Friday 24 February 2012

Holywell

A full day of filming saw the morning start out at St Mary's for an hour or so, before the tide retreated and the wind began to pick up.


For the rest of the day I was on patch, between the Pond and the Dene. The pond was quiet as usual, although the NWT were working with chainsaws in the North Wood, 4 Tufted, a pair of Pochard, 2 Mute Swan, 4 Canada Geese, 1 Little Grebe, Moorhen, MallardTeal, 3 Gadwall and a lone Grey Heron were on the pond, with Brambling and Tree Sparrow in the feeding station.


The reeds reflecting in the warm light caught my eye from the members hide.


Reed Reflection

The main project for the day, in the Dene, was to film the Snowdrops. Pocketed up and down the burn, I quite enjoyed exploring the different patches of plants and their positioning.


Snowdrop

The Dene seemed to be alive with song, with at least 3 Great Spotted Woodpeckers drumming. I've uploaded a short audio clip below, the microphone used wasn't ideal but I think its worked quite well, capturing the essence of the woodland, how I experienced it.





Heading back up to the pond as the light began to fade 2 Treecreepers amongst a Tit flock made an appearance, as did 3 Grey Wagtail on the burn. A pair of Shelduck were on the pond as I passed.


Sunset

After tea I dropped my sister off at Cubs and headed back to Holywell, to photograph the stars. Passing the public hide the silhouettes of 300+ Geese could be seen, a mix of Greylag and Pink-Footed Geese could be heard. I've only ever seen the geese come to roost once, as it seems the majority of the time they arrived and leave in darkness. 


Generally once it gets dark you can walk anywhere, past the pond, through the dene and farmland and you'll not see a soul, but tonight I caught sight of a torch heading in my direction. It turned out that it was another photographer with the same idea!


Obelisk Star Trail

5 comments:

  1. Can only agree with Tim's comment!
    Last couple of times I've been down I've kept a look out for Brambling, but with no success. Cheers :-)

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  2. Thank you :) I've been down a few times and not seen it, theres meant to be a male and a female about as well.

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  3. Love the pictures, but really like the stars, I've been trying to do similar shots but still getting used to it.I'm happy with the results so far though!
    well done
    Sam

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  4. Cheers Sam, if you need any help just give me a shout.

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