Marston Lake Afternoon

 

I drove to nearby Marston Lake, having first ascertained that it was open once again. I parked up at the very first swim, where there was already a parked car, that I believe belonged to the local bailiff, but I could see no sign of anyone nearby, so perhaps he was checking out the various anglers on foot. After a while having taken a look across the lake to see just who was around, I returned to the car, to make my way around further swims to gain some idea of what life there was around the lake. It was very quiet on the lake, with a lone swan close to the far shore, and a few black-headed gulls endlessly working their way around the lake generally a short way offshore for most of the time, would drop to the water presumably in search of fish close to the surface.

I stopped at each swim as I made my way round the road to get differing views of what life there was on the lake, and disappointingly, it was the quietest time I had spent there, perhaps possibly due in part to the cloudy and cool weather; there was minimal birdsong, or calling. Along the way as I travelled between the various swims, I would chat to any anglers I met to question whether they had seen or heard the Woodpecker I had come across at one of my earlier trips to this lake, or had sightings of the Grebe I had come across before I learned of the mink, which gave me cause to wonder whether it was this incident that caused the Grebe to disappear.

l parked the car at the last swim accessible to the car, and took a walk to the last few swims, and finding no one, returned and took out my Sigma Sports lens — initially using it with the attached 2x Converter. With the front two Benbo tripod legs placed in the water,  I set up the camera as low as it would go, so that I could sit on the bank and be as close to level with the eyepiece to shoot. At first  I took some shots of the water lilies, and then the mating water boatmen both walking on water and on the flat lily leaves, bobbing in the wind-rippled water. I watched the gulls as they flew just a few yards from the shore, occasionally swooping down to the water presumably to catch some fish.

As I was at the bank with two of the tripod lengths in the water (a feature made possible using the Benbo tripod) so I could shoot from as low a viewpoint as possible, a Swan I recognised, due to its noticeable swelling to its neck came in close — I judged rightly or wrongly, assuming I might offer it food, but I verbalised my apologies in case it might bridge the species divide. Capturing this varied subject matter, especially the panning shots of the gull on the wing, provided me with the opportunity to continue to hone my skills with fast-moving and somewhat unpredictable direction changes, and overall I did manage to retain focus much of the time. The only noticeable failure on my part was moving the focus point around the screen; somehow that feature eluded me absolutely, so I shall have to consult the manual to work out how to unlock this currently stubborn resistance to my moving it from the centre of the screen!

This flaw apart, it was good to be using this camera and lens combo once again, but this hiatus has allowed me to get to grips with the Lumix, so the LockDown period has had some side benefits. I am hoping that in future handling, either will not be too daunting a readjustment between both cameras.

Marston Lake – Life Mainly Tiny

I suppose here I share the interest I remember the young Gerald Durrell found so fascinating but, he found that on the far more exotic Greek island of Corfu, bathed in warm sunshine for a large proportion of the Mediterranean year. On this warm English Summer Day, I had driven but a short distance from my home and entered a secluded lake given over largely to the sport of angling. 

The relentless passage of Time was very apparent, for where just a week back water-lilies could be found in bloom, now it was almost as if they had never been in this spot; there were but a low single figure left, and in poor condition, but I only learned that later when I ventured to the far side of the lake. On this visit, I spent time in the second or so Swim where in a preliminary walk I had seen some activity from dragonflies and butterflies. I tried to see whether the extra flexibility of working from a monopod might be viable.

I persevered for around fifteen minutes before I realised that with my heavy long lens, this was wishful thinking on my part, so leaving aside my monopod and flask, I returned to my parked car and fetched my sturdy Benbo and the Acratech Long Lens Head and, though I did occasionally lift it bodily aside to avoid intervening reeds from my subjects, I spent most of the time in the shade of an overhanging tree with a good view of dragonfly activity close by the water’s edge. Apart from the obvious stability advantage, the relief came from the vast reduction of weight and less waving around!

It is always fascinating to watch- Water-Boatmen walk on water, though the is not strictly true – they jump, but the semi-religious analogy is still apt for the ease with which these insects travel across the water surface. I was able to capture this in some detail on this occasion due their  comparative closeness and the use of the 2x Converter on the 60-600mm lens. I also switched away from autofocus in order to keep up with both these creatures and the Dragonflies, with a subsequent improvement in my overall success rate!

I have never given up attempts to capture insects such as Hoverflies, Dragonflies and Butterflies in flight, and on this occasion was extremely lucky to be rewarded more than once with some success! As the sun eventually left this location in shade, I packed up my kit and visited a few other spots , but with less success; I had managed to get the most out of my trip, and the shaded light by where my vehicle was parked tempted me to take a couple of shots of the car to conclude.

I Pay a Second Visit to Bromham Lake

 

I decided late in the day to pay a second visit to the small Lake and Nature Reserve at Bromham, but my navigation skills were definitely below par, as I got somewhat lost o this occasion, but where I parked to take a look at the map, I was fortunate to meet a chap who knew it well from what he described as his earlier misspent youth.

On this occasion I met absolutely no one within the grounds, but there was sadly evidence that the spot I had shot from last time someone had carelessly left a lager can and two trays of spent charcoal, which unfortunately due to my load, I was unable to remove to a bin. I set up my tripod somewhat lower and to the right of where I had earlier, so that I could see more of the reed beds.

The sunshine was less this time as clouds were gathering, and rain was forecast. I was slightly luckier with both the damselflies and dragonflies, but ironically I did not even see any hoverflies. I moved closer to the water’s edge and came lower, allowing me to work seated.

I managed to capture a dragonfly laying it’s eggs amongst the reeds by the shore. After a while here, I then decided that I would not remove the camera and long lens from the tripod, but carry it and walk further round the lake, which allowed me to venture inside the two hides, but sadly I got no shots from either. But the heron that I had seen from my earlier vantage point I was able to take some shots when it moved to the small island habitats. As I was nearing the end of the return trip to the car, I caught sight of two lone pillars, remains of an erstwhile gateway incongruously standing in a field, which must give the farmer a few headaches!

On this trip I was not as exercised as the last, in that I did not get lost within the park as before, but I left with the darkening sky, and arrived home as the heavens opened, but it was shortlived, so I only had to listen to the end of the piece on ClassicFM, before getting out and unloading the car without getting wet.

A Small Lake near Bromham

I have been looking for possible locations reasonably close by that have kingfishers and dragonflies, and are suited to being frequently visited by either, and preferably less frequented by other humans, especially those out to exercise their dogs by throwing sticks and balls; not that I bear them any malice, simply that the groups do not sit well together. I spotted a small sign to this particular lake and it was designated of Special Scientific Interest, and at first sight did not look too promising, but fortunately I spotted a lady returning from a bridge at the end of this lane with her dog, and on questioning her, found that it would probably be worth my while taking a look.

Sadly, I did not gain the impression that it would definitely be what I sought, so decided to investigate on foot, sans camera. This proved my undoing – for at the end of a comparatively short walk, I found a very promising spot, so I now had to return to the car and collect my camera, and I was now very much less fresh than before. To further compound my misjudgment, I failed to take the same route, and I had travelled twice the distance along the wrong path and had to return almost the distance back to my car before setting off in the correct direction.

I was now almost completely soaked through due to my exertions, and to compound my woes, met my nemesis – a mother and early-teen daughter with canine accompaniment and a seemingly unending stock of twigs and the desire to ensure maximum exercise for her ageing four-legged friend. I was also fortuitously completely unable to do anything more than use the time to gather my strength, whilst drinking copiously from my small bottle of lightly flavoured cold orange-juice. I bore them no ill-will, the situation was of my own making, but they had lessened my chances of further visiting wildlife, but I was in no rush to seek out a different location as in the prevailing heat, I simply had insufficient energy to travel deeper on this occasion.

A few dragonflies did return, but fleetingly, however instead I was rewarded by some hoverflies, which have long been a personal favourite due to their flying skills often offering me the chance for in-flight images. I had already in the trek to this spot seen numerous butterflies, but only two close by where I placed my camera and tripod; a cabbage white that only opened its wings when flying, and the far more interesting Speckled Wood, but once it landed was little inclined to fly elsewhere offering me little ongoing interest, being as I was, more interested in the prospect of dragonflies. I was though, pleasantly distracted by some energetic water boatmen, and lucky enough to capture one at the moment of leaping from the surface.

I had also to consider returning as I was later going to meet up with Catherine, my elder daughter and her twin daughters midway between Cambridge and myself at Ashwell, and I needed definitely to shower for the second time that day! What I had not allowed for was the onset of the visual symptoms of a migraine attack, and whilst resting my eyes after the shower rose to find I had slept for an hour, and the time of my arrival had now become to time of my departure, I had not allowed for a mother of teenage daughters though, since whilst apologising, I learned they were only just setting off! We did have a lovely evening!!