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Tuesday 19 September 2017

A TRIP TO EYEBROOK RESERVOIR.



As Richard was unavailable I decided as I was still not feeling 100 % to have a less strenuous visit out so I drove our normal route through our Little Owl Sites and saw a bird at Site No. 6, this was a real bonus not having seen any birds for several visits out. After this I carried on through our normal route and met up with the farmer {an Irish gent} on whose land Sites 10 and 11 are situated. Telling him we were not seeing any birds in the normal areas he told me he was still seeing plenty of the Little Fellas and was also seeing large numbers of big owls as he called them on the other side of his farm so things are probably not as bad as we have been thinking. 

After this I headed for Eyebrook Reservoir for an easy afternoon and some decent images of anything??

It was not a busy but very interesting afternoon and the results follow.










Kestrel near Little Owl Site No. 6.

As I approached the Little Owl Site I saw this bird sat in the top of the tree and could not resist an image. 



Little Owl Site No. 6.

At last I have seen, after such a time a Little Owl and having spoken to the farmer perhaps things are not as bad as I thought.





EYEBROOK RESERVOIR.

This is such a delightful place just to sit, watch a few birds and let the world pass you by. I spent some time at the bridge with a gent with a scope and a little farther down the stream we could see, a Black-tailed Godwit, Little Stint, Ruff and Greenshank but all much to distant to even attempt an image. 



Red Kite.

I sat in the car and suddenly a shadow passed over me and six of these beauties all flew in at once, about spoilt for choice but they soon had made a reasonable distance out over the reservoir, so much for just letting the world pass you by. 













This bird decided to do an about turn and flew parallel to the road where I was parked making life a little easier, it was however still a good distance out over the water.  
















 AND THEN THE BIGGEST BIRD OF THE DAY.




Lancaster Bomber, Battle Of Britain Memorial Flight.
I was just about to commence my tea and had the sandwich in my mouth when I suddenly heard a mighty roar behind me, dropped the sandwich, jumped out the car as this wonderful old aircraft flew by. This aircraft is based at RAF Conningsby . After a fire in engine nimber four, it was decided to send the plane to RAF Duxford for some work to be carried out taking some 9 months. A new firewall was put in place in engine 4 and numerous other improvements made, the bomb doors were replaced. The actual number of the aircraft is PA474 . The new livery is of the Royal Australian Air force  460 squadron with the number AR-L with a Kangaroo with bagpipes on the side. 



The aircrew on a test flight, the cockpit is not built for comfort. Somewhat different to our modern aircraft.



And away it went over the far hill, by this time the crew would be seeing Rutland Water to the front of them .





OUR BARN OWLS.

We still seem to have the young male bird hanging on in the large box, he is coming out later and later which is making the getting of images very difficult. Lets hope he will like his sisters and soon decide to disperse, he's obviously enjoying the warmth and protection given by the box.




 Young Male having a quick look out before going back into the box and eventually coming out about an hour later when totally dark.



A real struggle getting this image when he finally decided to appear, everything was flashing on the camera saying too dark.  




Another evening and a little earlier but still shooting at silly ISO numbers. 
 





AND AT LAST!!!!!!!!!




16 comments:

  1. Spectacular showing of the Red Kite, amazing John, and the Kingfisher, beautiful.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Bob and thanks for the visit, funny thing this year has been whilst we have had the Ospreys visiting, the Red Kites kept away, Ospreys gone, Red Kites appear. All the best, John

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  2. FANTASTIC John,
    I am glad you got you Kingfisher at long last!
    And what did I tell you about the LO's....
    Often things are not as bad as one would think...
    So be prepared to take many shots of them soon!
    The Red kite is magnificent and so proud, I love this species!
    Congrats, a great post!
    At last the weather is improving for the week and I will be off again to the bellowing spots but I will get angry with hunters who begin shooting on the 1rst of Oct.... :(
    Best wishes and enjoy your outings :)

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    Replies
    1. Hi Noushka, Have had to remove the Kingfisher but they will appear again later.
      You were correct with the LO's just a matter of finding them again, will have to have a word with the farmer and go out with him. As I have just said to Bob, whilst the Ospreys have been about we have not seen a single bird, Ospreys go and straight away I see six, the are a really stunning bird. Good luck with the deer but be careful once the hunters are about. Weather better today with us, I am going out soon with the remaining Barn Owl, think we have got a mummy's boy. Best wished to you and have some good visits out. John

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  3. The shot of the Kestrel is just precious, John. I am also gobsmacked by the images of the Red Kite in flight. Great job! All the best to you and Veg - and I hope you are back to feeling 100%.

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    1. Hi David a great favourite of mine is the Kestrel, they are such a beautiful bird. The Red Kites are always a pleasure to photo, at least they are that much bigger and easier for the auto focus, feeling a lot better thank goodness. All the best to you both. John

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  4. Hi Tom, Eyebrook Reservoir sounds marvelous, a good place to view wildlife and just sit back and relax for several hours. I would love it! Your kestrel and the little owl, the Barn Owl and the Red Kite, spectacular. And then viewing the old airplanes for the memorial flight, along with the Red Kite in flight were fantastic, a great pairing and both very majestic in their own way! Thank you John, a great pleasure to visit as always.

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  5. Hi Denise, it really is a delightful area, it was an excellent idea to visit and just have a lazy afternoon. It was a bonus to at last see a Little Owl, but for me the highlight was the Lancaster, such a wonderful aircraft and we are of a similar age. We still have the young male Barn Owl but I have abandoned getting images as he is not appearing until after dark. Thank you for the visit, really enjoyed your Wright Brothers post. All the best, John

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  6. Me ha encantado el reportaje John, enhorabuena!!! Todo lo mejor desde España.

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  7. Hola German, y gracias por la visita. Estamos teniendo un pajaro de tiempo muy tranquilo sabio en el momento. Nuestras aves se han dirigido hacia el sur y nuestros visitantes del norte todavia estan por llegar. Haste tenar un buho comun. Todo le mejor de Ingalterra. John

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  8. Hi John,
    Luckily there appeared to be owls you thought they were not there :-)
    The picture of the turf is very beautiful and the little owl below is so nice !!!!!
    great that you also saw the red cloak and put it on the picture as well. And hahahahahaha .... very nice that's "biggest bird of the day hahahaha ....."
    The last male church owl is also so beautiful to see.
    Really great to have these beautiful owls in your own garden and to be able to follow.

    Best regards, Helma

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  9. Hi Helma and thank you for the visit, yes it was wonderful to start to see some Little Owls with the chance of seeing more at another farm.
    I can never miss the opportunity to take images of the Kestrel, they are such a delightful bird.
    Red Kites are also super to photo, they are so graceful in flight with the tail feathers acting as a rudder.
    And yes the "biggest bird of the day," but it was true, it was the largest I saw at Eyebrook.
    It has been an absolute delight to have the Barn Owls back again, to be able to watch them so closely has been a real eye opener, I have learnt a great deal from this nest.
    All the best to you and have a good week. John

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  10. You always manage to come up with the unexpected with your 'other things' . Great shots of the Lancaster plane. Detail so clear. Right place at right time!! Love the Red Kite images and the Kestrel and nice to have a Little Owl back on blog. M

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  11. Hi Margaret
    and I always try my hardest, the Lancaster was a real bonus, such a wonderful old aircraft, as you say right place, right time. The Red Kites were were the reason for my visit to Eyebrook, they are so graceful in flight. Wonderful to see a Little Owl again. Looks as if we still have a Barn Owl in residence. See you both soon, John

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  12. Hi John, beautiful raptors.. Love the little owl and Kestrel.. regards from Madrid..

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  13. Hi Ana, I had a wonderful afternoon out with the Red Kites, thanks for the visit, All the best from England, 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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