I was keen this morning to try out my new birthday present this morning at Nethergong, a two man photography hide. There are a few projects that I have planned for the winter coming on site including photographing from a few feeding stations which I intend to start after the camping season has finished through to trying to capture a few Jay and Bullfinch shots on some natural mossy logs. However, this mornings task involved just trying out on anything and to be honest, I was just happy to sit in it and see what turned up. There are a pair of Kestrels which sometimes perch up on a few small trees along with a few Stock Doves and Yellowhammers so with this in mind, I arrived this morning at the ridiculous time of 04:30am and walked out to the field and set up nearby which thankfully only took a few minutes. I was soon out of sight and setting up the camera and tripod and positioning it at the tree and sat back and waited.
It wasn't long until the dawn chorus started which also included a Bittern booming from the Stour Valley for over 2 hours. I was hoping to get the male Kestrel in good light at the top of the tree and not long after, he flew in and perched. It was still quite dull and no good for photos but he was very aware of this strange object around and soon flew off to the next bush. As the sun rose and the light picked up, it was nice to be able to get lovely views and some photos of the Stock Doves.
The female Kestrel flew in a few times and gave me the chance to grab a few shots and on one occasion, the male joined her where they mated. The fact they were occupied allowed me to fire off a few more images before they both flew off.
A little later the male arrived with some prey but flew past the tree in question and landed further away.
Having spent about three and a half hours happily sat in the hide watching the birds appear and disappear, I choose my moment carefully and packed away (well this actually took quite a bit of time as I couldn't work out how the bloody tent folded up). For a first time, I was most pleased with the outcome and weather permitting, I might try again next weekend or possibly one evening. There was a Cuckoo calling nearby which with luck in the next few weeks, could land on the tree and would make for some nice photos. Recording during the past week has been mostly quiet but wind permitting, I will try to continue during the week just in case something good flies over calling.
Fabulous results for the first outing of that hide, Marc! You must be well pleased. I have got a one-man chair-hide that I bought probably about ten years ago, and wish that I'd bought the two-man version to give more room. There are two main problems that I've had with spending long times in the hide. On warm days I have fallen asleep in the hide on more than one occasion, never knowing what I might have missed. The second one is due to the hide completely and closely surrounding the seat. Several times I have had the quarry sitting in front of me and found myself begging for it to go so that I could escape from the hide for a pee without disturbing the bird. With space round me I'd be able to take a bottle in there for such emergencies!
ReplyDeleteStay safe - - - Richard
Many thanks Richard. There's certainly plenty of room in there for all my stuff when laid out and I must admit, it was nice to just sit and wait rathervthan trudge around for a change. I did have a bottle with me for emergencies! Hopefully I can have a few more attempts in the coming weeks now I can actually find the thing away correctly. Take care.
DeleteAmazing the Kestrels making love. Pure photos Marc.
ReplyDelete