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

  • Jurassic gardens

    Don’t move. He can’t see us if we don’t move. The reptile tips his head. Patterned scales glint in the sun, golden eye, unblinking, watches us, time slows. But we’re not keeping still because we’re trying to avoid becoming a dinosaur’s dinner. We’re not moving so we don’t disturb the mini velociraptor in front of…

  • Back to the Fen

    My first visit to the Fen in a long time, it was great to pick the camera up and get out again. The reedbeds are quiet now that the warblers have departed for somewhere warmer, and everywhere has a gentle autumnal glow. With little going on I pick out a Reedmace head to photograph, and…

  • Strumpshaw Fen

    Happy New Year! First post of the year, and hopefully the first of many, as I’ve got big plans for photography this year! Visited RSPB Strumpshaw Fen this morning, which is one of my most favourite places. Why? Well, maybe because it was the first place I watched a wild otter, or because it’s the…

  • Sidetracked

    On my way to the Fen this morning I saw a sight I’ve been waiting to see again for several years. Over my local common, newly restored, a Barn Owl was hunting. The common has been rescued from overgrazing and uncovered from rubbish, the grasses and wild-flowers are beginning to flourish again. The hard work…

  • Star Trails and Lizard Tails

    Breckland. At first glance, arid and inhospitable, with hot, dry sandy soil and prickly gorse, but look closer, and you’ll find that one of the driest areas in England is in fact, teeming with life. Tiny specialised plants creep aross the dusty ground, while twisted, spiny gorse shelters nesting birds. The sharpness of the landscape…

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