Sunny Priory Park, Bedford

Supposedly a tentative loosening of LockDown, but the roads were busy with traffic, and the Car Parks at Priory Park, Bedford we’re filling steadily, I found one of the few vacant spaces in my chosen one. In the branches of a tree above a black bird sang heartily, and a robin came from the bushes to the path seemingly searching for food. Poppies bloomed in the grass alongside the path, and numerous dog roses bloomed in the hedgerows, out on the lake parent Canada Geese formed a close guard on their young as did the Greylags. Watching the ducklings, there are often some more adventurous than others, but the parents were keeping a wary eye out for those that strayed. Early on I was pleased to see a Grebe or two, but these were adults. I soon took the less-travelled paths and found numerous mating pairs of damselflies, and dragonflies in reasonable numbers on the reeds.

On the water in the smaller lakes, were Mallard families, as well as more Canada geese groups, out on various handy perches were gulls relaxing and watching for potential prey. I soon found a Grebe with a single youngster nestled on its back, and from its condition, I suspected it may have had a fight to protect its young as normally Grebe are very well groomed, and this one looked tousled. The floating lilies were yet to open, but those in the reed margins were well ahead. In the trees were a pair of nesting Heron, but In the distance, and  had I not been in conversation with a lady photographer and her husband, I would not have seen them, and although I was able to get a shot; armed with only my handy LUMIX, this was definitely a shot for my grown-up camera and it’s 60-600mm lens preferably with its 2x Converter! Perhaps with the lessening of restrictions I will return with the EOS R!

Perhaps the highlight of my visit on this occasion was to squat down and capture the lengthy grooming of a swan, which I found fascinating; the swan seemed to have all the time in the world to ensure its plumage was in tip-top condition. It did keep its beady eye on me at frequent intervals, but never once showed any animosity towards my interest. It had evidently been at this task for some while due to the evidence of white down all around! I stayed at this spot for quite a time, in the main due to my fascination in how it was able reach every part of its body, yet for 99% of the time I was there, it only occasionally lifted one or other leg simply to extend its reach and retain balance. During my time spent at this spot, a group of young lads who had been present on my arrival, had a visit from other friends before finally leaving; the couple with whom I had chatted earlier and a Czech pair of girls were the only people that ventured to this location. One of the two girls had gone to the end where the lads had been earlier, but when the swan I had been observing came up to the path, unwittingly they had become separated either side of the swan! Once I realised the girl had wanted to rejoin her friend, but was afraid of the swan’s intention, I told her to slowly walk past, and it would be fine, and she definitely was not going to move fast, as I could appreciate from the look on her face! The second girl did speak English, so she translated my suggestion and very tentatively the nervous colleague passed the swan and joined her friend. I then watched the swan return to the water’s edge, but missed the full extent of its stretch and flap to remove the last of the down, and its actual launch into the water.

I do have a very full set of images of the mammoth preening I had witnessed. Appearance for a swan is definitely a high priority! After this spell, I made my way back to the more public area, and got a few shots of youngsters sailing dinghies, and got a closer shot of the Grebe and Grebeling, and a Magpie wandered across my path, on my return to the car.

Altogether a very enjoyable way to enjoy the afternoon in the Park, I suspect it will not be too long before my camera becomes the EOS R with the Sigma 60-600mm and I am lugging a heavy tripod once more! I am also hoping to speak to an expert on the LUMIX who can help me to set up some of the controls to improve access to those I need speedily!

A Different Destination, Still Interesting

It is often interesting to set off for a prescribed destination, and minor disappointment when that becomes not possible, but often that can still prove to be worthwhile, and that was the case in this instance, for the result was I met some interesting people. Yes, we kept our distance, but this did not prove to be a hindrance, I learned something from those I met, and we all seemed to enjoy our chance meeting, and I was allowed to take photographs up close in some of the front gardens.

The original plan was to find access to a group of lakes, but they appeared to be entirely inaccessible to the public, and so, undeterred, I move on elsewhere, and soon find subjects for my camera — the subject soon presented itself to me — as I drove away from my initial disappointment, ahead a field of Gold was revealed; the first fields of rapeseed I had so far seen this season, so I pulled the car over to a convenient spot to park. I noted that I had been to this spot before, around three or more years back, and captured an evening sky. On this trip, I had parked in the spot as before, and taken a stroll along the nearby road towards the field where I captured a few landscapes of rapeseed, before returning along the lane for shots of a distant horse, a chat with a couple who had been passing me after traversing the path through the field of rape. The man turned out to be an angler who was able to suggest a good spot to see kingfishers.

On the journey back to the car, I met two more of the residents of these cottages, allowing me to record some shots in their respective gardens, and to stop long enough to chat, whilst maintaining at a respective distance. I also crossed across a small planking bridge to get a couple of shots through the trees to an open grass area that was a right of way to distant fields. I managed a glimpse of a robin just before leaving this spot, and heading for home after a brief chat with a man mowing his large lawn between his current cottage home and his erstwhile large home, now his son’s family abode. I hope that his break to chat to me did not delay his completion of mowing, since this was no small lawn! A church bathed in sunshine later attracted my attention as that was also having its lawns mown, I was offered a chance to view the interior, but on this occasion I declined, but perhaps I will take up the offer at a later date.

I stopped once more, on a bend with a view of the large former Country House at Ampthill, that is now divided into flats that I had earlier photographed from Stewartby with my long Sigma lens a while back. The reason for this brief stop was the abundance of trees sporting mistletoe balls of varying sizes, but I took advantage of a shot of the big house as well.

Another Marston Thrift Visit

I am very aware that the isolation rules are vital for everyone's ultimate survival and safety, so I limit my trips out and specifically do not venture out every day, and often not even every other day. I am careful not to flaunt the guidelines so, on those few times that I do venture out into the countryside nearby, I carefully choose areas that are not popular with the general Public, thus the few other humans I do come across are generally those exercising their dogs. The choice is easy because I am trying to seek out those spots where humans do not disturb the wildlife!
Yesterday was the most recent day I ventured out, and I left it late in the day specifically so that most will have considered heading back; this has a secondary result it means that the day following is definitely going to be one spent sitting in front of a computer, going through the images to weed out any failures, duplicates, or even the boring. As anyone who reads the narratives that I post on my blog will be aware, I am trying hard to understand the very different handling of mirrorless digital cameras to try to bring the success rate closer to that of the Single-lens Reflex cameras I have been using to date. Even though I have devoted a not inconsiderable time with initially a Canon EOS R mirrorless camera, I am now working with a very different beast – a Lumix FZ10002 which sports a Leica lens; the difficulty stems from the firmware being very different from my Canon cameras. Why then have I changed?
The purchase came about by pure happenstance, and it has proved very fortuitous as with the current lockdown, there is no way I could lug around my normal very heavy gear that requires the use of a seriously heavy tripod, unless I happened to live right on top of one of my normal venues. This little camera sports a permanently attached long range zoom lens, is completely portable, and produces very good quality images. I hope that when this lock-down is over I can still remember how to handle my Canon equipment.
I do have to own up to the main reason I have difficulty with this recent camera, and that is down to my age – it is far more difficult for me to learn the new intricacies, and I fear I am glimpsing a different future when this pandemic is over; going back to my Canon gear is going to be equally hard!
Upon my arrival at the Car Park at the entrance to the woods, there was no other car present, yet I could hear distant voices, so those must be others who walked, so most likely they were dog-walkers. Having parked, a family group whom I had passed along the road came in and took the right hand path, so I was happy with that as I had intended using the other. It was close on twenty minutes before I saw anyone along my chosen route and I was by then in open ground, and ironically I did not have to deviate from my chosen route, all those I saw chose different paths. I only came close to one person when I was at the very edge of the Park area at the island beyond, that had a splendid Weeping Willow at its water's edge.
I was luckier on this visit to have got some better shots of the grey squirrel I had seen on an earlier visit, I also got a brief glimpse of a lone Comma butterfly, only my second of this year, and a lonely Robin singing hopefully for a mate!

Close By the River Gt. Ouse

               I am still scouring nearby areas close by the River Great Ouse in search of new spots from which to patiently capture images of Kingfishers, and to this end found myself down a lane leading to the fast-flowing waters of the river which meanders in oxbow manner through this county. It was certainly rushing by on this afternoon, and from the waterlogged grass and mud at the end of this lane  told that it had obviously exceeded the normal bounds of its banks very recently. However in reaching thus far, the other native birds were in noisy abundance in the bushes and gardens on either side of the lane, so I parked up, having turned the car around to allow me to leave later with ease.
               I did take a walk down the river's edge, but it was way too waterlogged to consider shooting from there. Also, the overall likelihood of this spot proving the ideal location from which to get shots of kingfishers was not good, as the far bank was open to fields beyond, offering no cover.
               However, the sounds and activity from the trees and bushes did offer a great opportunity of shots of numerous other birds; Great Tit, Bluetit, Dunnock, Goldfinch and Robin. This meant it was certainly worth erecting the tripod and mounting my EOS R with the 60-600mm Sigma Sports lens and 2x Converter. Interestingly the larger birds seemed less interested in feeding and stayed at a distance, but a couple of Collared Doves became silhoetted in a distant tree to extend the variety of species I was able to capture. I have normally found Robins with little fear of coming close to humans, but the lone one here was very wary of me.
               The light was flat and dull for most of my time spent shooting, which meant my only chances of crisp images was when the birds were calmly feeding or preparing to fly off, as I did not have the luxury of a fast shutter speed, but my patience was still well rewarded, and I will definitely return now I have found the spot.

Stockwood Discovery Centre, National Wildlife Photography Exhibition

The Wildlife Exhibition offered an ideal opportunity to visit both the Gardens and the Gallery, so I arranged with John Sentinella, and Jan Tysoe to meet up there. It provided the chance to view the stunning work of others in the exhibition area, and the opportunity to take our own photographs of the bounty of new life within the garden at the beginning of Spring this year.

I arrived first, and John who had parked elsewhere joined soon after, with Jan coming in after a spell doing Pilates. I had taken a brief stroll around before their arrival.

We all took a look at the fine work of others, and John later left us after the wander around the Exhibition, Jan and I stayed longer before going around the gardens in the search of subjects that caught our eye. It will be interesting later to see Jan’s images, to see what I might have missed, because she has the advantage of knowing what is likely at this early time of the season. I must also find out what differences she found between a lens I lent her to compare with the one she uses.

On the whole we were lucky with the light and the weather, and later we adjourned to the cafeteria for a hot chocolate to catch up. We parted and I made a call to a fellow photographer, Colin Bowles to see whether I might visit him and his wife, to catch up on their news before heading back up to Marston Moretaine, and it was a good move because from there it proved a really good trip back, rather than up the crowded M1. Altogether, a very productive and enjoyable day.

Marston Lake — a Second Photo Visit

 

          The day started overcast, that brightened by around ten, but l got involved in relaxation having lain in a dream state before heading to a wash and shave. Breakfast over I decided to head towards the small lay-by I had used on my previous visit, but on this occasion I intended shooting with my heavy Benbo tripod and the 150-600mm Sigma Sports lens.

          Having assembled it, I planned to turn right as  I came to the junction by the lake and walk the short distance to the end of that track, where I met an angler called Andy, who had been there since the morning before. We chatted as I set up the camera, and I learned he had never seen any kingfishers here, which was not the news I had been hoping to hear! He had been to a spot in Germany where there had been several — not the reassurance I was seeking!

          In the course of further conversation, he did however say he would keep an eye out, and let me know if any ever appeared, and where he spotted them, and so I gave him a card should the occasion arise. I was most appreciative of that offer, because he was a frequent visitor and always for longer periods than I could manage, so that was very welcome.

          On my arrival, the cloud cover was almost total, but for a while, it lessened breaking into parallel lines, with pale blue beyond — a pattern I saw just once before earlier in the year, though on this occasion it was less clearly defined, and beyond, in the middle distance, the pattern was repeated but at ninety degrees to the first group! On the water were several small groups of Coots, occasionally chasing each other with gusto, for reasons only they understood, but it just seems Coots are just noisily antisocial as a breed. Of greater interest to me were a fair-sized group of Tufted Ducks, and I glimpsed possibly the same lone Grebe I saw on my last visit.

          I saw that a circling Gull had landed, and I was lucky enough to get a short burst as it took off a short while later. Although Cormorants are not one of my favourite birds, one came just within reach, so I grabbed a few shots as it passed by. Also, the Robin paid us a visit, but despite being offered some fish bait, it kept its distance and was always behind intervening branches, so does not feature in this gallery. The light became too low eventually, so I bade my angler friend farewell, and headed homeward.

Marston Lake — a Possible New Venue

         Since the rain had stopped, I decided to nip round to the lock-up and get the bike and reconnoitre a nearby lake just beyond the turn off to the station beyond the Allotments. I was heading towards Lidlington, but before there, there was a gated entrance to a lake reserved for anglers and just beyond, a small lay-by. I checked this out first because I had in mind that it would be ideal for me to park the car, if I were to visit with a heavy tripod and the big lens at some time in the future.

         On this occasion I travelled light; without any camera; there is a small pedestrian gap beyond the gate, that I wheeled the bike through, then I parked it beyond the bend, so as to be hidden from the road, and leant it against a tree, and followed the road around yet another bend, and came to a junction, where the track went around the perimeter of the lake in both directions. Ahead was a parked estate car with its rear door open and its driver engaged on his phone, I nodded that I’d wait patiently till he was free and withdrew to a distance to allow him the privacy to continue his call.

         Shortly he wound down his window, I enquired as to whether he felt that since I was not an angler, whether it was possible for me to enter the area to take photos. He answered immediately that there was no objection, and during the ensuing conversation I discovered that he was the local Water Bailiff; so I had definitely found the very best person to learn more about the lake and its wildlife. Most importantly I learned they did have kingfishers, and he even suggested where they were most likely to be found. He explained that the path to the right was short and only went as far as the last jetty from which the anglers fished.

         I decided to investigate this path first, and found it was a very short distance. I returned to his parked car and continued our conversation, and even in that short period of time I noticed that there was a fair amount of bird life. We chatted a while longer, then I set off around clockwise from the junction, having asked his name having volunteered mine and given him one of my business cards.

         I strolled slowly along the path, every so often taking paths towards the foreshore to get an idea of the viewpoints each offered. As I returned to the main path, I tried to remember the man’s name, and realised that it had not registered at all in my failing brain! I was going to have to embarrass myself, by asking him when I next met up with him! I refer to the route around the lake as a path, but it is in fact a road in that it is wide along its entire route with enough width in parts to accommodate cars being parked without blocking it for others going further round.

         Every time the route forked off to give access to a small area from which to fish, I would investigate, though in some cases, I did not go right to the water’s edge, because either I did not want to disturb the angler, or I could see that it was very muddy and steep due to all the recent rain. I soon reached the bank directly opposite to the bailiff’ car, and soon after that I spotted that on that side, there was no enclosing fence, and between there was an area of scrub with a public footpath beyond.

         I walked as far as I could in that direction then turned back and returned to the bailiff’s car, where I apologised for so swiftly forgetting his name, and learned it was Mark, which I realised was so easy to mark for the future, had I made that simple mental note on the first occasion! We chatted some more, before I then headed back to my bike and rode home.

         At that time I was not sure when I would return, but in the afternoon of Christmas Eve, I returned with my lightest long lens the Tamron 150-600mm and this time parked in the lay-by just beyond the entrance, set up the lens and camera on my carbon fibre tripod with the gimbal head, locked the car, and headed in towards the lake. I decided that as the sun was already getting low, I would head to the right and the short distance to its very end, where I set up the tripod on the short and somewhat fragile wooden jetty. After a while I heard the whistle-like call of a robin who came to investigate. I also caught sight of a blue tit, but it was far shyer, as was a blackbird, out on the water I spotted a couple of cormorants, several coots and a lone young grebe, and I was lucky enough to capture its good fortune to succeed to secure itself a reasonable sized fish for tea.

         I soon found that the sun was falling into clouds as it fell towards the horizon, so I took a few further shots as I headed for the gate and my car, and a couple of the setting sun over Brogborough. Though brief, it was a very good way to head into Christmas.

A Quiet Afternoon at Marsworth Lake

I met another photographer as he was leaving a spot where we have both in the past caught sight of kingfishers, and he mentioned that earlier he had spotted a couple of voles and duly put out a fairly substantial quantity of food in the form of seeds for them, and a couple of different Robins had felt Christmas had arrived, but a while later when the Robin had been elsewhere finding fresh food in the form of damselflies, on of the voles returned, and I managed to get one moderately sharp shot which heads this narrative.

Very early on I managed to get a shot of a Pied Wagtail who also seemed to favour a similar diet, but my most frequent visitors were two Robins, one ringed, one not, the unhinged one is the one I meet most often, and he seemed to be constantly checking different ends of his territory, crossing the water on numerous occasions, it seemed he was performing a round robin!

It was one of the quietest spell for visiting wildlife I have encountered at Marsworth, and I suspect it has been because with little water flowing and a large surface coating of blue-green algae, it is not easy for many birds to spot the movement of small fish beneath the surface, so in my selected spot easy feeding is not possible to fishing birds are seeking sustenance elsewhere.

I moved to another more open spot and tried to capture circling Common Tern as they dived close to the reeds at the point where the dividing path between Startops End and Marsworth lakes meet the Grand Union Canal, but overall they were way to fast for me to follow with any degree of accuracy – from my observation one bird was successful on every third or fourth swoop, but the catch was small on each occasion, and was swallowed swiftly so I managed no shots with its prey. It was a t this spot' I got involved in conversation with passers by and whilst chatting with one gentleman, he spotted something drop from my tripod and I was most grateful as it was the small hook at the bottom of the tripod centre column from which to hang steadying weights, and fortunately it caught the light when I parted the grass, and I was able to retrieve it, as I had not seen it drop!

Not the most productive of sorties, but I had never seen a vole before, so that at least was a bonus.

Marsworth Visit with Andy Fox

Andy and I decided to meet up and visit Marsworth together, and despite mornings being more favourable, since he was tied up in the morning, we settled on meeting at Clophill around one o’clock to head on down.

Arriving at Tringford I parked up and we both set off towards Marsworth lake. There were numerous anglers out on both Startops End and Marsworth, and on the Grand Union Canal there were a few narrowboats going through the locks, one that was moored was unlike any other, so much so that Andy remarked that it was upside down as the superstructure seemed to be very smooth and resembled an upturned hull, made presumably in glass fibre.

We reached our destination and began setting up, and almost immediately Andy spotted a visiting kingfisher behind me, which we probably surprised and headed away from us. It was the last sighting we made for more than an hour, though we were visited by many other birds both on the water, and above us in the trees. The most frequent being blue tits, mallards, and wood pigeons. At one stage we heard a loud call, that sounded as if the caller was shouting “Nits!” which gave us a wry smile on several occasions, it turned out to be coming from what I took to be a lone mallard female, but Andy reckoned it was possibly a mallard/wigeon cross as it was speckled and differently billed.

We were also visited by the resident and beautifully groomed robin, whom I see fairly regularly, once again, in the lulls I attempted to entice to fly to my open hand for seeds, but today he made no effort. A while later we caught sight of a kingfisher doing a flyby who ducked beyond a fallen bush on the far bank. Then later still one landed in the bushes, but he was hidden from me by sunlit leaves, but in perfectly clear view to Andy as was confirmed by some three sequences of shutter firings. After that I saw another on a post beyond him, managing just two quick shots, one static and one as he flew off. Although we stayed on for some time we saw no more kingfishers, and since Andy was due for an evening out, we packed up and returned to the car, but not before I introduced Andy to some of the Tringford Anglers, and its Water Bailliff, Bob Menzies.

My visit was therefore less fruitful than my guest Andy, though enjoyable nonetheless.

Early Start at Marsworth – Brrrr!

The forecast tempted me by suggesting there was a good chance of sunshine, so I togged up with layers of clothing to ensure that I could withstand an early start and be down long enough to get a chance of getting a shot of a kingfisher at Marsworth, despite the lack of leaf cover. Not only did I take the long lens (150-600mm), but I also took along the recent acquisition the 24-70mm with macro feature, and since the first two and a half hours a kingfisher only gave me high speed flypasts, some of which he ended by diving behind the few bushes that have leaf cover, then often as long as ten minutes would pass before he emerged and continued in the direction he was initially headed!

As forecast the sun arose and for a period it kept the light levels reasonable, then clouds would intermittently pass in front so I was kept busy pushing up the ISO speed, then trying to remember to bring it back down as they cleared. When the kingfisher arrived he stationed himself on a branch that was just out of sight from the camera on the tripod, so I had to hastily up the shutter speed and release the camera, and shoot handheld, and my hands are never steady in that situation, with the added problem I was shooting almost directly into the sun, so he was largely in silhouette, but he stuck around and was successful, and dived a further two times after devouring the somewhat slimy fish – I am not sure whether it was its innards or something from the water, but the bird was still trying to clear the slime after down the fish itself!

I kept myself energised as best as possible by photographing some of the other birds that came into view, (Mallard Duck and Drake, Robin, Wren, Moorhen and Coot, either with the long lens or the short, on the 5D MkIII. When I finally set off I met up with another photographer clad in all the proper camouflage gear and we had a short chat before I headed back to the car. I took the opportunity to drop by the Stockwood Discovery Centre Gardens on the return trip, calling in at Caddington to see progress on my old home, buy a roll for my lunch and some veg for a casserole later in the week.

Marsworth – Early Signs of Spring

The first bright day for a while, and fairly warm with it, after three dismally grey days.

I knew I had left it rather late if I thought I might get a chance to take some shots of kingfishers, another photographer whom I had met before had taken some shots before my arrival, but though he stayed a further hour or so, neither of us had any further luck – I did twice see one fly by, so instead I thought I’d try getting a friendly robin to take seeds from my hand. He made three tentative flights toward my hand, but spun away at the last minute; on the fourth he did land, but just as swiftly spun round and again headed back to the nearby branch!

The Mink that lives in the hollow of a nearby tree trunk leapt noisily from the water  early on, and headed home on the surface, then disappeared from view, and a very skittish Grey Squirrel tore along the half-submerged tree trunk and disappeared up a tree to my left. A Wren paid me a fleeting visit and twice a Magpie came for a short spell.

Surprisingly for long periods there was no birdsong at all, just the gentle swishing of the trees interspersed with the noisy flapping of Wood Pigeons, I caught a few glimpses of a Bluetit, but he gave me no chance to get a shot.

I tried in vain to get the Mallard drake to take seeds from my hand, but he did not trust me at all, though if I dropped any seeds, he would dart closer just to grab it, muttering all the while. I left soon after and the couple came up to where I had been sitting and feasted on the seeds I had put down for the Robin. As I returned to my car a shot of a lady and her dog presented themselves in silhouette against the setting sun, as did a different Robin as I walked along the path between Startops and Marsworth lakes.

Forest Centre – Afternoon Sunshine

Trying to restore a damaged operating system involves long periods of waiting, and watching a mostly automated operation, and lacks any appeal, especially when the sun has made its first appearance for a while – today was such a day and the temptation to do something more meaningful was way too enticing, so I grabbed cameras and lenses and headed out to the nearby Forest Centre to see what wildlife was around. I had not brought boots, which proved a severe limitation as it was very obviously muddy which limited where I could go. There was birdsong aplenty, and none of it exotic, and despite my generously spreading birdseed in several attractive spots from a photographic standpoint, no birds seemed in any way interested, perhaps as worms were close enough to the surface and easy pickings.

After a walk that took me close to the turbine along navigable paths, I returned and made my way to the walkway through the reeds, checking along the way on whether my seeds had proved tempting, but they seemed intact. Perhaps out more in the open might prove more enticing, but there even the berries were still in reasonable abundance, so perhaps this outside larder here was well-stocked! I returned past the birdfeeder and spotted that a grey squirrel was out beneath it picking up the seeds dropped from the hanging baskets above by some of the visiting bluetits, so I took a few shots of it and them, though the area was largely in shade.

Whilst in that area, the clouds created a circular shape as if the thumb and forefinger of a hand were describing a circle, which I found was interesting, and later as I returned towards the car a robin was singing its heart out and being answered from across the walkway, which I found touching; I left him some seeds in the angle of a branch to say ‘thank you’ and wished him luck.

I returned to the more mundane task of continuing with trying to restore one of my computers.

New Year's Eve - Willen Lake

After three mornings with fog and frost, the last day of 2016 was dry, cold and grey without any frost or fog, so the great outside beckoned, if for no other reason than to provide much needed exercise – an opportunity I was not going to miss, though I had no plans beyond a slight lie-in before Shave and Shower. When the invitation to join some of my family at Willen Lake, Milton Keynes; this settled it. As if to further tempt me, the sun made a showing. It turned out that was flattering to deceive, for having appeared for some five minutes, it disappeared, never to return during the rest of the day!

What had I expected? After all this is England.

I breakfasted, then gathered what I felt would be the most likely lenses to capture any wildlife that might be present and family images of fun, my 35mm f/1.4 and the 300mm f/4.

They turned out to be entirely adequate, I failed to get the Phone’s SatNav to link to the car’s audio and having planned to use the M1 northbound to reach Willen Lake, set off; then completely forgot this decision and headed along the A421 for a few roundabouts! Fortunately I did spot my error and continued for a while before taking a right at one of the roundabouts  and finding a long slip road  that sort of doubled as a layby, I took a look at the phone’s map and picked up the originally intended A509, soon arriving at the car park.

I was early, so I took the 35mm out originally, but soon found that since there was a good deal of common bird life around, returned and swapped to the 300mm on the 5D MkIII. Everything else I left in the boot and headed for the lakeside where I had earlier spotted a bluetit and a magpie. This occupied my time well, till my daughter arrived with two bikes, one being ridden by my male grandchild, the other being carried by my son-in-law, whilst my female grandchild was being carried by my daughter! That was an ominous sign!

We adults did some chatting as we walked, whilst eventually both children duly did take to their respective bikes, every so often being discarded as other interests such as steep banks and precariously angled tree trunks appeared along the route. We headed for the Peace Pagoda initially, then when one of them needed a toilet, we split up as mother and daughter headed back the way we had come. The exercise was far from strenuous, but keeping on the move, the cold wind was less of a problem. We had a spell with liquid refreshments and some time in the play area, and the time passed speedily. My daughter had just a minute left on arrival at her car park with an attendant Attendant, just starting his rounds of their parking area. I collected a tub of Condensed milk from her and then we said our goodbyes and headed off in opposing directions, as I now had to walk back to my parking area with over an hour to spare on my car!

Birds in Two ‘Mars’ Names – Marston Moretaine and Marsworth

The Starlings are an abundant species around Marston Moretaine; at a distance they seem a boring black, but close to, and especially in sunlight they are a magical mixture of iridescent blues and greens and they are often to be heard whistling amongst a gathering on a nearby telegraph pole; their call a Tseeuw, that I have been mimicking in the hope I can attract them closer in order to capture their true colours, and on this Sunday morning in bright sunshine I lured them in with a mixture of toast crumbs from the toaster, seeds and bread I have to cut off in order for my Bloomer bread slices to fit the new toaster (why did I buy a toaster that did not accept my favourite bread loaves? Answer – because an even browning was more important, and cutting a sliver from each frozen slice meant I had a fresh source of feed for the birds – QED!)

Reckoning that English Weather Forecasts are notorious for unpredictability, I thought I’d take a chance and head for Tring Reservoirs to see how the birdlife there was faring since it was bright from the start and the scheduled later rain might not materialise. Unfortunately I somehow managed to dislodge something in my back and was in considerable pain, but reckoned that no gain without pain, so persevered and headed south cross-country avoiding the M1. I am fortunate in being allowed to park my car with the local anglers and met the Water Bailiff and some of them briefly before heading away from Tringford to Marsworth Lake. It was tough on my back, but the weather was still so good it would have been a shame not to make the attempt and suffer in silence.

I probably spent at least four hours, and all of it standing as I decided on a different spot for a change and sitting was not an option; the pain did not let up and I did have to keep transferring my weight around, but it was manageable and I found that air was alive with all manner of birdcalls, most of which I was unable to place, and certainly most of those calling were never seen. I reckon overall I was lucky in what I managed to capture, even though some birds never succumbed to my trigger finger, even though I had tracked assiduously through the undergrowth – in that category were a Dunnock and Wren, and there were overflying herons and Greylag geese.

However even the pigeon gave me couple of interesting shots as did a robin gathering what I took to be food for its young and he or she was brave because it was straying into the territory of the resident Robin that I regularly spot and sometimes feed (and on a disappointing day, talk to and implore he ask a Kingfisher or Woodpecker to call by!)

To capture a flirting Bluetit pair cavorting, a Long-tailed Tit a Grebe or two and a Kingfisher, I felt was well worth the visit, and I was warm!

Marsworth Reservoir – its Abundant Birdlife

It is a complete fallacy that Britain does not have exciting wildlife of its own, and the Tring reservoirs are abundant evidence of this, as I witnessed for myself this afternoon, in glorious crisp sunshine and for the most part edge to edge blue sky. So much so that for most of the time even though I was comparatively motionless, I was very warm! It was only as clouds came across the sun, that the temperature dropped dramatically and made me realise that I had not worn adequate clothing and needed to consider bringing my photography to a close.

I was not able to capture evidence of every different bird species I came across, but to have got shots of a heron, a kingfisher, a Pied wagtail, a Little Grebe, a Crested Grebe pair, and a Robin is a fair testament to the variety found in this neck of the woods. In walking along the path between two of the lakes and the lakes and the Grand Union Canal, I fell into conversation with several people who had seen Bittern, Egret, Water Rail, Pochard and Snipe, but sadly none of those came my way!

I thoroughly enjoyed my few hours spent at the water’s edge, and my only regret was that a pair of Crested Grebe seemed to break off their courtship without completing their routine, and were also too far from the shore. My shots of the heron through a veil of intervening branches more than made up for that, and I count myself lucky I managed to save myself from falling in the water whilst trying to get the shots.

Marsworth Misty Morning – Wildlife

I felt the urge to visit the Tring Reservoirs and with the mornings getting lighter, decided that it would have to be an early start despite the forecast of mist.

As I arrived in my favourite spot, I had to tread carefully as another photographer was already there and the last thing I wanted was to destroy his concentration or disturb the subjects he was photographing, and the bank is steep at that point with little support to be found at the steepest point. I had already extended one leg of the tripod to help me fortunately and I set down by his side with the minimum of fuss as I asked had he had much luck; he replied reluctantly, not a lot.

As I put down the legs and levelled the camera, I introduced myself and learned he was Mike Casey and though the name was new to me, it became clear he was obviously knowledgable and way more experienced than me and we had a mutual friend in Merv, whom I had met in this spot on several occasions over the last two years. We spoke in hushed tones and he spotted kingfishers long before I caught sight of them, and I learned his aim on this occasion was to catch shots of the mink, but though the previous morning he had been lucky, today it was not to be.

We were constantly visited by blue tits, but they invariably were screened by numerous branches and they were far to flitty, but I spotted a single woodpecker and Mike pointed out the Wren feeding in front of use, whilst on the far bank I caught sight of a muntjac briefly, we had several kingfisher flybys and Mike was lucky enough to catch a male with a fish, but I was unlucky on that score, and did manage a couple of shots of the squirrel.

We both stayed till the cold took its toll and departed together, chatting as we walked along the canalside and Mike pointed out where he had taken shots of the mink complete with fish as he came straight towards him along the grass bank then went across the path and back into the reservoir. He also showed me other spots he had seen kingfishers perching and fishing in the past. We parted by our cars after a quick walk along the far side of Tringford lake, and I set off to my daughter’s home.

Bitterly Cold at Marsworth Reservoir

A mild breeze and bright sun tempted me to Tring reservoirs and the opportunities it might offer for photography, but as I neared Bulbourne, it became obvious that the clouds had put paid to my brightness, but undeterred I parked up and took out my camera and long lens and used the monopod as a walking stick with my other cameras on my back in my backpack. Out of the car I realised the temperature had dropped considerably during my half-hour’s drive and the breeze was definitely now a wind!

As I walked the path between Marsworth and Startops End reservoirs, it was often gusting and particularly bitter and I was glad of the extra clothing I had donned before I left. My fingerless gloves were very ineffective in retaining heat, especially since the monopod had no insulation, unlike my tripod. There was not a lot of avian activity and when I arrived there were even fewer cars parked, and no anglers as I walked beyond the park fork and along the Grand Union Canal; now a few intrepid dog walkers and joggers appeared, but each were in their own worlds offering no communication; no acknowledgement of a fellow human, facing the same bitter wind and biting cold.

As I arrived in my normal spot awaiting possible birds such as the elusive kingfisher, there were few sounds of birdsong, just the occasional flapping of wood-pigeons as they crashed noisily through the almost bare branches of hawthorn. The ground was muddy and slippery offering no dry seat so I propped myself against an ivy-clad tree trunk and put down the monopod as being surplus except for manoeuvring down the steep bank, and looked around me as I heard the high-pitched whistling that I felt sure was the local robin – it was only a slight surprise when I heard a light rustle of leaves and there was my regular companion during my previous visits, looking entirely composed low down on a branch no more than two feet away.

I said: “Hello”, but s/he (for I know not the sex of the bird!) just kept looking my way with no particular interest, but there was eye-contact which was more than I received from my human contacts so far. I enquired of the possibilities of a kingfisher visit, but the robin simply flew to a different perch, at least now, just far enough distant for me to get shots, but the bird presumably knew that by moving yet closer, I would be unable to focus on it, meaning I had to keep carefully moving a few steps back or choose a different subject. Since none were to hand I just tried to cajole him into choosing different branches, but he felt under no obligation to accept my requests, and so I tried tempting him by producing some peanuts and throwing them in more open spots, but he studiously avoided my bribes and at one stage flew to the ground by my feet, flicked up a leaf and found a juicy worm!

He became my focus of attention (for I decided that as a Robin he was a he) and I simply waited till he decided he would move elsewhere within his territory; he did however condescend to try some of my nuts.

I ventured from this spot after a while and took to the path alongside the reedbeds  and spotted a vast flock of Canada geese had formed up and watched as they went en-masse first in one direction, then about turn and moved in the opposing direction, then I could hear the elders squawking there voting for a move from water to the nearby fields, and soon about a quarter of the assembled birds took noisily to the air, I decided this was an activity that was worth my attention, despite my not having the same feeling for Canada Geese as I have for the the Greylags, and this stems largely from the fact that I like to see the eyes of birds and animals, and the eyes of greylags are far more visible.

It was this return trip that I did find myself talking to other members of my species, and one was a fellow photographer, another a birdwatcher who enquired whether I had seen the redwings, and another an angler, and all of us were now heading slowly homeward, but each  stopping then meeting up again as opportunities arose in both of us photographers for yet another shot. By now I was definitely finding the rising wind making my fingers sore with the cold, and the refuge of my car was definitely an enticement that was increasingly hard to ignore! I had replied no to the birdwatcher, but a bird I spotted amongst the red berries of a tree was most likely one.

Another Visit to Marsworth's Wildlife

Rather than stay glued to a monitor for the meagre need to do so, and with the autumnal weather due to end imminently, I headed once again for Marsworth, one of the Tring reservoirs. Not unnaturally the area was quiet, with only a few anglers, dog, buggy and children walkers to be seen. Hearing frantic wing flapping behind me I turned just in time to catch a pair of Mallards just as they landed.

When I had settled and set up my camera on a well-strapped and supported monopod, the first observation I made was that dragonflies were still in abundance, and one coupled pair came my way frequently, but on one visit I noticed that the pair were constantly jigging up and down and eventually I twigged what was happening, it would appear that the male (for that was my impression the forward partner to be) was trying to shake the female free, but it was more than that; as far as I could tell as he was diving down he was dashing the female against a small rock jutting from the water, and although difficult to see, this is what I have tried to show in the shots in the gallery.

Later I spotted what I think was a great spotted woodpecker which landed on a high dead branch, and I just barely had the time to open up three full stops as it was against bright white clouds, before it departed as swiftly as it had arrived; it did not return. A Blue tit arrived slightly lower shortly after, seemingly mimicking the woodpecker’s stance! There followed a series of dragonflies which I was unable to capture in flight, but occasionally they landed just within later-cropping distance.

The Robin from the far shore looked less dishevelled than had been the case in my earlier encounters, and the Grey Wagtail made a brief  visit, my patience however was not rewarded by any visiting Kingfishers, but I did manage a couple of shots when I was paid a fleeting visit by a Heron atop the far trees.

On my return walk I got a shot of a Grebe in the late afternoon sun, a Swan heading for shore and an angler who caught three small fish whilst I was watching another Heron that seemed to have his beady eye on a possible catch, but despite waiting in the hope it might be successful, it appeared it was no to be. I walked on returning to the car and home.

Marsworth and a Grey Wagtail

After an early start and a comprehensive cleaning of the house for a viewing mid morning, I just felt I needed to be outside and taking pictures, it was also warming up, with the sun beginning to show, so though I would have been better being at the reservoir much earlier, I took a chance on my getting some meaningful images nevertheless.

Tringford lake had but one angler afloat on the still water, and the level was much lower than on my last visit. As it was a few days since it had rained the woods where the stream entered Startops were dry underfoot, so I chanced  a quiet approach through the undergrowth in case any herons or egrets were on the dry shore, but all I spooked were some waders and ducks. I returned to the path and headed alongside Marsworth lake and the Grand Union Canal, and settled to wait.

Though in all the hours I was there, I only spotted a lone kingfisher in a flyby, I was visited by a squirrel, a heron overflew atop the trees and either an otter or mink gave me a brief visit, but I was twice graced by a lone Grey Wagtail in beautiful condition, and very twitchy. Naturally, collar doves and wood pigeons were noisily around, and my sleek robin only flew over once to the obvious interest to a plump and dishevelled specimen that inhabits the bush on the far shore. I found this slightly surprising as an earlier visitor visitor to the same spot as myself had poured a good amount of seeds for our regular.

When I finished and retraced my steps to the car, the early evening light on a narrowboat moored in the canal caught my eye, so I grabbed a quick shot of that scene.

Early Visit to Marsworth Reservoir

Arriving at the water's edge, I immediately spotted a lone Muntjac across the water on the far bank, and just before it returned to the undergrowth managed to grab a quick shot, albeit with foliage and branches obscuring its hind legs, then moments later, a squirrel, scurried down a tree trunk and disappeared into a bush with its mouth full.

The air was filled with the unmistakeable sounds of pigeons' flapping their way through the leaves all around me. The next visitor was far too quick for me, a heron landed momentarily on a high branch of a dead tree, spotted me, and was away back the way it came, in a trice; sadly, never to return that morning. I got to sit down with the camera on a monopod and my hand on the camera with the 70-200mm lens. I have to own up, that was not by choice; I had been careless when packing the case and chose it mistakenly for the 100-400mm, but so be it, it did at least offer an extra full stop of exposure to make up for the far smaller image!

The light was kind to me, it had a softness due to slight cloud cover thereby avoiding the harshness of full sunlight on potential subjects, in this case I was hoping to glimpse a kingfisher. Glimpse was all I got initially, as an orange and blue blur passed across my field of view at high speed, but it was not long before a kingfisher alighted on a far branch, looked around, then dived, and disappeared from view; whether it met with success, I had no way of knowing.

It was quite a while before another visit, so I captured an amusing piece of pigeon life, and it seemed to me as a human observer that a male flew to a branch ostensibly to drink, but in the hope his presence would bring a female admirer, and certainly soon after another pigeon alighted further along the branch, but instead of waiting patiently for a short moment, he immediately sidled along the branch and the second bird simply flew off, he seemed dazed and remained quite still musing on his failure before flying off in the same direction.

I had two more kingfisher visits, and several flybys, together with one quick circling of a bush, and in the lulls, I took shots of some of the fungal growths and the beginnings of autumn in some of the trees, and a charming slim robin gave me the once-over. After four hours I stretched my aching legs and headed for Tringford to meet up with the Water Bailiff, before heading home, but on reaching the turn for Aldbury, changed my mind and took the road heading for Wigginton Bottom.