Nearly but not quite

Someone very wise once said insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. It’s true, and that’s what we do as wildlife photographers. We visit the same spot again and again, hoping for that one moment when it all comes together. The light, the subject – we wait for that one moment. Well that’s what I’ve been doing for several weeks now. Waiting on the Fen, for a special subject. This morning was a beautiful frosty start to the day, the first thing I see slinking through the crystallised grass is a Fox, sleek and handsome he stares at me when I squeak, and then bounces away as I try to turn the camera towards him. The frozen ground crunches underfoot, and the first golden light pours over the glistening white frost. The hedge is full of chattering Fieldfares, a pair of Swans glide overhead and two of the resident Roe deer watch shyly as I walk by.

Great reedmace, Typha latifoli, Bulrush, frost, Winter, Suffolk, December

 

Bracken, Pteridium aquilinum, covered in frost, Winter, December, Suffolk

 

I reach the spot and wait, an hour or maybe two goes by with nothing but the most fleeting of glimpses. I move on, and then there,  a movement. Two more, quite close, a flutter, a whistle, they flit on the top of the reeds, the birds I’ve been trying to photograph for weeks.

 

Beardedtit061214DM1895

Bearded tits. Not very well named really, they’re not a member of the tit family, and the male wears a rather dapper moustache rather than a beard. Anyway, they are special little birds, a regular, though elusive Winter visitor to the Fen. So here’s my nearly but not quite photo, they decided to perch momentarily on the same reed, meaning I couldn’t get both in focus, then they moved down into the reeds to feed, not allowing any other chances to get a clear view. Nearly, but not quite. I’ll keep trying!

 

(Click images to view larger…)

If you like what you see, please consider sharing![social_share/]

BOB_Avatar

 

 

 

 

 

UK & Eire Natural History Bloggers

Current favourite books, click for more info:




 

Similar Posts

  • Pastures new, and old

    Forgive me friends, for my prolonged absence. I have been doing that most stressful of things – moving house. So here I am, all settled in, exploring pastures new. Newly located between numerous nature reserves, there’s plenty to see, but more on that at a later date. Back to pastures old, and my patch –…

  • Bunnies

    Well, not had very much time for photography of late due to work, but I’ve been trying to fit it in where I can. The last few evenings I’ve spent some time at the local rabbit warren, not too far from home. It’s a great location to take advantage of the evening light, but I’m…

  • A Very Hungry Caterpillar

    Firstly, apologies again for the blog silence. A number of things have been holding me back recently, not least a bad shoulder injury. (Think: a dog, on lead, and a rabbit, with ‘Carry on dog walking’ style falling over due to the lead wrapped round my legs, all followed by a three hour visit to…

  • Fly Agaric

    Went out for a walk this weekend and came across some of these stunning toadstools. It’s quite often difficult to find them in such good condition, so it was a great find. This one is fairly young and just emerging from the grass.

  • The King of the River

    The Norfolk Broads, a watery wonderland that has to be one of my favourite places. At dawn and dusk it’s a magical wild world, that huge Norfolk sky reflected in the mirror still surface of the river, giving you the impression of being held suspended in an infinite space, immersed in the bluest sky, surrounded…

2 Comments

  1. Cracking photos Dawn, to get a pic of one bearded tit is pretty good, but two together, a double whammy! You must have been frozen it was certainly a hard frost on Saturday morning.

Leave a Reply