Saturday 19 January 2019

Our Annual Pilgrimage to Welney including a Trial of the Photographic Hide

8th January 2019

January again so time for our annual visit to Welney to see the Whooper Swans and supporting cast. The primary viewpoint at Welney is the heated Main Hide, but here you are photographing through glass and the birds that come close are normally restricted to swans, Pochard and Tufted Duck. So to photograph some of the other species present we started off at one of the out-lying hides, the Lyle Hide. The light was beautiful today and illuminated this pair of Greylag Geese.






Also dabbling just outside the hide were Teal and Wigeon allowing a number of shots to be taken at our leisure.














At the Main Hide there are hundreds of Black-tailed Godwits roosting on the islands which take to the air every time a harrier wafts by. But here they are feeding just 15 yards outside the hide.








So now back to the Main Hide. I hate photographing through glass, but if you go to one of the "wing" hides you are 10 yards further back from the birds and away from the main action. Therefore today we paid an extra £15 which gave us all-day access to the photographic hide situated underneath the Main Hide.

For your £15 they take away the glass but also the heat and, especially with a westerly wind, you are somewhat exposed to the elements. However, you are closer to the birds than in the Main Hide due to the more favourable angle, and more importantly at eye-level. The Tufted Ducks looked resplendent in the afternoon sun.










At Welney the vast majority of the Pochards are males as most of the females spend the winter in Spain. However, there were one or two that hadn't read the rulebook and were keen to show off their subtle colouring.








The males, however, are the real dudes with their sharply contrasting colours and that piercing red eye.






There were a few Mute Swans, but they are totally outnumbered by the Whooper Swans. There are also Bewick Swans present but they tend to keep away from the Main Hide where they get bullied by the more dominant Whoopers.


I always think that the yellow on the bill of a Whooper Swan looks as though it has be painted on.
















The juvenile Whooper Swans can be distinguished from juvenile Mutes by the shape of the marking on the bill and the plumage which is a soft grey rather than brown.












And there is always an opportunity for some flight shots although this will depend on the direction of the wind.








Well, what a fabulous day. Conditions were perfect and I would strongly recommend a session in the photographic hide for those eye-level shots.

















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