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Monday 20 May 2013

Bosherston ~ Spring At Last!!

Spring seems to have taken forever to get here, or at least a day where Spring photography could take place!! The winter just seemed to drag on endlessly. When I left for my US trip in the middle of April, Spring had still not shown much sign of arriving. When I returned at the end of April there were finally signs that it was starting to make an appearance, but a further two weeks of mainly heavy rains and high winds meant no getting out to photograph it. Finally, on Saturday (18th May), a fine sunny morning!! I was off very early to my favourite Spring place....Bosherston Lily Ponds. Not actually ponds, but artificially created lakes, by damming three deep narrow valleys about 200 years ago. In summer the ponds are choked with lily pads but in Spring they are only just starting to appear. 
Spring Blue 1

There are no ornamental gardens here, just lots of trees and small wild flowers.
Little Wonder 1

There are always many birds to be seen at Bosherston, so I always take some seed with me to feed them. It helps with photographing them, too, as they are too busy eating to notice me snapping away!!
Male Chaffinch 3

Usually, different plants and trees bloom at different times, but with the lateness of Spring everything seems to be blooming at once.
Blossom 1

One bird that is always usually difficult to photograph at Bosherston is the Great Blue Heron. They always seem to stand well away from where people walk, so getting shots of them is hard, even with a good zoom like my camera has. However, on this day I was really lucky that one decided he wanted to do his fishing right below the path where I was photographing the small birds!!
Great Blue Heron 2

Although a common Spring flower in many places, Bluebells are not usually seen at Bosherston, so I was a little surprised to see them.
Bluebells

One bird you can find at Bosherston no matter what the time of year or weather is the Robin. These cheeky fellows are always on the lookout for a free handout.
Robin 1

It was a beautiful day for photography and hopefully the (late) start of a good year!!
Pale Perfection 1

The rest of the set you can see in this Flickr slideshow:

22 comments:

  1. Good Morning Mitch What a beautiful place and a wonderful collection of shots a great way to start the day with my coffee;)

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  2. Good morning, Mitch! I was reading your words and thinking how the weather condition at your place has not been very different from ours, in Lisbon. I don't remember to have ever seen a so lazy spring... Glad to know you had a fine day last saturday. It seems that the fauna and flora were both waiting to be captured by your camera. Very very cute birds - awesome shot of the great blue heron - and the pretty flowers leave no doubt spring has arrived over there... Have a nice day!

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    1. Thanks Belita :-)) My hope is that this is the start, even though late, of a good Spring and Summer, with lots of photographic opportunities!!

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  3. what a gorgeous day you had. Loved all the photos-especially the close up of your heron-thats a neat idea to bring along some bird seed.

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    1. Thanks Kathy :-)) I was really pleased with my heron shots, it's so difficult to photograph them usually. I was amazed when that one landed right by me and started fishing.

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  4. What a pleasant day you bring to us, I feel surrounded by beautiful nature. Serene and peaceful. :)

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  5. I can tell it does your heart good :)
    I am loving the bird shots as much as the flowers! The top photo is just as magnificent!

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    1. Thanks Danette :-)) Yes, it felt so good to be able to be out and enjoy nature again after such a long cold wet winter. I have a feeling it might be another good year for birds, just like it was in 2011.

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  6. Thanks for sharing this beautiful day and awesome pictures of the nature Mitch .

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    1. Thanks Fatos :-)) Glad you enjoyed it.

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  7. Thanks for the link, MItch. Yes, the seasons are all over the place aren't they. A great set though at last! Looks like a wonderful place to spend a sunny spring day. I particularly like the head and shoulders shot of the heron; I must say I would always be tempted to frame the whole bird in the pic, but this works much better I think.

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    1. Thanks Neil :-)) It's one of my favourite places to photograph, I usually go at least two or three times per year, Spring, Summer and Autumn. I did take quite a few shots of the heron (as you can see in the slideshow) but this was my particular favourite.

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  8. Spring has definitely sprung in your part of the woods. It is lovely to have such places - a photographer's dream. Lovely flowers and birds I love the bird third one down with the red brest and blue head - is that a bullfinch?

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    1. Hi Pat !! I am lucky to have quite a few places in the local county for such photography. Many have added ornamental gardens to their estates, but here at Bosherston it's all 'wild'. The bird in the third photo is a male Chaffinch. Thanks for dropping by :-))

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  9. Take 2 ! I love the photos of the birds Mitch, especially the chafiinch and heron. You were really lucky to get so close to the heron. THey always seem to fly off as soon as I get a camera to my eye ...

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    1. I've just looked through the photos on Flickr too ~ excellent. You must have had a difficult job selecting just a handful to post in your blog above. The feathers on the heron and the other birds is just so spectacular. Excellent !

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    2. Thanks Charlie :-)) I was very pleased with this shoot. I was very lucky with the heron, I've never seen one land this close to a human before. He just stated fishing straight away, as if I wasn't there!! As for the small birds, i always take a bag of seed with me, which encourages them out of the trees onto a wall where they are easier to photograph. It does require patience though, standing still for extended periods is the trick.

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    3. As for difficulty choosing which shots to use.....I think Blogger has helped me there. Back on Multiply, we had the ability to post a whole album, so I'd just post the whole lot from a shoot. Here on Blogger, we don't have that option (except for a Flickr slideshow), so I've learned to be a lot more selective in which photos I use.

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