Return to Oare Marshes

We had our second visit to Oare Marshes today. As before, it started off cloudy but soon turned into another hot and dusty Day but the wind from the River Swale was very blustery so we stayed inland along the side of the lake where it was more sheltered. Our first stop was to watch a pair of Lapwings cavorting about the sky. These birds are very aerobatic and very hard to photograph.






It looks like there is a fresh water stream running alongside the lake. A flock of Greylag Geese swam over from the lake to have a drink. In amongst them was a bar headed goose. Probably an escapee from a private collection as they are not a visiting species to our shores.


Also enjoying the stream were some coots. We watched as some juniors swam past, showing off their new feathers and displaying how well they have learned to swim. Mom was watching them carefully from the safety of the reeds and soon called them back if they ventured too far from her.





As we were watching the coots, a little Egret flew over and started to fish nearby. Such a graceful bird, their long legs are ideal for wading in the lake and their sharp eyes spot even the tiniest fish. With a lightening strike, they extend their necks and the fish becomes a tasty meal.



A bit further round the lake we espied an Avocet feeding. What luck, we have only seen these from a distance before and this one was quite close although on his own. It is interesting to see how they use their long curved bills to filter the water for food.

We hope that you enjoyed our trip to Oare Marshes. These and other pictures from our trip can be found in the Nature Gallery on our web site at www.voinapics.co.uk

Steve & Mick

Our first visit to Oare Marshes

Today we had our first visit to Oare Marshes Nature reserve near Faversham, UK. The day started off very grey and overcast as we started to explore the reserve. Oare Marshes are located on the south bank of the River Swale so there were plenty of black headed gulls screeching about overhead.





The sun soon popped out from the clouds and it turned into another sweltering day. It's a good job that we had our wide brimmed hats on otherwise badly burnt necks would have been the order of the day.


There were some volunteer workers strimming the reeds on the lakes and as they moved closer to the water, a large flock of Black Tailed Godwits took to the air. It was good to see these as we have not spotted any for quite a while now.


It was very peaceful (apart from the constant buzz from the workers strimmers) walking along the footpaths. We watched a gaggle of Greylag geese waddle down the bank into the lake playing follow my leader




A bit further along and we had the pleasure of watching a beautiful Litte Egret fly down and land nearby. He soon began to fish and appeared to catch quite a few little fish from the lake. After 10 minutes or so, he tired of fishing and took off flying to the middle of the lake onto a raised bank where he began to preen himself. So we packed up our gear and started walking on, only to see the Egret fly back to the same spot and start fishing again. Back we went as well and continued to watch him for quite a while before he flew off to another location.



The butterflies were out in force as well, dancing amongst the wild flowers along the pathways. Here you can see a Painted Lady enjoying the blossom.

We hope that you enjoyed our little story and would welcome any comments or suggestions. Further pictures from our trip to Oare Marshes can be found by visiting our Nature Galleries at www.voinapics.co.uk

Steve & Mick

Today at Elmley RSPB reserve

It was another hot dusty day at Elmley RSPB. We aspied some very young coots learning to swim, their little bald red heads bobbing about in the reeds. One of the youngsters ventured out of the reeds briefly to allow us to photograph him. It will be a few weeks yet before the feathers grow over the head and they begin to look more sleek.



Elmley reserve is suffering badly from the drought that we have in the south east now. A lot of the ponds and tiny streams have all dried up. This of course is affecting the pond life that is a big source of food for the birds and waders here so many are leaving or dying.



What was enjoying the sunshine though was the giant thistles. They are now out in bloom and look very spectacular. We do not know the species but they stand about five foot high with their crown of blooms.


All these flowers of course were attracting the butterflies that were out in force. It sums up a perfect summer day to see these beautiful insects cavorting about.



Although the ponds are drying up there is still a few small streams flowing, and along the banks of these, the dragonflies are breeding. This little pied wagtail certainly found them quite tasty and posed for us proudly with his catch.



There were swallows in abundance today, busily rocketing about catching insects for their ever hungry young. By luck, one was nesting in the toilet block and could be seen from a distance. We set up our camera out of the way so as not to disturb the fledglings and waited for mom to come and feed them.


We hope that you enjoyed these pictures. Further pictures from Elmley can be found on our website in the Nature Gallery at www.voinapics.co.uk
Steve & Mick

DTM at Brands Hatch

It was a super sunny day at Brands Hatch this weekend for the fourth round of the DTM championships. Here you can see Tom Kristensen roaring to Pole position in his Audi A4 DTM car during Saturdays qualifying

More pictures can be found on the Motorsports Gallery at http://www.voinapics.co.uk

Steve & Mick