Tuesday 19 June 2007

Swans

Well, i returned to Cullaloe today, with a view to getting some photos of the great spotted woodpecker on the feeders. It didn't work out too well, though. The woodpecker was about, and swooped over the feeders several times, but refused to settle on any of them while i was close (i was approximately 15 feet away from the feeders. The smaller birds had no problems with me, though (I've edited my previous post on the feeders with a pic of the birds on it)

The birds that were being particularly photogenic were the swans. They came close enough to the hide/screen for me to get a couple of good pics. (shown below) They actually started out with 5 cygnets, but they're down to three now. They're looking good, though, so here's hoping they all make it.
I also saw a young coot being fed by it's parent. This one is quite big, and pretty close to fledging. I'd seen coot chicks there earlier on in the season, but i thought they'd all died, since i haven't seen them for some time. It's nice to know that they're still about.


Female swan and 3 cygnets

The male swan

Of course, birds aren't the only things to be seen on the reserve. Right now there's plenty of common blue damselflies (shown below) and there's more and more butterflies appearing all the time (Although they're annoyingly good at avoiding the camera!).
There's also roe deer on the reserve, and we've had foxes living here in the past. Mice and voles are all over the place, but spotting them can be a bit of a challenge!




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