Shift Work

During the recent very warm weather it has been too warm for me to venture out during the middle of the day. I have instead been out early and late in the day when conditions have been much fresher and the wildlife has also been more in evidence. During the last week I have made a couple of evening trips to the Bowland area and an early morning trip with good friend Paul Foster to the Lune Valley.
The evening trips to Bowland were quite productive and I managed some nice images of a roe deer and brown hare feeding in the cool of the late evening and the sight of the sun setting over the Lake District.The warm evening light was also conducive to photography providing nice lighting rather than the direct and harsh light during the heat of the day. The early morning trip with Paul Foster was excellent and as we traveled up the Lune Valley around five a.m. a young roe deer appeared in front of the car, it panicked a little but did eventually manage to return safely to the adjoining fields none the worse for it's encounter with the motor car. Hopefully it will learn from this experience as many deer are killed on our roads each year.
We arrived safely at our destination in the Lune Valley. Paul had on an earlier visit a sighting of an otter and I understand that they are frequently seen in the vicinity even during the daytime. It was not to be however on this visit but we did enjoy wonderful views of another roe deer as it made it's way along the river bank. Also seen were spotted flycatcher,great spotted woodpecker and a yellow wagtail a new bird for Paul and a species I hadn't seen for very many years. It had been well worth doing the early shift and maybe the otter will oblige on a subsequent visit.
As usual I have posted some images from the week. The first one showing the setting sun over Black Combe in the Lake District and taken from Harrisend Fell near Scorton. Also from the Bowland area Brown Hare, Curlew and Roe Deer taken in lovely warm evening light. The final three are from the Lune Valley taken in the early morning and showing dawn breaking and a roe deer having her breakfast whilst keeping her feet cool in the river.