After The Rain

The early part of this week was memorable for the amount of rain which fell in a short space of time. I understand that parts of North West England had a month's worth of rain in a couple of hours. This rainfall was very welcome following one of the driest Springs since 1929. The middle of the week promised some better weather so I decided on a visit to Leighton Moss where I hadn't been for many weeks.
It proved to be a good decision as the weather was excellent and the wildlife wasn't bad either. My visit coincided with that of an osprey which was very visible perched on a dead tree at the Island Mere end of Leighton Moss. I managed a few record shots from the roadside and then made my way to the Public Hide hoping for a fly past or fish catching sortie. The Public Hide was full of expectant osprey watchers and I met up with colleagues whom I hadn't seen for some time. Eventually the osprey lifted off and came towards us but then soared up to great heights and was lost to view. I did see it again later with a fish departing to the north. I again managed one or two record shots but not the close ups we all hoped for.
I spent the remainder of my time at the Griesdale Hide watching red deer. Two hinds and a young " bambi " were feeding in the reed beds close to the hide and provided some nice photographic opportunities for myself and another local photographer, Stan from Lancaster. A quick look at the Tim Jackson hide was uneventful so I decided to head for home via the back roads looking for roe deer but none were seen. On the way home I stopped off at Harrissend Fell to watch a fabulous sunset over Morecambe Bay and headed South into more very wet weather around Garstang. I had however enjoyed a very pleasant afternoon at Leighton Moss and will be returning again soon. The images above show a record shot of the osprey, a fly past from a juvenile marsh harrier,a heron looking for an evening meal, the red deer enjoying their evening in the reedbeds  and finally the sunset over Morecambe Bay.