Spoonbill Pair

Another dull day at Lodmoor Reserve Weymouth.

Overcast and very cold with awful light for photography.

I spent quite a while there walking around the Reserve and didn't see much different than the norm. Mostly ducks of various species including Teal, Gadwall, Shoveler and of course Mallard. Plenty of Lapwing and the major flock of Golden Plover were still hanging around. I walked down the Western side path and onto the reedbed area. I then turned around and retraced my steps along the same path. It was then I noticed a Spoonbill in the distance searching for food in its usual slewing of its big beak from side to side in the water. Then beyond that there was another. They remained at quite a distance from me, but I was able to get some shots with a 600 lens plus 1.4 converter. Both birds were certainly feeding well, as from what I could make out had found plenty of fish and some other aquatics that I could not be sure of from that distance. However, it was great to see them and be able to at least take some recognisable images. I pray for decent light one day.😎

 

Active Local Birdlife

At last the nature on my local walk is slowly coming into life with small birds becoming more active again. Blue Tits, as with other species, were observed chasing each other around the branches for obvious reasons.

Some were frantically eating all the fresh small buds emerging from tree branches.

Lesser Celandines providing some colour, are one of the first wild flowers to open up.

This Blue Tit below thought he was a Treecreeper.

A rare sight now, it was pleasing to see this Song Thrush moving around the undergrowth.

The unmistakable song of the Great Tit was heard in several areas.

Blackbirds also were adding to the local bird song.

I think this Long-tailed Tit was surveying a large Bramble Bush as a possible nesting site.

I have observed this pair of Collared Doves in a small Nature reserve on several occasions now. 

Maybe they are on the look out for a site or have already chosen one

Glossy Ibis - Lodmoor Reserve

After several days of rain, the sun was shining with a fairly clear sky. It was still very cold and the wind was blowing quite well.

So where to go. Radipole would be flooded. Ferry Bridge, the tide would have gone out and Portland would be a lot of walking for little to see.

The decision was made that Lodmoor was the only place to go.

This was a good decision as the Glossy Ibis, known to be in the Southern areas of Dorset at the moment, was in attendance. The catch though was it had decided to lay up well out on the Reserve.

However it was worth the photograph just to record it.

The image below is the original type of shot that was obtained using a 600mm lens with a 1.4 converter attached = 840mm. This provides an idea how far the bird was away out on the Reserve.

While I was moving my position to get a better angle, the bird was disturbed as was the surrounding flock of Lapwings. 

Chiffchaffs are now finding more food due to the increase in fly activity brought on by the sunshine.

Chiffchaff

Because of all the recent rain increasing the water levels, there was little ground available for the flock of Golden Plover or the Lapwings to pitch.

The pair of Avocet were still around, but decided to take a break from searching for food. Maybe they are resting up before a flight to somewhere else. I doubt they will be here much longer.

Another wader resting up and hiding away was the Snipe. There are two that I can see in this image and they are sheltering from the wind in long grass.

Canada Geese come and go all the time and also regularly move from one part of the Reserve to another.