Topic: Herons And Bitterns

A list of articles tagged with 'Herons And Bitterns'.
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Attenborough, June 2007

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Gallery published by Richard Goodwin

Spent Father's Day taking Dad around Attenborough. Lots of young birds - Reed Warblers and Whitethroats, Tree Sparrows, Great Tits, Coot, Moorhen, Mute Swan and Mallard all got photographed.

There were also a large number of Banded Demoiselle dragonfly-type creatures around; enough that we saw a sparrow catch (and drop) one, one got caught and eaten by a spider, and we found just the wings of another on the path. Mating Ladybirds and a bunch of Peacock Butterfly caterpillars, and some strange cricket-type critters, were amongst the other insects we saw, not counting all the flies and midges.

Cley Marshes, September 2006

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Gallery published by Richard Goodwin

Cley Marshes as it used to be - by the time you read this, parts of it are probably under water as the sea defences have been changed.

Not an ideal day photography-wise, but some nice views of a kingfisher and swallows getting ready to head south.

Chichester and Fishbourne

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Gallery published by Richard Goodwin

This is my attempt at some solo birdwatching, which is to say, going out on a cold, windy day, take a lot of photographs, and hope that I can make them out when I'm back somewhere warm. A couple of short movies I took on the day didn't make the cut - I took them more to get the sounds of the Redshank warning calls, but all I got was the sound of the wind.

To cut to the chase, there's a lot of Redshank here, along with Dunlin, Oystercatcher, and Grey Plover. Oh, and the usual Mute Swan, gulls etc.

Norfolk Birdwatching, December 2004

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Gallery published by Richard Goodwin

A trip to Norfolk, looking for King Eider at Titchwell, Rough-legged Buzzard, and Lesser Yellowlegs at Stiffkey. We got the latter, but the light was so bad that hardly anything came out from that leg of the trip - which is a shame, as we got some great views of Redshank on the banks of some of the channels.

Titchwell was pretty good for Robins - they came extremely close - and some waders, but the light was variable and so action shots were right out.

Canalside Herons

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Gallery published by Richard Goodwin

A walk down Nottingham's canal saw at least one, if not two, very sociable Herons. The first flew quite close and then took up residence on the path near one of the new buildings on Island Street. The second encounter took place just down from Sainsbury's, where a Heron was standing in the runoff stream. I edged closer and closer, taking pictures, until a couple walked up, one wearing a bright yellow jacket. I figured that they would scare the bird off, so I went as close as possible to get pictures, but they just walked right past without the bird even appearing nervous!

Unfortunately the light was lousy, as it had been snowing earlier in the day. It wouldn't have been so bad if the snow had settled, as it might have reflected a little light, but it was just very dark and murky. Not the best conditions for zoom photography, so some of the images might need a little manipulation before they're at their best.

Newark 2

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Gallery published by Richard Goodwin

Another family trip to Newark to do the trip down the river we didn't get time for the first time we went!

Fishbourne 2

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Gallery published by Richard Goodwin

Taking the folks to see the inlet at Fishbourne.  Not quite as wet as before...  Features my first attempt at digiscoping, before that was even a thing.

Pagham Harbour, August 2001

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Gallery published by Richard Goodwin

Pagham Harbour's just north of Selsey Bill, or about 7km from Chichester as the crow flies.

The first time I went there I walked the scenic route, walking down the canal and then deciding to just keep going until I got to the sea.  Needless to say, this time we went a more conventional way, on a bus!