Barn swallows sit on the fence!

Barn Swallow

 

 

In stunning light this afternoon loads of Barn Swallows were lining up on a barbed wire fence at Walmsley Sanctuary after drinking and bathing in the Amble stream.

I'm sure I'll get comments along the lines of "they,ve been impaled on the wire" but I'm delighted that they stayed put long enough for me to get some photos.

Barn Swallow

Barn Swallow

Barn Swallow

Snakes alive! Adders and Grass snakes.

Adder

 

What a great place Poland was for our common European snakes, the grass snake and the adder.

Here are a few examples of both species taken in a sandy area of forest glade with some derelict buildings which the snakes had taken advantage of, and were there in good numbers.

Many times as I was lying on the ground with the macro lens just inches from the adders was I aware that there may well be another one about to take a bite out of my ankle (or worse)!

Adder

Adder

 

Grass snake

Grass snake

Grass snake

Grass snake

Nuthatches

Nuthatch

These Nuthatches have the classic textbook nest site where they've filled a hole where a limb has broken from an oak tree and have created a perfect fitting nesthole.

It has been sized exactly to accept them and no-one else so they stay safe from predators such as squirrels and woodpeckers.

Nuthatch

Nuthatch

Nuthatch

Nuthatch

White Storks at Pentowo, Poland.

White Storks copulating

We spent a lot of time in a tower overlooking several White Stork's nests whilst in Poland.

I've uploaded some other images to my website which can be viewed by clicking here....

Penduline Tits nest bulding. Biebrza, Poland.

Male Penduline Tit nest building

Penduline tits building their nests were a treat to see in Biebrza National Park.

Photographically I struggled with poor light, annoying branches and twigs in line of the camera and nests that swung wildly in the slightest of breezes.

Not my finest work but hey-ho, nobody said it was going to be easy!

Here are a few general shots from 2 nests at different stages of construction.

Male Penduline Tit nest building

Male Penduline Tit with nest material.

Female Penduline Tit

Female Penduline Tit nest building.

Female Penduline Tit nest building.

Male Penduline Tit nest building.

Male Penduline Tit nest building.

Black Woodpecker and Wryneck.

Black Woodpecker

A hasty blog to try and beat my colleagues as we sit in the airport at Warsaw awaiting our flights back to Bristol via Amsterdam.

Six of us from the Cornwall Wildlife Trust Photo Group have just spent 9 days in the Biebrza National Park in North East Poland for the annual IFWP congress.

Here are a couple of images hot of the press and hopefully many more to follow in the coming weeks.

 

Wryneck