Shovellors on Titchwell Fresh Marsh
Bittern over Bett's Pool, TitchwellYesterday was a beautiful crisp, cold, blue sky day over Titchwell and I managed to grab 90 minutes birding on the reserve. Highlightes were good views of 3 or 4 of the 5 Bitterns that were frequenting Betts' Pool to the west of the West Bank Path. Three red head Smew were also good too see as was a Chinese Water Deer feeding on the saltmarsh. Two Marsh Harriers were also nice. But the main thing was just the stunning winter light which I hope I have captured a little of the essenc of in the Shovellor snap above.
Fieldfare, Snettisham, Norfolk 09/02/12
Blackbird, Snettisham, Norfolk, 09/02/12It was forecast to snow last Saturday night and it did carpeting the countryside in a white blanket, muffling sounds and reflecting light even on the greyest of succeeding days. Tonight for the first time since that big dump we have more snow. Most of my spare time last weekend was taken up with making a snowman and enjoying the snow with our two year old, but I did find a little time to photograph Blackbirds drawn to windfall apples by father in law had scattered over the lawn of his Titchwell garden. You can see some of these on my Flickr page [see the link opposite].Since Sunday work has taken up all my time until today when I had a little time at lunchtime and stumbled across this Fieldfare and some Blackbirds feeding near the office and much more tolerant than usual of someone approaching them with a camera. In particular it is in my experience very unusual for a Fieldfare to allow such a close approach [I had a rather 'slow' 100 - 300 zoom lens on the camera].These days my birding and photography has to fit around a busy home [2 boys under 3] and work schedule and this has made me focus back in on the common place and revel in the exotic beauty of birds like this Fieldfare or the absolutely stonking trio of Mistle Thrushes that graced my father in laws lawn on Sunday afternoon.
