#exercise walk

[dansnaturepictures]

20/01/2021-Birds at home and a full watered Lakeside 

I took the first picture in this photoset earlier today of a Goldfinch and Collared Dove feeding together on the tray in the garden. Always great to see and capture two different birds together in any circumstance especially the garden and especially these two charismatic species. I also enjoyed seeing Blue Tits and other birds in the garden as I worked. 

It became quite a walk for seeing birds and getting bird pictures as I braved slight and then in places heavier rain to go to Lakeside still with my camera and binoculars at lunch time. I took the next four pictures in this photoset of Cormorant, Mallards, Mute Swan and Great Crested Grebe at Lakeside. The Cormorants an interesting and great bird to see here a lot of late, the Mute Swan made an interesting different kind of hissing sound as I watched it briefly which felt like quite an intimate moment and the Great Crested Grebes were stars today creating one of the walk’s best moments as I crossed the bridge and took the picture of this one I got very close to looking nice and brown in the appropriate places and then a Cormorant possibly the same as photographed earlier dashed over my head in the air at the bridge and I took more photos of it which I tweeted tonight on Dans_Pictures tonight and I saw other grebes today as I joyfully rounded the westernmost lake and saw others in a more lake driven lunch time walk here this week for one reason and another than the previous ones. 

This also allowed me to observe as I think some of it not all the other five pictures I took today in this photoset show how quite swelled the lakes were with the water levels quite high and the water quite a bit more fierce than usual. I know flooding has caused issues for many at the most difficult of times in parts of the country thanks to Storm Christoph and I would like to send my best thoughts and wishes and say how sorry I am for those impacted. 

Wildlife Sightings Summary: One of my favourite birds the Great Crested Grebe, Cormorant, Coot, a Moorhen running which looked nice and is always quite entertaining to see, Black-headed Gull, Mallard, a nice flock of Long-tailed Tits at Lakeside, Blue Tit, I also heard a Great Tit, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Starling, House Sparrow including a nice group in trees out the front it was good to watch, Pied Wagtails there too again and Goldfinches always a spirit raiser on dull days I find as my favourite garden bird. 

[dansnaturepictures]

6/2/21-After taking the first three pictures in this photoset at home of a Woodpigeon and Collared Dove out the back and view out the back with green leaves in a nearby garden looking nice in the sun we had another really nice walk today. Whilst the winter chill was still present, the sun illuminating the landscape making it very special did make me feel quite spring like again after this week it is a prevailing feeling for me and the feeling of spring slowly but surely revealing itself underlined by daffodils (yet to burst out of their shoots) in the garden was added to by another delightful Song Thrush singing away in trees at the end of the walk. I took the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh pictures in this photoset of reflections, sun through trees and sky views. It was a nice walk for noticing the little things of nature in the sunshine, such as beautiful fungi, holly as show in the eighth picture in this photoset, gorse as shown in the ninth picture in this photoset looking amazing in the sunshine and in flower and I was pleased with this photo, moss and even the considerable mud all presenting a delightful and varied array of colours which was lovely to take in whilst walking. The highlight of the walk was seeing a beautiful Jack Snipe, it was really nice to see this special bird flying through the air. One of the most exciting birds we have for me, joining the common snipe as seen by me this year having a strong start to the year for that species too. I loved seeing my first Jack Snipe of the year, my 105th bird of 2021 the year list numbers ticking over quite nicely going into February after a brilliant January considering the restrictive times we live in. A thrilling moment whilst walking on a very sunny and nice day. I hope you have all had a good one. Wildlife Sightings Summary: My first Jack Snipe of the year, Chaffinch, nice views of Blue Tit, Great Tit and Dunnock, Robin, lots of Woodpigeons, good Carrion Crow views, a nice fly type insect and we heard a Song Thrush.

[dansnaturepictures]

15/02/2021-A green day at home and Lakeside 

I took the first two pictures in this photoset before going for my lunch time walk of the back garden a very green scene but with some of the daffodils starting to show a little bit of yellow which is exciting I cannot wait for them to flower and some beautiful purple flowers in the front garden which have been around for a while with green scenes around which looked lovely and I liked capturing. I then took my lunch time Lakeside walk and took the third, fourth, fifth and sixth pictures in this photoset of views all of which looked quite green. 

The green theme today continued as I took in again something I loved noticing during an epic walk here last Monday lunch time in the southern fenced off area in an area you can walk under trees loads of beautiful lichen covering the branches and in delightful shapes too. I wanted to take a picture of them today and I did manage some including the seventh, eighth and ninth pictures in this photoset of these fascinating, beautiful and wonderful organisms which is something I want to photograph and take a bit more notice of this year. As explored in BBC ‘Winterwatch’ recently they are very remarkable. I loved seeing these and zooming into a fantastic scene around at my local country park, and taking in their many delightful and varied shades of green. A moment where I really felt intrigued by something I knew little about nor had ever really appreciated before and engaged in the natural world. The lichen really do cover the area of trees so well and expansively. The reason I didn’t take any pictures of these when I noticed them last Monday was because I knew to do it there was only one lens for the job for me which being a winter’s day with is usually used by me for autumnal fungi and butterflies and other spring/summery sights I didn’t have with me a week ago my macro lens. But I walked with it in my bag today with these shots of these lichen in mind and it paid off. One of the best parts of the day for me was my macro shots the flower too I was proud of and some other photos in the front garden which I tweeted pictures of on Dans_Pictures tonight of you guessed it, some greenery. I think I am going through a phase with my macro at the moment where its not my newest lens anymore and I have seen over the last year and a bit what a fantastic lens it truly is that I live and breath it and almost don’t notice when I take pictures with it. But its being used sparingly until the butterflies and flowers emerge really when it will become my main lens at times that when I have a day I take one or two with it I become amazed all over again at the detail it can produce which I am loving.

At this point where the lichen are I got as I had done here before a smashing sight of a Siskin. For a bird I wouldn’t have thought would be around so locally in an urban area especially going back five or so years which I’ve seen a decent few times since 2018 on its New Year’s Day and 2019′s before 1st January this year and twice since, this was probably one of my closest and most recognisable views of this finch at Lakeside. 

As I walked back down the path between the two fenced off areas taking the tenth and final picture in this photoset of a nice sky at this point I was happy to hear and then see a Greenfinch. I do really like their call and they are birds that look great and its always nice to see around. The green bird hat trick that I achieved on New Year’s Day this year by seeing all three and getting them as year ticks was nearly complete again as I heard a smashing Green Woodpecker call I am going through a great patch of encountering them a lot at stronghold for them Lakeside again lately. A great Monday to ease me into the week. 

Wildlife Sightings Summary: Siskin, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, House Sparrow, Robin, Blue Tit in the garden again which was great, Starling, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Jackdaw, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Black-headed Gull, Coot, Canada Goose and Greylag Goose both of them for the first time in a while with Canada on the lake and greylags flying over whilst in the nature reserve area and I heard one of my favourite birds the Green Woodpecker.