After my morning at Lyndon I arrived at a very warm and sunny Egleton at 2pm. I was greeted by the impressive sight of a pair of Greylags walking on water!
A huge whistling commotion proved to be a pair of courting Oystercatchers - they paraded side by side, whistling at the tops of their voices
Ruff
Greylag coming in to land
Mute Swan bathing
...aaahh, that's better!
and a very handsome young Mute
Little Grebe
A commotion in the distance revealed a Marsh Harrier, possibly a juvenile as he/she didn't seem to know where he was going or what he wanted to do. He flew around for a little while and then, having been harassed by a couple of large crows, flopped down into the reeds. (Edited after comments below for which many thanks!)
Another first for me - male Garganey
Then just as the day was coming to a close, the strangest bird I've ever seen on any nature reserve
...an Apache helicopter, one of a pair which flew right across the reserve. My son tells me they were exercising out of nearby Cottesmore.
I won't be putting that on the list, even though it was a first!
Hope you enjoyed looking
Ian
Another nice set, Ian. I'm glad that you've ID'd the Osprey, I would have thought that it was perhaps a young Marsh Harrier, it may be a trick of the light but I had thought that Osprey's were a lot ligter on the underside? Anyway, I usually get my ID's wrong, although I would have agreed on 'Apache'. :-)
Paul
My bird photos HERE
It looks like a lovely place to visit Ian & great photos. I think paul is right with the Marsh harrier & young Ospreys tend to stay in Africa & the far South until they are 2 or 3 years old.
Best wishes
Hazel in Southwest France
Thanks for the comments, Paul and Noisette. Having looked again at some of my other shots I have to agree it is you that is right and me wrong Paul! In my excitement at seeing genuine Ospreys I saw the eye mask and looked no further. Also the legs are yellow and feather-free. Learning all the time and the biggest lesson I need to learn is to stop jumping to conclusions!
Regards
following on from Part 1, its just lovely to read about your visit Ian and see the photos all of which capture the area and birds nicely. Is there a Part 3 ? I'm eager to see more lol
_____________________________________
Regards, Hazel
Thanks for your kind comments on both posts Hazy, much appreciated. I hadn't intended a Part 3 but as you've asked I'll see what I can do!
:) well you did say you took a lot of pics so bring them on :) !!!
'Ospreyitis' SG, where all raptors look like Ospreys... a very well known condition which you seem to be suffering from along with the rest of us Osprey watchers ... just ask anyone on LG!! Lol
2013 photos & vids here
eff37 on Flickr
And further to my last 'flippant' comment SG, I have really enjoyed this part of your day ... Egleton is new to me & looks to be another good site for water birds as well as the odd MH flyover! Is it a very large place or fairly easily accessible for wrinklies?? Lol
Another great series Ian, nice variety of bird life, thanks for sharing.
cheers Terry
my photo's here
Great to see and read your post again, you indeed had a good day, bet your camera was red hot.
Lot to learn