One of my favourite local wildlife spots is Bystock Pools Nature Reserve, a Devon Wildlife Trust managed site on the edge of the Exmouth Parish and Woodbury Common/Pebblebed Heath ecosystem. It can be a strange place, very quiet with just a few siskins calling and the friendly robin hoping about, or it can be alive with all sorts, nightjars, woodpeckers, warblers, stonechats, firecrests, slow worms, dragonflies and more, of course the wildlife is always there, it just not always visible and varies throughout the year.
I popped in yesterday for 45 mins on the way home from dropping the boys at day care, just carrying my OM System OM1 and 300mm F4 lens, keeping it simple and light. The morning light was lovely and was probably only going to last an hour before it was too harsh. Sitting by the pool it wasn't long before a real treat came into view, a very young family of moorhen chicks being busily fed and taken around the pool by their parents. This is their second brood, and late in the season and I wish these three little pompoms every success! These busy parents will be knackered by the time autumn comes!
While I was waiting for the moorhens I had a crack at dragonflies in flight, never easy, I'll be back to try and improve!
Come on kids.
That's it, follow me.
It's a big world out there!
A tender moment, the adults are constantly foraging and feeding the young.
Getting that tasty lily shoot!
There it is!
Among the lily pads, it could be an African swamp or Aussie Billabong really, but no it's an East Devon gem.
The OM1 and the 300mm capture the detail in the feathers brilliantly, I really love this combo for these shoots.
I was gutted to see some utter wally has released a terrapin into the pool, these invasive reptiles are not good news, they can eat; birds eggs, invertabrates, and other native wildlife. Releasing them into the wild is illegal, and they have been banned from sale since 2016. Thankfully it is probably too cold for it them to breed here, but they are long lived....... I've also recently seen a goldfish here. If you can't look after your pets, let others help, don't just release them into wilderness areas!
Running a shutters speed arounf 1,600th of second to capture the moorhen feeding as they rapidly splash around.
I'll be back to Bystock again soon, it really is a gem, remember it is a dogs on lead location and a fragile ecosytem that needs our care to keep it so good.