Wondering Where to Wander

The sun was out, it was warm, and I needed the exercise; since there seemed to at least be some wind, I headed for the lake at Brogborough. The gate to the Windsurfers area was locked, so that ruled out any potential activity there, but I parked up and locking the car behind me, I crossed the road and entered the lakeside area favoured by anglers. The view that greeted me at the second swim was of a lake bereft of any aquatic birdlife, but the view off to the left was excluded from here, so I ventured further, but found the situation was just as unpromising.

Returning to the car, I drove on and took the road into Lidlington and uphill beyond and onto the A507, I had gone but a short distance before seeing that in the valley deer were there in large numbers, I pulled off the main road, and fortunately the road widened in the first few yards, affording me a handy and safe parking spot. I locked up and grabbed my camera and crossed the main road. Not only was there a clear view of the fields below and beyond, but there was a handy reinforced concrete block to prevent vehicle access to the field, but it offered a raised platform to give me added height should I need it!

This spot allowed me a wide uninterrupted view up the hill to the left, across and below to the front and off to the right to some farm buildings and further fields and woods. I spent a relaxing and rewarding time photographing abundant and ever-increasing numbers of deer entering from my left in the main and coming downhill, but every so often some chose to venture back higher. Almost all the deer present spent their time on the move, making the most of the warmth and occasionally feeding. My presence had no adverse effect on their behaviour, and some ventured closer to me by the hedge, for a spell.

The general flow was downhill and from left to right, and as time passed this did deplete their numbers and eventually brought an end to my time there, but I was very pleased by this unexpected happenstance, and came away grateful for the opportunity I had been afforded; I had shots of a red kite and interesting cloud structures and pleasing landscape images, altogether a very rewarding afternoon.

Wide View from Above Millbrook

Millbrook Proving Ground can be seen while standing at the edge of a high escarpment beyond the village, if one takes the right turn atop the hill out of the village of Millbrook, and continue for around half a mile till the turnstile appears on the right. It was here that I planned to meet up with my daughter and her young family. Once both children, a boy and his younger sister were out of their car, we headed across the vast expanse of open grass to where the expanse of countryside could be seen, with the Milton Keynes Dome on the far left, and just below to the right was a straight section of the Millbrook Proving Ground track that could be seen leading to the circular banked section, of which only a small section was visible.

  There is a large Perspex-covered map marking the major landmarks that appear in the vista, viewing visitors are able to see from this vantage point. On this afternoon we were treated to crystal clear views of every mentioned landmark, and also the as yet incomplete Incinerator with its cranes clearly visible as they work on its development. I had arrived much earlier and spent some time alone with my camera, to see whether the spot was free, since there is no car park, possibly to limit visitor numbers. My guess is that most of those coming to this spot are local, and many bring their dogs here, because of the expanse of open ground to give them plenty of exercise.

When I came earlier that day, a Red Kite was soaring over the entire area I could see, occasionally swooping lower to see what might be on its menu, but sadly at too great a distance for me to capture any meaningful images. Much of its time it must have been taking advantage of thermals, as he seemed to be exerting himself minimally as he glided most of the time I was watching, with the occasional fast dive to a lower level. My observation of kites is that much of their soaring is for pure enjoyment and to exercise their skills for when they are needed for hunting. There were several different species of butterfly, and since there was abundant sunshine, there seemed little need to land, so capturing them at rest even, was a challenge, because none gave you more than two seconds before taking to the air again, and also a mate might take advantage of them.

On this occasion, as I mentioned, I visited this spot twice, the first a reconnaissance trip, during which  I took pictures of some of the distant landmarks, and since the single vehicle that was present on my arrival, had disappeared, I assumed correctly as it happened, that there was a good chance the space would still be free for my daughter later, so I had returned home to get a drink and something to eat before their arrival.

By Stagsden Pond – Alive with Life

 

 

I had decided that it might well be worth paying Stagsden a visit with a longer lens than when on my last visit to the Pond that lies to the side of a new Industrial Park there.

Perhaps the long lens scared the inhabitants off, since just as I was setting up the tripod close to pond edge reeds, there was a loud explosion of flapping from the trees, and a Heron and Red Kite made a rapid exit, before I had a chance to remove the camera and lens from the unset up tripod, I had but a few seconds to at least record their departure! They were never to return, sad to report.

I decided to mount the Benbo tripod as low as possible, so that I was no higher than the pond-side reeds, and this took time as the sloping edge was difficult to find a sound support at a height that accommodated the central column, and I was determined to keep as quiet as possible in the hope that the two birds might return.

I had hoped that I might capture some of the dragonflies that flew along the reed tops, but they never followed a standard routine that I might plan where I might catch them in flight; they spent most of their time in the air, and in chasing each other, leaving only those in the far distance, which was out of reasonable capture range, despite my best efforts.

I spotted a grassy cut path off to my left, and decided this might prove more profitable, but only once did I briefly spot a dragonfly venture here, but one of my favourites from the insect kingdom were to be found – the hoverfly, and a few bees, and numerous wild flowers, so for a while I concentrated my efforts on these, and wandered the path’s length till it came out at the fields’ edge, but except for the start, there was no extra part of the pond to be found accessible.

The afternoon was not wasted, but neither was it what I had hoped I might find to satisfy my intention of taking shots of dragonflies in flight, and they barely even feature! I did however get to use the 1.4 Converter and begin to understand how best to use it, as it limits the positioning of the focus point for auto-focus immovably in the centre of the screen.

Westcott Visit – to Lend a Hand

I was invited to my younger daughter’s so that her husband Tim could lay some boarding in the loft, and obviously enjoy some time with their family; I was to be downstairs in the garden measuring up the planks as directed from the loft, by Tim, and sawing them to the dimensions directed, then passing the cut lengths to Josh, who would then transport them indoors and up to Tim, who was suffering in the heat and the loose fibres from the insulation.

From my observation later of Tim when that task was complete, suggested that I might have been the luckier of the two, since I was in the open air, despite the mugginess, as Tim absolutely needed a shower, and was very itchy. I also had some breaks awaiting the next dimensions, so had grabbed the camera and caught some shots of his garden’s flowers before the sun left the top end of the garden.

Josh had taken one of my offcuts and was intent on trying his skills in the carpentry field, so I decided to step in to offer guidance, since I felt that my steadying hand could offer a degree of safety that would otherwise be lacking. Tim by now down from the loft, spotted the opportunity to pick up my camera and take a record of the event, hence the shots that appear in the gallery.

Later, despite having the wrong lens for the subject, I did get some distant shots of their Red Kites, whilst out with Lizzy, Tilly and Josh as they had a promised cycle ride, I was also able to capture a few more flower and insect shots, that can often be used for cards for Birthdays and other occasions. Since that meant I had fallen back from the others, I found myself confronted by one of the local cats in the middle of the road, and since it was surrounded by an expanse of unobstructed tarmac, I stooped low and slowly approached aforesaid cat taking a few shots with each few steps – at first it had seemed as if the cat was standing its ground to protect its territory, but in reality it was simply enjoying a stroll in the sunshine, but I was grateful for the opportunity it offered due to the expanse of surrounding uncluttered space.

A Friday Afternoon in Westcott

Dull Weather fails to dampen the spirits of Children or the Birds in Westcott at the end of another week and the beginning of the Bank Holiday Weekend. I had hoped to get some shots of Red Kite flying over the Park as the children charged around the Play Area, and parents sat and chatted, but it was not to be, and also the sun was hiding behind grey clouds that might just give a shower.

I also took shots from two angles of the rocket that stands at the entrance to the Venture Park, that hints at the erstwhile Airfield’s earlier role as a Rocket Research Establishment.

I did manage to later capture a Song Thrush and Jackdaw, and my persistence, (or patience!) was rewarded by getting a glimpse of a Red kite, some blossom and a couple of young lambs, I also learned that if I manage to wrongly assume the monopod is in the boot of the car, then the Carbon Fibre Tripod with just one leg extended can work reasonably satisfactorily, but note to self – Check more thoroughly in the future!

Westcott Red Kites

My daughter unexpectedly needed me to allow her a chance to leave my youngest grandchild in my tender care such that she could visit her loft and dig out some needed documents on a weekday, so I found myself taking a trip to Westcott. Knowing that there was a good chance of sunshine and that the local Red Kite often flew low over the village, I decided I would take my long lens with me in case I managed to get some time after my babysitting duties and ladder-holding to get some bird photography in.

Fortune shone us all that day, for the documents were found, Tilly despite a bad night of incessant coughing was in good spirits and I was rewarded by getting some time taking a few photos, and the sunshine was giving the raptors a chance to soar and thronged at my daughter's end of the village, possibly encouraged by occasional chicken carcasses put out by the neighbour opposite!

Hence this small gallery devoted entirely to the beautiful bird, the Red Kite; one frequent visitor is less than perfectly beautiful that has acquired the name of 'Broken Wing' as it has some feather damage and is therefore more memorable.

Lilley Bottom Lane – Afternoon

Lilley Bottom Lane runs between two ridges with scattered woodland and fields, some with Sheep and Cattle; above Red Kite and Buzzards are often to be seen. It was here I headed on Sunday in the hope that I would be lucky, but having parked up, none were to be seen. Rather than walk up the hill in the field amongst sheep, I chose to walk into the nearer woods on the same side as my car. I was passed by the occasional runner and strollers, as along the road were numerous Lycra-clad cyclists pedalling furiously to raise their temperatures to avoid the effects of the chill wind.

For the first hour since my arrival, I remained in the open in anticipation with my newly-acquired carbon fibre tripod fully assembled and waiting, but little of import occurred, so simply looked around for other images before heading into the woods where I found how life and death of plants were intertwined; it was obvious this hillside wood was a magnet for rain, as witnessed by the moss covering many fallen, twisted tree branches. It was equally obvious that many of the felled trees had subsequently given birth to more young trees, this wood was indeed old, yet very much alive, I also saw evidence of young shoots of bluebell leaves, so it will be interesting to revisit for that display soon. It was a shame that for most of the next hours there was no sign of sun, but as I returned downhill, the sun did arrive.

I hoped this might also herald the arrival of some birds of prey, especially as rabbits came out to play, so I found myself taking shots of metallic birds as they took off from Luton Airport, and I had never been here when the wind favoured them heading this way; normally I saw them with undercarriage extended for landing, so it did make them look more elegant, and I tried to ensure they were against a mixture of blue sky and clouds.

And then a single pair of red kite visited me briefly and then a walker stopped by to chat. From the conversation that ensued it seemed we may have met before at Tring reservoirs. It was a very welcome diversion and since no more birds came my way we eventually walked down the hill together before parting. It turned out that we had indeed met before because the man, David Rudeforth returned home to find my business card from that earlier occasion and he duly emailed me to let me know!

In the Bleak Mid Bedfordshire…

Sunday evening was spent clearing the boot to locate the spare tyre as I had definitely acquired a puncture. To my dismay, since this was the first puncture since new more than three years ago, I found that I had a ‘skinny’ tyre designed for travel at no more than 50mph. Looking at it, I felt it should be truthfully described as a fifty yard tyre, for with roads in the morning more akin to skating rinks, the car was going to be decidedly unstable with three chunky tyres and one more suited to a moped!

The morning exercise was to check that my local tyre-fitting company were open, then get the frost-laden car cleared and ready to drive through narrow lanes and a very steep hill to reach them. For anyone in this neck of the woods needing a tyre service, I can highly recommend Supertyres by Easter Avenue, Dunstable, they are friendly, honest and inexpensive, and I have been going to them for more than a decade. Whilst there I learned that the ‘skinny’ tyre should be at 60PSI, which I had not noticed, and when I had earlier checked its pressure and found it at 34 felt that was adequate, well, it wasn’t, and I was grateful to be informed, so when it was returned to the boot, it had been reflated to the correct pressure.

After lunch and some time checking emails, I gathered my new gimbal head and levelling plate and the 150-600mm Tamron lens and set off for Tea Green to see whether the red kite were aloft, but after a fruitless stay there, I just took quick shots more for amusement than anything more serious of a smart little silver Audi TT and a scarecrow atop the hill opposite to my layby. I then set off along Lilley Bottom Lane till I arrived at a spot where I had seen kites in the past, but before reaching that place I grabbed a few shots of the sheep which were spread over the hill, part in shade, part in sunlight. Then I moved to a spot where there was more room to park, only to find an SUV had already got the best position.

I then made my way a little up the hill, so that if the other vehicle needed me to move I did not have far to return, I actually met the the family coming down the hill and they said they could simply drive forward to get out, so I need not have worried. I waited a long time before the kites came, but they were way off in the distance, and by then the sun had all but set beyond the hill behind me, and being exposed to the biting wind, I soon just took some shots of the now returning sheep, and the half-moon, before packing everything back in the car. The sunset beyond the hills was far more attractive, and in Grove Road after Slip End, I took some shots of the trees in silhouette and the the Plough Pub across the field.

Nikon Red Kite Day – Tuesday

The Nikon/Chris Gomersall-organised trip to Gigrin Farm in Wales to give six photographers an excellent opportunity to photograph red kite and benefit from the experiences of a true professional wildlife photographer, now seems like a distant memory, due to my family helping to de-clutter the place and create a new bathroom in our house has kept me more than a little busy since that time, and all I did mange very quickly was to mention the day prior to the official day and put up a selection of images without too much culling from that afternoon and evening.

I am now hoping to devote some time to process the following days’ images and write a description of the day, before so much time passes that my memory fails to put together a meaningful narrative. A break has occurred whilst the paint I had applied earlier on the bathroom door and skirting is drying…

The evening of Monday was spent in the nearby Brynafon Hotel, a former workhouse where Chris and I joined one of the following day’s fellow delegates, Daan and his wife for a splendid dinner – I was very impressed by my choice of lamb chops; it is many years since I have seen what I remembered as full-size chops, and my plate was graced with three, and beautifully tasty they were too! There was no good reason to order a sweet as my appetite was sated, so we got engrossed in conversation with these two fascinating South Africans, and sharing reminiscences that we learned would qualify us in SA as the ‘WhenWes’ - conversations between elder adults who would preface stories with the opening: “When we…” That evening was a great success and rounded off a full and long day.

Breakfast the following morning found me catching up on emails courtesy of the WiFi available in the small lounge, before spotting Chris head for the dining area, I joined him and we sat down and were soon offered the choices of cooked food before we selected cereals and tea or coffee. We did not linger, but soon parted for our rooms to gather our gear for the short trip to Gigrin Farm where we began setting the stable area for Chris’ presentation. Although we were somewhat later than scheduled, we waited for everyone to arrive and chatted amongst ourselves with the earliest arrivals and helped Chris to get his laptop and screen up and running. With everyone present Chris got each one of us to introduce ourselves and tell the others something of our work and interests with Chris apologising that there was a Canon user (myself) amongst us; fortunately everyone seemed to be camera system agnostic and my experience of testing Lightroom and Photoshop meant I was made welcome.

Chris explained a bit of the history behind the re-establishment of a healthy population of kites in Wales and a bit about Gigrin Farm, the feeding times they established and the hides that had been built to take advantage of these events for photographers. We were to be using the high hide with a beautiful backdrop, and we were given guidance as to what to expect and how best to maximise the value of what we would be witnessing, and how it might be best initially to be using a moderately short focal length lens to capture the initially large number of swooping birds, before considering getting shots of individual birds.

We also learned that we could expect other birds than the red kites, such as buzzards, ravens and crows, and whereas the kites would rarely land, the others which would each have their specific times to arrive, may well spend some time on the ground.

Before the allotted time for feeding we all made our way up the hill, and eventually up some extremely slippery steps to the high hide, overlooking the feeding arena. As we began setting up tripods, cameras and lenses, the birds slowly began filling the sky in anticipation of the daily event, and soon we could hear the sound of a tractor that heralded the arrival of food. A note: the food provided was always of fresh beef that had to be ‘fit for human consumption”!

The tractor soon unhurriedly came into sight making its arcing way around the arena, before coming to a stop and the man took shovelfuls of fresh meat and placed them in three separate areas to give the photographers as wide a spread as possible when shooting. The sky was full of swirling, diving and swooping birds. Of particular note were a leucistic buzzard and a couple of wing-tagged kites, number 51 and the buzzard spent some time on the ground as did many of the crows and ravens, whereas the kites would twitch, go into a near vertical dive then swoop in just above the ground pick up the meant in its talons, then as it climbed would bring its beak down to the meat before once again return to circling or heading off elsewhere away from the crowd to eat in peace.

It was all too soon over, and somehow seemed even shorter than the previous day before the sky was returned to peace and the ground was now mainly populated by groups of ravens or crows and the occasional buzzard. Prior to the arrival of the tractor and food I had noted a couple of cats and a peacock strolled into the field.

During all this Chris was going around ensuring we goth the most out of the kit we were using, offering suggestions and asking questions in order to ensure we made full advantage of the short time the birds were present and giving us every assistance. We did have very occasional glimpses of milky sunshine, but it was never as bright as it had been on the Monday, but everyone seemed delighted and really grateful for all the guidance that Chris provided, and we all stayed till there was barely a bird on the wing!

We all headed back to the stable, saying our fond farewells where Chris and I gathered all the kit into the car and headed back. I now had a mammoth amount of images to go through, and little did I know then how long it would be till the images saw the light of day on the Web! The Official Day's Images are now finally up.

Lilley Bottom, Sheep and Kites

The Sunday was promised to be bright and sunny, but chilly, so I had travelled with several layers to allow me to spend a good time at the chosen location, that I had already visited twice before.

I parked the car as carefully as possible to ensure the farmer and workers could still reach the field with ease, and I set up the EOS 5D MkII and 300mm plus 1.4 Converter on the Gimbal head atop my tripod, and set off up the hill after passing through the kissing gate. I knew the field to be steep and very wet, so wellies were de rigeur, as were fingerless gloves and a scarf.

The right of way led up a winding just visible track, and I knew from my last visit that it headed towards to a plateau and beyond to another gate that led to a track through the woods. I stationed myself just below the plateau for a while, before moving to the plateau where I spent the rest of my time  there.

Although I had been overflown by a pair of kites as I prepared my gear, they flew beyond the valley and for the first half hour I was entirely alone with only a distant sight of kites, the occasional crows and pigeons, and no animals in sight, but I knew that sheep would be making their way across to this end of the field as the day wore on, and soon I saw a few leisurely heading my way. With their arrival also came first one, then a pair of red kite, but they were soaring way too high for me to capture anything more than a dark speck, so I watched Ryanair and Easyjet aircraft and a few private jets make their way to land at Luton Airport, hoping that they might pass close to the faint moon in the sky beyond, but they were far lower, and the moon was moving higher, so no chance! I did grab a shot of the moon itself in case  I could use this later.

As the sheep arrived I alternated taking shots of them and the kites, and continued doing this and watching the sun cast ever longer shadows in the valleys around me. Ironically, the constant sun did actually raise the temperature just a bit, such that I actually felt warm, but as the valley grew darker, and the sun lowered, the thermals that kept the kites aloft presumably died because eventually I saw them no more, and I gathered my kit and returned to the car. I had watched the sheep appear from one end of the field, meander past me, and they now were headed back in the direction from which they had first come. They had fed, I had taken pictures, all was well in our world. It was hard to reconcile this with the terrible desolation and destruction that faced the Phillipines after Typhoon Haiyan; our recent skirmish with high winds was but a whisper compared to what they had faced.

Photoshop is a handy little program when it comes to making wishes come true! I had hoped I might capture a kite within the same piece of sky as the moon, but that was not to be; however using Blend If and a flipped version of one of the shots I did realise my small wish!

Hot Sunday in the Country

It was destined to become the hottest day of the year so far, but it started very fresh with a gusty wind, and I had set my computer to record the Silverstone Grand Prix, to leave me the whole day in which to take photographs. Initially I had hoped to be receiving a new macro with image stabilisation, but what was delivered was a bitter disappointment that cost me close on twenty pounds to return, because it was for Nikon, not Canon. But that made me even more determined that I should take my mind off that blow and make it a day when I would take beautiful pictures, and subject matter did not matter!

And so it turned out, carried three cameras and an extra lens to cope with any eventuality. The extra warmth had at long last tempted damselflies to leave the water and seek the sky, and I cannot believe many people could have been inside, because I found cyclists, dog walkers, joggers, families with children, courting couples, people setting up picnics, people heading towards fairs, village fêtes and all by ten o’clock – no one was going to miss this spell of un-British weather of a Sunday! For a change also everyone I came across was smiling and willing to pass the time of day.

Not only that, seeing that I obviously mean t business by having two cameras around my neck, they even volunteered where I might find particular species without my even asking. However, with so many humans out and about finding shy birds such as kingfishers by the river, would seem to be ambitious! The suggestions of red kite was more realistic, and ironically later I was to see one alone overhead later in the afternoon. My first subjects were wild flowers, tree blossom being buffeted by the wind and the travelling shades across a field of grass. Not long afterwards, I thought I spotted some butterflies, but soon realised they were Demoiselle damselflies, and so I became determined to really try to get decent shots of both males and females, there turned out to be many more males, and when paired in flight seemed to be competing for the few females’ attention.

I drove to likely spots then walked deeper into woodland, or followed the tracks of disused railway lines, and on several occasions would spend time desperately trying to capture hoverflies in flight, but this was a day when I failed miserably and spent as much time erasing blurred images as actually shooting, I followed one river through waist high grass and nettles and on one occasion a dog disturbed a heron which took to the wing, but i failed to get a reasonable shot, but later I spotted it returning, but failed to see where it landed, so having retraced my steps, I turned again and walked quietly by the bank where the trees and bushes gave complete shade, and spotted it beyond some branches at the same time as it saw me, but I did get three shots off, one of which was passable. What really amazed me was just how many families with families were bathing or paddling in the river by the weirs, something I had not seen since swimming at Newnham had been stopped due to the Polio scare.

Whenever the chance occurs to photograph flowers I grab the opportunity, even though I can barely discern the difference between weeds and flowers and certainly can only name the most common half a dozen, but I choose viewpoints that accentuate their surrounding or contrast them against others of different hues, also I do love textures, and so leaves more often catch my eye.

Moving in close to attempt to capture the pollinators from bees to hoverflies is something else I endeavour to capture, but I do see fewer this time around, so I am very aware that crops in general are not going to enjoy a productive yield, so prices for our food are inevitably going to rise by the end of the growing season as producers ask higher prices in relation to lower amounts.

The gallery this time around reflects the variety I found and took correspondingly longer to process and make some sense, but also on my return I had the recording of the British Grand Prix to watch and that was quite a rollercoaster with fortunes changing frequently. It was a highly emotional several hours, but that filled me with dismay as to what should or could be done by the end of the week when the Nurburgring race is run. So many tyre failures is simply not acceptable.

Snow Gives Way to Sun

Saturday brought the first sun for some time, offering a respite for birds and animals to take to the open with a chance to feed. In my case it gave me a short opportunity to get out and capture some of the scenes in good light just before it was all washed away in the thaw.

I drove out past the gates to Luton Hoo's walled garden, over the treacherously icy hill past the water treatment plant and take shots on the top of the further hill, and looking back to the Hotel that was once the great house, and home to the Werner Collection, famous for its collection of Fabergé Eggs.

Then on to Codicote with its fine church, and Claggy Bottom and the wonderful setting of its cottage farmhouse. From there beyond to Welwyn, and back via Wheathampstead to East Hyde, where I spent the rest of the day enraptured by the racing river and how it had enticed all the local birdlife in abundance, though it was somewhat overwhelmed by the large number of gulls, that did however give me the opportunity to see that Canon's alignment of my 300mm and EOS7D had made a difference as I practiced capturing the gulls in flight.

Fortunately several knowledgable birdwatchers visited the same bridge and they generously pointed out rarer species of birds than gulls, swans, Canada geese and mallard ducks, that I had not even spotted, such as the snipe and egret. The snipe was so distant, that in the gallery it is a far smaller image due to the cropping necessary to show it at all!

The heron looked bitterly cold as it hunched up in a tree, a magpie watched from afar, a red kite over flew, the pied wagtail ventured from the muddy bank to strut across the patches of snow amidst the grass tussocks, and a robin and jackdaw were tempted to the parapet by seeds and nuts I had laid along it. Courtesy of the aforesaid experts spotting the wagtail and kite, they also pointed out the landing of a kestrel on the nearby pylon. To them I am very grateful – I need every help I can get to spot such birds.

As I left with the clouds covering the sun once again, I got a shot of shy sun and rich yet pale orange glow diagonally behind a skeletal tree on the brow of the hill as I left. The water level under the bridge had noticeably risen over the hours I had spent there, and I have no doubt the banks will recede still further over the next few days and swamp much of the fields close by.

Houghton Circular Walk

Houghton House is an attractive wreck of a building just outside Ampthill, in Bedfordshire with spectacular views across towards Stewartby with its four remaining chimneys from its days as a brickworks, that have been awarded listed status, retained I gather from my colleague Andy Fox as an aerial landmark, though searching the internet, I can find no corroboration of this.

The idea of a circular walk from this house was proposed by Andy, so we met at his place and drove to the house and parked up. I decided that whilst walking the 70-200mm zoom was a better bet than the 300mm, but how wrong could I be? Once we had walked to the house,we spotted three large birds (which turned out to be red kite) soaring in the warm air not too distant from us, with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight I should have gone back for the longer zoom, but it seemed too far back and I thought the birds might have disappeared in the meantime. Shame, because they performed in front of us for more than half-an hour! My shots were worthless. Andy who had a 300mm took some very nice shots. He has Nikon gear, I have Canon, so a swap was not on the cards.

Whilst we were there, a posse of photographers with a bride and groom arrived to use the derelict house as a backdrop, to my mind a somewhat bizarre linking, but each to their own.

We set off up the tree-lined avenue, past the farm, and water tank, close by another farm, and I learned more about this area that Andy had travelled since his childhood, he mentioned he had come across rusting cars in earlier days, and soon spotted the final remains of at least one by a young tree, we joked about shooting what we found in different seasons with puns such ‘Spring in Summer’, and later we found a saw; Andy saw it first!

At either end of Holly walk are Lodge-style cottages, both of which had once been thatched, but the first is now tiled which makes the chimneys seem far higher. Altogether a great way to spend Saturday afternoon, thanks Andy.

Luton Hoo Walled Garden Visit

It has been some time since I visited Luton Hoo, to the Walled Garden Project, and after clearing the desks I set off via Slip End. As I was approaching Pepperstock very low overhead swept a Red Kite – what a wonderful sight, sadly it was not until I got to the Motorway bridge above the M1 could I park up and grab the longest lens I had with me!

Well, you can imagine the rest, but in case you think luck was on my side, let me say, it glid around me as I got out my 90-200mm, and then soared ever higher and more distant as I got my camera out and and focussed upon him. I waited for a while in the forlorn hope it would return, but after five minutes spent watching a diminishing speck, I gave in and drove the rest of the journey to Luton Hoo. But when s/he was close, what a magnificent bird and to see his/her full wingspan and forked tail…!

The Potting Sheds are undergoing refurbishment to the roof in part, due to earlier high wind damage that rendered it unsafe, so I made my way in via the greenhouses and into the garden, aiming for the Mushroom house to see how the handcart was faring, but as I walked along the bed beside the long greenhouse I spotted several young Allium that was an airport for hoverflies. Out came my 100mm Macro with 1.4 converter to see what chance I had of capturing these phenomenal pilots in flight. I was there, rooted to one spot for probably ten minutes trying to capture contrasting coloured backgrounds to these hovering insects and as close as I could to reveal their fascinating detail.

After that I spoke to the two men who were doing the conservation and restoration of the handcart from old oak to replace the woodworm-eaten sections, trying to capture their handiwork.

I then returned to the garden to capture some of the blooms in the central growing area. I got chatting to some of the volunteers from I learn that the week before they had a visit by a humming-bird hawkmoth, a specimen I had spotted the year before, but never managed to photograph, but with very little sunshine, it was nowhere to be found this afternoon; I did mange a cricket. There was a lot of colour today, and even here in the main growing area, an abundance of hoverflies, so they feature strongly within this gallery.

Bledlow Ridge

Travelling via Halton and Wendover, I paid a quick visit to Bledlow Ridge, fascinated as much by the name as anything else. I was close to Stokenchurch which I had heard was where Red Kite had been re-introduced a few years back, but I was caught out by being unable to find somewhere to park the car, when a pair were gliding low above me, and by the time I had managed to tuck my car in, they had soared into free air well out of my range, but I have included a single shot as an aide-memoire.

Nearby was West Wycombe House with its Mausoleum and Caves, infamous for its wild parties and debauchery in times of yore – Lord Dashwood and friends such as Benjamin Franklin held legendary parties for the Hellfire Club members in the caves below the Mausoleum. I did try climbing to the Mausoleum through a field, but the last stretch was too treacherous for my smooth-soled shoes and my long lens. The views were spectacular but in the direction of the sun, so difficult to capture at that time of the afternoon.

Bledlow Ridge

Travelling via Halton and Wendover, I paid a quick visit to Bledlow Ridge, fascinated as much by the name as anything else. I was close to Stokenchurch which I had heard was where Red Kite had been re-introduced a few years back, but I was caught out by being unable to find somewhere to park the car, when a pair were gliding low above me, and by the time I had managed to tuck my car in, they had soared into free air well out of my range, but I have included a single shot as an aide-memoire.

Nearby was West Wycombe House with its Mausoleum and Caves, infamous for its wild parties and debauchery in times of yore – Lord Dashwood and friends such as Benjamin Franklin held legendary parties for the Hellfire Club members in the caves below the Mausoleum. I did try climbing to the Mausoleum through a field, but the last stretch was too treacherous for my smooth-soled shoes and my long lens. The views were spectacular but in the direction of the sun, so difficult to capture at that time of the afternoon.

A Tuesday Visit to Tringford Reservoir

The weather was too good to miss and after clearing the small amount of work and diverting the phone to ensure I did not lose an opportunity for some more, I collected my camera gear and set off for the reservoir. There was a variable breeze and two fishermen were already out on the water, There was not a lot of activity, but enough to keep my hand in. Ironically, when the fishermen decided to come in we chatted and I told them I had not captured much of interest, and as they left through the woods I caught sight of a Red Kite, and soon spotted there were a pair soaring above the trees on the far side where earlier I had seen dozens of rooks.

I spotted a heron on the far side and managed just two shots of it in flight, and then got some shots of a grebe fishing and managed a halfway decent shot of him with a tiddler in its beak, he was not having the success he had a week or two back when I saw him with a crayfish.

I tried to see just how close I could get to damselflies and if I could capture them in flight; I certainly never managed both together! I also took a walk along the trout stream, but without any conspicuous success.

Early Start at Tringford Reservoir

I am not an early bird by nature. I tend to work till the early hours of the morning, and generally need little more than four hours' sleep; except when very tired, I rarely find I can sleep uninterrupted for eight hours.

So the thought of arriving at Tringford Reservoir at or before seven o'clock in the morning was daunting, I set the alarm for 5.15am and because I had been undecided till the last minute, I actually went to bed around 1.30am – then woke before the alarm – around five. I got up after a five-minute doze, before switching it off.

I arrived at the reservoir about a quarter to seven, and walked along the Trout stream, just catching a pair of Mallard ducks coming in to land in the field bordering the stream, there were already a handful of greylags in the centre. There were no other signs of conspicuous activity either along the length of the stream or in the Tringford lake, so I strolled over the road and into Marsworth where there were more signs of life and spotted a well camouflaged duck in the bushes, some other ducklings and Greylags on the bank and in the water, and a small birds singing its heart out!

I wandered along to where the path forked to go to Startop reservoir then turned back, and it was now that a biting wind came on, and I was heading straight into it as I headed back to Tringford and the Fisherman's jetty to meet up with the bailliff, Bob.

For the rest of the day I was capturing swans landing and taking off, Coots and Mallard trying their damnedst to get their evil way with their females, I missed several opportunities to get the heron in flight, I spotted the capture of a crayfish by a crested Grebe, the flighty visits of a Robin, and a soaring Red Kite.

I witnessed the success of two fishermen in their boats, and conversations regarding buzzers and lures, I managed to stay wakeful till around three o'clock, and reached home with definite signs of tiredness, but it had been well worth it for the images I captured.

Oxford Country Life

Tuesday, and I just had to get away from the computer to do some photography. Driving in the direction of Oxford was not my first choice, but I did want somewhere different, and the upper reaches of the Thames sprang to mind, but travelling without Jane (my trusty SatNav) I was at the mercy of my flawed bump of locality and the regional highways planners desire to put me on the A40 or M40 at all costs, and to make it very difficult to find small villages when close to the metropolis of Oxford, despite its abhorrence of the motor car.

I came close to Garsington and immediately off the main road towards Denton there was a passing place sufficiently close to another on the opposite side, so I felt it was safe to park for a short while. I had spotted some very large well-fed crows in a field largely given over to dandelions, but they were averse to my capturing them in this setting, so having readied my camera, I chose to start on my lunch.

Soon I spotted an ingenious farming vehicle equipped to muck-spread, involving twin augurs or Archimedes screws that flung dung far and wide from a large hopper. It was sufficiently intriguing to warrant my recording it in action. Having taken some shots that illustrated how it worked, I spotted a Red Kite circling low overhead, and was soon doing my best to get some shots. It was soon joined by its mate and they both gently soared around together, enjoying the mild warmth and some gentle thermals. I had a chat with the driver when he had evacuated the bowels of his vehicle, and learnt that there were several Red Kites in the vicinity, and suggested where I might go to catch sight of more.

As it turned out I only saw one more, and although hovering, it was far more distant; instead I found a tit and a one-legged pheasant, and several displays of flowers – tulips, daffodils, magnolia and purple clumps on drystone walls. I also met several women out walking their dogs or with young children, who were generally happy to chat. Later, rather than drive straight back I stopped off at Marsworth and Tringford reservoirs and found some young duck families in the last rays of the evening sun.

Chilly Morning at the Reservoirs

I readjusted my body clock again to ensure I could be up early enough to catch the projected sunny morning. I had a speedy breakfast and set off for Marsworth with a couple of long lenses and a bag of others should the need arise.

The first thing I noticed having parked the car and wandered through the kissing gate was just how much clearing of undergrowth had taken place since my last visit. I was fortunate that an old lady was feeding some of the coots and ducks by the reedbeds, because as I approached some birds took flight, giving me the opportunity to capture some on the wing.

The sun backlighting the reeds was appealing, but what surprised me was just how much ice was still floating on the surface. I spent a while wandering some of the paths before moving to one of the other reservoirs, where two swans made a beeline for me from across the lake, but I had to disappoint them, because I had no food with me and having followed me for quite a while, the larger of the two began hissing at me presumably out of annoyance for not having anything to offer!

I was finding that the wildlife was disappearing and was about to head off when a man from a nearby house hailed me, this was Bill the baker, who had retired to live in a nearby cottage some twenty years ago. He had a lot to tell me of the local wildlife and we chatted for some time, before I let him get on with his gardening and I came back to get on with some work. I did break off for a while to get a few quick shots of a Red Kite.

I called in on the newly opened, but not yet complete College Lake, by Bulbourne, and this site looks very appealing when it is finally completed - a fie expanse of water, reclaimed presumably from an earlier chalk quarry.