Damselflies

Can the female still be called a damsel after this?

1/1000 @ f6.3, ISO 400, 400mm

Ready for take off

Coal Tit looking for food

1/1600 @ f7.1, ISO 800, 400mm

Heading for the hills

Red deer at Bradgate Park

1/1000 @ f6.3, ISO 400, 210mm

I'll have the fish

Has he bit off more than he can chew?

1/1600 @ f6.3, ISO 400, 400mm

Going for a duck

Mallard Chick enjoying itself

1/500 @ f6.3, ISO 400, 400mm

Mute Swan

Swan showing who's boss

1/6400 @ f5.6, ISO 800, 190 mm

A mother's love

At Bradgate Park a Fallow Deer mother looking after her baby.

1/1600 @ f5.6, ISO 800, 400mm

Small Tortoiseshell

A small Tortoiseshell feeding

1/800 @ 6.3, ISO 800, 400mm

Bizzy Bee

A bee busily collecting pollen, look at the size of the pollen sacks.

1/1600 @ f5.6,  ISO 400, 400mm

Squirrel at Swithland

Looking for Nuts!

1/100 @f6.3, ISO 800, 400mm
The sun dived behind a cloud but luckily didn't ruin the picture.

Love is

Grebe Dance

1/640 @ f7.1, ISO 400, 400mm

Jay in the woods

A Jay scaring off the smaller birds to get to the food.

1/500 @ 6.3, ISO 1600, 400mm 

Flying Mallard

Mallard taking off from Watermead Park

1/1328 @ f6.3, ISO 400, 400mm

On Reflection

A Moorhen reflecting on his environment.

1/500 @f6.3, ISO 200, 400mm

Mallard chick

A bundle of fluff at Watermead Park.

1/1000 @ f6.3, ISO 800, 400mm

A quiet day on Thornton Resevior

There wasn't much wildlife about but Thornton still looked Idyllic. 

1/100 @f6.3, ISO 400, 100mm

Squirrels go Nuts

These two were determined not to share the nuts on the fence post.

1/12 @ f5.6, ISO 1600, 100mm

I saw it coming and experimented with an ultra slow shutter speed.

The Nutty Tit

Great Tits love a nut

1/1328 @ f7.1, iso 400, 400mm

All Shook Up

Heron having a good shake

1/400 @ 7.1, iso 800,  285 mm

Rare Bird - possibly

I was out the other day and taking pictures of chicks at watermead park. As is often the case all the water birds gravitated towards me hoping to be fed.

1/320 @ 6.3, iso 400, 200mm

When I took this not particularly good pic of a chic, I knew there was an adult on the edges and planned to crop her out at home. When I looked at her on the computer there was something that made me think it might not be a Mallard hybrid and I planned to go back a few days later to see if I could get some better pictures of her.

1/640 @ 6.3, iso 400, 400mm

In the mean time, her offspring seemed to get very tired from charging around after tidbits and curled up to sleep in the middle of the pool.

1/100 @ 6.3, iso 400, 400mm

The return visit was successful and she swam towards me as soon as I arrived.

1/100 @ 6.3, iso 400, 400mm

 So I had plenty of time to get more detailed photos of her.

1/125 @ 6.3, iso 400, 400mm

I cant be totally certain, perhaps someone will tell me if I am right. But looking at the pale cheeks, brown cap and dark bill with a pink tip makes me think it is a Red Crested Pochard. A bird that is very rare this far north.

1/800 @ 6.3, iso 400, 400mm

By way of an easily identified bird, here is the Heron that is nesting by a weir not 2 metres  from the footbridge.

All taken on a Canon EOS 7d and EF 100 - 400mm L series lens