Wildlife Photography across the Water: Trip Report

Friday, 26 February 2010

Trip Report - Forest of Dean Part 2

After I had taken the Crossbill pictures, and before we went on for another llok for the Hawfinches, we popped down to some ponds that I knew of where there had been Goosanders reported. Sadly there were none of these lovely birds, but we were blessed witha number of other species. many of the common water birds were there, along with four beautliful male Mandarins, and a couple of females as well. The males certainly do bring a bright splash of colour on a winters day.

Could have done with a bit of a head turn, but he only had eyes for the female he was following, as did the other males with him.

And just to show the trip was not all wonderful rare or unusual birds, here is one of my favourite little birds, signing at the top of his voice to me, in a dark part of the woods

Martin

3 comments:

JRandSue26 February 2010 at 09:35
Stunning,absolutely stunning.
Mandarins look amazing.
Love your Robin.
John.
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Julian26 February 2010 at 23:07
Good to hear that the Mandarins are back. I saw them two years back but heard that they weren't around so much last year. The colours of the male are beautifully complemented by the rich brown appearance of the water. Although you had the 500, did you find that they liked to keep a "safe" minimum distance at all times, constantly aware of your prescence?

A beautifully timed Robin image, which to me encapsulates much of their bold and pushy character.

Lovely place.

KR
Julian
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WPATW27 February 2010 at 07:43
Hi Julian,

Yes they did like to 'stand off'. Although they were far more interested in the females.

The Robin on the other hand kept coming too close to me for the min. focus distance of the lens (4.5m), and for framing. The image is just about full frame.

Martin
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Bio's

David Courtenay, a self taught wildlife and nature photographer, has been capturing images for over 30 years. He has had a passion for wildlife since early childhood and remembers being glued to the television whenever Survival, Wildlife on One and other natural history documentaries were shown. In the 2006 he swapped his established career for the life of a wildlife photographer, such a move demands a measure of uncompromising passion and commitment.

David has travelled extensively throughout Europe as well as spending more than 7 months in India working with local guides and trackers in search of Bengal Tiger, Asian One horned Rhino and Asian Elephant. He has also photographed Wildlife in Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sumatra, Africa, Canada and America. Working closely with Conservation companies he tries to raise funds to help Wildlife that has been put on the endangered list by poaching and habitation loss

Martin Dyer has had a passion for avian wildlife since childhood, particularly raptors. Photography was also another keen interest and it was with the specific availability and control of the whole process that digital offers that Martin was then able to combine the two in 2003. Based in the UK, Martin is a regular visitor to Scotland, specifically the Isle of Mull to watch the Eagles resident there. Other trips to Europe and around the UK are usually part of Martin’s agenda in a typical year.

However, as a firm believer on making the most of the local patch, Martin has spent a lot of time and hard work creating a wildlife garden which is reaping the rewards with many new species and varieties of wildlife. A keen member of a number of wildlife photographic groups, Martin is keen to expand his portfolio into other areas of wildlife, and has already established a wide portfolio of images of fungi.