Martin Mere

A chilly but sunny visit to Martin Mere.
We haven't been for a while and find it has all changed: fences moved, trees chopped down, new hides built. Still the same birds, though!

Families of Whooper Swans

Shelduck

Whooper Swan

Ross's goose (?)

Greylag Goose

Shelduck

Shelduck

Snowdrops

A bit of excitement at Kingfisher Hide as a Water Rail briefly wandered out of the undergrowth, before wandering back in again.

Water Rail

View from the new Discovery hide

"Whooping" Whooper Swans

Tree Sparrow

Martin Mere

Stretching the legs around Martin Mere. Ferociously bright sun with cloudless skies. Not good for the photos but we saw some interesting stuff and got to test the new polarising filter for the 500mm lens. Conclusion: can make a big difference but not sure if I like it.

Barn Swallows

A Sedge Warbler was very busy singing from the top of a clump of reeds. Very reliable and entertaining from the comfort of the hide, but it never came any closer, so heavy crops to get a decent size in the photo.

Sedge Warbler

Red-legged Pheasant

Juvenile Moorhen being fed in the ditch

Grey Heron

Sedge Warbler

Birds were frequently seen trying to fly off with sticks that were far too large, and big clumps of nesting material in general.

Black-headed Gull with enormous stick

Female Blackcap

Moorhen feeding juveniles

Black-headed Gull (polariser shot)

Sleepy Mallard

Shelduck (polariser shot)

Male Great Spotted Woodpecker

Sedge Warbler

Hesketh Out Marsh

A new site to investigate, the recently converted RSPB reserve at Hesketh Out Marsh. We didn't really know what to expect, although there were claims of hares and waders.
We looked all day for Hares with no sign, until one ran out in the road on the way home, then ran off into a field. At least we saw one!
Apart from a Shelduck in some nice, undisturbed water there wasn't much photogenic all day, not helped by fierce sun and lots of heat haze. Even waiting around under a hide for an hour or so showed up very little apart from distant Redshank and Oystercatchers. Large flocks of geese were moving across in the distance, miles out into the marsh.

Shelduck

Shelduck

Shelduck having a stretch

Disappearing into the haze

Geese flocks (Pinkfooted?)

Port Charlotte

A day of patchy rain that wouldn't make up its mind in the morning. In the afternoon we wandered down the shore a little from the house to see what we could find. What we found was a little cove with waders. With some patience we had close encounters (but no Otters, which are to be found near there according to a holidaymaker we bumped into later).

But first, wildlife photography comes with its hazards. What I thought was a little scab was actually this little bloodsucker which had been on my arm for most of the week. He came off OK, probably because he was full!

Tick

Common Gull

Turnstone

Dunlin

Dunlin

Dunlin

Dunlin

Dunlin

Rock Pipit

Dunlin

Dunlin

Turnstone

Ringed Plover

Ringed Plover

Turnstone

Pied Wagtail

Dunlin

Turnstones and Dunlin

Meadow Pipit

Shelduck

Common Gull

When on holiday on Islay I heartily recommend spending hours rolling around in cold, rotting seaweed!

The things I do on holiday

Later, after we'd put all the camera stuff away ready for heading home the next day (and after predicting that we wouldn't have to worry about catching a sunset due to the weather) a fantastic, burning sunset descended over Islay. We quickly scurried off with a few cameras but a bit more preparation time would have produced much better shots.

Port Charlotte

Port Charlotte

Port Charlotte

Port Charlotte Hotel

Port Charlotte

Paps of Jura