I still haven’t plucked up the courage to return to Elmley Nature Reserve. Most of my visits during the summer were pretty fruitless and once all the lakes and streams had dried up, there didn’t seem to be much point. I’ve tried to find out where the water actually comes from. Google tells me that most of it comes from rainfall, but during dry years, the reserve supplements this with water abstracted from nearby ditches and reservoirs. The problem is, we’ve had such a dry year, that I’m not sure if even this is possible.
I may decide to “kill two birds with one stone”, as my sickly Nikon D810 is now ready for collection, having been cleaned and serviced. Although I now believe my earlier problems were caused by heat haze, the camera definitely needs to be tested. While I’m there, I can see if any of the ditches have started to fill.
These two images were taken back in early January. I normally find that crows are very wary and will take off well before I’m close enough for my 600mm lens. However, this one was hunting something on the ground and was happy to perch for a short while.
Sid
22 Oct 2025Good Morning! Weather is a weird thing: here in the south it has been not so dry for all this year (and it’s raining again these first autumn days!) and crows are everywhere!
Great photos ♥️
Ciao
Sid
Zooey
22 Oct 2025Well… tonight we have a named storm, with very heavy rain and winds over 70mph tomorrow. The llamas and goats will be shut in the yard and field shelter to keep them safe and dry. At least the grass in our fields is still growing 🙂