Back Out & About

River Calder - 16/04/23

Apart from a week down on the Costa it's been well over four months since I was last out with the camera, motivation and the lack of opportunity all playing a part, the good news is normality is back with a trip up to the Scottish Boarders followed by a week at El Taray in Central Spain to look forward to. In the mean time I'm off over to Ossett to try and get some images of the two Black-crowned Night Herons that have spent the last two weeks on holiday on the River Calder.

Ossett is a few miles from my former working location so not entirely a new to me, so checking BirdGuides to see if herons were still present, which they were....its post code into the sat nav and I on my way.

This is an easy short walk to the location with about ten birders on site looking at what looks like a white blob in a tree, like all Night Herons I've seen in Spain it's usually head down and sleeping not moving for the next hour, time to look for something else !

Sand Martins are zooming around which breed along the river bank, several Kingfishers flash up and down the river, warblers are singing, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler and Blackcap all belting it out, but it's a family of Goosander that's caught my attention so I spend the next hour trying to get some images.

Returning back to the BCNH location it's now awake slowly climbing down the tree, now you would think as a bird it would be easier to fly but these small herons do the opposite. It's "mucky" shot with all sorts of the branches poking in different directions apart from one location where there's a nice green background, its just a case of waiting...boom got it, the rest well lets just say will be heading for the bin !

Black-crowned Night Heron

Goosander - female