| Blashford Lakes Showcase |
| < Previous Image | Next Image > |
 |
| TITLE: | Bittern wading across shallow weedy water
|
| INFO: | "Another try in Ivy North Hide for Bittern and after a couple of views during the morning this one, once again, sneaked across the north channel between the reeds, this time better lit with afternoon sunshine.
Having by now spent a number of hours in Ivy North Hide trying to photograph Bittern, it had become apparent that this same individual Bittern seemed to have a pretty regular routine - it fished in the reeds to the left (west) of this (north) channel and, presumably when it had caught a fish or three, made its way stealthily through the reeds and crossed the channel, in about the same place each time, then went deep into the middle of the main reedbed either to fish again or seemingly to just chill out, digest its meal, and preen. All that was seen of it then was occasional glimpses when it put its head up when alerted, or could be seen to be preening. After an hour or two it then sneaked back to the channel and crossed back to the west reedbeds to fish again. It went back and forth about four times in all, giving good views only during the channel crossing. The problem was that it was often difficult to spot it as it approached the channel and was frequently nearly half-way across before anyone saw it, as it seemed to be doing the Bittern equivalent of a sprint! Consequently, the photos I was getting of it were getting a bit 'samey' as it crossed the channel in same place and in the same pose - just slightly different light. Fascinating bird though it is, I guess I was getting a little fed up with this routine and also because it was always a little distant (this image cropped in quite a bit again for web display) but stuck it out hoping for something different. At least during the Bittern 'quiet' times, an obliging Water Rail showed well two or three times close by, also Cetti's Warbler, and a Moorhen entertained by balancing on the end of a Reedmace seed-head to eat the seeds (see other images), though, of course, these were distractions to the main quarry....." February 2011 |
| TECH: | Nikon D700, Nikkor 200-400mm f4 zoom lens at 400mm with 1.4x teleconverter, ISO 1600, f8, 1/500 sec.
Hide shelf platform with ball head. Cropped image about 30% of frame. |
| < Previous Image | Next Image > |
| Blashford Showcase Index | Showcases Index | Home (Main Site) |
www.geoffdore.com
