Slimbridge

I had to use last years Christmas present of a free pass into Slimbridge WWT before it was out of date, so I spent a nice day there a couple of weeks ago. The usual suspects were photographed ,although a Ross's Goose ( apparently wild) was a new bird for me.Photgarphed: Shelduck.Pintail.Bewick's Swan.Mallard.Common Crane.Wigeon.Coot.Water Rail. Ross's Goose. And I,ve just had another pass for next year so will be back again then.

Great Northern Diver

Its been a while since I photographed a Great Northern Diver, so nice to catch up with one recently in Looe harbour (Cornwall), close in and feeding on crabs. A shame the weather was so grey and overcast but you have to go with what you have.

Weasel

Its not often you get to see a Weasel close up, occasionally one may run acroass the road in front of you ,but I had quite a surprise when I looked out of the kitchen window and saw one running around our garden, my camera was close to hand and I managed to get a few photos ( mostly out of focus as it seldom stayed still for long and I was probably a little over excited!) but a couple came out O.K.

Barn Owls.

I cant think of a much better way of spending some time than watching a beautiful Barn Owl hunting over the marshes.

Bathing Ducks.

A few recent photos of four of our commoner Duck species having a bit of a wash and brush up. Shoveller ,Wigeon and Teal taken at Bowling Green Marsh at Topsham in Devon and the Tufted Duck taken at Swanpool, Falmouth in Cornwall.

Jays

This time of year always sees a lot of Jays around , on the search for acorns and seeds to cache for retrieving later in the winter. You often hear their harsh call before seeing the flash of a white rump dissapearing into the trees. I have had at least two birds hanging around and they are easy to tempt to come close with peanuts,with which they greedily fill their crops and take away before returning for more. I photographed these from my small pond side hide.