In the Back Garden…

            I had initially intended a trip to the River Great Ouse, but because I needed several food items and it meant some needed to be brought back to my freezer and fridge, I decided to forego a further car journey. I am very fortunate to have a Buddleia in the back Garden and Butterflies consider the florettes irresistible, and their recent arrival meant I could simply walk into the back garden and enjoy photographing them. 
            I therefore initially put the 60-600mm Sigma lens on the EOS R6 body as this gave me some distance, to avoid my being a threat, but to ensure some stability, and manage the weight, I mounted the camera and lens on a monopod. I later used two other lenses purely hand held, the 24-70mm and the 100mm Macro Canon lenses.
            All three lenses are in frequent use, and invariably accompany me for trips to local woods and lakes. Sadly of late, another of my favourites, the 12-24mm Sigma wide-angle zoom has seen less use as it is my favourite for recording architectural and city scenes, and I have not been frequenting towns and cities of late. However as Lockdown eases and the threat lessens, I may well visit London and give it an airing.
            This proved to be a pleasant way to relax in warm sunshine and unlike my trip to Brogborough, the processing of the images was completed the same day as the shooting, so there was no pressure involved in getting the gallery up on the blog.

Tring Reservoirs — Mainly Marsworth

Despite the dull, overcast weather, I headed south to the reservoirs at Tring; parking the car in the field adjacent to the Tringford lake and the entrance to the Anglers jetty, and walked the short distance to get a view of what life was either on the lake or nearby — there was very little life at all, mainly some coot and gulls. Disappointed, I assembled my camera and 60-600mm Sigma Sports lens onto the EOS R body with the 1.4 x Converter, and headed across the road to see whether my luck was in, at either of the other two lakes: Startops, or Marsworth — it turned out disappointingly for both, with most birds staying out in the middle of both lakes.

Activity was desultory presumably because of the lacklustre weather, so I focussed on the only action there was on the far shore of Startops, where a couple were creating a slight stir for the gulls, by ‘breaking bread’ religiously as a break from their dog-walking. The only other nearby activity was an odd pairing of a Canada Goose and Greylag, and a more natural Swan pair. That helped me decide to travel the short distance to the fourth  of Tring’s Reservoir Lakes, at Wilstone.

This proved to be a difficult route to even arrive at the closest point of its shoreline, and was even more disappointing since I was only able to record some further dog walkers and some distant views of the lake on my return trip to the car, but I enjoyed the exercise, the fresh and mild air, and the knowledge that I was not missing too much, it also made me wonder about how much cross breeding there was between Canada Geese and Greylags. I must ask my Avian Guru, Chris Gomersall, who regularly runs trips for Nikon, to which even Canon aficionados such as myself are equally welcomed.

                I did get to speak to Chris and learn that it is not that uncommon for such relationships to occur; I also learned that my memory is not what it used to be, since he told me I had asked him the same question on an earlier occasion!

Sunny Afternoon — a Very Brief Quest Lake Visit

Every so often a brief moment is needed for me to relax by capturing scenes in sunlight, and one such occurred back on Wednesday last, but only now have I had the time to even look at the shots I took.

Quest Lake is another old worked out clay pit that has become a series of lakes, but access is somewhat limited, but near enough for me to reach at a moment’s notice, and after some dismal grey days, sunshine had arrived at a time when I needed a break, so I did not hesitate.  Unlike a previous visit there was far less activity, and most of that at some distance, but it gave me the chance to try panning passing trains along the raised track at the edge of the site, in between clumps of trees. I also took a shot of the distant ‘Caddington Sheds’ as the vast hangars were known, that housed the two Airships, the R100 and R101, and in more recent days, the Airlander.

At a far more personal level, as the eldest son of a past Deputy Officer Commanding, RAF Cardington it held memories for me, as my father retired from there to take up life in ‘Civvy Street’. So hence my taking a shot of the distant hangars beyond the trees. I would like to think that these lakes develop into a Nature Reserve for the countless soulless housing developments, rather than add to their number, since from the few shots in this gallery, it should be apparent that there is both beauty and tranquility here. Carefully selected plant and flower species introduced here would really help to make Bedfordshire a County that was not merely a transit corridor between London and the North, viewed from closed car and train windows, but a location of interest to visit and enjoy, not simply to pass through.