Just before Christmas on my way to stay with my cousin I diverted to Slimbridge for a few hours. My main motivation was to see the feeding of the Bewick's Swans and the various ducks and geese which takes place at about 4 pm.
Before that, however, I had a wander around the various hides which overlook the Severn estuary. Although it was the wild birds I'd come to see rather than the captive collection I couldn't resist a quick snap of the stunning Flamingos
.Lots of Shelduck about
Wigeon were grazing on the lush meadows.
Male Teal
Plenty of elegant Pintails in the creeks.
.
and having a preen.
Greylags galore.
From the Holden tower a Common Crane was in range of my camera. It was feeding at the edge of a shallow pool wearing its bling.
I also shot a bit of video although it wasn't doing anything particularly interesting.
One of the volunteers told me that this year a pair had successfully raised a chick to adulthood for the first time. Last year the chick was predated by a fox. He also said that some of the Cranes which had been translocated to Somerset had returned to Slimbridge this winter. It will be interesting to find out whether they go back to Somerset to breed or whether they will remain at Slimbridge.
The feeding of the swans, geese and ducks takes place on Rushy Lake from about 4 pm. Although these birds are completely wild they have become accustomed to to the sight of the warden who feeds them. He whistles before he emerges with a wheelbarrow full of wheat grains so that they are not startled. Of course the birds start to assemble ahead of time because they know the ritual. We can observe all this from the Peng Observatory and the warden gives us a running commentary. Only about 90 Bewick's Swans had arrived this year (at the time of my visit) because of weather conditions. It is believed that many more are awaiting on the other side of the North Sea for more favourable easterly winds to make the crossing.
By 4 pm the light is fading and so what photos I did get are not great as well as the problem of shooting through glass. Anyway here are a few.
Incoming Bewick's
Splashdown
Another one on final approach
There's a lot of meeting and greeting and renewing of bonds after a day feeding out on the fields.
A couple of Cranes flew across when it was almost too dark to see.
I wish I could have spent a bit longer there - maybe next time.
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Tony
My Flickr Photostream
Great Bewick landing shots. The last one reminds me of films of old prop planes landing on aircraft carriers.
"Let loose the Kraken!"
what a superb set Tony, really felt like I'd ventured around Slimbridge with you looking at the beautiful photos. The incoming Bewick swans are amazing albeit looking a little ungainly as they landed, they always make me laugh as they stick out their webbed feet lol the video clip of the Crane was lovely too and hope their numbers start to increase here; pity the chick was predated after such a good start, hope they have better luck next year and the fox chooses another food source. Think my favourite ducks are the Pintails and these photos really do them justice so thanks for such an interesting thread and pics :)
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Regards, Hazel
Lovely set of photos Tony, also had a chuckle with the final landing!!
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Fabulous colour on the flamingoes TJ, and the incoming Bewicks would look great framed. Interesting to read about the cranes, hopefully the pair will raise another young 'un next year. The teal and the pintails were particularly smart.
Lot to learn
Looks like you had a great time Tony. I've never seen a Crane so your video helps with a size comparison with the Mallards in the background. Great series of shots.
My bird photos HERE
Just been reading up on Slimbridge location et al & came across Trumpeter Swan which is new to me ... did you see any TJ?
2013 photos & vids here
eff37 on Flickr
Thanks folks - I wish I lived a bit nearer because there's lots of good birds to see especially in the winter.
@Wendy, no I didn't see any Trumpeter Swans. I think they are a North American species so perhaps they were in the captive area which I didn't explore.
Thanks for directing me to this, lovely post and some great pics x