Lunt Meadows

Sunday was the only half-decent day in the weather, so I decided a trip to the Wildlife Trust reserve of Lunt Meadows was in order. I know it is good for Whitethroats and so far this year I haven't really got a decent photo so that was my modest target for the day. Early on, there were loads of bees insects, so I spent a lot time getting those, but I'll put them in the insect thread later. 

We had had two days of heavy rain, which may account for this lovely sighting late in the morning.

Eventually, I found a Whitethroat hunting in quite a small area by the river. I thought it would show sooner or later if I waited and then, I realised there were two of them and they must have had a nest nearby. Most of my views were a little frustrating being just glimpses or half-blocked by vegetation. 

Lovely to watch ...

… but I wanted a photo with an unobstructed view. Patience tends to pay off though and when they had gotten used to me they started to show much better

I thought I was doing reasonably well, even if the bird was surrounded by a riot of chaotic vegetable matter

However, the birds then decided to reward me properly and came right out into the open and only a few feet away.

They even posed for long enough tor me to fill my boots with different poses

I'm happy to count that as mission accomplished!

The Avocets had a fair number of chicks (see young of 2019)

And there were loads of Swifts, sometimes coming in low and slow. Still difficult but under those circumstances, it would be a shame not to have a go ...

There were a lot left on the cutting room floor and there's still room for improvement but not too bad - just a shame about the one where the fly was in focus!

At least I managed to take advantage of the one good day amongst the many grey and wet ones!

  • Wonderful shots Nigel, you did so well getting in close like that. Great to see the Barn Owl too and the Swifts but those close ups of the Whitethroat will take some beating.
  • This thread slipped so quickly down the list I almost missed it ! A lovely set of photos Nige and love the Whitethroat close ups especially, they do have beautiful eyes when you see them like this in detail. Well done spotting Barny and the Swift with it's scimitar wing shape. What a pity the weather turned so foul this week, I've not been to a reserve for ages now although looking forward to our forumate meet up next week at LM :) hope you can make it for one day at least.
  • Thanks Gaynor and Hazy
    I was really pleased to get the shots I was after, in fact a bit better than I was expecting and it's always a pleasure when wild birds come that close :)
  • Stunning set of photos Nigel -how lucky to spot the Barn owl such lovely light on it. The whitethroat photos are gorgeous with lovely detail especially like the ones with the insects in the beak!
    Jayne