Back to Bretton

Depending on your point of view, Bretton Lakes Nature Reserve has recently been either revamped or vandalised. Today was my first visit since the not-so-grand re-opening and the first thing to hit me was the exponential rise in visitor numbers. I'm far from being an expert but I can't see how this can have a positive effect? I suppose only time will tell and we will be able to make more of a judgement when the next breeding season starts?

The sun was already sinking below the horizon when I arrived so, birdfeed at the ready, I made straight for the hide. All the usual suspects were around and were more than happy for me to sit close to their feeding stations to get some pics.

Photographically, the bad light meant high ISO settings and low shutter speeds hence there was plenty of noise and motion blur on the results.

After much post-processing here is the best of what I captured...


(Wren, Coal Tit, Great Tit, Nuthatch, Blue Tit and Chaffinch)

Bretton Update

There were lots of Bluebells around to brighten up the woodland this morning. Pity I failed to anticipate this and bring a short lens with me to capture it!

Peacock butterfly.

Wren

There wasn't much else to be seen in Bridge Royd Wood so I headed for the hide. Just before I arrived I heard some birdsong from within a bush so I decided to hang around for a bit. After a couple of minutes this Blackcap popped-up to see what was going on.

Thankfully I didn't just blunder into the hide and stick my lens through the viewing window or I would have spooked this young Grey Heron who was perched on a log just in front of the island.

One of my favourite pastimes last spring was watching the Bank Voles, Woodmice and Shrews that became partial to the birdseed and nuts at the rear of the hide. It's nice to see that they have returned. Unfortunately I didn't have a flash with me so all today's shots were blurred barring this one which is almost sharp.

Bank Vole

Signs of Spring - Part II

I returned to Bretton this morning to see if any more Chiffchaffs had arrived since Sunday. There were at least a couple and I managed to get a few albeit modest shots of one of them.

Down at the hide a Wren has started to build a nest just inside of the door opening. I was sat just a few feet away but he didn't seem at all bothered by me being there or the flash firing as I took these photos.

After leaving the hide I met a fellow photographer who told me of a couple of Green Woodpeckers at the far side of the bottom lake. This is a bird I've only ever seen once and I don't have any decent shots of so I followed his directions to see what I could see. He was correct - there was one there - but my clumsy approach saw it take flight. I felt that something else was watching me and looked down to find that the Woodpecker wasn't the only animal to be alerted by my presence!

Signs of Spring

The forecast was for fine weather this morning so I got up early and headed for Bretton Lakes in the hope that the first of the summer migrants had arrived. The Chiffchaffs are usually the first to appear and it seems that this year is no exception. After a few minutes walking through the woods by the top lake their trademark call could be heard. Unfortunately the sound only lasted for a minute or so and I didn't manage to catch sight of it's owner. Give it a few more days and we should be up and running!

There was plenty of other activity though. Especially on the lake where the resident Mute Swan cob was busy patrolling the area around the island, where I suspect his mate is hidden away on the nest. As usual he was engaged in his favourite 'sport' - Canada Goose chasing. He really seems to hate these creatures with a vengeance and not just at breeding time either.

Here he is at full ramming-speed, driving off the first of his happless victims.

When he tired of surface-raiding he decided to try aerial bombardment! Note the rather bemused Tufted Duck.

Well that shifted 'em!

A pair Great Crested Grebes have nested just to the right side of island for a couple of years but this time they have decided on a new site, nearer to the middle of the lake. It will be harder to get close to this nest but you can get some distant shots from the path which runs near the lakeside.

She was 'in position' for some time before the male took the hint and did the business...

It was all over in a flash.

I've been trying to get close enough to photograph Goldcrests for ages now but haven't seen a single bird until recently. I was only about 20 feet from this pair but that still isn't near enough even with a 500mm lens + 1.4x teleconverter so I had to make do with these heavy crops.

Last but not least is this Wren, who was hanging around the hide whilst I was in there.

Bretton Lakes Update

Well its not quite the antarctic but we are in the midst of a fairly prolonged cold snap. Snow rarely even settles in these parts but it has been covering the ground for over a week now. Daytime temperatures are hovering around 0-2 degrees which has meant the ice on Bretton Lakes isn't getting a chance to thaw.

View from Cascade Bridge.

I'm not sure what type of tree this is but the local birdlife are currently feasting on it's red berries.

One of the many Blackbirds taking advantage of some non-frozen food!

Also present but far more furtive was a flock of about a dozen Fieldfares. This was the first time I've encountered this bird!

They all flew off shortly after I got this shot.

As usual there were plenty of Robins around.

Nuthatch

I've been spending some time watching the undergrowth in the hope of spotting a Goldcrest for some weeks now but without any luck. Today's visit was the same but I did come across a Wren and a Dunnock.

Birds of Bretton - Part One

Bretton Lakes nature reserve is my local patch. Formerly managed by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust it is now under the direct control of the local council. Whether or not this is a good thing remains to be seen but things seem to be working ok at the moment.

Bretton Lakes on Multimap


Here are a selection of the many photographs I have taken at this reserve. They are in no particular date order but most are taken in the spring and summer.

There is a more informed look at this reserve on this blog - Bluebirder

Kingfisher

Bluetit    

Nuthatch

Kingfisher

Grey Squirrel stealing the peanut butter I put out for the birds!

Treecreeper

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Wren

Kingfisher