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Thursday 28 September 2017

A TRIP TO RUTLAND WATER AND AT LAST A KINGFISHER.


As Thursday was an absolutely foul day weather wise, it hardly stopped raining, I decided to have an afternoon out on Friday, which proved to be a far better day, albeit wet underfoot but what does that matter. 

So I got under way on my usual route heading through the Little Owl sites  but with no look this week, the barn I saw the Little Owl at last week had several tractors and trailers moving about as they were getting the barn ready for the Winter when the cattle will be inside and the farmer was emptying the manure from inside to give a good clean start for the Winter.

On arriving at Rutland I checked in and looked on the board, several good birds had been seen so I headed for the hides to see what I could find. 

The board said a Bittern was outside Buzzard Hide, but it had buzzed away by the time I arrived. Also a Little Stint had been visible from Sandpiper Hide, not for me and the others in the hide but apart from that I had a super afternoon. Lots of Dragonflies were about but of course I had the wrong lens, always the case.

I finished my day by having tea at Eyebrook Reservoir and spent most of the time watching Swallows which to me seem very late heading South.




RUTLAND WATER,
EGLETON RESERVE.






Juvenile Hobby, Shoveler Hide, Lagoon 3.

This bird was spotted for me by a lady in the hide who I see at the LROS meetings, it was unfortunately a silly distance away and even though we finished with four over the lagoon, they never came close to the hide so all these images are not that good but please remember the birds were 150 metres plus away and Hobbies are such fast flying birds, they were very difficult to keep up with.

Sorry for the poor quality of the images. 











I think I managed images of three of the birds and they all appear to be juveniles, no red trousers. 



Green Sandpiper, Shoveler hide.

This bird in Winter plumage, shame we haven't had a summer yet.











Grey Heron, Shoveler Hide, Lagoon 3.

This bird suddenly appeared and I find it difficult not to take an image,  they always appear so ponderous in flight.  










After a short flight it landed and was still with me when I headed towards some of the other hides.





AND AT LAST A KINGFISHER.


It was reported that a pair of Kingfishers and young were showing on a regular basis at a Leicestershire reserve so I decided to make a visit doubting that they would turn up, but sure enough on arrival an adult was present and later on another was showing well. What a difference it makes when the birds are so close. I had to change my auto focus distance to the lowest available on the lens, if not the lens would not focus, what a difference when the bird is virtually in the lens hood. What a wonderful feeling to at last get some images, lets hope this is the start of seeing some more??. Whilst I was at Rutland Water a lady had seen two Kingfishers just outside Buzzard hide and they were close so I will have to visit again. 

Still have more images so may find some space soon for a few more.



Kingfisher Male.

Such a beautiful bird with splendid plumage, had another visit Monday but it looks as if they have departed to pastures new, 










Kingfisher, Female.

She did not show as much as the male .









  



Little Grebe, having just appeared at the surface.

Whilst taking the images of the Kingfishers, this bird  appeared so a very quick image before it disappeared again.





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

Please feel free to leave a comment, I will reply to all.





15 comments:

  1. Wow!!! Unas fotos realmente fantásticas, enhorabuena por este trabajo John. Todo lo mejor desde España amigo mio.

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  2. Hola German y gracias por el commentario, por fin he consequido ver a un martin pescador, un pejaro no he manejado ninguna imagen decente de anteriormente. Visitas Rutland Water y vimos cuatropero eran imagenes de larga distancia. Todo lo mejor de Inglaterra, John

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  3. The bird in flight photos are great, as are the rest Tom. I have always loved the Sandpiper. The Great Blue Heron is a delight, especially enjoyed the one with the swan in the background. The colors of the Kingfisher and the detail of its feathers is fabulous, and the Little Grebe is adorable. Another very enjoyable post.

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  4. HI Denise, hope you had a good holiday, from your posts it was certainly eventful. My top bird of this post has to be the Kingfisher, a bird I have been trying to get an image of for a considerable time. Glad you enjoyed your visit. All the best, John

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    Replies
    1. Back again John, we did thank you. I would love to see a Kingfisher one day. All the best to you too. Denise

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    2. Hi Denise as you can tell and see with all the visits you have had to my blog, they are not that easy to find but lets keep our finger crossed for you. Having said that, I had a visit out last week and saw four of them but they were all a long way from me.
      All the best to you both, John

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  5. Hi John, you had a trip to Rutland, love it. The Kingfisher was the best and Peregrine as well.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Bob and thank you for the comment. Rutland is still short on birds, our birds have gone South but very little has as yet come down from the North. The Kingfisher is a bird I have been trying to get images of for such a long time and at last I had one that sat and waited for me, so pleased you enjoyed it. Hope you had a good holiday, all the best, John

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  6. Hi John,
    great that you could shoot the tree falcon.
    We have a tree falcon in the area, but I see him little.
    Nice that you could grab a white hole. The blue heron is also very beautiful and especially the second picture of the blue heron is amazing!
    Jaaaa ................ beautiful to see the kingfisher. So pretty close by and one too with fish !!! Beautiful pictures John !!! The little killer whale makes this blog a true bird paradise, which I enjoyed enormously.

    Best regards, Helma

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    Replies
    1. Hi Helma, the Hobby was found for me by a lady I see at the bird club, we eventually had four of them flying round the lagoon. I can never resist Herons, always have to take an image even though they at times are about in large numbers. The Kingfisher was an absolute delight for me, I have always been very jealous of other peoples images as I could never find a bird close to photo. I went to Rutland Water and saw four last Thursday, mind they were all a long distance away. So pleased you enjoyed your visit and thank you for the comment. All the best to you, John

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  7. Super images of all!! The Heron shots have such striking poses, the plumage of sandpiper so pretty and very pleased you got so many beautiful shots of the truly beautiful Kingfisher. Patience rewarded?! M

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  8. Hi Margaret and yes the Heron was just to good to miss, but the Kingfisher was tops, as you say patience. Visited Rutland last Thursday and saw four Kingfishers, unfortunately being Rutland they were not very close but I still saw them. All the best to you both and see you soon. John

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  9. Hello John,
    Great post, congrats with the kingfisher pictures!
    Such a lovely bird, it is always a special pleasure to see them up close.
    I believe both male and female you photograph are youngsters from this season... The adults have feet much more orangey.
    The hobby... well I've taken similar images and it is indeed very frustrating when don't show up closer.
    Lovely landing from the heron :)
    Enjoy your week and I really wish you a sunnier weather
    Keep well

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  10. Hi Noushka and thank you for the visit, hope you had a good break.
    The Kingfisher was a real bonus and thank you for the information as to them being young. We were so lucky to get them so close.
    The Hobby was very frustrating with a mixture of the speed and distance, almost as if it was doing it all on purpose.
    As you say lets hope we get some better weather, have a good rest of the week.

    All the best, John

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  11. The series on the Kingfisher is truly stunning, John. I think that this is a species that no matter how often one might see it, it still evokes expressions of awe and excitement. Your patience has been well rewarded.

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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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