Swithland Woods - 19 June 2012

A tree stump in the car park at Swithland Woods, Leicestershire, attracts a good deal of wildlife, that's why I often feature it. Walking through the woods it's often hard to get decent pictures, but just sitting in the car, after spreading bird food on the stump is about as easy as it gets.

Below, the Great Tit gave an interesting display, after first surveying the area from a nearby post.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L lens
1/250 @ 5.6, iso 800, 400mm

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L lens
1/320 @ 5.6, iso 800, 400mm

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L lens
1/1328 @ 5.6, iso 800, 400mm

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L lens
1/1000 @ 5.6, iso 800, 400mm

In a tree nearby this tit watched the show and later came to feed. Identification is a little difficult, I think its a coal tit that's not fully fledged yet,  there were other coal tits visiting the stump as well, but I might be wrong. Any suggestions gratefully recieved.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L lens
1/250 @ 5.6, iso 800, 400mm

We had a visit from a Nuthatch as well, but I liked the pictures in the trees better than those on the stump.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L lens
1/200 @ 6.3, iso 800, 400mm

As I was packing up a squirrel wandered out onto the road a little way away and started feeding at the roadside. When he found something worthwhile, he decided to sit on a post to chew on it.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L lens
1/250 @ 6.3, iso 1600, 400mm

Love Lies Lurking

My latest book

now  
available in Paperback from Amazon 

or my website www.books4reading.com

Watermead South - goslings and cygnets 1 June 2012

On my way home from a friends house I have to pass the entrance for Watermead park south, so we decided to stop off and exercise skipper.

As usual the water near the car park was full of swans, canadas, coots and mallards. but as we walked round the lake, there was a Swan with cygnets.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100-400mm L lens
1/1000 @ f6.3, iso 800, 400mm

 She seemed to be showing them how to beg for bread as she led them into the bank close to any walkers.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100-400mm L lens
1/1000 @ f6.3, iso 800, 340mm

A little further round a Greylag family were performing a similar routine.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100-400mm L lens
1/250 @ f6.3, iso 800, 100mm

 People will insist on taking their dogs close to the side when birds are there and these parents were not happy with a young husky even though it was on a lead. Skipper was back on the footpath, far enough away not to upset them.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100-400mm L lens
1/320 @ f6.3, iso 800, 320mm

This parent came in close and stayed there until the family had passed.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100-400mm L lens
1/2000 @ f6.3, iso 800, 400mm

By way of something different the Ox Eye Daisies are out in full bloom round the lake.

Kelham Bridge - 22 May 2012

A boiling hot afternoon and we set off for Kelham bridge, the bushes were full of bird song, mostly warblers and Buntings.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm l Lens
1/1600 @ 6.3, iso 200, 400mm

I tried some pics of reed buntings that were shouting from the middle of a field but they were really too far away. then this reed bunting flew over the path and sat on a reed on the other side of the path. the contrast is not the best but he was only there a few seconds and I had to use the settings I had.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm l Lens
1/1000 @ 6.3, iso 200, 400mm

There was nothing to take at the first hide, but had a nice chat with the locals before moving on to the second hide. Beside the path, on the way the light caught this dandelion clock and tempted me to take it.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm l Lens
1/1000 @ 6.3, iso 200, 400mm

At the second hide I was alone for a while and scanning the area for what might be hiding, when I became aware of an eye looking at me. This female pheasant, kept ducking back into the undergrowth and popping up in a different place. It was funny to follow as she moved around out of sight the grasses and flowers above her waved wildly. So I always knew where she would come out. But she always stayed close to one place and returned to it regularly, I could n't see so I cant be certain but I wondered if she had a nest there

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm l Lens
1/500 @ 6.3, iso 200, 400mm

Finally I liked the reflections in this picture of the moorhen.

warblers at watermead - 12 May 2012

A walk in watermead again, mainly because we had to go to Birstall for something else.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L lens
1/500 @ 6.3, iso 800, 400mm

An orange tip butterfly was sitting on a leaf at the side of the path, basking in the sunshine. They are normally difficult to photograph as they rarely stay still for long.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L lens
1/500 @ 6.3, iso 800, 400mm

It was so placid, I was able to move around an take a picture from the side.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L lens
1/500 @ 6.3, iso 800, 400mm

Further along, past the beaches there's a line of bushes that seem to attract warblers and this sedge warbler was flying up and down the line, stopping to sing for a few minutes at each turn.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L lens
1/500 @ 6.3, iso 800, 400mm

I haven't seen a heron for a while, but this one was happy to sit on the edge of the lake and be photographed.

Spring has sprung


What a difference a day makes, we went back to Watermead again, mainly because of the mud on other paths that we use.

Canon EOS 7d, Ef 100 - 400mm L Lens
1/800 @ 6.3, iso 1600, 400mm

First we saw this egg, with two Canada Geese nearby who seemed to be in the process of changing watches

Canon EOS 7d, Ef 100 - 400mm L Lens
1/500 @ 6.3, iso 1600, 400mm

 A bit closer on the same lake, a coot had three chicks who seemed to be getting used to the water, when we passed later the nest was empty and the adults had taken the young away.

Canon EOS 7d, Ef 100 - 400mm L Lens
1/800 @ 6.3, iso 1600, 400mm

 This Sedge Warbler was singing its heart out in some bushes right by the path, the make a lot of sound for a little bird.

Canon EOS 7d, Ef 100 - 400mm L Lens
1/500 @ 6.3, iso 1600, 400mm

Caught red handed, waterside thief snapped in action, helping itself from a narrowboat.

Where have all the Birdies gone? - 4 May 2012

I managed, with the help of some pummelling by my chiropractor yesterday followed by a better night's rest than I've had of late, to get out at Watermead park and walk about a quarter of a mile - not much I know, but hopefully this is the start and there is more to come.

Trouble is the lake was empty, almost, all the birds seem to have taken cover or moved out. We'd nearly finished the walk before Maja spotted this Heron.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400 mm Lens
1/500 @ f7.1, iso 1600, 400mm

He seemed happy to pose for a while.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400 mm Lens
1/800 @ f7.1, iso 1600, 400mm

Then, when he'd had enough, off he went.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400 mm Lens
1/640 @ f7.1, iso 1600, 400mm

A flotilla of Canada Geese swam purposefully towards us and this one seemed to be demanding to be fed.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400 mm Lens
1/160 @ f7.1, iso 1600, 400mm

He was disappointed though, we had nothing for him. I don't think he'll starve at this time of year though.

I just released this in 

Paperback with Amazon

Alternatively go to my website www.books4reading.com and click on the image or search on Amazon for John Gwynant

It's a hilarious and sometimes erotic description of the events of a year in the small town of Lurkin in the Wolds.

Horses bolt, pigeons explode, ladies and gents lose their clothes, cakes fly in this collection of stories as told by Ramblin Jack, Lurkin's oldest resident.

sparsity of waterbird life at watermead - 12 April 2012

I don't know why but the lakes seem empty at the moment, unless they're all hiding around their nests. The smaller birds are still active though. A blue tit was the first to visit the feeding post at the car park, but he was so fast I couldn't get a focus on him.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L lens
1/80 @ 6.3, iso 400, 400mm 

This Dunnock was the next visitor, he nipped in before too many birds assembled and didn't come back once he'd had his fill

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L lens
1/80 @ 6.3, iso 400, 400mm

A magpie flew in skimmed the post with his feet, scattering the feed,  and flew away again. I don't know why he did that, it looked like a clear case of bullying to me. But the Robin made the best of it and collected the spilled mealworm from the ground. I like the way the feathers, at the ends of the wings, stack like lolly sticks on this pic.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L lens
1/100 @ 6.3, iso 400, 400mm

The Chaffinch was next and for once he stood up to the Robin and got a good feed.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L lens
1/125 @ 6.3, iso 400, 400mm 

I don't know if it was the same Blue tit as came first, but this one dropped something and stopped looking for it, long enough for a picture.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L lens
1/100 @ 6.3, iso 400, 400mm

The Great Tit is another fast food addict who slowed down and even sat on the fence for me to get his picture.

The Remarkable Couple

I just released my new novel on Amazon, it's my sixth book and a sister book to 'The Unremarkable Couple" (see the side bar) both are based around the "Sunnyview Naturist Club" in "Lurking in the Wolds" and contain nudity and love making.

Doctor Teresa Barton, a General Practitioner and stunningly beautiful naturist, is a virgin, determined to save herself for the right man. She has been a secret naturist since the age of fourteen and a practising social naturist since she joined the University Sun Club. Her strict, fanatically religious, parents disapprove.

Sharing a flat in Lurking in the Wolds with Jo, an old school friend, she soon finds she has made a mistake. Jo is a good looking girl, who's not as beautiful as Teresa and doesn't share her morals. To Jo, nudity equals sex, there can be no other reason to get naked. She cannot understand how Teresa can show her naked body to everyone on a nude beach or in a naturist club and not be interested in having sex with them.

Things come to a head when Jo brings two men home. She tries to get one of them into Teresa's bed and nearly succeeds. But when that fails she takes both into her own bed for a threesome. Teresa, unhappy about her flatmate's, sometimes illegal, attempts to get her bedded, tells Jo to move out.

This decision changes their lives, and Teresa, close to a breakdown, gets into all kinds of unexpected adventures. Will she hold onto her virginity until she finds the man for her?

A Stroll at Watermead - 17 March 2012

There wasn't much happening on the lakes  today, only a shoveller 'shaking it all about' near the hole in the wall hide.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L Lens
1/160 @ f5.6, iso 400, 400mm

Back at the car park, I seeded one of the fence posts and waited. I didn't have long to wait before this Chaffinch on a bad hair day dropped in.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L Lens
1/1600 @ f6.3, iso 1600, 370mm

A rare visitor to that area came for a feed soon after in the shape of a Dunnock, it didn't stop long but came again later.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L Lens
1/320 @ f6.3, iso 1600, 370mm

The Great Tit paid its usual fleeting visit, they never stay long and seem quite nervous. It's one of the few birds that seems to hear the camera shutter

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L Lens
1/800 @ f6.3, iso 1600, 370mm

The Blue Tit followed in and again it was a flying visit, you can see right wing tip behind his head as he starts his turn.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L Lens
1/320 @ f6.3, iso 1600, 370mm

Another Chaffinch took its feed up into a nearby tree to enjoy before returning for more.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L Lens
1/400 @ f6.3, iso 1600, 375mm

Of course it wouldn't be a visit to watermead if I didn't see a Robin, this one looks as if he's getting plenty of food.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L Lens
1/400 @ f6.3, iso 1600, 400mm

Swithland Woods - 7 March 2012

There is a tree stump in the Swithland Woods car park that the birds have been used to feeding from. I spread some bird food on it and sat in the car to wait.  It was while before any thing happened, then a chaffinch did a fly-past. It didn't stop on the stump, just had a look and flew up into a tree.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm Lens
1/1600 @ 5.6, iso 400, 390mm

Then a Nuthatch did the same thing, flew by and settled head down where he could watch the food.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm Lens
1/320 @ 5.6, iso 400, 400mm

There was a lot of interruption from people in the car park, and it wasn't until Maja got back with the dog that I really started to see some results from the free food.

A couple of tits flew in at speed and out again before I could get a picture, then this Coal tit  landed.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm Lens
1/320 @ 5.6, iso 400, 400mm

The Nuthatch returned, chasing the Coal Tit away as he usually does. He's more belligerent than the Robin that followed him in, you can see him back pedalling as soon as he sees the Nuthatch.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm Lens
1/500 @ 5.6, iso 400, 400mm 

But Robins aren't cowards so he went in for some of the bounty,  I don't know what passed between them.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm Lens
1/500 @ 5.6, iso 400, 400mm 

But the Robin didn't stay long.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm Lens
1/500 @ 5.6, iso 400, 400mm 

Then the Nuthatch flew off with a nut, that's one fast bird.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm Lens
1/320 @ 5.6, iso 400, 390mm