Juvenile Male Mallard

Back in March I squeezed through a gap in a fence into a nearby wood to get a nice blip (here). Subsequently I realised that this was part of Gosforth Park Nature Reserve (so really I was tresspassing that day, tut tut!).

The reserve has been managed by the Natural History Society of Northumbria since the 1930s and several of my camera club members are also members of this. Following their recommendation I went to an Open Day at the reserve today and managed to capture this shot of a juvenile mallard from one of the hides.

They were, of course, touting for folks to join the Society and as I'd been planning to do so anyway, and it's quite cheap, I joined up and now I even have a key for the bird hides. (This also eases my conscience from my prior inadvertent tresspassing!) So I'm hoping that it will prove to be full of future blippertunities. Apparently the bird life becomes more interesting from September onwards as the migrations begin.