGLETON RESERVE.





Shelduck In Eclipse Plumage. Lagoon 3, Shoveler Hide.

 This pair were in the pool to the front of the hide.



Mute Swan Cygnets.

These four were on the first island out from the hide and mum was close by. 



Great Crested Grebe, Lagoon 4, Sandpiper Hide.

This bird suddenly appeared from the reeds and dived and came back to the surface with a fish. 



Egyptian Goose, Osprey Nest, Lagoon 4. Sandpiper hide.

When I first arrived in the hide, two of the birds sat on the nest, one then flew up onto the T post. This is the nest where these birds destroyed the only egg laid in the nest last year.




EYEBROOK RESERVOIR.

I arrived at the reservoir at 16.40 hrs and it was not long before I saw my first Osprey. By the end of my session I had seen three Juveniles and two Adult birds. Its a lovely place to visit and you can at times get much closer to the Ospreys than is possible at Rutland. 




Adult Male Osprey.

This bird flew down the far side of the reservoir and carried on down towards the dam. 



Juvenile Osprey.

This bird was again on the far side of the reservoir this time flying back from the dam. 



Same bird just a little bit closer. 


Again the same juvenile but not possible to see the ring. 



Still no ring visible. 



A quick turn but I still cannot see or read the ring number. 



Adult Osprey.

This bird returning with a very small fish, someones going hungry this evening. 



Adult Osprey.

This bird made a sudden appearance, hovered on the far side of the reservoir.



And then headed down the reservoir towards the dam. 



Female Juvenile Osprey, 3 AF, A Bird Fledged At Site O.


At last a bird came a little closer and it was possible to almost read the ring number. I made the bird to be 3 AT but I sent the image to Kayleigh at the Lyndon Centre who got John Wright the Field Officer to have a look and he told me it was 3 AF.  




She circled down the middle of the reservoir and eventually headed farther down. 



She eventually finished up fishing to the front of some trees about half a mile away where she caught a small fish. I only can confirm this as I had a gent with me with his scope and he watched her dive and catch the fish, and I saw her fly away with it. I have never seen a juvenile catch a fish before. 



You cannot but admire the beauty of these birds.





OSPREY DUTY.
13 th August.


I got away from home at 14.10 hrs and headed for our Little Owl sites, I just wanted to see a bird, it is a while that I have been Little Owl less.

I arrived and followed my normal route and eventually at Site 9 I saw a Little Owls, what a relief. mind it was so buried in the tree I was unable to get an image but at least I had seen a bird.

Then on my return journey I saw a bird sat on the barn roof at site No. 11, it was virtually dark by then so I didn't even attempt an image.

On arrival at Waderscrape Hide, I found it to be bulging at the seams with visitors, most of whom were on site for Birdfair at Egleton and were staying locally, luckily later on things got considerably steadier with visits.





Adult Female, Shallow Water Hide.

Virtually a carbon copy of two weeks previous with the female on the T post, juvenile male on the nest and no sign of the adult male 33/11. 


Juvenile Male 2 AM.

He had moved from the nest up onto the camera post and was having a quick preen.



Female Osprey Chasing and Egyptian Goose.

She is still very protective of her youngster and gave a real chase to this unsuspecting goose that just happened to fly by. 



Juvenile Osprey 2 AM.

Had a quick fly and thought about having a chase with the female after the goose, but then why bother.  




Common Tern, Shallow Water Hide.

Numerous of these birds still about and could not resist this image. 





Mallard Duck, Shallow Water Hide.

A long distance image, they look so dowdy this time of the year. 



Juvenile Little Egret, Waderscrape Hide.

This is I'm sure the same bird as last time I was on duty but this time it only was with us for a short time. 






Then someone came into the hide and that was it. 



Left to Right, Great White Egret, Cormorant, Great White, Heron and Little Egret.

Unfortunately this is the closest the Great Whites came to us, this was a 530 metre shot.




OUR BARN OWLS.


We still have all three young with us but they are still not coming out of the box any earlier. I have been out with these birds most evenings either in the hide or in the car on evenings when its been raining, and I've had several evenings in the car, the weather has been awful.

Please remember all these images are taken at high ISO numbers, up to 28200.

Just about to go out with the birds and hope they will appear earlier.





Female Juvenile Barn Owl.

First to appear from the box. 







Second Juvenile Female.

Second female appeared in the front and flew away {plus I was slow in pushing the remote button} but then returned and sat on the left of the box for me. 



Then up into a tree at the back of our land, so it was a case of moving about in the hide, swinging the camera round on the tripod, falling out of my seat and being amazed she was still  sitting in the tree still with all the noise I made {and must admit to a bit of cursing}. At least I managed an image away from the box. It was getting really dark  and I had great difficulty in finding this bird.



Male Juvenile Barn Owl. 







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





19 comments:

  1. Hi John. The way that you are capturing your Barn Owls so well in low light is absolutely amazing!

    You did very well with the Ospreys at Eyebrook. The last four images of 3AF are particularly good, and have given you a wonderful header image.

    I'm saying nothing about Thursday as all crossings, wishings and sacrifices to the gods seem to have the opposite results to those hoped for! I'll see you when I see you!

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  2. Hi Richard,
    These young Barn Owls have really not played fair, they always have appeared so late. The low light shots are purely down tho the cameras capabilities, I just press the remote. It was a real bonus with 3 AF, have you ever seen a juvenile catch a fish.
    Likewise with the weather, I'm getting fed up with all the bodies laying about after being sacrificed, I'm sure we will make out this Thursday, possibly????. See you soon, all the best. John

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  3. Beautiful catches, but I love the Ospreys, especially in flight, really excellent John.

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  4. Hi Bob, These could be the last Osprey images for this year, the juvenile male 2 AM left Rutland on Sunday and I would think the adults will not be that long before they follow suit, the season always seems so short. All the best, John

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  5. Hi Bob!!!.. Beautiful birds and pictures of Osprey.. Wonderful to admire the different plumages..

    Love the Barn owl..

    Cheers

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    1. Hi Ana and thank you for your visit. The Juvenile Osprey was for me a real bonus as the rest of the day had been very dull. It really shows the the difference with the juvenile plumage. The Barn Owls have been absolutely wonderful but have taken up so much of my time. All the best to you and Spain. John

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  6. Wonderful to see the female osprey in flight, beautiful captures of her and of all these other marvelous birds you saw. Thank you John, always a pleasure :)

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    1. Hi Denise and what a bonus for me to get the Juvenile Osprey, they are such beautiful and graceful birds. So pleased you have enjoyed your visit. Loved your Bee image on your last post. All the best to you both, John

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    2. Thank you John and for stopping by my blog. We both wish you and your dear family a happy week what's left of it, and have a great weekend :) Denise

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  7. Hi John,
    Sorry to read you don't get to see your LO's as often as you'd like, I am sure you will see them more regularly in winter as you say without the leaves on the trees!
    And I can't agree more with Richard, considering the difficulty of low light, your BO pics are great.
    It is very normal that no camera will pixelate the images in these conditions.
    Your observations and pics of the Ospreys are fantastic I wish I could see them more often in my area.
    Great post!
    Warm regards, take care and enjoy your weekend :)

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  8. Hi Noushka, we are both hoping we will see the Little Owls later in the year. I have had the most wonderful time with these young Barn Owls and will be out later on yet again, always looking for an early emergence from the box but it never seems to happen.
    The D810 does seem a very good camera when working at high ISO, I tend to put in about -0.7 EV and go for it, some turn out light and some dark but you can usually find something reasonable, then suddenly it won't take an image and I go in.
    I have had more luck with the Ospreys at Eyebrook Reservoir this year, keep your eyes peeled as plenty are heading your way.
    Thanks for the comment and you have a good weekend. All the best, John

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  9. I'm much later than you commenting on blogs ;-)
    I am also very busy with work and other obligations and you can not always be on the blog.

    The Shelduck In Eclipse is beautiful to see and also the fusion with fish.
    The Nile Goose is cheeky and you can not really be blind!
    The mature Male Osprey has made you able to shoot very well in flight. I really like this whole series. Beautiful and you will see the beautiful drawings under the wings.
    The little Egret also made it possible for you to photograph nearby.
    The pictures of the church owls are really cool to see. The boy is still in the box !! ?? I hope you can shoot them very soon.

    Best regards, Helma

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    Replies
    1. Hi Helma, thank you for your visit, it is very difficult at times keeping up with other blogs. The Egyptian goose are a bit of a problem with the Ospreys, they tend to take over the nest sites prior to them arriving and a battle ensues to get the site back into the Osprey ownership. Glad you enjoyed the flight shots of the Ospreys, they are such beautiful birds. The Barn Owls are really advanced and I think two may have dispersed. Will try to find out what we have got with us in the next day or so. All the best. John

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  10. Wonderful shots of all birds. The angles you capture with Ospreys really display their plumage so well. Love the young one 'curled' up and the beautiful images of the Barn Owls take some beating! Nice ones of Little Egrets - dazzlingly white. M

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  11. Hi Margaret thank you for the comment, the Ospreys at Eyebrook have been much closer than at Rutland, but the juveniles have such beautiful plumage. I think we are down to one Barn Owl,two have departed the box, ittle Egrets are so difficult to get decent images from due to white tending to burn out. Have got the flu at the moment, you don't get the flu in August!!!!!!, all the best and see you soon, hope your trip went well. John

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  12. The Barn Owl shots almost make my heart race, John. And some of the flight shots of the Ospreys are superb. Great job my friend!

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  13. Hi David, The Barn Owls are coming out later and later and getting very difficult to get decent images, I'm sure we are down to one bird {Juvenile Male} and the two females have dispersed, sad to see them go but that's nature. You two would have had a wonderful time in the hide watching the Barnies. The Ospreys were at Eyebrook and I had a most wonderful time watching them, it's the first time I have ever seen a juvenile fish. Unfortunately I went down with flu last weekend so I am struggling at the moment with blogs. All the best to you both, John

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  14. Absolutamente bellas las águilas pescadoras en vuelo, que maravilla. Las fotos de las lechuzas son preciosas a pesar de haberlas realizado con un ISO superior a 28200 el resultado es excelente. Gran trabajo John, enhorabuena. Todo lo mejor desde España.

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  15. Hola German y gracias por la visita. Las Ospreys eran un conjunto de imagenes afortunadas mientras el juvenil venia de lacercania mas cerca de mi. \todos nuestros Ospreys se dirigen hacia usted en el momento de hecho alunos estan ya en Marruecos. Los Barn Owls han sido una delicia este verano, pero han salido tan tarde, hen tenido suerte con la camera haciendo la mayor parte del trabajo a tan altos numeros ISO. Todo lo mejor de Inglaterra, 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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