It's That Time Of Year...Spring Part 1...

Spring has sprung and the grass had rise I know where the business is.... Everywhere!!! I can't seem to get away from it this time of year, Fighting, Flirting, Feeding and that’s just in my way through town but on a serious note this is just an amazing time of year to be out and about watching the birds and the babies, I just love finding a nest then sitting back in the undergrowth watching the adult birds come and go and tracking the progress and weighting for them to fledge, up to date I have never managed to see a set of chicks fledge, slightly disheartening but as long as a see chick the day before and find and empty untampered nest, it keeps me very happy, recently I have been watching 7 - 8 nest with two fledging in the last week...

I haven’t had anytime recently to keep up to date with my blogs or even spend to much time out and about, due to this I have been spending a lot more time around my local area within ten minuets or less of my house and I have rediscover my love of my local area that I sometimes take for advantage...

Since my last blog I have been working on a series of photographs that I like to think catches the Essence of early spring, I hope that you like the results















This is my favourite shot that I have taken over the last few week, I took this whilst watching this Woodpigeon collecting twigs and building a nest at Marshide...

I Really hope that you like it...



Anyway thank you for looking at my blog, sorry I haven’t been updating my blog regularly but now I have finished university I should be able to when I take the pictures,

Thanks Always Lee Harrison

Dinner Time Project...

Well... With the weather been nice for the past couple of weeks, I have decided to do a dinner time project, rather then sitting in the canteen or sitting at home, I've been going for a walk around around my local lodge waiting for photo opportunities to arise, and I like to think that they did and I took them, I hope that you think the same...











Well I hope that you like this selection of picture, I thoroughly enjoyed taking them on my dinner break...

Thanks always Lee Harrison.

Dancing On Ice 2010... HAPPY NEW YEAR...

HAPPY NEW YEAR

and all the best

for 2010...

Well the hype of Christmas had started to settle down so on boxing day we decided to have a walk around a local lodge to see what was around, when we arrived, we noticed that most of the lake was frozen over providing a some unique photo opportunities with all the water foul suppressed into a tiny area and ice skating swans, a first for me and by the looks of it a first for them... I thought that this was an amusing series of photographs, the swan... such a graceful bird when you see them soring across the open skies, coasting through choppy waters but but them up against a bit of ice and all that goes out of the window, slipping and sliding, necks and feathers everywhere a very funny sight...

With the covering of ice, it forced some of the wintering wild foul closer to the edges so I took this opportunity to take a few snaps; I hope that you like them:-

I added, these last three pictures into this blog due to the reflections and the ripple effects on the surface of the waters, it just shows what a change in height can do, these was taken as low to the water as I could get.

On occasions, this lodge can provide opportunities to photograph Kingfishers at close range if you know where to look although they seem to always choose the shaded areas, I don't know whether this is just coincidence or if it reduces visibility from below but it makes it a lot harder for a photographer, anyway I hope that you like them, along with the snow, I like to think it made quite a special picture...

Well thank you for reading this blog, I hope that enjoyed it, once again I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the reader a very happy a nature filled 2010,

Thanks always Lee Harrison...

All Work and No Play....

"Causeway"

Well first of all I think that I should introduce myself, just in case you have forgotten about me, it's been almost a month since I last posted... so I think I owe you an apology, don't worry I've not given up on it, I've just been swamped with university work and working, I've not had a minuet spare but that changed this Friday and I made a break for it and sprinted up to Leighton moss, soon to be stopped by the massive quantities of water, turning my thoughts to the tragedy up in Cockermouth, I hadn't crossed my mind that I was headed towards Cumbria, on arrival things look ok appart from a few flooded fields but once I stared to walk around I came across a few Problems...

"footpath to Grisdale and Tim Jacksons"

They tried to pass the two above pictures off as footpaths but I weren't to sure, not to be put off, I splashed on and things just got worst, what can only be described as wading through 5" of water in low cut boots wasn't the driest idea but different creatures started to show them selves, just walking back from Grizdale hide a toad just decided to swim across my path as if to say "morning" it really made me laugh;

"Toad"

But it paid off in the long run, spending a bit of time down by the grit, I didn't have to wait long before the cetti's warbler showed its self no more than 2 metres away from me before flying off not to be seen again but occasionally giving a small burst of song, having a quick look around I spooked a Waterail which nearly gave me a heart attach after returning to the trays, I waited for around 20 minuets when 2 male Bearded Tits dropped onto the trays showing for around for a little while then disappearing, the best view of these little beauties that I've had for years.

"Bearded Tits, they aren't the best pictures but it's my first shot at photographing them"

After this delight, I headed around the rest of the reserve with much to show for it although meeting a very friendly Robin made my day coming to within inch's of my hands singing it's song and bobbing around I sat watching it for half an hour before moving on, such a simple bird but such an amazing one in my eyes;

"Robin, by far one of my favourites birds, I really do love them"

after spend a bit of time in Grizdale Hide, I headed out to Eric Morecambe's hide, really I was hoping for another stab at the Great White Egret but strangely there were only 4 Little Egrets around today and on others, after scanning around, all I found a single Spotted Redshank and a lone Black Tailed Godwit in with the Redshank, 2 pair of Red Breasted Mergansers diving around and a female Goldeneye were the only different thing I could scope out, a Peregrine kept causing mayhem over head scaring all the lapwing but very little else was around...

"Red Breasted Mergansers"

"Spotted Redshank,

Hope you can spot it..."Anyway, I hope that you like the blog, sorry about the long break but hopefully this will change, I have a lot of work to be handed in but I'll try and nip out from time to time if I can,

Thanks always Lee Harrison.