4 May 2024 - Elton Reservoir, Bury

« Newer   |   Older »

2 Garganey, Willow Tit, Common Terns

Went with Simon to Elton Res this morning. There'd been 2 drake Garganey there the previous day, and we weren't especially hopeful, particularly as we arrived at the car park to find only one other car. We walked around anyway; there was a slight drizzle, which eventually cleared, and there were loads of hirundines (mostly Swallows and Sand Martins) as well as quite a few Swifts and a few House Martins.  

A Whitethroat sang from the top of a Hawthorn as we walked round, and then suddenly I spotted a Garganey in flight, which had been disturbed from a small bay by a lady approaching the shoreline to feed the swans. Luckily it landed in view but gradually swam around a spit and disappeared from view. We carried on in that direction, and found a Willow Tit that showed well but briefly (but didn't call).  Then Simon said 'they're just here', and both drake Garganey were just offshore, but swimming away. We must have disturbed them. They showed rather well though for some time, and gradually moved anticlockwise round the res, so we followed the path in that direction but never managed to get much closer.  

We did have 5 Common Terns though before we left.   We missed some Yellow Wags that had been on the bank, and after we returned it also transpired that a Little Tern had arrived and spent much of the afternoon there.

Garganey, 1/500 sec, f/7.1, 500 mm, ISO 160

Garganey , 1/640 sec, f/6.3, 400 mm, ISO 125 (view full size image)

Garganey , 1/500 sec, f/7.1, 500 mm, ISO 250

Garganey , 1/500 sec, f/7.1, 500 mm, ISO 250 (view full size image)

Common Terns, 1/2500 sec, f/7.1, 500 mm, ISO 800 (view full size image)

Swallow Portrait, 1/2500 sec, f/7.1, 500 mm, ISO 800

Swallow , 1/2500 sec, f/7.1, 500 mm, ISO 640 (view full size image)

Swallow , 1/2500 sec, f/7.1, 500 mm, ISO 640