This week at Alkborough Flats
A couple of very different visits to teh Flats this week starting with a cold initially frosty and sunny morning on November 28th; My aim was to try and get some better shots of the 2cy male Marsh Harrier first seen as a dark-crowned juvenile in the previous winter and also hopefully to get some shots of the juvenile Merlin that has taken up residence but neither were playing ball. The walk down the track in the early morning winter glow produced a movement of Woodpigeons and then though a nice jenny Wren perching on the frost covered fence and providing some nice images for once. Wading through the welly top deep water towards the Trent bank it was perfectly still and a whole gang of Bearded Tits were feeding right next to the path. It was too good an opportunity to ignore so armed with the Canon R62 and the 400DO2 with 1.4x converter I stood there for about and hour taking about 1000 images! If you are still and quiet and I sometimes think standing in water birds become accustomed to you and with the warmth of the sun on a frosty morning the Beardies were feeding nicely in the reed tops though of course often partly obscured by other reed stems. Below are a selection of those I kept from the morning.
A few Stonechats were about as usual but after giving up on the harrier and Merlin I decided to walk a wet marsh for Water Pipit and Snipe; the latter were decidedly thin on the ground with only three put up but seven Water Pipits was the highest count of the winter so far. The Water Pipits were typically flighty and hence the rubbish flight shots but a flash of something coming through the tops of the sea club rush to my right made me react and get the camera on a streaking Sparrowhawk - so quick and so low but I managed to get it in focus for a few shots; a fine 1cy female and an example of what mirrorless cameras can do in the Auto-focus stakes
December 1st dawned very cold and after a harsh overnight frost most of the Flats was frozen over with a few Mute Swans an, Mallard and Gadwall keeping a few small holes open in the ice. Not risking the ice covered hill I walked down with just the RF 100-400 lens and the R62 in the hope of an Otter on the ice! What were the chances of that? well usually zero but as I scanned the ice free area all the duck got up and there on the back of the pool were two Otters a female and a cub. They played around for a while then went off. Very distant for any images but great to see them. I then wandered off down the track and took a lot of shots of Reed Buntings in the frost covered reeds and the odd Stonechat plus some landscapes in the frosty conditions with passing shower clouds. Then I started hearing an Otter calling and eventually the female ran across the frozen ditch far too fast to get anything decent and she had her head turned away from me but a rare close encounter. Nothing much else appeared until I got back to the hide when a few Bearded Tits were feeding in the reeds very close to the path but with it being colder they were feeding low down and very difficult to see but I did manage my favourite shot of a male this week in the gallery below. A few shots of frost droplets and it was time to call it a day and wander back up the icy hill.
