If you have seen my other photos, you will probably see Bearded Tits featuring quite a lot. Well, over the Autumn half term, I asked my parents whether they would take me to Oare for a chance to photograph the Bearded tits (which I had seen but failed to photograph last year). Luckily for me they agreed, so we set off for the 1 hour car journey to Oare at 8:30. Traffic was on our side, so we arrived just 50 minutes later at 9:20. I would have set straight off for the small channel that the Bearded tits favour, however some confiding Stonechats held me up as I couldn't resist photographing them. Although I didn't realise at the time, this diversion would almost mean missing my much sought after quarry. We eventually resumed our journey to the Bearded Tit location, me at a fast stride, my Mum (armed with a book and a flask of coffee) at a gentle amble. My spirits were raised when I saw a cluster of photographers with massive lenses, only to find by the time I got there they were dispersing and I was confronted with draw-dropping images of the Bearded Tits and the usual but dreaded saying 'you should have been here 5 minutes ago'! We waited for 30 minutes, my patience slowly waning as others came and went and eventually I wandered off down another path. This almost paid dividends as a pair of Bearded Tits briefly alighted in some reeds in front of me, but alas they didn't pose for pictures and went straight to the grit trays where I had been standing. I ran back and was rewarded for my efforts with one blurry photo - at least a record I had seen them. Matters then took a turn for a worse as whilst I was eagerly expecting the return of the Bearded tits, I was informed I missed a male Hen Harrier (a bird I had never seen before) as I was facing the wrong direction.
I was just making plans with my Mum to leave and come back tomorrow morning, when I heard the familiar, hope-bringing 'pinging' of some Bearded Tits. They flew into reeds on the other side of a small channel, and after a few tense moments to my delight they started to climb up the reed stems, feeding as they went, and stayed put for a good 2-3 minutes before departing into thicker reeds; allowing me time to obtain the images I have on my blog. Buoyed with this success we slowly ambled back to the car, along the way to come across some adorable and very confiding Long-tailed tits, feeding in some hawthorn bushes. A few more snaps and we were on our way home, both feeling very satisfied!
Long-tailed tits
Stonechat
Very interesting...