Martin Mere Part 2 (the collections)

After lunch, showers were starting to develop, light at first, but becoming gradually heavier.  Fortunately they were genuine showers with totally dry gaps in which to work.  Off I went round the collections.

Eider

Flamingo

Moorhen

Goldeneye ♀

Goldeneye ♂

Tufted Duck

Common Crane

American Wood Duck (Carolina Duck)

Smew ♀

Ross's Goose

Buffelhead

Bahama Pintail

Trumpeter Swan

White-headed Duck

Before I left the collections, these Pink-footed Geese flew over.

It was now 2.50pm and I decided to return to the 'wild side'.  More birds tend to come in from the surrounding countryside around 3 o'clock in anticipation of being fed.  The showers were very heavy and were of hail or sleet.  The 'dry' intervals were never more than 10 minutes in duration.  The wind was driving.  It was becoming quite dark.  I 'dug in' in the Swanlink Hide.  (An acquaintance commented recently that, in that hide with the windows open on a day like it was, "the wind will take the skin off your face."  He believes that the only cure is the hot soup served by the restaurant on the reserve.)

Mallard

Pink-footed Geese

(The 'official' count for this day was c10,000)

Shelduck

These were flying quite close to the hide and, although the very strong headwind helped, their speed relative to me was still quite high.  I was using a slightly smaller lens to have extra agility as I panned.

Whooper Swan with Shelduck  –  the weather's worsening

Whooper Swan juveniles

Look at that sky!  It's 3 o'clock!

A family group

Braveheart?

(The 'official' count of Whoopers for this day was 1000+)

This last image was taken at 3.18pm and I think you can see why I decided enough was enough.

As I drove away, I couldn't hear the satnav because of the hailstones on the car roof.  Fortunately, I didn't have to rely on it completely.

Martin Mere Part 1 (on the wild side)

Early November saw a brief visit to Lancashire (and an even briefer one to Yorkshire) to catch up with a few people.  I made sure that I allocated a day for the WWT reserve at Martin Mere.  I didn't really care what the weather was on the day.  I knew I could make something of it.

In the event, the day presented everything except real snow.  I was on the doorstep when they opened.  The morning was dry and sunny with a cooling breeze that stiffened as the day progressed.  After lunch it went darker and darker.  Then came the hail and the sleet.  Not as bad as it reads!  The precipitation came in short, sharp showers and there were periods of 'dry' in between.  (As much as 10 minutes sometimes!)  The wind was very strong.

I shall post the images from my visit in 2 Parts.  All the images in Part 1 were taken before lunch on the day of the visit.  All the birds shown are native (or migrant), wild birds.

(Northern) Pintail

Whooper Swan

Getting in with some Greylag Geese

A juvenile  –  first visit to England

"I hope you're not laughing at me"

An adult flying in

Signs of a stiffening wind

Making waves

A family returning from the fields

Greylag Goose

... and friends (Lapwing)

Lapwing

Teal

The last image I took before lunch was of a Peregrine Falcon

I've long been trying to get ever closer to wild Peregrine.  Below is my latest result.  There were four Peregrine working the fields and water's edge on the far side of the mere from the Swanlink Hide.  It was a family group  –  2 adults and 2 juveniles.  Mostly there would be one up and the other three would be perched on fence posts.  They were too far away for a decent photograph with the kit I had.  (600mm focal-length + a 1.4x-crop camera-body)  However, a couple of us had noticed that they were making flights away from the mere to the south along the boundary of the reserve.

There is another hide in that direction  –  the United Utilities Hide  –  and, unbeknown to each other, we decided to try it.  Two of the Peregrine were taking turns to harass Teal and then returning to the fence near that hide.  The camera position was about 100m from the perch.  Conditions were not easy.  The wind was extremely strong and I had to brace the lens on the monopod against the framework of the hide to hold it still.  The wind kept catching it.  Given the proximity of the bird, continuous shutter operation was not really an option.  You can see that the bird knows I'm there.  I managed to get just three frames before it left the area and this is the best one.

Peregrine Falcon

"Time for lunch."

In the next Part, I shall be visiting the collections before making a final return to the 'wild side'.