Courting Weekend

This was going to be the weekend where we and a whole group of others were going to get THE Great Crested Grebe courtship dance shot. It turned out that after two days of waiting, no-one actually got the shot, although it must be said there were some who came close. I've entitled this shot Will They, Won't They, because it is very typical of the behaviour they displayed. On Saturday there was not too much action, there was a stiff breeze and that made the water quite choppy. There were four pairs to choose from, but even those who managed to find some flatter water didn't oblige us. It would have been a distant shot had they done so. Frustrated by this lack of action, we moved off around the reserve and tried to hunt down some Bearded Tits. Some members of our group had already been successful the previous weekend and posted some stunning shots on Flickr. Again we were to be disappointed. They were there because we could hear them, but they were deep in the reeds and we never did see them.

Sunday was rather better from a wind strength point of view and that is when I got this shot. There were still four pairs of Grebes, but they were generally much closer to our position. I lost count of the number of times it looked like we should finally be lucky, but we never were. There was one occasion where one pair tried to exchange tokens of their love (a reed stalk and a small twig), but I guess neither were that impressed and eventually they parted.

On the face of it, a wasted weekend, but it was far from that. The weather was good, as was the company and it was quite relaxing just to watch the birds on their terms, with the feeling of expectation.

A Rest from the Spoonbills

After two days of solid Spoonbill chasing, we decided to take a rest from that and ventured down to RSPB Radipole Lake to see what was on offer. The day started promisingly with a pair of Great Crested Grebe doing a courtship dance near the concrete bridge. Looking into the sun, a silhouette shot really didn't do the spectacle justice, so we moved on to where we had been told there were Bearded Tits. There was nothing doing in that respect, but very soon we came upon a pair of Long Tailed Tits busily nest building and we started to look for THE shot. A dead tree in close proximity offered what we needed, but as ever the wildlife had other ideas.
So about 90 minutes later we were still there having photographed them in a variety of poses and light conditions as they came and went. Sometimes they would be gone for ten minutes, other times only for about thirty seconds as they gathered lichen and moss to build their new home. In that time THE shot was only offered twice and this was one of the results. They don't perch for long before they move off again, maybe only to another branch, but on other times to a distant tree.
The rest of the visit was something of an anti-climax. We heard reports of Marsh Harrier activity closer to the North hide than normal in the morning, but saw nothing and there had been a brief glimpse of the Kingfisher. So without further ado we decided to adjourn and found ourselves drawn back to RSPB Lodmoor. 
The closest shot of a single Spoonbill was on offer from the Western path, before it flew back to the distant location they seem to have favoured on this visit. We later learned that the other three had flown away from the reserve earlier in the afternoon.
And so to today, where we have found out that the Bearded Tits were back at Radipole late afternoon, well after we had left. Our friend Frank Gardiner has posted up some beautiful shots of them. I guess that's more unfinished business for us.

Spoonbill Stake Out

The welcome sunshine that arrived yesterday sent me down to RSPB Lodmoor for another crack at getting a decent Spoonbill shot. Last weekend's effort had been a complete waste of time as they kept their distance, rendering a mere record shot as the only outcome. Once I arrived it was quite easy to find them, but getting a shot was out of the question. So I set up in the shelter where I could at least track their movements and hope they would come close. Suffice to say, four hours later they had moved a few times, but never came close so I gave up for the day.
Today was a different matter and Rose and I set off again hoping it would be our lucky day. As we approached the shelter, we could see that they were quite close and meeting up with our friends Frank and Chris, they reckoned we should get a result. Once again we set up in the shelter along with another friend Danny, who had already been there for nearly three hours. At this point the 'Spoons' were all sleeping and although each would stir briefly and preen for a few minutes, they just went back to sleep again. And so it remained for another couple of hours until one of the trio started walking, quickly joined by the other two. We hoped that finally they would move near enough to get a decent shot and very quickly they took to the air. For a couple of minutes they circled around, getting higher and higher and then started to dive down. It looked as though they had found a spot to land, but then suddenly they climbed again. A couple more circuits and they did land, in the middle of the reserve where once more a shot was impossible. So this shot I grabbed as they were taking off was about the best I could get today. But there's always tomorrow………….

Processing and All That

The plan for today was to have a serious attempt at going through the images from our recent trip to South Africa. It wasn't long before I came across this image of what is said to be the most photographed bird in the country. I can see why that should be. There are many different shades in their feathers and most importantly, they like to pose. This is one of a series of shots and also my favourite.
That trip was a fact finding visit as much as for photography.  We are planning a trip in 2015 with a group of four to six enthusiastic photographers in conjunction with On Track Safaris. So if you want to get shots like these and others we shall be posting in the next few weeks, be sure to get in touch. 
As I'm sat here doing this, the sun is creeping through the grey clouds and I think I won't get through many more images before the urge to get out to the local reserve takes over.

Ian Rose Photography is Born

This portrait of a Mute Swan was taken at Lodmoor RSPB today as we waited for the Spoonbills to move closer to the cameras. A super portrait to mark the start of Ian Rose Photography  and the launch of this blog. We will be regularly updating with images from our various assignments, along with information about the workshops and photographic trips we are organising.
Exciting news to start off with is a planned Big 5 safari to South Africa in September 2015. We have recently returned from a fact finding trip and are now working on the exact details with our colleagues in South Africa. The most important aspect of this is to ensure it is affordable for enthusiast photographers and represents good value for money. More details as they become available.
You can catch up with us on Facebook and Twitter and look out for the website coming soon at ianrosephotography.co.uk.
Incidentally, the Spoonbills never did come close.