1,000th Post!
Back in January 2012, I started a blog to showcase the wildlife around my village of Four Marks, called "A Year Around Four Marks". But I soon realised that I wanted to go a little further a field and to capture my trips away from Four Marks. So on the 30th January 2012 the blog "Away From Four Marks" was created, and today I am publishing my 1,000th post. The first post was about a trip to Somerset and RSPB Ham Wall. Then in March 2012 I met through the Four Marks blog, my good friend Ian and over the years, the majority of my posts were with Ian, while the overseas trips with my wife Helen
Back in January 2012 I never imagined I would reach my 1,000 post of this blog, but here we are and hopefully there is something special to celebrate this milestone. I also never thought I would celebrate 1,000 posts with a trip to Blashford Lakes, not one of my regular spots and not one that delivers in a way I would want to celebrate. But last night I received some information that made we want to give it a go, so just after opening I was walking down the path towards the Ivy Lake South hide. On the right is the Silt Pond, the shallow water providing a lovely reflection of the surrounding trees on what was a gorgeous autumn morning.
It was quiet, there was a distant Kingfisher that would hover over the water and several Great Crested Grebes with young that were constantly calling to be fed. There was one grebe tha was closer to the hide and it would spend time in the dark water, but for some reason the images were all coming out blurred. It did come closer though.
Two hours passed and very little had happened I was left to photograph the Kingfisher in the distant bushes. I was dreading posting images such as this, but it was all I had. Blashford was being Blashford.
But it really was a beautiful day and the water on the Ivy Lake was mill pond still.
Then some action, the Kingfisher appeared in the tree to the left of the hide, it came from nowhere and didn't even announce itself with a whistle. The problem was being able to see it from the hide and I fou d myself leaning out through the window.
Still I finally had an acceptable photograph to post.
Time moved on another thirty minutes. The Kingfisher appeared again in the distant bush, but s I tried to focus I noticed some movement in the water below, there had been some Gadwall, but this moved through the water differently to a duck, was it at last what I had come for?
It was indeed, an Otter swam out from under the trees and headed out across the lake.
I had seen a report yesterday and some photographs of three Otters, a mother and two cubs and I felt that they would be a fitting way to celebrate the 1,000th, but after two and a half hours waiting I was beginning to question the decision, still here was one and not showing too badly.
It swam across the lake, diving every so often and was heading towards the nest rafts.
Then from nowhere two more appeared, slightly smaller heads and less defined muzzles these two had to be the cubs and they joined up with the mother.
Every so often they would attract the attention of the Black-headed Gulls, I am not sure if the gulls saw an opportunity to feed or they were mobbing a predator.
There was some play and rolling around in the water.
here they appear to be riding on the mother's back.
These two shots are probably the best on a hell of a lot of images taken.
They made there was across the water towards the far sine of the lake, during the dives I took in the scene with clouds now building up and reflecting in the still calm water.
They stayed on the far side, in the dark water. It was possible to watch them catching fish and eating them with the binoculars but the camera just couldn't get the definition for acceptable close ups. Here the cubs follow mum. There were plenty of fish close to the hide and shore, so I suspect there were plenty on the far side too.
They stayed distant, going into the south end of the lake, every so often they would disappear, maybe hauling out on the bank to eat fish, I don't know. These were the first English Otters I have seen, I have seen them on Mull and Skye and also in British Columbia in Canada, but never here in England, let alone Hampshire. A wonderful sighting.
In between watching the Otters there were Migrant Hawker dragonflies providing some entertainment in front of the hide.
And a Grey Heron flew across the lake illuminated by the sun against the dark shadow of the surrounding trees.
Finally, some more landscape views of the lake and surrounding clouds.
Looking at the area where the Otters appeared from.
Well that is it, 1,000 posts celebrated with a great Otter experience. Here's to the next 1,000!
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