Another Visit to the Reservoirs

I managed to get up earlier than the last time I visited Tring Reservoirs, and I found some small ivy covered branch cuttings to allow me to sit down on the bank by the reed beds. I wanted to have a low viewpoint so the birds would not feel too intimidated.

This time I brought some bread to entice my models! There were still areas of ice slush, and this certainly hindered some of the birds' travel around the channels in the reed beds. The bitingly cold wind was in my face, and because I chose my position from a lighting direction, this meant whenever I threw bread, it did not travel far! The current flow took the bread even nearer to me, and this meant the ducks and moorhens were very wary of approaching the food!

I had learned that I could satisfactorily operate at ISO 1000 and thereby keep my shutterspeed to 1/800th and upwards, from a careful look at the last series of shots in relation to noise.

The wind soon got up, and I had to take a break back at the car to warm my hands. After that I then moved to another reservoir and paid a visit to Bill the Baker, who was very welcoming, even to the extent of giving me some coffee and biscuits, which were extremely welcome. His place was out of the wind, and after our chat I went back to the first reservoir and met up with my son-in-law, Tim at one of the hides, from where we both managed to get some shots of a grebe and a very chirpy robin just above us. Unlike my last visit there was an abundance of birds into late morning and early afternoon.