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Barbondale

8/6/2014

 
The idea of a blog, so I'm told, is to keep it up to date.  Apologies for not doing that.  However, my excuse is a good one: I've been busy: busy snapping away at wildlife at every opportunity!  This + work + kids + world cup footy have all taken their toll I'm afraid.  At long last though, I can begin to unfold the highlights of rather an eventful midsummer photography binge.  

On Sunday 8th June I awoke to a noisy dawn chorus at 5am.  I noticed a huge bank of cloud to the south moving slowly north, the north itself was cloudless.  To head north was a no-brainer, but a trip to the legendary Barbondale was a bit of a gamble.  I had heard plenty about this place, but would it live up to expectations?

Just after the village of Barbon near Kirkby Lonsdale, I disturbed a Tawny Owl perched on a dry stone wall, a good omen I thought.  From there I descended into paradise: a perfectly formed little valley, isolated and gorgeous.  I parked the car just before a stone bridge and, as soon as I opened the door, the first sound I heard was that of a cuckoo.  Moments later, the same bird shot right across the valley.                  
Picture
Cuckoo, 08/06/14, Barbondale, Cumbria. A rubbish shot but a significant one for me. The last time I saw a cuckoo in England was 31 years ago: Howick, Penwortham.
Picture
Pied Flycatcher (female) 08/06/14, Barbondale, Cumbria. From the stone bridge, double back and walk beside the dry stone wall above the stream. The birds were plucking flies from the trees overhanging the wall.
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Pied Flycatcher (male) 08/06/14, Barbondale, Cumbria.
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Spotted Flycatcher, 08/06/14, Barbondale, Cumbria. Incredibly, this bird was in the same tree.
Reluctant to leave the Flycatcher festival, I headed towards Fowlshaw Moss with a view to getting home before lunch time...
Picture
Four-spotted chaser, 08/06/14, Foulshaw Moss, Cumbria. No sign of the White-faced version.
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Blue-tailed Damsel, 08/06/14, Foulshaw Moss, Cumbria. I'm seeing a lot of these recently.
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Osprey, 08/06/14, Foulshaw Moss, Cumbria. Honest, there's an osprey here, at the top of the tree on its nest, opposite the camera post. Good to see Ospreys nesting in England, albeit at a ridiculous half-mile distance.

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    Author

    Tony Wilson.
    Amateur wildlife photographer.   

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