Bits and Pieces?

To say the theme for this week’s walk is bits and pieces is probably under-selling it.

It was a highly enjoyable stroll with numerous highlights, one of which I’ve already shared in my last blog about seeing and shooting a grebe catching and eating a fish

There were however a number of other high points.

In the 11th month of the year, I got to see a bird I hadn’t seen at any time during the year. A friendly and much more expert bird lover I met had told me where he had seen a goosander, and that he thought it might still be there.

While it wasn’t there when I arrived I gave it some time, as all good bird watchers do, and it duly appeared after a few grebe filled minutes. I took a couple of snaps – not as good as I would have liked but clear enough for me to be able to identify that it was a female goosander with a brown head and grey back rather than the green head and black back of the male.

Having talked previously about how some leaves are turning a dirty brown and dying, and how some of the trees are already bare, this week’s walk showed off some beautiful autumnal colours.

‘BIF’ is a relatively new acronym to me, but apparently it stands for ‘Birds in Flight’ which is something that really interests me and which I spend a lot of time working at. Most of my shots still aren’t sharp enough, especially as you have to set the ISO high to ensure you get a faster shutter speed. Add to that the weight of a bigger lens (my 200-400mm) and holding it truly steady becomes even more difficult.

This week the birds in question, or rather the birds in flight were cormorants and herons. The shots of the latter show the difficulties I mention but as one flew directly over me it was interesting to see exactly what it does with its legs when flying. They do look like giant drumsticks. But then perhaps I was just hungry.

I like this shot of a cormorant in flight because it looks a bit like one of those professional ones with a blurred background but at least part of the bird in focus. In my case it was the result of luck, not judgement.

It was also good to see some shovelers which seem to be returning to the lake though numbers are still low – and they are often annoyingly far away.

Closer to the banks of the lakes were the ever-present Tufted ducks, and there were numerous pairs of these on both Stockers and Springwater Lake.

I was also glad that a number of other birds clearly decided it was a day to pose giving some time and proximity so I could take their portraits.

So not really a day of bits and pieces, more a day of numerous high spots. A bit like a walk in Brecon Beacons.