Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L Lens 1/100 @ f5.6, iso 800, 400mm |
At the "hole in the wall" hide There was only a couple of Mallard and a Heron in the distance so nothing to take there and I continued on my way. Skipper decided his stick wasn't big enough so dropped it and picked up one that was over twice his length, which he carried for the rest of his walk and only relinquished it when we got back to the car park.
I carried on round the back of the North West Lake past the pollarded trees, standing like sentinels on guard over the lake. I was please they hadn't pollarded the last tree on that side, it's a large and good looking tree that I took pictures of when it was covered in Hoare frost a few weeks ago.
Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L Lens 1/100 @ f14, iso 800, 100mm |
But as I approached the dog bin, near the path to Worcester Avenue, I noticed a number of Mallard milling about and stopped to watch them, just in case they decided to flap or take off, or even have a fight.
I noticed there was a bird on the log, down near in the water to my left, at first I thought it would be a Moorhen or Coot, they both like to roost there. But as my eyes adjusted to the light and awkward view between the branches, I realised it was a Mandarin Duck.
|
|
I've never seen one here before. a schoolgirl standing at the end of the footpath, just a few yards away, must have thought I was a bit mad as I said "Skipper, it's a Mandarin!" I often speak to him like that and he knows to wait until I've finished taking pictures, even if he's not sure what the odd shaped black box does. I think the schoolgirl was wondering when the chinaman was going to come past.
No comments:
Post a Comment