Swilly Time !

Swillington Ings - 4. 6. 21

Recently I needed to venture into Yorkshire to collect a camera lens that I had foolishly left behind on a shoot and being near Swillings Ings only about five miles from the collection point I thought I'd call in to see how things had moved on from my last visit in April.

Swillings is a cacophony of noise mainly from the masses of Black-headed Gulls that breed amongst the reed beds, together with the Greylag Geese it's deafening, but Im interested to see how the Black-necked Grebes have got on. First impression is the vegetation has grown to a hight that you can no longer get views of the water channels that the grebes cruise, in fact I only hear one call never seeing any during my visit.

Swillings is a massive place to big to cover in a single day so I'm opting to try and get some images of the some of the summer warblers that occupy the reed beds. Fleeting views of a group Bearded Tits is all I've managed, the Reed Warblers are darting around keeping low, the Sedge Warblers are keeping well out out the way, thats how it goes sometimes !

Now at my furthest point on my visit I see a Sedge Warble thats favouring a small bush, might be worth sitting for a while and see what transpires. Over the next hour or so I'm getting some good views, the only issue is I'm attracting other people with cameras...hey ho !

Note...Viewing the image as seen on the screen would appear to be "compressed"...clicking the image to view makes an enormous difference to image quality.

Sedge Warbler

Reed Bunting

Common on the reserve but you have to be a bit sneaky to get near or just plain lucky, I'm lucky ! 

Elton Garganey

After the failed attempt to see the reported Garganey at the Clot de Galvaney last week on the Costa Blanca, I returned home on Saturday to find a Garganey had turned up no more than five miles from home on a flooded field at Withens near Elton in Bury, so Sunday morning in slight drizzle I'm off to see if I can get some images. 

Arriving at Elton several others are also making their way to the location so I tag along as I don't know exactly where the duck is located. After about thirty minuets walk it seems like we are practically in Radcliffe, as we arrive the Garganey is located on a pool some distance from the canal path, too far really to photograph so its just a case of observation. The rain is now constant, quite different to yesterday thirty degrees temperature and full sun, so I call it a day.

With the improving weather forecast for the bank holiday Monday I thought I'd try again for the Garganey after yesterdays disaster, so its an early 6.30 am start full of optimism I would get some decent images. 

Arriving at Elton/Withens the Garganey is located on the near pool adjacent to the canal path no more than thirty to fourty meters distance, great...but the light is in front and reflecting off the water, with +2 stops over exposure I make the best of the situation and get a good photo ops. After some nine hundred frames in the bag, I decide to call it a day happy that at last I managed to obtain the images I had missed at the Clot de Galvaney last week

Foot note, 21/04/17...visited Elton this morning and there was no sign of the Garganey, appears to have moved on

Click image for clarity

Pennington Reflextions

It's now some seven months since my retirement from the world of the working, and I look back at some of the images I have taken at Pennington Flash over this very short period, a place that previously I hadn't visited for over 10 years. learning to use a new camera with a big 500mm lens has been quite an experience not only in terms of use but also the gym work needed to carry the kit about. 

Looking forward to the rest of the summer to see what encounters are to be had.

Click image for clarity...

"Bunting" Hide

These images of a Reed Bunting were taken from the aptly named Bunting Hide at Pennington Flash, Leigh. Basically a small clearing in a wooden area which the tree branches can cause complications with the image background, so with a big lens attached, get close, open up to its widest aperture and bingo the background disappears.

As with the previous Bullfinch post, the camera ISO is quite high due to poor light conditions..

Never Ending Fog !

Managed to get out to Pennington Flash today after a number of foggy days,