A FEW HOURS AT AMWELL NATURE RESERVE

I managed  to get out to somewhere I had wanted to the last couple of years...especially when someone told me that if you sit in one of the hides the Reed Buntings are so used to people that you end up quite close to them?!

A photographic opportunity of one of several genus I would very much like to get more on.

It did not work out quite that well but I did get a few things and a few unexpected things too, like  kingfisher, be it a mere flash! Bummer!

Hmm I have just resized the photos and they are all dreadful and lack sharpness.

It seems trying to go out with this camera in future will be a complete waste of time?!

Darn it!!

Now I have to decide what to do?!

I tell you I have had terrible luck with cameras since Is tarted this blog, what with several not working out of the box when new and finding out they are refurbished and not new and one other overheating after just 6 months and now this one losing focus and a strange juddering when filming at powerful zoom lengths?!

Jesus, do I really want to buy a camera now or just leave it a couple of months?

Pochards... 

The Duck Wash ...

Tufted Ducks...

Pochard and Lapwing

Red Admiral Butterfly

Reed Bunting...

Water Mint...

Giant Pondweed...

VIDEO of A BIRD SKULKING IN THE GRASS

Most likely a Hen Pheasant but I spotted her and she, or indeed he, kept popping up to keep an eye on where I was, lol.

VIDEO of THE BLACK PHEASANT - PHASIANUS COLCHICUS v. TENEBROSUS

I finally get to photo and video that Black Pheasant that proved elusive last year...or the year before, lol.

IN SEARCH OF THE BLACK PHEASANT - PHASIANUS COLCHICUS

THE BLIGHTER!!

This is one I followed about either last year or the year before and I had one of my brothers with me at the time who also saw it.

In fact I did not even think it was a Pheasant at first and did not know what it was.

SO a few days back and a hundred yards from reaching an Orchid site I spotted the same Cock Pheasant out in the open and immediately hit the brakes. I scrambled to get the new camera with a 40x zoom and a large objective lens, as opposed to the 14x zoom of the previous camera with a tiny objective lens.

So after spotting a second Black Pheasant pair a couple hundred yards from my house I end up spotting this first one I saw over 5 miles from my house!

Probably wont be thought much of but I thought it cool, lol.

I should be very careful about using scientific names as there can be different species and also sub-species and I know nothing of these dark Pheasants.

People who are armchair experts can spout words like melanistic, leutistic, amelanistic and many other terms as these have been bounded about a fair amount in recent years by hobbyists. I do not just mean in the world of birds either as it is rife in herpetology too.

But in nature morphological differences along with thos of recent mutations, genetic differences and simple location colour differences are still trying to be understood.

To me it is unusual to not only see something this different in colour to the norm but to do so, so often and suddenly.

Suggests something escaped and there are a great many different species of Pheasant in Asia where they all originate from, along with my favourite the Golden Pheasant and a new one, apparently found in the UK, whose name I cannot recall right now, lol.

IN SEARCH OF THE BLACK PHEASANT

Blimey have I got some real treats for you?!

The odd part is I will only put up two posts of a dozen as I am out of it and tomorrow I am out yet again and much further afield too boot.

Tomorrows excursion could really be a game changer in more ways than one?!

Here is a Black Pheasant I have been after for two years near one of the Orchid sites I visit!

PHEASANT

Pretty close.