An Hour of frustration with Reed Warbler

I didn’t really have a plan when I went out for my walk today, I just knew that I needed to get out on the patch and today is the first day I have not been working and it hasn’t rained. I kind of hoped to see some newly fledged Long-tailed tits posing for photos but alas there were none (well none posing I did see some).

Arriving at the lake I was pleasantly surprised to see a Common Tern quartering the lake in search of a tasty silver fish or two (also three Herring Gull which are by no means common in Summer), I thought it might be an ideal time to tray and capture a flight shot or two, and so I set myself up at the thinnest spot on the lake and waited. And waited, and waited, and the thing never came close!

It wasn’t all disappointing though as the stretch I had walked down (the area that splits the main body of the lake) was alive with insects, mainly bees (which I did not photograph or identify in the main) as well as quite a few Blue-Tailed Damselfly, a few Azure Damselfly and my first Red-eyed Damselfly for the patch! and did allow me to see Reed Warbler and some lovely Greenfinch sat in the sunshine.

Greenfinch – Lodge Lake, Milton Keynes

Azure Damselfly – Lodge Lake, Milton Keynes

Bombus Locorum – Lodge Lake, Milton Keynes

Blue-tailed Damselfly – Lodge Lake, Milton Keynes

Red-Eyed Damselfly – Lodge Lake, Milton Keynes

Xanthogramma Pedissequum – Lodge Lake, Milton Keynes

The Reed Warbler Wait

After leaving the area and heading past the small lake I noticed the distinct sound of a Reed Warbler singing from the small clump of reeds and thought it might be a great spot to try and grab a photo, how wrong I turned out to be!

While the little Acro wandered up and down the reeds stopping to give long blasts of it’s wavering song it never really posed without half a dozen reeds obscuring the view. Now while our human eye can make these wonderful views we have the ability to adjust for the reeds the camera on the other hand cannot do this and so the pictures I did get were all pretty much obscured (see below for the best).

Reed Warbler – Lodge Lake, Milton Keynes

Some Final Odonata

I cut today’s walk short as with the big lens in tow (or more importantly the heavy tripod, I really think it is time to change to a monopod) I didn’t want to push it and decided to cut around the small lake and head back (only having covered half the lake) it was around here that I stumbled on a few more Odonata, a single Banded Demoiselle (female) flew through briefly, and there were a few mating Common Blue Damselfly, although they would not pose for a photo. But the star of the show was a lovely Female Broad-bodied Chaser that sat tantalisingly just out of reach (below is a cropped photo).


Broad-bodied Chaser (female I think rather than early male) – Lodge Lake, Milton Keynes

As a little aside you may notice my photos now carry a copyright, I hope it isn’t too distracting (and I will try to make sure it never covers the subject) but with so many people feeling images are free for them to use without permission I felt is has become necessary. Once again sorry if this upsets you.