Sunday 17 March 2013

A ramble round Rodden Reserve

I managed to sneak out to my local reserve for an hour the other morning when the sun was trying to make its presence known. Here are some photos taken on the way through the reserve. It was cold and the main lake had frozen over displacing any ducks for the time being.
 This chilly early morning shot lent itself to a bit of black and white treatment I thought.
In the same way that the following two shots did too. Some drooping grass seed heads.....
.....and some ice crystals forming around the edge of the lake.
That's enough of the black and white. The Pussy Willow hasn't shown much change since I was here a few weeks ago, still being at that lovely just emerging stage. You can see some ice crystals still there before the early morning sun had got to them.
 The paths were still pretty frosty in the shade as I walked round.
 A pair of Canada Geese took exception to my presence. You can just about see it's frosty breath as it honked out its annoyance at my approach. Maybe I should have given them the black and white treatment too! (-:
They both moved off onto the main lake, slipping and sliding on the icy surface. One of them still protesting so I moved off quickly after taking this shot.
 Here's a couple of shots of the River Frome which flows along the western edge of the reserve.
 Spring is on its way though, as I walked round the reserve I could hear a male Reed Bunting singing his simple ditty, staking out his territory. Here's a photo of a male I took at the beginning of the year to show his winter plumage. I found the singing male, now in his smart breeding plumage and took a couple of photos before leaving him in peace.
I'll hope to get out again to Rodden reserve soon.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lovely collection of frosty and sunny photos Jenny :-) Pussy Willows have only just begun to flower up here in the last couple of weeks as well and haven't really developed much since they started to emerge :-(

Roy Norris said...

Lots of lovely images Jen, the B&W treatment works well. The frosty morning images remind me of Somerset, which I see nothing like up here in East Anglia.

ShySongbird said...

Lovely, chilly images Jenny. It's Winter does seem to be going on a bit, let's hope it leads us into some great weather for the rest of the year. I love Pussy Willow and always look forward to seeing the first of the year. The male Reed Buntings are distinctive little birds I think.

The Giraffe Head Tree said...

Just lovely, Jenny! That little reed bunting is a dandy, isn't he? The Canada Geese are funny. So prissy and lucky not to fall through the ice, I'm thinking. It's such a pleasure reading your blog again!

Jenny said...

Hi David, I went out again this morning and the Pussy Willow is starting to emerge. I'll have a pic of that in my next post! Spring will get to us eventually! (-:

Hi Roy, each county has its character doesn't it! Your fens are characterful I think. Glad you liked the B&Ws! (-:

Hi Jan, I'm hoping that April is going to be THE spring month with some lovely blue sky but mild days! Here's hoping! (-:

Hi Debi, he is indeedy and dandy, very dapper! That Canada goose was soooo noisy! I didn't hang around after getting a couple of shots! It's lovely to be back blogging and back in touch with my blogging friends! (-:

Pix Under the Oaks said...

Always nice to see the Reserve Jen! Love the B&W of the grasses. It does look cold and frosty though-Brrr.

Jenny said...

Hi Pix, yes, I like that one too. I'm just aching for Spring now, like everyone else!!! (-: