Make the most of them whilst they are here .......

.... because it won't be long before their southwards migration starts leaving us bereft of these guys for another nine months.

Always a pleasure to see them arrive and breath fresh life into our reed beds, always sad to see them depart, mission accomplished.

Natural evolution .....

Is certainly the name of the game when you get a good sight of the feet of this Moorhen chick.

Perfectly adapted to their habitat and by design spreading the load of their weight over a wide surface area they almost seem to be able to walk on water.

They are not perhaps the prettiest of birds as chicks although the adults have a very pleasing presence and a lot of attitude.

This years crop ......

Of Teasels, a really important source of food for many birds in winter not least of which is  the Goldfinch.

Many other species benefit from this food source when mature and it is widely spread throughout our countryside.


What an attractive plant this is however I have to say that it is at its best in autumn when it has '' turned '' .

Textures ........

I love texture.

In this image I have captured three at least.  Wood, barbed wire and spiders webs, all have different visual and  ''feel '' effects between hard and soft contributing to the end result.

Its just another road to go down when out and about and the bird life is a bit on the slow side. 

In a bit of a flap.

Little Egrets, arguably, give one of the widest ranges of opportunity for photography in the United Kingdoms bird world.

They pose, they wade, they move gracefully and slowly, they strike out for their prey with great energy, they are elegant flyers and they are here in greater numbers year on year.

At Titchmarsh LNR we have had more than our fair share this year although numbers have dropped in recent months.

What a treat.

Lots of bugs in the beds .......

And the Reed Warblers are making the most of it as they feed their hungry and demanding broods.

It's June, summer has still to establish itself fully and yet Autumn is sadly already also on the horizon with Summer migrants reaching the end of their breeding cycles.

Its been a good breeding season with hopes for multiple broods but it will not be long before our Warblers start thinking about their departure from our shores.

I suppose birding is a bit like gardening, the breeding and growing season happens once every year and then its gone until the next year, our hobbies mirror are own life cycles so make the most of it ..... time catches up with us all !

Identification at last ....

Several years ago I posted this image of a caterpillar on a website because I had no idea what species it was.

Today, many years later, I got a response, apparently it is a Goat Moth.

http://butterfly-conservation.org/files/1.goat-moth-species-factsheet.pdf

The power of the web never fails to amaze me.

I like dogs very much.

I also know and number many dog owners amongst my friends.

There are however two sections of irresponsible dog owners that I despair with who clearly cannot read or choose to ignore the notices at every entrance gate to the reserve.

1.  The owners who make absolutely no effort to pick up and remove their pets waste leaving it as a most unacceptable sight and to be trod on by visitors to the reserve .... totally antisocial and unacceptable behaviour.

2.  The other section are dog owners who do half the job. They pick up and bag the waste and then leave the bag hanging on fences or just dropped on the paths of the reserve.  

This is amazing, who do they think is going to remove the bags ?. 

For these people I have a tip - put a used plastic container in the boot of your car ( an old butter or Ice Cream container for example ) place the bag in it and when you get home drop it in your appropriate bin.

For these latter two sets of owners, please take full responsibility for owning a dog.

And please don't forget that Titchmarsh Local Nature Reserve is exactly that, a gem of a nature reserve that we are lucky to have. 

The reason that dogs should be kept on a lead, particularly during the breeding season ( March to August ) , is that many birds nest on the ground and may abandon their nests if disturbed by uncontrolled dogs.

Please, give nature a chance !.

A constant companion .....

No matter what time of the year it is the Robin, recently adopted as the United
Kingdoms favourite bird, that is never far away from you.

Always a willing poser, their confidence in the company of people is truly remarkable.

Very versatile birds they can be found in many habitats, in this case the margins of a reed bed.

Great little characters to be associating with.

Great bird, great light ..... classic pose.

Unusual to get clear sightings of Nuthatches at this time of year yet Grafton Underwood woods always seems to come up trumps.

When they breed the offspring rarely travel very far from where they fledged so in these woodlands we have a strong, stable population of the species.

Its nice for a change to report a success in this world where birds are under such pressure.

Plenty of these around at the moment .......

In the right light Greenfinches really shine out, happily we have good numbers at TLNR depite the national decline in their population.

Regular cleaning of feeders keeps the prevalent virus at bay ..... when did you last clean yours ?.

Feeling well and feeding well

This little Reed Warbler was showing really well in the close margins of the reed bed in front of the South hide at the reserve last Sunday.

As we all know, timing is all and this image caught the moment very well.

I am not sure what flavour of prey this is so all comments would be most welcome.

Either way a very pleasing result.  

Graham Barker, a friend and keen videographer produced a video of our visit per the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCWfRlrIUj4