I've been making good of the short weather interlude before things turn foul (pun intended) again.
This was another brilliantly superb day, even if my binocs took a bashing in the excitement.....
The day started with a brilliant autumnal scene, yellowish trees and blue sky
and a blip on a nursery rhyme, you've heard of the cow jumps over the moon, well how about the plane flies over the moon!
Back to wildlife, the first sighting as a pair of flying lollipops, but the camera wasn't ready to capture them....
But it did capture this magpie
and blue tit
While on the way round to the New Hare Covert, another autumnal view
No report would be right without a robin,
Time to reflect a bit on the day before the serious stuff.....
Now the serious stuff.
Did I say really serious!
Cormorants, they were plentiful and very active...
A golden eye, and it was close to the hide
and enjoying some diving.....
Do you have a water flea?
and back down again....
More cormorants, this time in flight.
its not often you get the same bird going out and coming back in, but I did follow this one as it did a circuit, and I think I know someone who will appreciate the special show.
A pair of black headed gulls, heaven knows what they were squawking on about, whilst dipping their necks just below the water surface....
I did wonder if it was a territorial thing at first, but nothing moved away from them and they didn't seem to be chasing anything either. I'm open to any ideas
The tufties were out and about, and this looked like it could be one family.
and another pair of male tufties
Flapwings taking flight!
More tufties
and taking a dive....
A coot with some weed, most likely parrots feather weed
Whilst I was busy photographing the tufties, cormorants, coots etc, someone in the hide said in an excited but quietish voice: "KINGFISHER" and invited me over to see and take a photo or two. Whilst trying to get up off the bench, not easy to do when your knee doesn't bend fully, I dragged my binocs to the ground, relinquishing them of one eye cup!
Unfortunately, being dark in the hide, I couldn't see it, but was happy to snap the kingie, even though it wasn't a brilliant piccie...
The teal were out in force, a pair of bums up males....
and one gracefully swimming past to make a nice photo
I don't normally photo mallard ducks, but the sun just took the iridescent plumage to the next level,
The shovelers were hard at work scooping under the water surface...
The male gadwalls were posing as they swam by...
And for what I thought at the time was the prize for the day, an otter, turned out to be mink!
Well, if I hadn't bashed my bins, I would have known sooner rather than when I got home...
But still worth a piccie...
I am considering rejoining the wild life trust, and fear not RSPB, my funds to you are safe. Having enjoyed my two visits there (for those who missed it, the previous visit Brandon Marsh Thurs 28th Oct https://community.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/f/all-creatures/278382/brandon-marsh-thurs-28th-oct), and a third visit will be on the cards, weather permitting.
In other good news, someone had found and handed in the eye cup, which has now been clipped back in to place, until the next time, but not before I had purchased another pair of bins, a pair of Opticron, because I will need another pair of bins before the Nikons would be returned after repair.
I was going to send the bins to Nikon for repair, because all that was required, a replacement eye cup, which is an fairly easy fit (I've knocked one off before and they don't come off too easily either), and the Travelites are still a current pair of binocs. Yes, the Travelites do have a hard life with me (even harder in my mountaineering days, especially while scrambling up rocky crags), but they keep bouncing back every time.
As always, a good day, or should I say, a damned good day....
A lesson to learn for next time, take a small torch (now packed in my tripod carrier with new battery) so if that happens again in a dark hide, I have light to search with....
TJS said:
Hi Mike,
A lovely sunny day in Warwickshire and a set of photos to match.
I've never seen a Mink in the wild but we think a Mink emptied our pond of fish twice, it's now a wildlife pond and we've given up on fish.
Thanks for posting.
Trevor
Thank you Trevor.
Yes mink will help themselves to fish, as would an otter, though I think the latter would receive more of a pat on the back just for entering the garden.....
We have a pond with a couple of fish in and for the last dozen or so years (no sighting this year, the first, so poss moved on, either with angel wings or new habitat) have had regular visits from a grey heron, a truly magnificent bird close up in my opinion. I digress, with the visits there is a net and wire meshing over the pond, not something I enjoy doing, but it keeps the heron (and local felines) out, but also, makes it difficult for frogs and invertebrates like damselflies to get in and do their stuff.
There are gaps in the rocks around the pond, which frogs can and have used, but their preference is to jump in rather than sneak around to one of the numerous gaps provided.