Dont Be Cruel...

(CLICK ON A PIC AND IT WILL GO BIG)

Ahhh! the late eighties.  What an amazing place to be.  Nintendo Gameboy.  Michael Jackson.  Bobby Brown.  Ghostbusters.  It was pretty much in that order for me. Today I was in my element, Bobby was singing his heart out on the radio.  His classic "Don't be Cruel" blared out of my Peugeot 107s little speakers.

Meanwhile I was photographing a Buzzard near Glastonbury....

I bet nobody has ever photographed a Buzzard whilst hanging out of a Peugeot 107 with 

Bobby Brown playing at full volume

The Kestrel was less impressed and kept his distance.

I thought it was a Merlin...

As the track faded away to be replaced by ad breaks I headed over to Tealham, hoping for a Peregrine or Merlin...  Instead I ended up playing a fun game of cat and mouse with a Buzzard. The 'drive whilst trying to take a photo' technique didn't really work with this wily fellow.  He simply took a quick look and swooped off to the next tree.  Eventually, after I nearly crashed into a cyclist I admitted defeat and drove off,.  The song Don't Be Cruel seemed rather apt...

 Repeat this a few times and add in a frightened cyclist and you are pretty much there.

See above sentence

 Here is a Merlin Kestrel having some trouble with a Crow.

One of many Kestrels out and about.  

The sun was starting to come out a bit so I decided ditch the car and take a walk along London Drove to the hide at the end (the Island one). There was plenty going on.  A Kingfisher zipped by the hide and a Marsh harrier floated by, sadly the sun went in whilst this was happening.

They are 2 different pictures.  Sadly both of them are dark and distant.

The light went at just the wrong moment (a bit cruel really...)

Meanwhile a great White egret had flown a bit closer.  I kept my camera on him as he stalked the edge of the lake.  Then, a smaller brown heron flew straight at me.  BITTERN!!! I fumbled and cocked the whole thing up.  The bird landed right in front of the hide.  When I say landed it kind of crashed into the reeds.  I cursed out loud.  When do you get a Bittern fly right at you? NEVER!!

Booby's track thumped through my head even louder.

 Great White flying about (quite pleased with these - it came out quite sharp)

 GWE cruelly laughing at my Bittern problem

Bet they could see the Bittern

I decided to calm myself down by taking some nice scenic shots

This one is a homage to the first ever blog post

Something I now regret...

About 5 seconds after taking the above photo, just as I was reviewing the picture.  A Bittern flew up, less than 15 feet away.  It scared the living daylights out of me (I scare easily and wear pink T-Shirts).  Had I kept my camera up I would have had a great shot, even the light was perfect.

Once more Bobby sang to me.

The only consolation was the fact that I had never seen a Bittern so close.  In the few seconds it was up (before landing rather noisily again in front of the hide) I could appreciate its incredible plumage.  It seemed to almost have a greenish tinge about it (although that could be a result of the Lidl's cider had drunk the night before, only £1.49 for 4 tins!).

I looked desperately in the reeds.  The blighter was in there, a few feet away.  But I just couldn't find him.  The day ended with a phone call from The Boss.  It was time to leave.

Bobby had warned me at the start of the day...   Wildlife photography is a cruel business.