First the bad news, currently the weather is very unsettled with plenty of rain and very cold for June. This recent bad weather brought disaster to the local nesting great crested grebes.
They had constructed their nest and were incubating three eggs as previously reported. A subsequent visit found no sign of nest or eggs. They will have been submerged and lost during the recent very disturbed weather.
The nest site was in a vulnerable position open to the strong winds on this upland reservoir. The birds are still around and they may just attempt to breed again if and when Summer returns. Otherwise it will seem a long wait till next Spring when hopefully they will breed again.
Now for some good news. The Southern Lake District is now home to six pairs of ospreys and there could be more as each year more young birds are returning to this part of the Lake District. Early last Sunday I headed for one of these locations to see what was happening.
It was a bright but cold start to the day and promised some much needed sunshine. I began well just before 6am watching a nice group of roe deer feeding in a meadow close to the road. I took many images of them from the comfort of the car and they were not disturbed by my presence.
There were two bucks and four females present giving me nice opportunities for the camera. One of the bucks is just getting his antlers as can be seen in image no 5. After this excellent start to the day I made my way up the valley to observe the ospreys.
Most of the ospreys are now feeding very young chicks and I discovered the pair I was watching are also feeding one or more chicks. It was nice to watch the nest site from a distance so as not to cause any disturbance. I was probably four hundred yards away and concealed in camouflage on the edge of woodland.
After a couple of hours it was cold out of the sun and I left for home to arrive early afternoon. I will return in a few weeks when the young ospreys will be visible on the nest and the parents will be busy looking after them. Hope you enjoy my efforts and thanks for looking in.
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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