I am pleased to report that I am now mobile and back in action following recent surgery. I was looking forward to return to some of my favourite locations to catch up on the comings and goings. For my first visit I chose to go to Mere Sands Nature Reserve to hopefully see the kingfishers which I understand have had a good breeding season.
As expected the water levels were low after the long hot summer and the vegetation was very high and was almost obscuring the kingfisher posts at the Rufford Hide. Apart from a little egret and some young herons it was quiet. However the little egret was very actively hunting and gave some nice opportunities for action shots.
Around mid afternoon the kingfisher turned up and stayed in the vicinity for around an hour and despite the rank vegetation gave some nice opportunities for the camera. My better efforts are shown below but no doubt I will return to Mere Sands for more encounters.
I also managed a trip out to the waders at Ainsdale. The tide wasn’t very high and I had to walk out to the birds. They were mostly sanderling scurrying along the tide line frantically feeding as only sanderlings do. It was very pleasant to be back at one of my favourite locations in the afternoon sun. A peregrine put in an appearance but was just passing through. A couple of little egrets were nice amongst the roosting oystercatchers and there was a small passage of sandwich terns. All in all it had been an excellent return to my wildlife photography and I hope that I now go from strength to strength. Thanks for looking in and I am sure I will have more to report soon.
Brian Rafferty
I am based in Preston. Lancashire. This central location enables me to travel easily to a wide variety of habitats in the North of England. I tend these days not to travel very far as I find that there is plenty to see not very far from home. On my own doorstep are a wonderful variety of habitats - natural woodlands, open fells and hill country, unspoilt river valleys and I have easy access to the delights of the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales National Parks. As you will see from my bird images much time is spent at the wonderful coastal sites forming part of Morecambe Bay and the Ribble Estuary e.g. Marshside and Leighton Moss. In recent years Digital Photography has taken over from Video and as time has moved on I have acquired more and more equipment - as you do!!
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