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Wednesday 19 September 2018

A VISIT TO KELHAM BRIDGE, RUTLAND WATER AND MY PAL REGGIE.


I met up with one of the gents from our local Bird Club who told me a Kingfisher was being seen on a regular basis at Kelham Bridge Reserve so I decided to have a quick visit to see if my luck was in. As I opened the window  in the hide the Kingfisher flew away but I had regular visits over the next 45 minutes, they are really such a beautiful little bird.

I then on the Thursday had a visit to the Egleton Reserve at Rutland Water, we are in the spell between Summer visitors departing and Winter birds arriving with just a few birds still passing through on the way South. I had an enjoyable afternoon and a good walk, this time without the rain.

I also had an e mail from my friend Reg to say he had a Tawny Owl in a tree in his garden, asking if there was any way to encourage the bird to stay. I put him in touch with the Hawk and Owl Trust {East Midlands} who appear to be keen to erect a Tawny box in his garden.


I visited on Sunday afternoon and after a considerable time I eventually managed to locate the bird sat in the top of a very large tree. It was a case of getting the camera on the tripod and keep moving around until I could get a reasonable image through a tangle of branches and leaves. I finished with the camera virtually sat vertical on my tripod with me on one knee, but at least I saw a Tawny.






KELHAM BRIDGE RESERVE.
11th September.

We had a reasonable afternoon with some sun and as the reserve is very close to home I was on site in a matter of minutes unlike some of my other excursions.





Male Kingfisher, Hide Two, Top Pool.

Upon entering the hide I had a quick look through the gap in the top of the window shutter and could see the bird, but upon opening the shutter the bird flew away, only to return a few minutes later as it did for most of the time I was in the Hide. A really wonderful afternoon.











He caught numerous fish, but as hard as I tried to get a flight image I had to admit defeat.
Will try again another day.


 
 




They really are such a flashy little bird, a delight to watch.










Grey Squirrel, Hide One, Lower Pool.

As much as I dislike the Grey Squirrel, its very difficult not to take an image. I visited the Hide to see what birds were about the feeders and only managed the Squirrel.
If I get them near the Barn Owl boxes I'm afraid they have to leave the garden.





SPARROW HAWK, OUR GARDEN.
12th September.

I was upstairs working at home when my wife called me to say have a look at the bird on the fence, so it was a case of get the camera, open the window and try to get an image or two.






Juvenile Female Sparrow Hawk.

I was lucky to get these images as she did not hang about very long and soon flew away.









Such a beautiful head.




Had a call from my friend Rhys to ask if he could putan image of the Sparrow Hawk on his Twitter page to which I agreed. He phoned me later in the day to say he had done this and had 44,000 hits on it and one from Chris Packham saying "Top Bird! Nice Pic" so thanks to Rhys.




RUTLAND WATER, EGLETON RESERVE.

13th September.



I arrived at the centre at approximately 13.00 hrs and after a quick chat and a check of any birds about I got underway to see what I could see, the truth being it was reasonably quiet as we seem to between birds going and Winter visitors arriving. I saw a few female Ruff who will be on the way South, they are left to fend for themselves by the males who head South once the young are hatched and the females follow on much later.



I had a visit around most of the Hides but nothing of great excitement was seen.  

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Female Ruff, Shoveler Hide, Lagoon 3.

Most of these birds will be passing through on the way South to Africa and Southern Europe. Some however will over Winter in the UK.














Green Sandpiper, Shoveler Hide, Lagoon 3.

Another favourite bird but it was such a distance away so image heavily cropped.








Why is it when they come close they then turn there backs towards you, sods law.



Lapwing, Shoveler Hide, Lagoon 3.

Numbers of these birds are certainly building up as Autumn arrives.




Little Egret, Grebe Hide, Lagoon 2.

I was hoping to see the larger cousin but non showed whilst I was around. Some on Lagoon 1 but about 600 metres distant.





A VISIT TO REG AND JILL.
16th September.

I had an e-mail from my friend Reg to say he had a Tawny Owl in his garden and this was followed on the Saturday whilst watching a game of rugby with an invite to take some images for him and his wife, which I took the offer up immediately, not many chances to see a Tawny.
On arrival we walked to the tree and could see nothing of the owl but eventually after a considerable time I managed to find the bird, right in the top of the tree and very difficult to see through a tangle of branches and leaves.
So it was get the camera onto the tripod and try to find a way through the tree to get a reasonable image. 
This proved a challenge but eventually with the help of the bird I have the results below.
Whilst taking the images, we heard a second bird calling very close by.








Juvenile Tawny Owl.

Having eventually found the bird, this was one of the first images through the tree, it was a case of slowly moving the tripod to the left and slightly forward, then eventually.





Then the bird helped by moving slightly to its right.




It certainly had us spotted but did not appear at all concerned.















I can only thank Reg and Jill for this wonderful opportunity to see a Tawny Owl plus I got a cup of coffee and biscuits, and they are pleased with the images. I will give an update if a box is erected.



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






18 comments:

  1. Absolutely stunning shots John, and my favourite, its a Kingfisher, genius day out. The Tawny Owl, I love it too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Bob,
      For once I had a couple of lucky visits out, the Kingfisher kept coming back and sitting for me, the Hawk was on our garden fence within 40 metres of me, however the Tawny made life more difficult sitting in the top of the tree.
      All the best, John

      Delete
  2. Wow!!! Los primeros planos del Martín pescador, del Gavilán y del Cárabo son extraordinarios, de lo mejor que he visto en mi vida. Enhorabuena por este trabajo John, me da un poco de envidia. Un fuerte abrazo desde España. Todo lo mejor!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hola German,
      Gracias por un comentario tan positivo, de lo que estoy muy contento por ti, siempre envido la calidad de tus imagenes.
      Tuve mucha suerte co el Halcon ya que no estaba muy lejos de las casa, diria unos 40 metros, por lo que era un caso de abrir la ventana y tomar.
      El Martin pescador volvio a tener suerte ya que aterrizo a unos 15 metros de mi.
      Sin embargo , el Tawny no era tan facil de estar en lo alto de un arbol.
      Todo lo mejor de Inglaterra, John

      Delete
  3. Oh my John,
    You must have been thrilled to have the kingfisher that close!
    Flight photos are not that easy indeed and I take them with my 200/500 mm Nikon lens with the D850 which is a large sensor at 1/4000s, f8, my Isos are on automatic so they can reach 2000, depending on the light, the distance and the exposure... if that can help you ;-)
    I will post some soon.
    Congrats for the Sparrowhawk, you were very reactive and for the Tawny owl, WOW!
    All in all, a wonderful series
    All the best and enjoy the end of the week

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Noushka,
    It was so wonderful to be able to get reasonably close to the Kingfisher.
    I used my D810, I had to return the D850 as the mirror got stuck up after about 15 shots, so I was not over pleased.
    I will try your settings and see what happens.
    The Sparrowhawk was so lucky as it landed on the garden fence, the Tawny was not so easy but I hope to return for another try and hope the bird is in a more accessible position in the tree.
    Enjoyed your Little Bittern images.
    All the best and look after yourself, John

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi John.
    Fantastic post.
    Very good images of kingfisher, he is an amazing bird.
    In your garden ?!!!! Oh my God ! Lucky was with you !
    You have a good evening.
    Bye

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Nathalie
    Glad you enjoyed the post, I was so lucky with the subjects, all posed wonderfully for me.
    Enjoyed your post on the River Awash, glad you kept away from the crocs.
    You have a good weekend.
    All the best, John

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow!!!.. Wonderful series of all these different birds... Love also the Squirrel and Tawny owl and the Kingfisher are really beautiful.. Happy week..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Ana,
      Not so many different birds as in your last post.
      I was so lucky with the Tawny Owl and Sparrow Hawk, the Kingfisher I was told about and so visited.
      I am hoping for decent weather on Thursday for an outing.
      Have a good week and thank you for the visit.
      All the best, John

      Delete
  8. Really lovely blog. The shots of Kingfisher are fantastic and Reg’s Owl are so nice. The young Sparrow Hawk is brilliant.It’s feathers show up beautifully with the background . And a Lapwing too! Very enjoyable all round. M

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Margaret,
      Must admit I am pleased with the post myself.
      We must have a good search around the farm, I'm sure we will find some owls somewhere in all that land and trees then you can compete with Reg.
      Just had to put a Lapwing in for you.
      See you soon, all the best, John

      Delete
  9. Your photos of birds and animals are so sharp and clear it is an immense joy to see them. Thank you for sharing always John, a pleasure to visit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Denise,
      I am always pleased to visit your posts likewise.
      I had a really lucky week with the Sparrow Hawk and the Tawny Owl, both such beautiful birds and then to top this with the Kingfisher, what more can you ask for.
      All the best, John

      Delete
  10. Hi John,
    wonderful to see the kingfisher again. You could have a very nice footnote and even with a fish in its mouth. In the Netherlands a lot of ice creams died last winter and I hope that there will be some more leftover this winter.
    The squirrel is really fun :-)))))
    And arghhh ........ I am jealous of your beautiful pictures of the sparrow hawk !!! So cool to see this and you have really put this beautiful sparrow in the picture :-)

    The Ruff and the sandpipers are always super nice to see and also nicely photographed. And ohhhhhhhh ...... so cool to see the owl. I will fall in love with this nice owl again :-)

    Kind regards, Helma

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Helma,
      Thanks for the visit and praise.
      The kingfisher is such a delight just to watch, I always miss the flight images, I think I watch the birds so much, I find them so delightful.
      Th Sparrow Hawk was so lucky, my wife saw it on the fence and called me and I managed the images out the window.
      Yes at last I managed some images of an Owl, and what a beauty.
      It was not easy at all to see and took some time on the tripod to manage some reasonably clear images with all the leaves and branches.
      Thank you again for the positive comments.
      All the best, John

      Delete
  11. As everyone has said above, John, how lucky you were to have the kingfisher so close. The pictures are just stunning. I am even more taken with the Sparrowhawk, however. The images reveal the expressive nature of this bird of prey. Remarkable stuff. As for the Tawny Owl - who among us is not drooling? Great work!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi David,
    I find the Kingfisher such a super bird to watch, they are so unpredictable in the movement, is it going to fly or not, I hope to get back down this week to try for some flight shots after some schooling by Noushka bless her.
    The Sparrowhawk was such a lucky bird to see, and the end results I am delighted with, all thanks to Veg.
    Look forward to the Australian adventure on your posts.
    All the best to you both, John

    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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