Red Crested Pochards

Back in early March,Joyce found an offer to visit a National Trust property for free, she made the mistake of asking me where I fancied going , so I suggested Saltram House near Plymouth where I just happened to know that a pair of Red Crested Pochards had been visiting the small pond there in recent weeks. But it is a nice place to visit anyway so thats where we went ( I did tell her about the ducks the day before). A lovely sunny day and the Male and female Pochards were showing very well at close range , along with the few resident Mandarins which were getting very frisky. I also had the added bonus of some coloured reflrctions on the water ( which were just some recently treated fenceposts).

A day out in North Cornwall

A lovely sunny day in Cornwall with my aim being to look for Short Eared Owls on the coast before going on to Walmsley reserve later in the day. No luck with the shorties but a pair of obliging Kestrels and some stunning scenery made up for it.

At Walmsley the Marsh Harrier showed really nicely as it quartered the marshes in search of a meal, and later in the day a pair of Barn Owls took their turn to search for prey, I was lucky to have one flying close to me in the late light in a nearby field.

Pink Footed Goose

Pink Footed Geese are fairly scarce down here in Devon and Cornwall , with just a handful turning up each winter, so it was a bit of a surprise when I found this one mixing with the few resident Canada's on a large farm pond at North Petherwin in Cornwall. I took a few record shots and planned to go back in the next day or two with a small hide to get some better photos, but alas he had gone on his way.