WE ARE IN LOCKDOWN, BUT BOREDOM HAS ALREADY TAKEN OVER, HOWEVER I DECIDED IJUST HAD TO HAVE A TRIP TO SWITHLAND RESERVOIR, I WAS DOING NO HARM.
Officially under our lockdown rules we are only allowed out to go shopping and for exercise using the car, I decided to mix the two, shop for some bird images and exercise on the Dam wall at Swithland Reservoir, on arrival I found many more birders doing exactly the same, we all kept well apart, social distancing of 20 metres plus, and all being very responsible. I just wish more of our inhabitants would do likewise, we are in lockdown and our case numbers are rising, how can this be if people are being sensible???
I spent the bulk of my time on the Dam, but unfortunately nothing initially came very close but after a while other ducks decided to visit the area but non came as close as I would have liked unfortunately .
All in all it was an enjoyable time and well worth the time, I may venture farther next week, but you can't push your luck too much.
Unfortunately nothing came very close so for the first time I took Nikons advice and cropped the images very heavily and it appears to have worked reasonably well.
This is a bit of a different post for me with not all the images taken in the last week.
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Great Crested Grebe, off the Dam. This bird was the only Grebe to venture that bit closer to the Dam but was still in excess of 100 metres away. |
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Male Goldeneye Duck. Whilst watching the Grebe this duck suddenly appeared nearby, I had not noticed it previously but a good arrival for me.  |
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Then a quick dive. |
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Adult Male Tufted Duck {Scaup } After a short time more ducks appeared and slowly came my way. |
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He does not appear to have much of a tuft, but love the eye. |
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Female Tufted Duck. The only one I managed a reasonable shot from, the rest all kept away. |
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Female has the white above the beak, again not much of a tuft. |
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Mallard Female. Several pairs came in with the Tufted ducks. |
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Then she had a quick dive. |
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Mallard,Male . A much maligned duck. |
They really are a beautifully marked Duck.
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Male Shoveler duck. These two then appeared, followed by. These were a silly distance away. |
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This pair. |
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Mute Swan Adult Male . Swam past with a Cygnet in tow. |
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Swam by following he male then turned around and came back only to then chase back after the adult. |
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Black Headed Gull. It appears where ever you go at the moment you find these birds, they are even flying about over our land, |
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This one took off from between some Tufted Ducks. |
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And this one had a snooze. |
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Pair of Wigeon. This pair then swam in but considerably farther out from me. |
These are more of the images taken on my visit pre lockdown, unusual for me to take more than required, I usually prefer to watch the birds, its far more entertaining. Something I have recently learned about these birds, the shallower the V in the tail, the younger the bird, mind to me the tails appear identical.
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