Yes, I was at it again!
On my belly in amongst the local wildlife.This time I was in amongst the cattle too!
Our 'spring crop' of Yellow Wagtail's had arrived,in abundance,so Saturday afternoon found me wrapped in an exceedingly warm and uncomfortable two square metres of hide netting doing an inch by inch belly crawl towards the foraging flock of a hundred or so 'golden nuggets'.
These feathered buttercups were far too busy catching flies amongst the grazing cattle to notice me and,after a slow 15 minutes,I was in amongst 'em.
You would think,with their over bright,springtime yellow plumage, that they would be an easy target for any passing bird of prey.When you watch them at a distance,amongst the cattle,in the short grass, you can see that nature isn't realy that extravagant and that striking yellow isn't just for show!Through the shimmering heat haze,above the lush young grass shoots, they realy do look like a patch of buttercups or dandelions waving in the wind.
The video footage and photo's that I shot while I was there just don't compare to the experience of having these brightly coloured gems only inches away,even landing on the back of my legs, picking flies from my camera lens, and using my head as a lookout post.
Can birding get any better? At the time,I,of course,would say no!But you know birding and nature watching, every adventure is different, and a new surprise and thrill is allways on the cards.
All I can say is that the hour of intimacy with these little beauties was better than sleeping with a nest full of baby rats any day of the week.And what weather!It was scorching,and hardly a cloud in the sky.
There was plenty of other nature stuff going on while I filmed the waggies,but I was too transfixed to notice much.
I did hear a Curlew calling from somewhere,and a few Redshank were displaying and calling over their nesting territories. A stunning Brown Hare scuttled past me as I lay on the ground, and I did take a hasty photo as he raced past and the male Shoveler,that left the river to have a bit of a preen and sunbathe,just over to my left, was just asking to be photographed.
The local Yellow Wagtail bonanza is one of my favourite migration events and,luckily,we get it twice a year,April and August.
I've added the link to my BirdforumTV video of the Yellow Wagtails, if anybody is interested enough to have a look.
Joe
Yellow Wag video :- http://www.birdforum.tv/action/viewvideo/2055/Yellow_Wagtail___f__flavissima/?ref=cheersm8
On my belly in amongst the local wildlife.This time I was in amongst the cattle too!
Our 'spring crop' of Yellow Wagtail's had arrived,in abundance,so Saturday afternoon found me wrapped in an exceedingly warm and uncomfortable two square metres of hide netting doing an inch by inch belly crawl towards the foraging flock of a hundred or so 'golden nuggets'.
These feathered buttercups were far too busy catching flies amongst the grazing cattle to notice me and,after a slow 15 minutes,I was in amongst 'em.
You would think,with their over bright,springtime yellow plumage, that they would be an easy target for any passing bird of prey.When you watch them at a distance,amongst the cattle,in the short grass, you can see that nature isn't realy that extravagant and that striking yellow isn't just for show!Through the shimmering heat haze,above the lush young grass shoots, they realy do look like a patch of buttercups or dandelions waving in the wind.
The video footage and photo's that I shot while I was there just don't compare to the experience of having these brightly coloured gems only inches away,even landing on the back of my legs, picking flies from my camera lens, and using my head as a lookout post.
Can birding get any better? At the time,I,of course,would say no!But you know birding and nature watching, every adventure is different, and a new surprise and thrill is allways on the cards.
All I can say is that the hour of intimacy with these little beauties was better than sleeping with a nest full of baby rats any day of the week.And what weather!It was scorching,and hardly a cloud in the sky.
There was plenty of other nature stuff going on while I filmed the waggies,but I was too transfixed to notice much.
I did hear a Curlew calling from somewhere,and a few Redshank were displaying and calling over their nesting territories. A stunning Brown Hare scuttled past me as I lay on the ground, and I did take a hasty photo as he raced past and the male Shoveler,that left the river to have a bit of a preen and sunbathe,just over to my left, was just asking to be photographed.
The local Yellow Wagtail bonanza is one of my favourite migration events and,luckily,we get it twice a year,April and August.
I've added the link to my BirdforumTV video of the Yellow Wagtails, if anybody is interested enough to have a look.
Joe
Yellow Wag video :- http://www.birdforum.tv/action/viewvideo/2055/Yellow_Wagtail___f__flavissima/?ref=cheersm8
Absolutely EXQUISITE pics there :t:
