day out in northumberland.(moon,bittern,stonechat & seo)

thought i'd share my day out with you guys ...

got to my bittern watchpoint  before sun rise so i could get pitched in & hopefully not disturb them.....

the only thing i could see when i got set up was............

the lake was frozen solid so i guessed i'd have a good chance of seeing my bird of the moment......

saw three different bitterns & this one graced me with about an hour out in the open in glorious light........

always wanted a close up of a bittern so i was a very happy snapper.........

decided i'd go & see if i could get myself a decent view of a stonechat further up the coast .

on arrival at my chosen lay by i started getting my gear sorted from the car when i noticed this one about 30m into the field.

30mins later after a bit of stealth i managed to get close enough.......

i was delighted to catch this little beaut.........

thought that was it for the day so i started to make my way back to the car when i noticed .....

had 6 short eared owl quartering the scrub fields for another two hours........... amazing to watch...........

driving home my final thought was , isn't birding just fantastic & we are so lucky.....

hope you enjoy, i most definitely did........

(only another 1200 images to get through)

Wow Paul

I'm gobsmacked, what brilliant photo's,

what a fantastic day you have had,

as you say birding is fantastic especially with rewards like that,

What a fab night into day and some wonderful sightings and shots and of course it had end with a Shorty, don't you just love em.

thanks sugar & judiM i had a fantastic day out...........roll on the next one......

Oh wow, the benefits of a cold winter morning. They are fabulous photos. Hope you have warmed up.  The shorties are wonderful.

Caroline in Jersey

Thank you Caroline.   :-)

Absolutely stunning set of photo's, what a day you had Paul!

Daniel!

Thanks Daniel. Yep had a great time.

Thoae are brilliant photos!! The moon is truely out of this world!! Wonderful to see bittern so close to 'home', one day I'll get out there. Love them!!

Absolutely fantastic pics. and agree with Osprey, the moon shot is out of this world for sure :0))) No wonder you had a fab day.

A super set of shots here Paul.  particuarly like the second Stonechat shot.

Andrew

Thanks again for the comments....

That's my favourite too Andrew. First one I've seen so I was very happy getting this one.

Super photos Paul.As everyone has said, that moon is stunning.And the stonechat is a real beauty as is the shortie....just love owls faces.

Viv.

Great photos - thanks for sharing. Winter is still a good time for photography when you get the right weather conditions. A good combination of luck, careful planning and the much needed stealth. Well done.

Hi Drexyl, Just wondering where is your site? I'm looking for somewhere to go birding in Northumberland, as I'm living up here until the end of March. Any help you could give would be appreciated! Sarah