A week last Wednesday (10th December), I was feeling bored and fed up so I decided to take a quick trip to Welney WWT for a couple of hours or so. Weather bright and sunny with a southerly wind - ideal for photography at Welney.

The last time I was there, the water level of the River Ouse was low but much higher this time when I arrived due to the recent heavy rains and there was a lot of water fowl on the Lagoon although mostly distant but that was a start - something to aim the camera at.

I am not one of the rarity brigade, chasing all over the country to see the next tick on a list. I just enjoy taking photos of wildlife, whether rare or common. I get as much pleasure from taking a really good shot of a common species as a half-decent shot of a rarity which was just as well as only common wildfowl was on show on this occasion. There were several Whooper Swans, mostly injured birds that could not fly but one came close as the sun rose over the observatory.

On an island, there was a large flock of Black-tailed Godwits that occasionally took to the air - impressive in the morning sun.

I could not resist a few quick shots of a small group of fly-by Feral Pigeons 

and Pintails that were rather distant but worth some shots as they are my favourite duck.

That left me with the predominate species - Mallards and Pochard. I just concentrate on trying to achieve better shots than I already have. That usually results in loads of wasted frames but occasionally something different results - mating Mallards

and a really close fly-by by a drake Pochard.

In fact, I managed a few keepers that were an improvement to my library so the day was not at all wasted.

Wednesday 3rd December and a friend and I decided to visit Norfolk to see what was around.

As usual, first visit was to Thornham where a Curlew was feeding in the harbour

and a Reed Bunting posed nicely on a gorse bush.

Moving on to Brancaster Staithe, there was the odd subject worth excercising the trigger finger for. Common Gull

and a Curlew again feeding close in.

Holkham only produced a relatively close Pink-footed Goose from Lady Anne Drive

and then returning the way we came, a visit to Titchwell where, predictably, the water levels on the fresh marsh were still too high for anything close but we did find a few Chiffchaffs feeding around a tree.

Finally, we called in at Snettisham  as there was a rather beautiful sunset to see if it was possible to photograph birds flying to roost. No Pink-footed Geese but a small flock of Curlews made up for that.

So not a great day but just about worth the trip overall.

A fellow member of the Cambridge Bird Club, also a photographer, informed me where there was a Red Kite roost at nearby Cottenham. All I needed was a sunny day so, early afternoon on 2nd December, I went to check it out.

Sure enough, Red Kites came in in dribs and drabs but that was good as it gave time to select which ones would prove to be the best subject, especially with a contrasty low setting sun.

With the sun getting lower, one bird decided to catch a small mammal, probably a Field Vole, and then flew off with it's prize, proving that Red Kites are not purely scavengers.

And then towards the end of daylight, one of my final images was this.

(with apologies for the slight readjustment of the subject in Photoshop).

So a very successful couple of hours or so. The only problem was the quantity of potential keepers that has taken me over a week to sort.

Monday 17th November - weather bright and sunny for my first visit to Leighton Moss RSPB. I had heard so much about this reserve so I was really looking forward to it. Once again though, the hides, mainly facing south or west, with a bright low winter sun are far from ideal for photography.

Not much unusual from the first hide except for a feeding Snipe

so we headed for the Eric Morecambe hide which, I had been told, was great for photography.

A pair of sleeping Redshank caught my eye

as did a rather distant female Goosander.

and a Shoveler.

But mostly, the birds were sleeping so little else to get the camera working so we moved back to other hides. Nothing to show except for a pair of very wet feet as the water level was very high and some of the paths were flooded as shown by this quick shot (into the sun) of a Water Rail feeding on the path.

So returning for the afternoon to the Eric Morcambe Hide there was now more activity. A Great White Egret flew in with the sun behind it.

and the various ducks were paddling around - opportunty for something different. Shoveler, Teal and Wigeon.

and that was it for the day. First impressions of this reserve is that it has tremendous possibilities for photography - but not on the day we went there.

Returning home the next day, we called in at a couple of reserves but the weather was awful so few photos taken and none worth keeping.

Wednesday 26th November and I was itching to take some photos. So I decided to visit Grafham Water - I had not been there for a while so it was about time.

My usual first visit is to the dam, but not much there except for a Common Sandpiper that was quietly feeding amongst the usual wildfowl. The water levels were probably as low as I can remember so the tide line was some way out and any birds were rather distant.

Moving on to the harbour area, the only bird of note was an adult Great Black-backed Gull. Unusual to find it there mid-morning.

But the main reason for going was for the Bewick's Swans that had been reported there and there they were roosting in front of the hide at Mander but, because of the low water levels, still probably 70 to 80 metres out.

After a few shots with the 200-800 lens, I realised that special measures were required to make this trip worthwhile. So I added the RF 2x converter to the 200-800 lens - effectively at 1600mm - but the sun was shining and the light good - worth a try.

First off was roosting pair.

and then rather more adventurous.

It is not really possible to judge photos from the back of the camera but these looked OK. A sleeping Lapwing caught my attention.

and I also noticed a Great Black-backed Gull that did not look at all well - probably the same one that I had photographed previously from the harbour - unsteady on it's feet before it lay down and went to sleep near the tide line. It was still there, unmoving, over an hour later when I left. Bird Flu?

Then a few more shots of the Bewick's

until I left as the cloud came in that made photography at this distance much more difficult.

Checking out the results,I must confess that I was pleased with the long distance shots with the 2x converter - much better that I expected.