Greylag geese leaving the lake for the meadow

The weather was good with clear blue skies and weak sunshine we decided to drive to Frampton on Severn to visit Frampton Court Lake, one of our favourite places for respite. Woodpeckers has been recovering from feeling run down and the loss of her mother so getting out into fresh air and nature seemed an excellent choice, and so it was.

We didn’t walk far around the lake, just settled down on a blanket to watch the wildlife and listen to the natural sounds of birds. I stupidly forgot my monopod and only had a telephoto lens which I find much harder to hold for long periods, let alone keep it still at 400mm. So my photography wasn’t as stable as I’d have liked. 

Soon after we arrived I took a picture of some of the swans (later I counted nearly fifty in all on the lake) to show the beautiful colour of the wintry trees. It won’t be long before the new leaves appear to change the view completely. I added it as an ‘Extra’.

I heard the distinctive sound of distant oystercatchers and on turning around to look east I saw a pair flying close together around two of the islands before landing on the far side of the water. Some minutes later I heard their call once again and saw them flying in the opposite direction around one of the islands and then appear crossing towards where we were. I managed to follow them briefly and then took this shot (also in the ‘Extras’) as it flew quite close to us, calling as they went. They are one of my a favourite birds and Helena said that her mum used to love their calling outside their house on the beach at Loch Etive in Argyll where Helena grew up.

The lake quietened for a time with moorhens, great crested grebes, mallards, cormorants and an assortment of geese, both on land and water. My main picture is of two of my favourite greylag geese as they flew from near one of the islands to join the rest of the flock grazing on the grass near the manor house. They will be rearing their young very soon.