Another beautiful dawn and I found myself by the water's edge once more - this time at Watermead country park. Watermead is a strange place. It is a series of old gravel quarries scattered for about 5 miles alongside the River Soar. Up until quite recent times the quarries were still producing gravel - now they produce birds, wildlife and some peace near to the noise of the city.
I wasn't really looking for anything in particular and so was pleasantly surprised to hear a welcome sound - a sound that meant that spring was really here and summer wouldn't be too long. Deep in the reeds by the edge of the lake was the familiar song of the sedge warbler. So how to capture the illusive creature?
The sedge warbler, as its name implies, lives deep in the reeds and sedge and so is very difficult to capture. You get a very fleeting glimpse as the bird slowly climbs the stems of the reed and then just as you focus its gone. All the time the call acts as a siren enticing you towards the waters edge. The only other sure sign that a warbler is near by is the frustrating sight of the reeds swaying under the weight of the bird moving up and down - just out of camera's reach.
I eventually managed to capture one or two shots but they were not up to much. Still it give you something to aim at - although I said that last year and nothing came of it.
Simon Marchini LRPS
Web: http://WWW.simonmarchini.co.uk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/@simonmarchini
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