Passionate about wildlife
The River Allen is just 13 miles long. It is a tributary that flows in to the River Stour in Wimborne Minster. I first got to know the river and the valley in which it flows in the 1970s when I lived in a small village, Witchampton, just north of Wimborne. The last few weeks I have enjoyed reacquainting myself with parts of the river and surrounding countryside. These are some of the images.
The easing of the lockdown in the UK gave an opportunity to revisit nature reserves for the first time in a few months. The last time I visited Stanpit Marsh was to see the Glossy Ibis last November. It had been raining heavily and was very wet underfoot. The Ibis is still on the reserve. I saw it in the distance silhouetted against the sky and dropping down into an inaccessible part of the Marsh.
It felt good to be reacquainting myself with this site. A real breath of fresh air. I’ve also upgraded my crop sensor DSLR camera to a full frame camera. I could not justify the expense of a mirrorless camera, but I chose a second hand Nikon D750 because of its low light capability. I know its not cutting edge, but the technology is proven, the cost of these DSLR cameras has fallen and the image quality for stills is exceptional. This visit gave me my first real chance to give the camera a workout.
This Jackdaw seemed almost tame. It landed very close and was unconcerned with my presence.
Late last summer my neighbour painted his shed. Now with the onset of spring I can really appreciate his work. The bokeh effect in this photograph of a newly emerged comma butterfly takes full advantage of the green background. It sets off the orange of the butterfly’s wings beautifully.
The butterfly flitted around the garden on a sunny spring afternoon and eventually landed on the cherry tree, itself just beginning to bud. The hottest March day in the UK since 1968 according to the BBC weatherman.
For those interested in the technicalities the camera I used was a Nikon D5200 with a crop sensor and the lens was a Tamron 100-400mm. The settings were ISO 200, f/8, 1/320 sec.
The blackcap is a winter visitor from possibly Germany or north-east Europe. This chap arrived just before Christmas and hung around for a few days. We were having lunch in the dining room when he appeared in the bush at the end of the garden bathed in sunlight. I could not resist grabbing the camera for a few shots before he flew off.
There is a significant population of cormorants at Longham Lakes. When in water they float with more of their body submerged than other waterfowl. Just their heads and backs are visible. They don’t stay above water for long before they dive on their next fishing expedition. When not feeding they take to the air to find a spot to dry out. This could be a tree or a floating platform. Often they can be seen perched on the electricity lines and pylons running alongside the lake.
The cormorant pictured above was slightly unusual. Whilst not far from the lakes, it found a resting spot in an adjacent field normally occupied by horses and was just resting. I was pleased to capture this shot with the low winter sun reflected in the bird’s green eye.
The woodland area near home is accessed by passing through an open area of grassland known as By-the-way field. There is a metal gate to enter the woodland. At this point the gravel footpath crosses a bridge over what might generously be called a stream, but probably more accurately, a ditch. This is a great spot to linger a little, to look and listen. The bright sunshine so evident just a few steps back is now shaded by the canopy and branches of tall trees. It takes a second or two for the eyes to adjust.
One of the first birds to be seen and heard here will be the Great tit, Parus Major to give it its latin name. It has a bright yellow breast with a black line running down the centre. The black continues up to its head. There is a black cap and collar, with white cheeks. The back is olive green and the wings are grey / blue with a thin white line.
Stephen's Wildlife 