A good start to the New Year!
01.01.2019
As I woke up on the 1st of January, I wanted to begin the year by getting my camera out straight away, along with my new camouflage neck strap and waterproof lens given as a Christmas present from my dad! As with last year, I am attempting to go out as often as I can with my camera. The winter months are usually not the best time for me due to the lack of daylight and returning home from work in the dark. However, I will be starting a new job at the end of January which has a nature reserve right across the road, so I’ll be very tempted to go there on my lunch breaks! As well as the winter months not allowing enough light hours in the day, most of us know how unpredictable wildlife can be, and that it can appear at any moment, so there’s always an opportunity to be missed if I don’t have my camera close to hand! Also, as I had mentioned in my previous post, I hope to investigate the local fox population within this area of the Fens. Because I go along the same country roads each day to and from work, and have had fleeting glances of foxes along the riverbank, I am hoping that there will be a chance to spot a fox that is a regular within a certain area, and hopefully in time I will be able to identify the individual/family and begin a photographic project on it!
Going back to my first outing of 2019, I went to the local nature reserve outside my hometown of Deeping St James. Although I have been many times before, there is always something new to see, as this particular day proved! Below is a list of what I sighted and photographed within the reserve (Images can be found at the bottom of the list):
· Grey Heron x2
· Little Egret
· Kingfisher
· Wren x3
· Long-Tailed Tit 10+
· Blue tit 5+
· Cormorant 10+
· Chaffinch
· Teal x3
· Grey squirrel x2
· Wigeon
· Mallard 10+
· Mute Swan 5+
· Tufted Duck 10+
· Robin x3
· Kestrel
· Buzzard x2
These are the typical species that I would usually find on the reserve on most days, but I was also treated to sightings of birds that I hadn’t seen before. The first one was a Bullfinch. Easily identifiable by its bright pink coloured chest, they are a delightful little bird to witness, and I managed to get a couple of shots while it sat on the highest branch surveying it surroundings . The next bird I caught sight of was a blackbird, but it wasn’t as recognisable as you may think! This individual didn’t have its yellow beak and eye rings, which most people would first noticed when seeing an adult blackbird. This one I later identified as being an immature male during its first winter, so although it is one of the most common species in the UK, it was at a stage in its life that I hadn’t seen previously! Finally, as I walked through the last section of the reserve, out towards the far side of the biggest lake at the reserve, I spotted a female Goosander. I instantly recognised it from my wildlife books, with its chestnut head and blue/silver body. Despite not being able to get the clearest shots I was still happy to see a new bird species within an area that I have been returning to year upon year. These new sighting constantly remind me that there will nearly always be something new to see, and that it’ll be worth returning to this reserve for better photographs of them, as well as other species that might appear!
