Warm May Afternoon, at Tringford

The afternoon was warm, and the reservoirs seemed an inviting thought, as I had not been down there for a while. When I arrived it was surprisingly quiet with little bird activity on Tringford, so I took to Marsworth and Startops along the path between the pair. I found myself chatting to a trio of walkers who wondered whether I knew of a pathway behind the reeds – the only route I could surmise was beyond the stream, and highly unsuitable for a group clad in sandals and bare feet! We walked along further and I heard fish splashing vigourously at Startop's edge, and they informed me it was the fish spawning.

Although I had no polariser for the lenses I had with me I did try to capture some of the activity, but the water was so churned that it was extremely difficult to do the scene justice, but Nothing ventured nothing gained.

There was a single heron that was in the distance that would occasionally reposition itself on some of the  stands in the middle of Marsworth, and it could be seen to duck when the terns or gulls swooped nearby. There is something rather charming about a heron's graceless launch into the air and its landing, whereas in flight it is exquisite. I took a shot of greylag goose in flight over Tringford, and only realised when processing the shot that circling above was a red kite!

I returned to Tringford where I met the bailiff and an angler who was using a catapult to send food pellets out to attract the fish to unbaited food; hoping to benefit later from their acceptance of the same food when baited.

John Sentinella Chauffeurs Me to Tringford Reservoir

Since my operation, I have found it hard to walk in complete ease, and I need to spend a fortnight avoiding heavy lifting and straining myself. John wanted to visit the reservoirs, and very generously offered to take me in his car, so I travelled in comfort.

I soon spotted Bob Menzies fishing from the far shore of the Tringford lake, so I walked over to meet him with he possible chance to photograph him; maybe even landing a catch! He mentioned that he had spotted that a grebe had a new family, and that the male could be seen carrying two of his offspring beneath his wings as the female did the food gathering, returning to feed the young grebelings regularly. Learning this I was determined to see if I could capture this. When I returned to the moorings the grebe pair were swimming very close inshore, albeit rather far out for the lens I had brought along.

John and I gathered our cameras and set off for Marsworth reservoir to see what subjects we could find. I settled at the bottom of steps on the edge of Startops End to capture shots of some  pied wagtails that flying to and fro from the bank. After a while John came along to say a heron was settled on the floats across the Marsworth, so I joined him on that side, and was very lucky to get some shots of this juvenile both static and in flight.

We rejoined Bob and went out on the Tringford lake by boat, enabling us all to catch up on news since we had last met up. Altogether a thoroughly satisfying and enjoyable morning. Especially to be transported back to Caddington in air-conditioned luxury!