Still around ....

....... but not perhaps for much longer.

It never fails to amaze me when I think that the life cycle of these little chaps requires them to migrate such long distances.

I look forward to their arrival every year and always miss them as soon as they depart, they add such energy and activity to the reed beds.

Another Reed Warbler with no apologies for repitition ......

Lovely eye contact with this image, what more can be said !, well, I have to say that I do prefer to see them on last years dried out reeds.

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.

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 !

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

A classic Reed Warbler pose.

The hide that I use to photograph these chaps is slightly elevated which allows me to look down into the reed beds to take my images rather than having to shoot through the reeds from the side.

This has two benefits.

Firstly, when a bird is close and active I can see the reeds quivering as it moves about which greatly helps me to locate it and be prepared when eventually it shimmies up a reed stem, secondly it reduces the amount of reeds in the foreground which can obscure the bird and confuse the auto-focus.

It works for me.

Back to bed ..........

...... well, the reed beds to be precise.

Reed Warblers are at a high level of activity in the reed beds at the moment, flitting about, chasing each other and arguing about territories.

Some birds are still nest building whilst others are feeding their broods.

And they chatter away constantly.

What I have noticed is that on occasions the reed beds suddenly fall silent.

I always look around to see if there is a raptor in the vicinity but have never been able to see one.

Then just as quickly as the silence descended the chattering starts again, very curious.

The South hide at TLNR is slightly elevated which allows you to look down into the beds rather than through them from the side, this greatly assists photography.

Busy birds ........

Seasonal fayre but worthy of maximum exposure.

The plumage of Reed Warblers is totally in harmony with the reed beds in which they live and breed, they melt into the background but at the same time vocalise their presence with attitude.

Some birds are still nest building whilst others are already energetically feeding broods.

Insect life is very apparent at the moment with Mayfly nymphs on the wing in extraordinary numbers.

This season could turn out to be a bumper year with multiple broods, lets hope so.

The Reed beds are quivering ........

...... with Reed Warblers from the South Hide.

I made an early start with a view to connecting with the Hobbys, clearly no one had told them I was coming as they didn't really put in an appearance.

These fellas however made up for it and put on a great show for me.

The best laid plans of mice and men !

Bank holiday reed bed bird ......

The reedbeds at TLNR are alive with Reed Warblers at the moment.

And where there are Reed Warblers, Cuckoos will not be far away.

A male Cuckoo was very vocal and flitting about in the trees at the back of the reed beds at the South hide, frustratingly the bird always seemed to  manage to perch distantly and with foliage partly obscuring it.

From the reed beds yesterday ......

This Reed Warbler was being very coy, generally speaking they never really get more '' showy '' on a regular basis until the pressure is on and they are feeding young in the nest.

I love the colour and texture of reed beds, this rather frayed around the edges, Peacock Butterfly just looked good on a Phragmite today. What a contrast, the deep rich colours of the Butterfly and the somewhat neutral colours of the reeds.

Reed Warbler, THE reed bed bird of Spring and Summer in the United Kingdom.

A seasonal migrant returning in April and a real favourite of mine.

I find it just amazing that such a little bird ( no more than 15 gm. in weight and  15 cm. in length ) can make the journey of thousands of mile from and back to Africa each year.

Seeing them however is not easy as they move around the depths of the reedbed. 

Waiting for an opportunity to photograph them is a bit akin to coarse fishing, if your float starts to twitch you know that a fish is showing an interest in your bait -  if reeds starts quivering in the reed bed you know that a bird is around and you can track its movements hoping that eventually it will shimmy up a reed for a shot.

There a plenty of youngsters around at the moment so, given the forgiving weather at the moment and abundance of insect life second broods could be on the cards.