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:

  1. Stunning,absolutely stunning.
    Mandarins look amazing.
    Love your Robin.
    John.

    ReplyDelete
  2. 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

    ReplyDelete
  3. 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

    ReplyDelete