Little and Large

This week I had a trip to Leighton Moss RSPB.I hadn't been to Leighton for some time.Fortunately my visit coincided with the presence of three great white egrets on and around the reserve.I saw two together at the roadside overlooking Island Mere but they were too distant for decent images.After being ' tagged' I proceeded to Lilian's Hide where the third great white egret was showing well.It was again distant and the very bright and sunny conditions didn't make for ideal photography .I stayed at Lilian's for a number of hours and managed some reasonable images of this uncommon visitor to Leighton Moss.

I then moved on for a late afternoon and evening session at the Grizedale Hide.It was very quiet birdwise and visitor wise,having it to myself.I had gone to Grizedale hoping to see the red deer which come out of the reedbeds in the evening to graze on the surrounding vegetation.A red deer hind was on view and soon another one appeared to keep it company. It was still very warm as the current very hot at times and very muggy weather continues.A brief visit by a little egret gave me one or two more images. I finished off the day with a visit to the Tim Jackson Hide where another hind was grazing the poolside vegetation.This time however she was joined by her youngster,a spotty calf which was active running along the bank and venturing into the water to cool off on what had been yet another very hot day.The calf gave me some more nice images to take away from a lovely day at Leighton Moss which was special for the egrets both Great and Little.Some of my better efforts from the day are shown above.Thanks for looking in and I am hoping for some cooler weather for my next trip to see Lancashire's wonderful wildlife.