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Sunday 5 August 2018

A VISIT TO EYEBROOK AND AN OSPREY DUTY.



With one thing or another I have not managed to get out as much as I would have liked but that could not be helped. Also the hot weather has not helped with even the Ospreys tending to just sit about in the shade trying to keep cool, which is what they do in West Africa.



EYEBROOK RESERVOIR.
22nd July.

I decided to take a pack up tea and arrived at the Reservoir for about 18.45 and settled immediately to have my tea after putting the camera onto the tripod.

After a few minutes I saw an Osprey but on the other side of the reservoir so I carried on with my tea, it was still very warm and not much was moving then the Greylag Geese decided to fly into the field behind me as the combine harvester had just driven past me or should I say squeezed, they are such large machines these days,

I eventually had an Osprey visit but by then the light was failing and we had a red tinge to the sky and the underside of his wings, its amazing how already the nights are pulling in.
  





Greylag Geese, Opposite Stoke Dry.

These birds were leaving the reservoir to go into the recently combined fields to see what grain was left behind for them to feed on.

  
 









Most of the time they flew over they were excessively noisy.



Greater Black-backed Gull, Opposite Stoke Dry.

Several of these large gulls were evident around the reservoir but this was the only one that came reasonably close to me.







Male Osprey 03/09, Opposite Stoke Dry.

By the time he arrived it was considerably darker than the image indicates. The red under his wing was the reflection of the sky from the water. It was also a very long shot at about 250 metres.






RUTLAND WATER AND OSPREY DUTY.

2nd August.

It seems at the moment that when I have an Osprey duty, the mercury in the thermometers goes racing up the tube and we had another very hot afternoon cooking in Waderscrape  Hide, 29 deg outside and up towards the mid 30's inside.

I had thought as it was so warm we would have a quiet afternoon but this was not the case at all with people arriving all afternoon dripping with sweat but keen to see the Osprey.

Upon starting the duty we were told by the people from the morning shift, that at 09.40 the young male 3AU had circled up into the sky and looked as if he was getting underway to to follow his sister 3AW who started her migration about 9 days previous. So we were only able to point out the female who sat on the T post adjacent to the nest and the male 33/11 who had tucked himself inside one of the Poplar tees opposite and even with the scopes was very difficult to point out to the visitors.

Suddenly at 15.45 hrs both adult birds flew up into the sky to chase away an intruder which turned out to be 3AU. He had a quick fly around the bay and then for a short time sat on the nest and was continuously calling and food begging. So 33 decided it was time to go and had not returned when we finished duty.


  



Greylag Goose, Tufted Duck Hide.

The water level has dropped in the reservoir since the last duty and this goose sits on an island that is increasing in size as the water drops.



Adult Female Osprey, Waderscrape Hide.

This is where she sat all afternoon until the young male returned .




Juvenile Male 3AU, Waderscrape Hide.

Upon his return he had a quick fly around on the far side of the bay before landing on the nest.


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3AU and adult Female on camera Post.

After landing on the nest he was very quick transferring onto the camera post to join the adult female, 3AU is the nearest bird.



Moorhen with chick, Waderscrape Hide.

This is I'm sure the same bird that had the previous young in the channel to the front of the hide, she had four youngsters around the area and one of her previous young that was helping out with the feeding.









A little previous in wing flapping.



This juvenile kept feeding this youngster that kept close all the time we were on duty.




Another wing flapping to try to get mum to feed it.



Little Egret, Tufted Duck Hide.

As I opened the window on the hide this bird started to run so it was a quick image.



Juvenile Moorhen, Deep Water Hide.

This bird had initially got us beat, with it standing up rite it was difficult to decide as to what it was.




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

13 comments:

  1. Fantastic flying John, and the Osprey is superb. I love them.

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  2. Hi Bob,
    The Greylags flew very conveniently for me also at a reasonable distance. I always enjoy getting images of the Osprey, have to make the best of them as they will soon be underway back to Africa.
    All the best, John

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  3. Extraordinario reportaje, las fotos de los ansares en vuelo son magnificas, me han encantado. Enhorabuena John, un abrazo desde España.

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    Replies
    1. Hola German,
      Realmente disfruto tomar imagenes de vuelo y los Gansos Greylag lo sincronizaron perfactamente para mi y por una vez no muy legos.
      El Aguila Pescadora esta punto de irse, asi que estoy haciendo lo mejor antes de su adios hasta la proxima primavera.
      Todos lo mejor de Inglaterra, John

      Delete
  4. Fabulous photos John. I loved all of them but that first shot of the three synchronized Greylag Geese was impressive. The Moorhen and baby was endearing. Great post and thanks so much for sharing. Have a great day, a great week :)

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  5. Hi Denise,
    Must admit I do enjoy taking flight shots, I was at a farmer friends this afternoon and his wife said the three geese looked like the three ducks that people hung on the wall many years ago.
    The young Moorhen are real little beauties but I was really fascinated with the juvenile helping Mum wwith the feeding.
    All the best to you and have great week likewise, John

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi John.
    It's hard to live with the heat. Animals don't like it either.
    The flight of geese is very beautiful John and little moorhen very cute.
    Happy weekend and happy birding.

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  7. Hi Nathalie,
    We are back to a more normal temperature and hopefully more normal birding.
    I enjoy getting flight images and the Greylag were very co-operative in flying into an adjacent field.
    The Moorhen at this size are such a delight.
    All the best and you have a good week ahead JOhn

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  8. Hi John,
    you have managed to photograph the flying geese splendor.
    In addition, the seagulls in flight. You can also follow the osprey beautifully :-) The little moorhen is also so nice to see :-) The little egret remains great.

    Kind regards, Helma

    PS I was little on the blog due to the enormous heat we had in the Netherlands

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Helma,
    Likewise in England it has been so very hot, when I was on duty with the Osprey it was 29 deg outside and 30 deg+ in the hide.
    I found that people have enjoyed the flight images of the Greylag geese, this is something I get great pleasure in doing.
    The little Moorhen are always fun to watch with the little wings flapping.
    Thanks for the visit and it appears to be cooling down so hopefully both we and the birds will be able to move more comfortably.
    All the best, John

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  10. Absolutely loved all of images but especially flying geese and moorhen feeding young. M

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  11. Hi Margaret,
    The Greylag geese were s real treat and so lucky to be in the right place at the right time for once.
    I have seen the Moorhen again and will be in the next post.
    All the best, John

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  12. Great series of flight shots, John, always the most difficult to achieve. The time you allocate to the Osprey programme is commendable indeed. I should think that you must be one if their primary volunteers.

    ReplyDelete

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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