That's Better

At last it seems as though we are turning the corner weather-wise and there is plenty of interest around and about to be photographed. Personally I'm feeling a bit ring-rusty and going to need a few trips out to get back on my game. It's a bit like the times when I can't ride my bike or run, I'm dying to get back into it, but technique and fitness comes back slowly. That's especially so now, I guess age has to come into it sometime.
A couple of days off work last week helped and that they coincided with bright conditions was a bonus. We ventured up to Blandford for the Otters on Tuesday, where the mother and two cubs (kitts, pups - take your pick) had been spotted early morning. It seems the attention of a number of long lenses on the riverbank, not to mention some serious video kit, caused the mum to move the cubs to safety and we never actually saw them. She went off fishing and led us a merry dance up and down the path, eventually going back to the hiding place with a very large eel.
Moving on we nipped down to Upton Country Park to try for the Jays and Great Spotted Woodpeckers. Both were spotted, but unlike last year, I was unable to get an unhindered view of a Jay. We both struck lucky with the Woodpeckers and between us got both male and female.
Thursday afternoon was another opportunity. We had a reasonable period of sunshine down at Lodmoor and got a few good shots, one of which I added to my Flickr account here. There was a solitary and distant Spoonbill, but most disappointing of all was the Marsh Harrier, which showed beautifully along the line of both the West path and Beechdown Way. The problem was, we were watching this from Southdown Avenue.
You're probably wondering why I should post an image of a White-tailed Eagle, rather than the birds I have mentioned locally. The main reason for that is I've yet to process much of last week's efforts, but equally I'm looking forward to the opportunity of getting more eagles in Scotland later this year when hopefully I shall be back near the top of my game again.