Sand Martin

Well ....... all I can say is that this is the best image that I have achieved of this species in flight ..... but its a soft shot in questionable light  ........

So why post it ? ....  

Because the next one has to be better, its a record shot and a starting point, watch this space.

Common Blue

........ July is a quiet month for birding so Dragonflies and Butterflies become a very pleasant diversion.

A friend of mine, John Murray, jokes with me that I am gravitating towards Macro photography and he may very well be right.

A 420mm lens combination is certainly not the most appropriate for these subjects.

If you have ever wondered why this Butterfly is called a Comma ......

...... Its the under wing marking ..... definitely a '' comma ''.

Flora as well as Fauna on this blog .......

I saw this flower on the edge of the reed beds and it struck me as rather unusual.

One of my friends Graham Barker, far more in touch with plants than I, was able to identify it as '' Redshank '' ( aka Willow weed and Lady's thumb ) a member of the Knotweed family.

It is invasive but can be controlled when required.

What a shame that such a striking flower is a weed.

NB  Another friend, Eric Graham has also suggested that it is '' amphibious bistort '', a species that Graham and I also considered.

Its not for me to play King Soloman when it comes to plant identification so its good to have two nominations.

My original position continues to be that it is an unusual looking flower !. 

There is always a leaf ........ taken at Rutland Water.

I have never seen a Water Vole in the wild so this image is very much an enjoyable record shot '' a banker '' in the hope that with the passing of time further opportunities in more open settings will present themselves for better images in the future.

Graham got some nice footage on the day, link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHQ4OYyw3UQ

A constant presence .......

In the sky's above the reserve the Red Kite is an ever present '' local '' with many breeding pairs in the locale.

In the breeding season to see their synchronised flying is a truly remarkable sight that I never tire of.

Reintroduction programmes do work so lets get it going with great energy when it comes to Hen Harriers and impose ''real '' fines to those that persecute them, shame on all of them !.

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.

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.