Is it a Bird......is it a Plane......was it a Mirage? - This week, we have all three!

Every now and again, I get a surprise visitor over our garden. This week, I was lucky enough to be able to photograph a local 'Little Owl', that is now hunting during the daytime, in order to feed its new born chicks.  I have also been visiting our local lake, in the hope of being able to capture the Herons and Egrets, that would normally be in situ at this time of year.  Sadly, they have both been absent so far, but I live in hope that they will show up soon.

The surprise of the week however, was this French 'Mirage' Jet, that gave me a low level view, whilst sitting in my hide!  I heard it coming, but had no idea if it would pass in front, overhead, or behind me.  Fortunately, it came into view directly in front of me and gave me the opportunity to capture this one shot.  I had managed to crank up the shutter speed to 1/3200th of a second, but all other settings were programmed to shoot the Owls that I was watching.  As such, i'm pretty happy with this shot!

French 'Armee de L'Air' Mirage Jet at low level over our garden..........Very fast and extremely noisy!

  .

The 'Little Owl', was much quieter and well behaved and even had the good manners to perch on a post directly in front of the hide!  These experiences are very rare, so I have included many similar shots, where the bird may simply have moved the angle of its head.  However, every image is unique and was a privilege to record!




















My visit to the lake, was a complete 'let down'. Despite me being in my hide by 07.45 hrs, none of my targets arrived and I called it a day at 13.00 hrs!  -  It was not a total waste of time though, as I did spot some 'very distant' Kingfishers, that were interesting to watch on the far banks of the lake.  Being around 70 mtrs away, it was not really worth taking any shots, but the following images at least prove that they do exist!




I will be back at the lake for the next few days, in the hope that the Herons and Egrets will finally show up.  However, nature will take its own course and whatever happens, I will enjoy being a passenger in that process!


If you enjoy my blogs, please share them on facebook etc.


Older blogs can be viewed by clicking on the ☰ symbol, at the top of this page

Comments

  1. RhodesiaJune 9, 2020 at 1:01 PM

    Excellent photos of the little owl, I am more than a little impressed. You are so patient though you deserve to get great photos.

    The Mirage Jets have been out in pairs at least 3 times over us but I have never had the camera in hand. The first time they came over the house low I was cutting the lawn on the 'sit on' and I thought I was under attack, almost fell off in shock 😲

    Take care and stay safe, Diane

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Triumph TR3a

Image
The story of my award winning 1959 TRIUMPH TR3a This car was manufactured on the 29th October 1959, at the Triumph factory in Coventry, UK.  On the 9th November 1959, the car was dispatched from the factory and shipped to their distributor (Jones Bischoff) in Saint Louis, USA. Sadly, the early history (owner details) is unavailable, due to privacy laws, which means that the records held by the US authorities cannot be shared with 3rd parties. However, they were able to confirm that the car was first registered in the state of Missouri. The next information, comes in the late 80's when it was found in a sorry state by Raymond Van Donk, in a barn in Holland. The mileage at that time, was showing a total of 75239 miles.  Whilst that mileage was believed to have been genuine, the figure was irrelevant, as the car clearly required a total restoration. On the 25th August 1991, Raymond commenced work and would spend the next 7 ye
Read more

The incredible 'White Tailed Eagle', photographed near Crinan in Scotland

Image
The UK's largest raptor.......The White Tailed Eagle Following on from my last blog about the beautiful and scarce Osprey, I was lucky enough to spend the past two weeks on the west coast of Scotland, in search of the UK's largest raptor; the huge and incredibly rare White Tailed Eagle.  Hunted to extinction in the UK over 200 years ago, they were re-introduced on the Isle of Rum in 1975, with more birds brought over from Norway at the start of the new millenium. - It is thought that there are now around 40 breeding pairs in Scotland. Also known as the Sea Eagle, this impressive bird can stand at 3ft tall and has a wingspan of up to 8 ft. With dimensions like that, you would think that they are easy to find, but with such small numbers and a habit of nesting in the remotest of areas, they are seldom seen..... unless you know where to look! When travelling to new geographical areas, I always try to make contact with wildlife groups within that location well before I am due to a
Read more

a Winter Walk around 'Moor Green Lakes' Nature Reserve in Berkshire.....

Image
  This Tawny Owl has made its home here and was happy to show itself. I had never visited 'Moor Green Lakes' before, but I recently found myself staying nearby and spent some very enjoyable days exploring these wonderful wetlands. Formerly, a large area of working gravel pits, it has been sympathetically re-wilded in recent years and now offers a home to a wide range of flora, fauna and birds. Made up of a series of lakes (which includes a 'leisure' section at the far end with a Café) , the remaining wetlands are recognised as a 'nature reserve' and work is ongoing to extend the area to utilise further gravel workings, which have now ended their commercial life. This can only be good news for the local wildlife and biodiversity. Currently, there are 2 very good 'hides', which can be utilised by members of the 'Moor Green Lakes Group' (who are a very welcoming bunch). - membership is only £10.00 per year! The following pictures are some of my fav
Read more