An Open Gate, Aqualate Mere

I popped over to Newport (Shropshire) this morning to deliver a couple of images, recently bought following the exhibition.  On the way back I popped into the nature reserve at Aqualate Mere.  It was the scene of one of my very first images on Blipfoto back in 2012 of a starling murmuration.

The book on the bird hide suggests they were starting to form again, so it might be worth another visit after I've recovered from the operation.  A couple of bird watchers were in the hide, but were bemoaning that most of the wildlife seemed to be congregated at the far end of the mere.  In fact my extra's taken with a 600mm effective lens so you'll get an idea that they are some way away.

I had a walk along the public footpath to see if there were any other vantage points.  There don't seem to be though I did like this scene (I closed the gate afterwards but there are certain people here on blip that are rather particular about a gate being open to allow your eye to 'walk' through!).