Enticed by reports of Otter showing well I donned my wellies and made a couple of visits to Leighton Moss last weekend, catching the last hour or so of light both Friday & Saturday.
I stopped in briefly at Lillians hide, grabbed a few shots of a young Little Grebe and some Coot before Paddling on down to Public Hide
I settled in to Public Hide hoping for the Otters that had been reported as showing well. Instead I got a pair of Mute Swans & a small group of Coot. Little Egrets started to drift in to roost in one of the trees at the back.
The light, which for the most part wasn't fantastic anyway due to the level of cloud cover, was starting to go when a Kingfisher flew by. Just too fast, I couldn't get on it, but at least it was nice to see & gave me incentive to hold out for a little while longer. And that turned out to be a good thing, because I was already watching the flight path from last time when it flew the same route again, this time I got a couple of shots away as it flew past. Not the most technically brilliant images I've ever taken I will admit, but hey flight shots of a kingfisher I was happy. A quick scan along the reed edges showed where it had perched. A good distance away, but I managed a couple of shots before it moved on again.
Having bagged a few shots it was time to go home, but next day the light was beautiful & golden, so I made a return visit. The Swans were again present, accompanied by a couple of Cormorant, with Mallard & Moorhen supporting. All looking magnificent in the late honeyed light.
Unfortunately I didn't see the Kingfishers on Saturday in that sweet light apart from one brief flight view right over the over the side of the water, and I never saw the Otters at all. There's always next time though.
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