Down at the Dump. 24th April 2011.
I managed to spend a few hours down at the dump, Sarah has a trapped nerve which is restricting her from the simplest of tasks so she has had to endure me moping around doing chores. So on this occasion I visited a couple of hours in the morning and then a couple in the late afternoon. Myself and Nigel Blake had been filling up a water hole to attract stuff in. There were plenty of Hares around, mostly single males tracking their way around the crop fields nose to the ground presumably following the scent of a female, if they weren't tracking then they were sat there static sunning themselves.
The stunning Yellow Wagtails were as stunning as ever. A pair in residence at one heap were active enough and posing every now and again. The male ventured to the pool on a couple of occasions but the female kept her distance. I had probably 2+ different males try to come to the water pool but the resident male was having none of it,especially with the female close by.
Its always nice and challenging to try and capture some bathing shots, and with good light enabling a higher shutter speed,the chance of a few half decent images are obtainable. The resident male Pied Wagtail was always close by, also defending its territory, sometimes having a go at the Yellow'. I noticed that the male Yellow' would also get into a scrap with the local Linnets too, never letting them settle too close for too long. The Linnets though are always jittery, they tentatively approach the pool but if not comfortable they flee immediately, and If they do stay then as soon as the shutter clicks they are gone....a real challenge.
I had noticed that there were a few pairs of Grey Partridge around. They seemed to outnumber the Red legged', at least in this vicinity. Always lovely to see and a joy when able to photograph which is not always easy. Skulking amongst the crops their presence was given away by them peering above to check out the call of another Grey' nearby. Luckily for me one pair stayed loyal to an area close by and after careful maneuvering I obtained great views and some much appreciated images. I captured them dust bathing and calling without any concern for me being there....lovely. I had hoped for some images of the female Yellow Wagtail but hoped I would be able to return the next day for a couple of hours and get some success.
I managed to spend a few hours down at the dump, Sarah has a trapped nerve which is restricting her from the simplest of tasks so she has had to endure me moping around doing chores. So on this occasion I visited a couple of hours in the morning and then a couple in the late afternoon. Myself and Nigel Blake had been filling up a water hole to attract stuff in. There were plenty of Hares around, mostly single males tracking their way around the crop fields nose to the ground presumably following the scent of a female, if they weren't tracking then they were sat there static sunning themselves.
The stunning Yellow Wagtails were as stunning as ever. A pair in residence at one heap were active enough and posing every now and again. The male ventured to the pool on a couple of occasions but the female kept her distance. I had probably 2+ different males try to come to the water pool but the resident male was having none of it,especially with the female close by.
Its always nice and challenging to try and capture some bathing shots, and with good light enabling a higher shutter speed,the chance of a few half decent images are obtainable. The resident male Pied Wagtail was always close by, also defending its territory, sometimes having a go at the Yellow'. I noticed that the male Yellow' would also get into a scrap with the local Linnets too, never letting them settle too close for too long. The Linnets though are always jittery, they tentatively approach the pool but if not comfortable they flee immediately, and If they do stay then as soon as the shutter clicks they are gone....a real challenge.
I had noticed that there were a few pairs of Grey Partridge around. They seemed to outnumber the Red legged', at least in this vicinity. Always lovely to see and a joy when able to photograph which is not always easy. Skulking amongst the crops their presence was given away by them peering above to check out the call of another Grey' nearby. Luckily for me one pair stayed loyal to an area close by and after careful maneuvering I obtained great views and some much appreciated images. I captured them dust bathing and calling without any concern for me being there....lovely. I had hoped for some images of the female Yellow Wagtail but hoped I would be able to return the next day for a couple of hours and get some success.
