Knot and clean water

a flock of juvenile grey Knot over the muddy waters of the Humber

strike a light

a spectacliar evening over the house--overhead wires are inescapable!

flying mixta

managed to get shots of the third in flight aeshna of the season with this male mixta

heron and harrier

not a real threat but this harrier certainly upset the heron on the bush
-- after a lot of effort earlier in the autumn thsese juvenile harrier shots were pure luck as it sought me out rather than the other way round

Lancaster kills migrant chicken

In the rush to get down the road to try and photograph the circling Lancaster I managed to squash a migrant Rhode Island Red on the road --a sad loss---Worlaby also produced 6 Marsh Harriers and 8 Common Buzzards plus a Hobby ---

autumnal buts

not many butterflies about even in the sun but two on nice backdrops

doh a deer or 2

failing to get close to the juvenile Red-tail/Buzzards I picked up a stag Roe Deer running round in circles then saw this second individual--a chase ensued but only the Doe? appeared in front of me at point blank range---a bit cheeky sticking your tongue out though

sw sf

while photographing the swallows below, a nice bright juv Sedge Warbler popped up briefly and a juv Spotted Fly also put in a short appearance--also on the patch today juv Spotted Redshank, a cracking summer adult Grey Plover and 360 Lapwing plus 115 Gadwall

swallow it all

some recently fledged broods of Swallows were around the patch today but the sun was rather high in the sky to get really good pics--here are a few with juvs attempting to swallow the whole of their parents heads and just having a good stretch-

smarts

with a good number of Sand Martins about I tried again at some flight shots but they are not easy!

Water Rat or water rat

while sheltering from a storm in a Waters' Edge hide a Water Vole swam across the channel in front of the hide--about 10 minutes later a (water) rat swam across in the same direction in the same place

Double spotted

The juvenile Spotted Redshank still on Waters' Edge this afternoon and in much better light between the storms--also there completing the spotted double was the first record this year of Spotted Flycatcher with a mobile tit flock

some you win

Alerted to the presence of two Black Terns on the local pits I went down after tea to try and get some shots--five minutes after I arrived they both flew up high and off onto the Humber--a Hobby in the distance to the south was little compensation--next stop Water's Edge where the lagoon held a cracking juvenile Spotted Redshank but at this immediate moment the sun sank below a large cloud, the bird was a good 40m away and I ended up getting speeds of 1/40th at 400ISO hand held--not the best of results from the evening's photography

hirundo roost

last night the Sand Martin roost in Barton pits contained about 5000 birds the largest I have come across so far this autumn--up to 100 Swallows and a single Swift--at one point a Marsh Harrier came in and was promptly mobbed by about 1000 hirundines

it must be the hat

some days you go out with high hopes and after hours end up without a single photo worthy of note and then some days everything seems to come together--today was such a day and all I can put it down to is the silly hat!

sunrise et al

with a forecast of mist and sunrise at 05:34 I was in the forest at 05:00---a great time of day to be out but precious little bird song at this time of year but one Nightjar did call briefly--the rewards were some superb scenes as the sun rose through the mist---a Roe Deer in the mist, a Kestrel silhouetted in a pine and numerous spiders