Heron – Stephen's Wildlife

Somethings are just black or white

Whilst the background colours may blend into a bokeh effect, some of the best images are simply black or white. Some birds baffle me with their bold, uncompromising use of black or white. Don’t they care if they stand out? Don’t they care if the white is quite impractical. I mean, what parent would send their child out for a day in the country dressed in white?

Sometimes the detail is lost, because all that is needed is an outline to convey identity. The silhouette below can be nothing but a heron.

I could not let the theme of black and white pass without mentioning my occasional walking partner, Pippin. A year ago we lost our 13 year old liver and white Springer, Merry. We mourned. Recently we acquired a new black and white Springer puppy. So much energy and joy!

Colours of change – autumn to winter

These images observe and record the colour of the Dorset countryside as the season transitions from autumn to winter. The sun shining low in the sky cast long shadows and either back-lit subjects photographed against it or created strong light when facing away from it. The overriding colour recorded here is brown, with one or two colourful exceptions, such as the blue tit with its blue, yellow and green plumage.

The animals and birds seemed curious. Not all dashed for safety at the first sign of a human, but a few were content to stop, stare and assess the danger. The deer particularly held my gaze for quite some time before being spooked. The female stonechat was bold perched on a teasel very close to me and was in no hurry to move on. Others were more skittish – the heron took to the skies at the first sign of human presence.

Grey heron

Within a mile of home we have a river, the river Stour. It’s about 62 miles in length and by the time it reaches us there are only 10 miles to go until it empties out into the English Channel at Christchurch . There is a variety of wildlife to be found both within the river and in the fields and footpaths alongside.

On 18th August 2020 my son and I headed down to the river. The day was made memorable for two reasons. This Heron was the first. We found him paddling in a shallow section of the river just near the weir next to Canford School. He obviously felt safe (or hungry) because he was not spooked by our presence. We got plenty of photos.

Which brings me to the second reason. We both had identical DSLR camera bodies, Nikon D5200. However my son had a Nikon 55-200 lens, whilst I used my rather battered Sigma 70-300. The photos in this post are all from my son’s camera. I’d been thinking of replacing the Sigma for some time, ever since it had been dropped the previous summer. As I looked at the output from both cameras, the superior quality of my son’s photos made up my mind.

I’ve done couple of blog posts recently using photos from my new lens. Take a look and let me know what you think.

https://stephenswildlife.home.blog/2020/11/18/dartford-warbler/

https://stephenswildlife.home.blog/2020/11/19/kestrel/

The Grey Heron

There were 13,316 pairs of Grey Heron in the UK in 2011. They are large birds that stand motionless for long periods beside water, ready to strike at their quarry. They feed mainly on fish.

The heron has long, slow, powerful wing beats in flight.

Chesil Beach

Chesil Beach is our home for the week. We are staying at the Portland end, near Portland Castle. In fact there is a certificate hanging on the wall of the house we’re staying in commemorating the fact that the Trinidad and Bermudan Olympic Sailing team occupied the house in the summer of 2012.

Fine Foundation – Chesil Beach Centre

I wandered around the centre, checking out the notices. A prominent, green information sign told me that the area was particularly well known for being a nesting ground for Little Terns and Common Ringed Plovers. As I walked back towards the car park with my camera around my neck, I was approached by a couple. “Oh, can you tell us what we might expect to see here?” They obviously mistook me for a well-informed enthusiast.

“Well, if you’re lucky you might see Little Terns or Common Ringed Plovers.” Then as I looked over there shoulder I could see a Little Egret, so I added. “You also might see a Little Egret”.

“Oh, thank you so much. We’ve lived here for years, but never been sure what we should be looking for.” I’m not sure that I mentioned that this was my first visit, or that I’d just read the sign.

Heron on Chesil Beach overlooking East Fleet

Portland Castle

Portland Castle looks east over Weymouth Bay and is a stone’s throw from where we are staying. The bird life I’ve seen so far has been Gulls, Wagtails and Reed Buntings.