Today I made an effort to get to the Island Mere Hide by 8 am. Not easy with my knackered body. It was cold, bloody cold. But Ottery McOtterface came and did us proud. Wonderful to see again. Four visits and otters on three days. I must be lucky.
There is only only thing better than a bittern and that is two bitterns. They flew in close one after the other. Missed the first one as my jaw was on the floor, but got a poor shot of the second.
In my first report I praised the comfy stools in the hide. And they are. But after 5 hours and another otter visit my bum was numb. I retreated to the cafe for beef casserole
Now, Green woodpeckers may be common to some people but not to me. I have seen a brief green flash but in the end today patience paid off .
Am I lucky. I saw all I had hoped for. But Minsmere certainly delivers if you wait and are happy to get a numb bum.
Stonham Barns? I love it there, and they do help so many of our lovely raptors.
How did you come to lose confidence in your photography? You've posted some beautiful photos this week.
Our herring gulls are red listed birds. Think about that the next time you hear some flaming idiot calling for a cull of them.
Yes Stonham Barns. Confidence. I have aspirations beyond my skills so am often disappointed.
The secret is to not tell anyone how many rubbish shots you take, only talk about the good ones :-)
Mrs WJ and I won't get the chance to bump into you today unfortunately, we're on Havergate Island instead of Minsmere. You'll have to find a B&B for the night and stay an extra day, we should be there on Sunday :-)
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Find me on Flickr / All about your camera - The Getting off Auto Index
Well worth a numb bum I think! The beef casserole would have been just what you needed.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.