Tuesday 16 October 2012

Where the birds were big and white.

One of the reasons I decided to got to the Wirral for the day was that there had been a Great White Egret seen over the previous few days. I've seen lots of Little Egrets but never the Great variety. I headed to Parkgate where it had been seen previously. When I arrived the heavens opened in biblical fashion. Hail stones so heavy that visibility was down just a few metres. I chose to stay in the car. When it finally stopped I drove along the front where I could see two Little Egrets and a Grey Heron. Then on the horizon (that was now a lot further away) up popped the Great White. Through the binoculars I could clearly see the yellow bill and it's size was unquestionable. A life time tick for me. Sorry about the quality of the shots, but these are my record shots. I hope to get better soon.



I ventured to Burton Mere and Inner Marsh Farm in the afternoon, where I came across my first Whooper Swans of the Autumn. 



Very majestic looking birds.

27 comments:

  1. A noteworthy tick! Congrats!!!

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  2. glad you got to see and record it!

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  3. Great shots! I love the first one! The scenery is gorgeous!

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  4. Congratulations on these sightings and captures! I love the shots of the swans in flight.

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  5. A distant tick, but like you say Adam the bird just has to stand out in that landscape.

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  6. What a wonderful feeling when you see one for the first time. :)

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  7. That swan flying is just brilliant. From Findlay

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  8. Great photos of the swan, - well done!

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  9. You had more luck than me then. Failed to see a single whooper at Caerlaverock this weekend. Apparently the bad summer means there's a lot of flattened cereal crops left in the fields so they don't need to bother with the reserve as much :(
    Nice shots

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  10. It's very good that you saw and photographed the Great Egret - but I don't like the sound of all that hail. Did it mark you car?

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  11. I know exactly how you felt! I've also seen my very first great white egret this Autumn! I didn't understand what I saw at the first, but then... wow.
    I also love the swans on your beautiful photos!
    Greetings Pia

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  12. enjoyed the scenery and how majestic to see the whooper swans in flight like you did; great captures Adam

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  13. congrats to the Great White egret. It is a very nice bird to watch. I have seen it abroad, never in Sweden. :)

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  14. Congrats on your Egret sighting! And I love the swans, great flight shots!

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  15. It's always exciting when you get such delightful surprises. I love the whooper swans. They truly are majestic.

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  16. Truly gorgeous birds! Lovely photos! Thanks for coming by my Camera Critters post also!

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  17. Hi there - seems that egrets are invading the UK - this would have been a mega bird when I lived there! Having said that, its still a mighty fine bird to see!

    Thanks for linking to WBW

    Stewart M - Australia

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  18. Oh yes and so nice to see them fly - beautiful big white birds and good shots :-D

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  19. Even at a distance the great egrets are awesome, aren't they? And the Whopper Swans: Never heard of this particular species before, they're gorgeous.

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  20. These are lovely Adam! These reminds me of when I went to view the Sandhill Cranes in TN last January~

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  21. gorgeous, love how you captured the swans in flight

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  22. oooohhhhh I know these feelings well! The thrill of seeing them for the very first time, I then became obsessed! Even from a distance, they are beautiful and undeniable!

    Gorgeous flight shots of both!

    I must tell you how flattered I was by the comment you left for me. I will be posting the best of the photos I took that day, today or tomorrow. I am not an organized blogger like my friends. He had fish for dinner and I captured it pretty well, if you want to stop back at my place to see them.

    Many thanks!

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  23. Beautifully caught! Such noble looking birds.

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  24. Great photos of the swans ,nette

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  25. Congrats on the lifer! Remember pre-digital, pre-blog? Back when we were just happy to SEE birds (especially lifers of course) and didn't feel bad that we didn't get a picture? (Personally, I think your pictures are fine however!)

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  26. These are fabulous photos.

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