Neglecting to blog in the month of July means that I am still posting photographs from June…throughout the duration of this hiatus I was still getting out there with my camera, therefore I have collected quite a lot of images to sort through and arrange for the blogosphere…
However for the last couple of weeks my bicycle has been in a workshop for some serious repairs 😐 ….which in turn has given me the chance to catch up with the blog…I was able to borrow a bicycle but I don’t really feel right about cycling long distances and leaving the bike unattended in the midst of the wild…
The above image of a Meadow Pipit is from late June…this bird was still singing enthusiastically in this time amongst the long grass of the meadows which encompass the marsh. 🙂
It was the first day of June and I had decided to leave the bicycle and take a more local walk just to discover what was there…
My spontaneous wanderings led me first through meadows where the mist was highlighted by the dawn sun and oystercatchers foraged in floral meadows…
Along the side of the road I came across a Jay or two…
Then I decided to check out a footpath alongside the motorway where years ago I used to walk with my beloved fox terrier called Billy…the verge was built up to create a sound barrier…the last time I had walked there there were many young trees…all of which had now been removed and was currently filled with flowers…
Between the flowers and scrub were many birds, mainly Whitethroats…yet there was a bird singing an amazingly beautiful song that was confusing me as it looked like a Reed Warbler, but I was familiar with the Reed Warblers’ song and I knew the song I was hearing was nothing like it…
It wasn’t until a week or so later when I met a fellow photographer, who spoke over Marsh Warblers that it slowly began to dawn on me that all the years I had been overlooking this species…and as usual with bird identification, once you confirm the identity, you see and hear the Marsh Warbler everywhere…
There were whitethroats everywhere too…to be honest it was all a bit of a pleasant surprise…
Finally, the sun was rising on the opposite side of the motorway to which I was standing and made a halo in the sky to round off a perfect morning stroll. 🙂
Just like an Oxpecker feeding on the back of a Rhinoceros…except this time it’s a Magpie on the back of a cow…the scene is obviously not Sub-Saharan Africa but the pastures of Friesland basking in the autumnal sun… 😉
This is generally the closest that I can manage to get to a Marsh Harrier, as this raptor gracefully glides and levitates, surveying the margins of the lake for prey…he’s always there…always spectacular…yet always keeping his distance… 😉
Lapwings are currently gathering together in huge flocks for the winter, on the marsh and in the meadows…they can be quite a sight with their coordindated flight displays which are very similar to starling murmurations…
Unfortunately it is an old and outdated tradition here in Friesland to bring the first lapwings’ egg to the kings’ commissioner symbolizing the beginning of spring…and many disturb nests between the 1st of March and the 9th of April to compete for first place… 😐
Occasionally I can get quite close to solitary subjects such as this one wading in the shallows of the marsh, captured in the setting, late summer sun…
Stonechats are very territorial so I always know where I can expect to see them, their presence is usually made known by their distinctive call…these monogamous birds are always seen in pairs or family groups…when I see one I know there’s also another one nearby, like on this warm Indian summer day when I eventually managed to capture a few images of these most amiable chatters! ♥
Just a few minutes after capturing the image of the buzzard that I posted yesterday, I came across this young Great Crested Grebe on the canal who seemed quite happy to float there as I took photographs…the parent bird was keeping an eye on the situation from a distance though neither bird seemed overly concerned with my presence… 😉
Usually there is always a buzzard perched on a post somewhere keeping watch…but mostly if I stop cycling and get my camera out then they will fly off to another post further away…
Fortunately this one hadn’t seen me, neither had I seen him…I’d stopped to get my camera ready for white balance and ISO sensitivity…when I looked up this buzzard was sitting there ready and posing… 😉
a heartical view 