Showing posts with label Redmires reservoirs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Redmires reservoirs. Show all posts

June 9, 2014

Early morning and Cuckoo

On Friday, I took the bike up to Redmires reservoirs early in the morning to give it a go on finding the cuckoo and to get some pictures. The weather wasn't to bad either which helped :)
I arrived around 5:30 and the cuckoo was nowhere to find. Usually if its active you hear it straight away. Gladly, just half hour later I could hear it calling, which just means now I had to find where it is. It flies around lots, but by mimicking its calling you can get it to at least check out what you are. Lucky No other people were there :)) And the mimicking worked! I managed to get it curious so it flew past me many times during the morning.
The cuckoo is a bit special, as you might already know. It doesn't build its own nests at all, it lays an egg in a nest that already have eggs and preferably of small birds. It can adapt the color of its egg to the hosts! Then the female cuckoo takes away most of the hosts eggs from the nest, and leave its own egg to its fate. The female looking then for next nest and does this about 9 times. Amazing..... 
The birds that end up with a cuckoo's egg take care of it as its own, incubate it and feeds it when it hatch. I wonder what they think when the cuckoo chick grows into a much bigger chicks than they thought their would be :)
Now I'm off to Croatia for 2 weeks, to do some refurbishment on our summer house. Obviously the camera will be going with me!

See you in couple of weeks, Enjoy the summer!
                                                                       
 
 
Curlew
 
Cuckoo
 
Cuckoo
 
Cuckoo
 
Goldfinch



May 18, 2014

An early morning attempt

A few days ago I tried to get up early and take the bike up to Redmires reservoirs to get few pics of the Cuckoo. Unfortunately I left the flat an hour too late and by doing that missed the cuckoo that already was inside the forest. Cuckoos song is something many will recognize, but not many have actually seen it. I have been lucky to have seen many times flying around the moorlands or sitting on poles looking and waiting for the caterpillars and other delicious food. Anyway, enough about that. Will keep you posted when I make another attempt.
Even without the Cuckoo, I stayed outdoors and enjoyed the weather. Lately it has been wonderfully warm and sunny, so some photos I managed to get. So here they come.
I have 'photographers block' for the moment, hence not many blogs lately... Soon will pass.. :))
                                                                        
Snipe

Lapwing, look how they are hiding their feet

Water vole