At long last, my wife's knee is starting to get better, and we managed a full day out on the boat on Monday - for the first time this year! Starting at Sawley Marina we set off down the Trent and up the Soar for lunch at the Rose & Crown in Zouch. The journey there was fairly uneventful with nothing much interesting on the wildlife front.
However, by the time we set off back again, the day had turned much warmer, and things started happening. This Heron had its eyes on a fish as we approached. You could almost hear it thinking as to whether it would take flight at our approach or brave it out and go for the fish. In the end, going for the fish won! It must have been very hungry!
However, by the time we set off back again, the day had turned much warmer, and things started happening. This Heron had its eyes on a fish as we approached. You could almost hear it thinking as to whether it would take flight at our approach or brave it out and go for the fish. In the end, going for the fish won! It must have been very hungry!
Grey Heron
"What the hell, I'm going for it!"
a quick dunking
wings out, ready for the recovery
back to the bank with the fish speared
fished now moved ready for the swallowWe'd seen plenty of Brown Hawker dragonflies on the way out, but these were constantly on the move. On the return journey, the females were oviposting like mad. The favourite spots seemed to be where the reinforced edges of the bank met the water, as shown below.
Brown Hawker (female)I've noted in previous postings that during our previous two shorter outings with the boat this year, we'd not seen any Kingfishers - in previous years, sightings would have been almost guaranteed. I'm pleased to say that on this day we had sightings in two different areas, although no photos as the birds sped past us heading south on both occasions.
What a great selection of Heron photos!
ReplyDeleteThank you Glen. It was good to watch some Heron action, and actually capture a bit of it for a change!
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