Canal and Reservoir, by Tring – All Life Abounds

      I have visited these lakes over several years, and in all weathers, and they never disappoint — the most recent is no different, though the start point and the route were different. The start was at the Wendover Arm, which beyond its present end, is being restored, and the reason, I investigated this short stretch was on the off chance I might encounter kingfishers, but I was destined to be disappointed, none of those I encountered and questioned had seen any along this short stretch. 

I returned to my startpoint, and took the opposing direction, which I knew would bring me to where the canal would link with the familiar stretch that skirted the narrow neck of Marsworth Reservoir. Before that point however, I paused a while to watch a young bird head across the canal to forage food along a narrow ridge on the Heygates Mill side, and whilst that crossing was made I spotted a Grey Wagtail flit from the cover of the trees onto the towpath, and eventually I was rewarded by a few shots, before it decided I had reached the extent of my quota, but at least I was just quick enough to capture it in flight!

Along this stretch of the canal, I was again lucky enough to get a few shots of the rather fine Banded Demoiselle damselfly; I had found a spot where the patches of floating weeds, close by the Bank seemed to hold their interest, but only so far, I only spotted one occasion when one actually landed on these islands, they seemed to prefer the reeds, which made my ability to get clear shots almost impossible! Their iridescent colour is captivating.

The. Swans and Canada Geese had young families to protect, and one Swan became determined to make one Canada Goose realise, that it was not welcomed so close to its own youngster! The highlight of my day was when I was watching one of my personal favourite aquatic birds the Great Crested Grebe, this one proved to be a highly efficient angler of the underwater denizens of the lake, freshwater crawfish and smaller fishes — he made three successful dives during the time I was watching, and he obliged to coming reasonably close once he had had his fill, and began his grooming; by that time, the surface of the water was remarkably still, making the shot number 102 in the final gallery totally serene, and no doubt one day will become a greetings card image for a family member or  friend, as it is so surreal and serene.

I never tire of Grebe or Kingfisher images, but there are some others that to me are special, the Teal, and the Mandarin Duck, and now the Sigma Sports 60-600mm, especially with the 1.4x Converter bring these birds so much closer.