Wicken Fen - early afternoon

Few birds to be seen, although a skein of Canada geese flew over and caught the sunlight.   It is always a joy to photograph some Swallows, even if they were not on the wing - easier that way!   Glad they are still around - at Cockup Bridge.   Jays are seen in the garden but not that often and this one was remarkably close to the house - perhaps a young one and not yet fearful.

Was able to photograph some Dragonflies but on very busy backgrounds.  Still, the blog is for shots that record the walk rather than attempts at 'perfect' images - although those would always be welcome!

The first two Dragonflies are the male and female Migrant Hawkers, and the last one is a male Southern Hawker - I think.

Birds at Clayhithe

Although I haven't yet posted earlier photographs of Great Crested Grebes with three chicks on their back, today it was reassuring today to see that all three chicks are doing well and no longer getting a lift on a parent bird.   Although I didn't see parents feeding chicks, they were behaving as though they were expecting a parent bird to produce some food.   The image below is of the family group busy preening at the beginning of the day.

I think some Common Terns must have bred near Clayhithe as there were 8 Common Terns on the wing at one point.   The young birds no longer look different from the adult birds so they may leave the area before too long.

I think the wagtail is a young Pied Wagtail although I have seen Grey Wagtails on this stretch of the river in the past.   A Heron in flight is always worth a click!

Wildlife in the Research Park

I have only recently found the Research Park for dog walking, and it is a welcome addition to others I'm familiar with.    There is an area at the far end of the Park which is not open to dogs and there is a hide there which I visited for the first time this afternoon.  The hide overlooks a stretch of water which I imagine was probably a gravel pit.   I particularly enjoyed seeing some birds not readily seen nearby - Common Sandpiper, Little Grebe with chicks and Common Tern with chicks.   It was a very hot afternoon and the Cormorant was 'panting'.   Butterflies and dragonflies were about too but I need to go back to do justice to some of those that I saw but didn't photograph successfully.

Common Tern chicks appearing to fend for themselves although a couple of adults were around.

It is a long time since I've seen a Common Sandpiper at the water's edge - delightful

A very hot day................

A Dab Chick with chicks!

A Meadow Brown butterfly.

This Meadow Brown butterfly was 'seeing off' what I think was a Skipper so making this a pictorial image

Wicken Fen

I have been taking the dogs out early in the morning, when possible, so as to avoid the heat of the day.   We were on the Fen early this morning, but there wasn't much around.   However, what appears below captures the essence of these walks in Wicken Fen for me - birds, ponies, lilies.   The real delight was finding this Kingfisher (the first I've seen on Wicken Fen) just the other side of one of the waterways, so unexpectedly close.   It wasn't until this bird flew off that a couple of other Kingfishers also flew off - no doubt a family group.    Given that Kingfishers nest in banks, they would be pushed to find that many possible/suitable breeding areas on the Fen.

Water Vole and Kestrel

There have been Water Vole near Baits Bite Lock for several weeks now - they may be there throughout the year; I shall have to keep an eye out for them,   As the reeds have grown during the summer it is increasingly difficult to photograph these quick moving and secretive animals, but always worth the challenge!   Their eyes are bulbous and prominent.   I think there will have been breeding activity because of the increased number of sightings but I have never seen more than one at a time despite their appearing at different places alongside the waterway entering The Cam near Baits Bite.

 This image suggests the shape of a Water Vole is quite like that of a Guinea Pig.

Easy enough to see how a rodent won't have that much chance of survival when a Kestrel pounces like this!

Clayhithe - Collecting nesting material

Posting something so soon after the walk will at least stop me falling even further behind with this blog!

I think the bird collecting nesting material is a Meadow Pipit, but if anyone reading this posting can advise me otherwise, I would be grateful.

A family of Mute Swans has already lost one cygnet while the Mallard family, bathed in early morning sunshine, seems to be doing particularly well, with 9 ducklings of a respectable size, still in tow.

An obliging Collared Dove!

I have enjoyed this rugosa rose for a couple of years now but still not been able to identify it from books.   Perhaps now I have a photograph I can take it to a garden centre for identification.

Birds on Wicken Fen - 3 June

This was one of the most exciting days of bird photography I had had for several months - and so close to home too.   I saw additional birds to the ones appearing below but their photographs are not good enough for viewing!   What were particularly exciting were the opportunities to see the courtship display of Great Crested Grebes from West Mere Hide, followed very shortly by the first juvenile Bearded  Reedling I had ever seen, in the reeds just outside the Hide.

One of the Marsh Harriers in the first picture appears to be carrying food, so presumably feeding young somewhere.   The lapwing spent quite a bit of time flying with one leg dangling - not sure why though.   I had only seen others' photographs of Great Crested Grebes displaying before, so it was magical to see the behaviour and capture it.  There had been a lot of head bobbing before I thought they were going their separate ways, only to find within moments they each had vegetation they had dived for, and then faced up to one another with head swinging movements for a short while.   The only time I had previously photographed Bearded Reedlings was at Pensthorpe - and that hadn't included a juvenile.

Konik Ponies on Wicken Fen - 3 June

Although I haven't been posting images onto this blog, I have been taking quite a number of photographs when walking the dogs around home, and will start to sort out the backlog!   Every journey starts with one step - and here is this first step.

The colouring of these Konik Ponies is very attractive and I could enjoy them for hours.   This was an opportunity to get quite close to them and capture these two playfighting.

Newts and Toads at Worts Meadow

The Friends of Worts Meadow arranged a walk after dark to see Newts and Toads in the ponds and moat.   Apparently there had been more newts in particular a week or so earlier, but we did manage to see some, although these photographs are for record purposes rather than being of photographic value!   There were two people amongst us who had licenses to allow us to view and photograph using torches.

Misty Morning Walk alongside The Cam

Another lovely early morning walk with mist hanging over the water.   Once the sun broke through, it shone for the rest of the day.