Carnsew Basin early AM

I called in at Carnsew Basin on the Hayle Estuary early AM today looking for sightings of the current Osprey that is on a fishing stop over for a few days before migrating onwards towards west Africa

Carnsew basin was perfectly calm and showing lovely reflections from shore side properties and its prominent church with a late moon setting behind it,  I thought the weird shot above just showing the moon set over the church reflections was interesting.

First up on the wildlife was a fishing Cormorant with an interesting split reflection caused by its own body movement. A distant Kingfisher was followed by a large flock of noisy Canada geese moving out of the estuary and a large volume of ducks moving in.

I finished off with a very bold Rock Pipit that was foraging in the tidal rock banks in front of me for over thirty minutes and what about the Osprey I hear you say !  Well it did finally show and passed by at a rate of knots with five crows snapping at its tail feathers but I will be back again later today to try my luck once more.

I spent a lot of time while waiting for the Osprey working on Cormorant behavior and reflections which will be shown in my next blog !

Grebes at Drift Reservoir

I went to Drift Reservoir this morning to check out reports of three grebe species being present at this time and i was not to be disappointed.

Three great crested grebes were present  and these two seemed to be paired off.

Two very similar Black-necked Grebes seemed happy to share the same water but all were quite some distance from the reservoir banks

Three delightful Little grebes were by contrast forever foraging right along the shallow margins

A mallard demonstrates the reason for the saying:  ' Like water off a ducks back '

Gadwall and Tufted Ducks were pairing off

And the Canada Goose was just one of a couple of hundred present on the day

A nice fly-bye from a local Buzzard finished off with a nice if distant but graceful landing on slim tree branches on the opposite side of the reservoir

Yesterdays South coast encounters

First up was an early encounter with this fine looking dog fox foraging through coastal rocks along the shoreline,

A male Peregrine devouring a starling while scattering its plucked feathers over the rocks

Having eaten her prey the female peregrine was regurgitating the waste products which always looks like a rather uncomfortable procedure but it is very important for them to remove indigestible matter.

A very familiar sighting of a Little Egret fishing along the marsh margins at Marazion

A  Male Canada goose displaying to its mate

The inevitable scraps between dominant males

A more peaceful shot of a pair of Canada geese relaxing at the margins in the evening sun

And finally a pair of somewhat rarer Gadwall in their winter colours made a trip along warren waters to complete the day

The light at Marazion marsh can be a cracking spot for Photography during sunny afternoons but it does often require some patients while waiting for a show from interesting wildlife subjects and their behaviour.

Marazion Marsh

It was a cold frosty morning around Marazion today but the lack of wind made it pleasant to be out and about and the clouded sunrise made a fine spectacle backing up the coastline at St Micheal's Mount

                                             

A lone doe Roe Deer browsed the hedgerow in the fields behind Longrock pool and a rabbit on the warren didn't like getting cold paws on the frosted grass and so it resulted to warming them up on its cheeks.

I stopped  for a while and watched some of the larger birds that arrived early at the marsh.  First in were several pairs of Noisy Canada Geese that all made a nice fly-by only to turn to make graceful landings on the waters at the front of the warren.

I then watched the skill and agility with which a Grey Heron approached and landed on what looked like an impossible Willow tree branches for such a large bird to land on but it sat there rock solid posing as still as a statue, 

Early morning Marazion

I took a phone shot of a St Micheal's Mount sunrise when I arrived at Marazion Marsh early this morning and as I did so I watched a Grey Heron take off from its roost on mount pine trees and head towards the marsh to provide my second shot of the morning.

The mallards were already busy on the marsh and low flying flock of Fifty or more Canada Geese completed a fly-bye to land on nearby Long Rock Pool

Meadow pipits are showing in good numbers at the moment and one of the ever present Marsh rabbits seemed to take offence when I lined up to take a few portraits