Wednesday18th June and three of us were making our way northwards to the Selby area to a site for Little Owl photography that none of us had tried before. The sun followed us for the 2 1/2 hour drive and, when we arrived in the early afternoon, everything looked good.

The hide easily accomodated the three of us and to the left in the middle of the field was a large tree (oak I think) where the Little Owl nest was located. About mid-afternoon, the Owls decided to pay as a visit and visit the perches that were loaded with live mealworms.

First in was an adult that announced it's presence with a wing flap

and then one of the four youngsters also flew in.

Despite the side lighting form the bright sun, ( I am not a fan of side-lit photos unless for special effects), I managed to take around 1300 shots. Little Owls are so photogenic and, at times, highly amusing so my biggest problem was which to keep and which to post here so this is a summary.

Begging mum for food.

Being bombed by a Swallow

Siblings squabbling for the food.

The winner.

No more food here..

A quick summary of the afternoon - challenging due to the light conditions but, a successful visit. One problem for those that may wish to try this hide, it is set at an angle from the perches to the roost tree so the birds flew away from us. That made flight shots problematic.

I had been invited by a friend to join him for a day of hide photography at Tom Robinson's hides near Bourne Lincolnshire. The morning session was at the Wired Hide with a family of Kestrels. Well, this is wildlife and things do not always go to plan. The young had fledged and moved to the far end of the field, accompanied by the male and too distant for any photography.

After a time, the female flew in and stayed for a while, tearing apart a mouse

before flying off with it to feed to the youngsters.

Apart from one other visit, that was the sole action for the morning.

In the afternoon, Tom had arranged for us to photograph a Cuckoo in a  Reed Warblers nest in a private location.

The cuckoo was too large for the nest and it's gape seemed to be enormous although we soon got used to that is it was almost incessantly open , begging for food.

The Reed Warblers seemed to be feeding the Cuckoo chick every 5 minutes or so but it was insatiable.

as well as attending to the toilet requirements.

The chick was expected to fledge in a couple of days time so we were lucky to get the opportunty of witnessing the early life of a Cuckoo.

Later on, we needed to return to the farm and spent another couple of hours with the Kestels - still no young showing close but the female was collecting food to take to them remaining on the far side of the field.

Surprisingly, the male never came in.

I decided to re-visit Fowlmere RSPB on 11th June to see if I could manage photos of the Hobbies that apparently frequently visit. If that is the case, then someone forgot to tell them - a distant appearance for a few seconds!!!

This was an afternoon of waiting patiently for something to happen. The male Marsh Harrier put in a distant appearance and then flew off to hunt - no photos worth keeping there!!!

Later in the afternoon, a Goldfinch put in an appearance on a middle-distance bush - worth a shot

as did a Yellowhammer on the same bush- is it my imagination or are they getting quite scarce now.

And then the male Marsh Harrier returned after a successful hunt, calling up the female and, although distant and flying away, they completed a food pass.

with the male making a closer flypast with a stare that would make intended prey rather nervous.

And that was the sum total of the afternoons events.

Last Sunday, 8th June, a Red-backed Shrike has been reported at nearby Fen Drayton. A rare visitor to Cambridgeshire and, despite me not usually going out at weekends, I decided to go.

It was present, on the far side of a hedge with no access to it. Very frustrating to know that the target bird was just 20 feet away and not visible. As a consolation, a juvenile Common Whitethroat posed for a shot.

I had already planned to visit Fowlmere RSPB the following day, but just for the afternoon. The weather had changed, cloudy and a little blustery - not ideal for my target birds of Marsh Harriers and Hobbies and so it proved to be. On the mere, a trio of sub-adult Lesser Black-backed Gulls came in for a bathe.

Reed Warblers were active in between the wind gusts although giving no opportunity for a shot but eventually one stayed in the open to allow a series of photos..

So eventually the visit was worth while but I intend to visit again when the weather forecast is more suitable.

Monday 2nd June and I headed north to the Norfolk coast, hoping that the area was relatively free of holiday-makers.

First stop, as usual was Hunstanton cliffs where a westerly breeze was pushing the Fulmars above the cliffs. One of my favourite birds and I could not resist a few more shots.

My usual next stop would have been Thornham harbour but it was just an hour before high tide and the tide levels were too high for anything meaningful so I moved on to Titchwell RSPB. Over the past couple of years, Titchwell has never failed to disappoint and this visit was no exception. The best hide for photography is Island Hide and, again, the water levels on this part of the freshmarsh were too high - in fact lapping up to the front of the hide so the only birds on show were Avocets and Black-headed Gulls, virtually to the exclusion of anything else. Usual story.

However, a Chinese Water Deer was grazing on one of the islands so worth a shot although distant.

I walked up to the beach but the tide was too high for any birds to show. On the way back, a Common Tern was fishing in the brackish marsh and right next to the path.

Moving on, Burham Overy Staithe was awash with visitors as the sun came out - nothing of interest so back to Brancaster Staithe where the tide was ebbing so I stayed for a while. First up was a fishing Sandwich Tern,

and, for a short time, a Little Tern although rather distant.

So this ended up being a Tern day but I called in at Thornham harbour on the way home with a Little Egret showing well.

So a reasonable day after all but I still fail to understand the thinking behind the high water levels on the Titchwell freshmarsh. The mud used to be magnet for waders but not now. I may still visit in a couple of months time when the wader season begins but I have no confidence that the situation will change as it has been the same for a couple of years at least.

On my recent visits to the area, Brancaster Staithe harbour has been the star as it was on this day.