Voinapics Photography

Sunday 25th June at Elmley RSPB

2008-07-01T21:20:00.011Z

It was a super sunny Sunday morning and after the problems of late, it was time to spend a few hours enjoying the countryside so off to Elmley we went to see what was about. Our first discovery was a Weasel running full pelt across the marshland. We tried a few shots as he was on the move but he was too quick but finally bagged a shot just before he disappeared into his burrow.

A bit further on and we came across a Mute Swan, swimming serenely across a small stream, his head held proudly up as he surveyed his domain

Travelling slowly up the driveway towards the RSPB offices, we watched the antics of the resident lapwings when in amongst them we espied a Ringed Plover. Excellent, we have not seen one of these for quite some time. The Little Plover was not in the least bit shy and posed happily for us as we took his picture

Up at Elmley Offices, we looked along the trees and thickets to see if we could find some of the smaller birds. Mr Blackbird was sitting up in a tree calling out that he was hungry

Whilst his poor wife muttered to herself as she was doing all the worm hunting

We went around the back of the offices into the small woods to see if we could find the woodpeckers that led us a merry dance last week. They were still there and enjoyed another game of chase before we finally managed to sneak in a shot. The hole in the tree has been enlarged a lot just lately so with luck they will nest there soon

Wlaking back from the woods, we came across a little robin, hopping from a small thicket to a tree stup and back, telling all the other Robins that “this was his territory”

To round it off, on the way back down the driveway, our old friend the Little egret popped over to say hello

All in all, a good enjoyable morning

A find at Elmley 19th May

2007-05-20T17:04:00.001Z

The sun was shining so we decided to visit Elmley today. On arrival, we stopped to watch a young Egret stalking some fish. The Egret slowly walked upstream making hardly a ripple as he patiently waited, but today he was not in luck and we did not see the Egret catch anything

A slight movement in the grass caught our eye. It was a rabbit creeping along quietly so as not to attract any attention. There are several birds of prey living at Elmley so these rabbits have to be very careful to stay hidden otherwise they will become a raptors dinner.

A bit further into the reserve and we came across a small herd of cows. This Mother was giving her young calf a nice good morning kiss, and the calf was just loving all the fuss and attention she was getting

Watching enviously from the grass was another young calf, but she seemed far too content to enjoy a good laze rather than get up and join in the fun.

There are still plenty of Lapwings at Elmley and they are so tame. They will let you drive right up to them to take their pictures before flying off with a loud peee weeep to perform their famous aerial acrobatics

We stopped up by the farmhouses and in the small enclosure watched a female blackbird digging in the grass for some nice grubs. Slowly she walked back and forth digging away until with a whistle of delight she pulled up a good beak full.

We were not the only ones watching the blackbird. As I finished taking her shot I noticed that a young sparrow looking as well. Maybe he was learning some new tricks from an old hand

There is a public walkway that runs alongside the houses that we have not been across before, so today we walked down to see what we could find. As we passed the houses, it was nice to see that the occupants also like to look after our feathered friends

As we made our way along the walkway, we noticed a pretty little blue butterfly flitting amongst the tall grass. It took many attempts but we managed to get a picture of it to show you

After a few minutes walking we came across an old derelict schoolhouse. A subsequent conversation with the Farm manager of Elmley reveals that this school dates from the late 1800’s and was the school for the 200 plus villagers that lived on the Marshes. The School was shut down around the beginning of the 19th century

In this shot you can see the shape of the school windows. At the apex of the roof you an also see the remains of the school bell enclosure. Apparently it was a very handsome school when in use and is built on the grounds where an old church once stood

Unfortunately there is no evidence of the church anymore except for a single battered gravestone propped against a tree, the wording long weathered away.

As Mick is a carpenter, he took lots of pictures of the building and gave me a running commentary on the workmanship involved.

I also took lots of pictures of the building as it was a fascinating place to visit. We hope to find out more information on the School and church and would be grateful for any you may have.

To finish of today’s tale, we would like to leave you a few more shots of this old schoolhouse.

More pictures can be found in our galleries at www.voinapics.co.uk

Steve & Mick

A few weeks of sunshine 22nd April

2007-04-22T17:37:00.000Z

What a superb few weeks we have had since we last wrote. Spring is certainly here with us, and nature is now in full bloom. We have been visiting a few of our favourite locations over the past weeks and have lots of pictures to show you. The walks at Northward hill take you past a nicely maintained cherry Orchard that is now in full blossom, what a superb sight it makes.

Also enjoying the blossom was this Bumble Bee, buzzing happily away to himself as he collected all of the goodness from the flower to take back home.

And it was not only the Bees that were enjoying the blossom flowers. The butterflies were out in force, flitting from flower to flower and dancing playful aerial duets with their partners

Down at Elmley we found this little Ringed Plover sitting on her nest that was just inches from the roadway, and she did not seem in the least concerned when we stopped for a few minutes to admire her nest. Can you see how she is only half sitting on her eggs to keep the temperature just right.

Out in the river, a female Coot was also sitting on her nest. The nicely woven collection of reeds keeping her nest high and dry from the water but safe from any unwanted visitors.

The frogs were also out making extremely loud burbling noises to attract the females. They were mainly all hidden in the reeds but one obligingly swam out into the middle of the stream and posed for us with a big beaming smile

Across the river a quick movement caught our eye. It was a Hare stopping for a quick drink before hopping of back out of sight. Hares are a declining species in the UK so it was nice to see some of them out enjoying the sunshine

As we have not had rain for a while it was quite dusty on the reserves. I was trying to make out what the loud whistling noise was that I could hear and it turned out to be Mick, blowing the dust off from his lens!

Later on the walk, I spotted a pair of large birds coming our way, I quickly pointed them out to Mick and we got ready as they flew closer to us

And it was a pair of magnificent Mute swans, flapping serenely across the reserve. What an absolute superb sight they made as they flew past us to continue on their journey.

We would like to finish of today’s tale with a view from the top of the Northward hill walk, looking down at the farms surrounded by the fields of Rape. It will be a few more weeks before the Rape is ready to be harvested yet, but already it has started to get that gorgeous yellow glow to it.

We hope that you enjoyed todays tale. More pictures can be found in our galleries at
www.voinapics.co.uk

Steve & Mick

It's still Chilly but Nice at Elmley 31st march

2007-04-01T12:03:00.000Z

Although it was nice and sunny, a strong chill wind was blowing at Elmley this weekend, so we wrapped up warm and set of for a pleasant mornings outing. As we drove through the marshes, we spotted a pretty Plover searching for insects. It was nice to see one of these about as we have not seen any for ages.

Nearby a Lapwing was also searching for food. This one was a bit more successful and happily showed off to us his prize catch before swiftly gobbling it up when the Plover wandered over to see what he had caught

Although chilly it was a lovely day and a nearby Mute Swan smiled back at us as he swam off to enjoy a slow lazy swim in the sunshine

You can see that spring is now with us, as the coots are busily making their large nests in the river. This one is now complete, and the female Coot was just checking it out for size whilst having a crafty nap before her partner came back

We saw some Redshanks here again today with quite a few Males running along the riverbanks, stopping every now and then to do a nice display of head bobbing to attract a mate.

A Loud honking overhead turned out to be a small flock of Mullard Ducks practising their synchronised flying. The honking was from the lead instructor giving the rear learner shouts of encouragement. As you can see, the learner has not quite got it right yet.

We stopped at the main car park and walked down between the bushes to see what small birds were about. Mick could hear a finch singing and walked back and forth trying to isolate it from the branches without any luck

I was more successful when I went after a little Robin. This Robin lives in the garden by the main RSPB office and normally pops over to say hello when we visit Elmley

Instead Mick checked out some of the smaller flying creatures and took this lovely shot of a busy bee sniffing out the nectar in some of the early spring flowers

Mick also wanted to try and take a shot of the Owls that can just be seen in the trees at the back of the toilet block, but I was too cold and sat in the car for a quick warm up, it was so nice and snug that I too had a crafty kip.

The Owls were a long way off and the day was very hazy but Mick managed to take this picture of one of them sitting near the Owl house that they live in. Can you see him sitting on a small branch on the right of the tree? As with all the photo's on this blog, if you click on it you will get a larger picture to see.

We hope that you enjoyed reading about our day out. More pictures can be found in our galleries at www voinapics.co.uk

Steve & Mick

A chilly day at Oare and Elmley

2007-03-18T17:22:00.000Z

We have been informed that snow may be on the way over shortly, and this weekend was certainly a bit chillier. So we wrapped up warm and set of for Oare Marshes. On arrival we met a pair of magnificent Mute swans that were still finishing their breakfast.

Breakfast over, the pair settled down for a good wash preening that culminated in a vigorous wing flapping session to blow out all those loose feathers. What powerful wings these Swans have.

Shortly after, a young Moorhen wandered over to say hello. Moorhens are notoriously shy birds so we were very pleased to see him. We managed to take a few pictures before he disappeared in the reeds.

As it was very quiet here today, we decided to move on to Elmley, but before we went, we walked over to the small inlet where we photographed some coots last week. And sure enough, they were both there. These Coots are very friendly, and swam over to us in greeting.

Mick was also keen on taking another picture of those elusive Stonechats. He settled down and waited until he started to get cramp, but alas, the Stonechats just kept themselves teasingly out of reach of his camera

We arrived at the entrance to Elmley and a Magpie caught my eye. Although a common bird, we have not managed to take any good picture of them so I was keen to get one. But these Magpies were too quick for me so I laughingly admitted defeat

We started our drive through the marshes and a loud commotion caught our attention. It was a pair of male Mallards vying for the attention of a female, who waddled up and down with head held high obviously enjoying all the attention.

Further on we spotted a Redshank hunting for titbits along the bank of one of the streams. He stopped to give us his best profile for a photograph

There were more Lapwings here today then the last visit which is a good sign. Lapwings must be one of the most laid back birds going. They are not fazed at all by the sounds of the car and will let you get very close.

Just before we reached the RSPB car park we spotted a little Skylark a long way off. He landed on a little grassy knoll just long enough for us to squeeze of a shot, before disappearing across the marshland with a brief tweet of laughter.

Up in the bushes by the house we hoped to find the little Robin we had seen a while back. This time we were lucky and spotted the Robin hopping between the branches of the hedgerow.

Watching his antics we also spotted a young house sparrow sitting up in a tree all fluffed up against the cold winds. And colder it was too, and getting darker with rain clouds on their way in. So we said goodbye to the sparrow and made our way off back home

We hope that you enjoyed today’s outing. More pictures can be found in our galleries at www.voinapics.co.uk

Steve & Mick

Oare in the sunshine 10th March 2007

2007-03-11T15:49:00.000Z

After all of the rains just lately, it was so pleasant to wake to a gloriously sunny day on Saturday. We gathered our gear together and headed of for Oare. At first it seemed a quiet morning until a loud squabbling filled the air. It was a pair of Little Egrets fighting over a much prized patch on the Marshland

We watched their antics for a while until one of them admitted defeat and flew off. The other Egret then settled down to preen. Meanwhile, a Grey Herron flew past looking to see what all the fuss and commotion was about.

A lovely female Kestrel also flew over and hovered overhead for a while, but all was now quiet so she flew off looking for something to catch for dinner.

The excitement over, I sat down for a quick rest, but Mick suggested that we walked over to the footpath behind us to see if we could see the Stonechat we photographed last time we were here.

Alas, we could hear the Stonechats but they were too shy today to come close. Instead we walked over to the small stream and said hello to a pair or Coots. Coots are normally very shy and run off long before you can get close, but today they were enjoying the sun and happily posed for us.

There seemed a lot of Gulls flying about today, so we walked towards the main River to try and photograph some of them. The Little Egret we saw earlier flew past us to show how nicely her feathers were after her meticulous preening

As we approached the River a series of loud shrieks assailed our ears. It was a trio of black headed Gulls doing their choir practice. Although the melody was not as pleasant as the songbirds they certainly sang it with some gusto

We walked back to the main roadway and now it was Mick’s turn to sit for a quick rest and a head rub whilst enjoying the sunshine

It was nearly time to go home, but just before we left we noticed this little Moorhen playing hide and seek in the long grass.

Back home, it was such a nice day that we spent a little while in the garden taking some macro shots. This shot is of a little Zebra jumping spider, it is only about 5mm long but is certainly a formidable hunter and moves very fast.

We hope that you enjoyed todays pictures. More pictures can be found in our Galleries at www.voinapics.co.uk

Steve & Mick

Elmley 25th February

2007-02-25T13:20:00.000Z

We have not been out for a couple of weeks due to bad weather but were determined to visit Elmley on Saturday come what may. The day was another wet and dreary one but the rains have certainly helped the Kent marshland, it is staring to get nicely waters soaked again and the birds are slowly returning

We drove slowly through the marshland following the roadway up to the RSPB office. It was nice to see a few Redshanks back at the marshland, feeding along the waters edge and strutting along on their longlegs

And there are more Lapwings apparent today as well. A few years back, the marshland was covered with Lapwings but the drought caused most of them to move on or face starvation until only a few groups remained. Now that the Marshland is recovering, the groups are getting larger so it is so nice to see these friendly little birds recouping again.

Whilst we were stopped, a little Shoveler warily walked past us, watching our every move out of the corner of his eye. However, we did not pose a threat to him so he settled down at the waters edge for a well deserved sleep.

A bit further along is a gateway in the fence. Sitting on the gatepost was a female Kestrel enjoying her morning breakfast. We kept back out of the way so as not to disturb her meal.

And in return, once finished, she allowed us to get a lot closer and happily posed for us, taking great pleasure in showing off her sleek feathers. You must admit, she is certainly a beautiful bird

We stopped at the house and walked along the bushes and hedgerows to see what we could find. Our old friend the Robin hopped over to say hello, but today was a little camera shy and only let us take his picture whilst looking coyly back over his shoulder

There were Sparrows by the dozen here today. Chirruping away to each other and playing in the branches. They moved so fast that we could not take any shots at all, until one took pity on us and posed briefly, before flitting off to join his friends on another high speed chasing game.

It was time to go home, so we drove slowly back out of the reserve, just before we left we had a quick look along the exit boundaries and were fortunate to find a little female Stonechat who sang us a delightful solo to round off our visit.

We hope that you enjoyed our trip out today. More pictures can be found in our galleries at www.voinapics.co.uk

Steve & Mick

Another Sunny Winter Morning 3rd February 2007

2007-02-04T17:07:00.000Z

It was another glorious sunny morning and we decide that another visit to Oare was in order. When we arrived there was an excited buzz in the air and a large group of birdwatchers was congregating by the waterside. We quietly crept up to join in

And there down on the shore was a Twite. A very rare visitor to this part of the UK, the Twite normally resides in the North of Britain or Scandinavia, so this was a lovely treat to start to off our day.

We watched the Twite for quite a while, but an insistent twittering nearby finally caught our attention. It was a Reed Bunting that wanted to show off his nicely trimmed moustache and was getting quite agitated that we were not taking any notice. We apologised and took his photo to show you. If you click on the picture, you will see how neat his moustache is.

Whilst watching the young Bunting showing off, we heard a regular thrumming noise getting louder and louder. The sound came from the powerful wing beats of a Mute Swan that was flying serenely past. What a superb sight he made as well.

And it seemed like everyone was enjoying the mini summer sunshine. A pair of Pintail ducks flapped past us playing a game of chase, squawking with excitement, showing how easy they could fly in formation

Not to be outdone, a Shoveler Duck came rushing in low over the water, his little wings beating rapidly as he lowered his legs to show how a proper landing should be conducted

And what a perfect landing it was, with hardly a splash, he glided slowly across the water to a stop.

Nearby, a flock of lapwings were watching the show of antics of the ducks and were twittering together in hushed tones as they discussed how to outdo the Ducks. With a loud whooshing of wings, the flock took off.

And what a show they put on. Lapwings are very agile in the air and they took great delight in swooping in great loops and whirls, accompanied by high speed banks and turns with a perfect formation landing as a finale, Suitably satisfied, they settled down with smug expressions for some well earned preening.

The aerobatic shows over, we decided to go to a bushy area on the reserve away from the water where we had noticed some small birds on a previous trip. Mick Settled down to wait patiently to see what he could find.

And it was worth the wait. A little Stonechat landed nearby and presented the perfect picture to us. We hope that you enjoy it as much as we did.

And we hope that you will enjoy looking at our other pictures in our galleries at www.voinapics.co.uk

Steve & Mick

A sunny morning at Oare. 27th January 07

2007-01-28T17:16:00.000Z

It was a glorious sunny Saturday morning at Oare marshes in Kent. The grounds were still quite soggy from all the rains but the sun was shining and we were off for a nice long walk.

The wind was however quite brisk and the air had a winters chill to it. Hands in pockets were certainly the order of the day to stop fingers from turning numb in the cold

Mick went one better and really made me laugh when he dressed like Scott of the Artic. Still it kept his head and ears nice and warm so he was quite happy.

We stopped by the stream and watched a Coot diving for food. We have noticed that when the Coots dive, they always pull up large beakfull’s of weed

If you look closely you will notice that they seem to swallow the weed then regurgitate it. We did a bit of research on this and it appears that the coots eat the seeds and small insects that are attached to the weed, not the weed itself

We walked on, following the pathway. The scenery was so peaceful with nice yachts moored nearby, bobbing serenely up and down with the water lapping gently against their sides

But what’s this! Is that a car stranded down in the River, Mick asked. It certainly sems like it. Maybe the high winds we had last week were worse here by the River

But No. it was just and illusion. The car was parked on the slipway whilst its owner was aboard his boat. It was not apparent the slipway was hidden in a depression

There were some signs of real wind damage though. This small boat was damaged very badly and from the broken ropes, appears to have been pulled from its moorings and smashed against the rocks during the winds

We continued on our walk and came across a Little Egret fishing. We watched as he slowly waded along the shallow parts of the stream taking long slow steps so as not to disturb any nearby fish.

With a quick dart of his head, the Egret caught a fish and quickly ran off to devour his meal. If you click on this picture, you will get a better view of the fish he caught.

A loud cawing noise overhead alerted us to a Rook that was flying slowly past. His mean look, undulating wings and large beak making him look like a battleship of the skies

A more pleasant chirping was a little flock of Redshanks that took off and skimmed along the water in a tight formation before landing on a nearby mudbank

Our walk was nearly at an end. So with one last long look at the golden coloured marshlands we made our way back home

We hope that you enjoyed comming with us on our walk. More pictures can be found in our galleries at www.voinapics.co.uk

Steve & Mick

After the winds and rain 20th January 2007

2007-01-21T11:41:00.000Z

We have had strong winds and heavy rains for several days now, Saturday the winds had died down and the sun looked like it was trying to peek through the clouds so off to Elmley we went. Unfortunately when we got there is started to rain again so we sheltered ourselves hoping that it would blow over. Mr Blackbird had the same idea, as we spotted him sheltering in the bushes away from the rain

The wind picked up a bit and blew the rain clouds across the marshlands. You can see that the residence across from the River Swale are now getting a good drenching

Once the rain clouds had passed the sun re-appeared to bathe the marshland in a warm glow. You can see that the little streams running through Elmley are nicely full now and the ground is starting to get back to it’s normal soaked state after the summer drought.

Mick took advantage of the unexpected sunshine to get a bit of colour to his shiny head

I was not so brave. Although the sun was out the air was still chilly and the wind was picking up again. A sure sign that the rain would soon be back.

Meanwhile we joined the little Sparrows and enjoyed the sunshine. There are several feeders near the RSPB house and there is always a nice collection of well fed Sparrows singing to each other in the nearby bushes

The Coots were also enjoying the high water line and warm sunshine; they were so happy that they did not object to use watching them at all. Most unusual as they normally hide in the reeds

This young coot swam quite close to say hello, and if you look closely you can see that he almost seems to be smiling.

We walked a little ways into the reserve. You can only stay on the roadway so as not to disturb the birds on the Marshes. But if you use binoculars you can see the birds resting out near the streams. In this picture, you can also see one of the pipes that the RSPB was using to help flood the marshlands from the River during the drought.

As we watched, the flock of birds was startled by something and took off en mass. At first we were not sure what was going on as we were far to far away for them to even notice us.

Then the flock formed itself into a ball. Now we knew what was going on. A bird of prey was flying low skimming the plains and the birds were forming themselves into a protective ball. The Bird of prey rocketed upwards through the ball but was not successful in a kill. The flock scattered and the bird of prey flew off. We are sorry to say though that we were watching this all too intently and it happened so fast that we did not have time to take any more pictures

Instead we will take this opportunity to show you a couple pictures of Elmley in the Sunshine.

We hope that you enjoyed todays trip with us. More pictures can be found in our galleries at www.voinapics.co.uk

Steve & Mick

Merry Christmas from Steve & Mick

2006-12-28T20:13:00.000Z

We hope that you had as nice a Christmas as we did. My wife Carole cooked the family a delicious roast dinner and my brother Mick came round to join in the feast. A few good glasses of wine were soon passed round and we all had an excellent celebration.

So today we decided to go out for some well needed exercise, so off we went for a walk at Oare Marshes. Mick wanted to try out his new fleece jumper that he got for Christmas and you can tell from his huge grin that he was snug and warm in it

The fleece was a present from our Mother, and like all good mums, she made sure that her other son had a nice warm fleece as well.

Unfortunately we did not bring our boots with us today which was a pity as the path around Oare Marshes was very muddy. It looked like a heard of cows had walked over it

And there, sitting in the sunshine was one of the likely culprits sitting quietly as if to state that it was not him, but if you look closely you can see that he is wearing a sly grin.

We therefore decided to walk along the roadway and see what we could find in the lakes. A young family of Teals swam over to wish us a pleasant Christmas before continuing about their business

And nearby a Shoveler gave us a recital of a famous duck Christmas Carol that he sang at the top of his voice.

A bit further on, we spotted a Mallard diving for food next to a small shrub of reeds. The reeds seem to be a popular feeding area so we guess that their food gets trapped down in the roots of the reeds.

Across the road from the lakes is another pathway to another lake, so we tried this one to see if it was less muddy. It was not as bad but still far to slippery for ordinary shoes so we just stayed on the outskirts. At first it seemed quite deserted but Mick spotted a rabbit watching us from a far off hill

We waited to see if he would come any closer to no avail. Just as we were turning to come back though, a pretty Stonechat landed next to us to say hello.

Unfortunately she could not stay long and flew off quite quickly, but her husband was not in a rush and he fluttered over to pose for our pictures

It was time for us to go so we walked back to the car. As we passed the lake we noticed that the Shoveler was still singing away and had found a nice little island to stand on

We hope that you enjoyed our walk. More pictures can be found in our galleries at www.voinapics.co.uk

Steve & Mick

Northwood after the rains 9th December 2006

2006-12-09T19:26:00.000Z

We have had some wet and windy weather over the last few weeks so we have not been out much. Today though, the sun was shining brightly so we took a trip out to Northwood Hill. We took our boots as there were lots of puddles to play in!.

Most of the bushes and small trees have now lost their leaves leaving Northwood looking quite bare. There did not seem to be many birds about today either so we decided to take the small lens tand see what we could find.

It may have seemed bare at first glance but a closer look to the ground revealed lots of wild flowers waving their petals at us to try and get our attention. So we crouched down to admire their pretty colours and marvelled at the soft downy hairs that help keep them warm. Now that they had our attention, the flowers stopped their waving and kept themselves nice and still so that we could take a picture to show you, if you click on the picture, you will get a better view of what we saw.

And it was not only the petals that wanted to show off. Some of the autumn leaves had turned that gorgeous toasty gold colour and were just begging to be photographed. We had to oblige.

Sheltering from the wind we found a little ladybird. She had positioned herself deep in the protective arms of a plant in just the right place to be warmed by the sun. Getting herself into a comfortable position, she waited for us to take her picture then settled down for a quite snooze. With quick thanks, we moved the arms of the plant back to protect her, and tipped toed quietly past.

We continued on our walk. Mike wanted to see if he could spot any birds on the feeders so we made our way over to the hide to have a look.

And we found some Blue Tits enjoying some peanuts. The other feeders were not occupied so we guess that the birds were finding some juicy worms in the soft earth that the rains had provided.

We reached a gate at the outskirts of the reserve and stopped there for a rest. As we were leaning against the gate we noticed a little aphid out enjoying a walk as well. She came over to us to say hello.

Coming the other way was a teeny weeny spider carrying her shopping back home. She also came over to greet us and the pair of them were soon getting along like old friends. Unfortunatly it was time for us to go so we left the pair of them chatting and started to make our way back to the car.

But just before we left, I noticed some nice berries shining in the sunshine. I just had to stop and take a picture of them to show you

And what a pretty picture they made.

We hope that you enjoyed our trip out. More pictures can be found in our galleries at www.voinapics.co.uk

Steve & Mick

A slow trip to Northwood. 18th November

2006-11-19T15:51:00.000Z

Let’s take some shots using our little lens my brother Mick suggested. That’s a good idea, I replied, we have not used them for ages. So picking Northward Hill RSPB as the target for our jaunt, we started off on a slow drive keeping a wary eye open for any nice places to stop.

We have passed by Saint James Church at Cooling many times and always remarked on the beauty of the stonework and how it would make a lovely picture. Today was our chance and we spent an enjoyable while, admiring this early 13th century Church.

This Church is believed to be the sinister meeting place of the Hero Pip with the convict Magwitch in Charles Dickens Great Expectations, but today the Church simply shone in the autumn sunlight.

Nearby are the magnificent twin towers of Cooling Castle. The Castle was built between 1381-1485 to protect the Thames. There is not much left of the Castle now as it was besieged in 1554 and suffered major cannon damage. The Castle is in private hands and owned I believe, by the Musician Jools Holland

The ruined towers of the Castle are home to a flock of Jackdaws. Unfortunately, the Jackdaws did not want to pose for us today, instead they watched us from some nearby trees as we took a picture of their home.

A few miles further on and we arrived at Northward Hill. In the nearby fields, a flock of sheep were quietly grazing. Spotting us, they quickly ran up to the fence to say hello.

One of the friendly sheep put his head through the fence and pleaded for a good head rub. We were happy to oblige, much to the sheep’s delight.

We walked into the reserve and what a glorious sight greeted us. Northward Hill is very picturesque at this time of year with the leaves turning a lovely yellow and gold. Add to this the golden autumn sun and the view was simply stunning.

We continued on our walk, enjoying the sun and sights whilst listening to the joyous songs of the birds as they sang for our entertainment. A most enjoyable walk.

Down by the old farm track we came across a massive old gnarled tree, it’s bare branches waving gently in the breeze. As we approached we could hear a rapid knocking. It was a Woodpecker high in the branches tapping the bark for grubs. It was quite comical watching Mick trying to entice the Woodpecker down so that he could take its picture.

It was now mid afternoon and time to leave Northwood and make our way back home. Our journey back took us through the village of Cliffe where we stopped briefly to check the time against the blue and gold clock of St Helens Church.

We hope that you enjoyed our trip out today. More picture can be found in our galleries at www.voinapics.co.uk

Steve & Mick

Elmley Today. 11th November

2006-11-12T15:34:00.000Z

It was a cold cloudy day today. We have had rain for a lot of the week so decided it was time to revisit Elmley marshes to see if the rain had helped the depleted water reserves there. On arrival we found some Lapwings, facing the wind with their little crests standing proud.

As we slowly drove through the reserve towards the RSPB centre, we stopped by a small lake and watched some little Coots swimming about, periodically bobbing their heads down to pull up some weeds to search for food.

Moving on we were lucky to spot a Curlew digging for his dinner. What an amazingly long beak these birds have, and a very powerful neck indeed to plunge this beak deep into the ground. Because of the rain, the ground today was quite soft and this curlew was finding lots to eat.

Off into the distance we spotted a hunting Kestrel. We waited hoping that the bird would come a bit closer but were not so lucky with this one. Instead using binoculars we watched as using subtle wing and tail movements the Kestrel hovered in one spot keeping his head perfectly still as he searched for his prey.

Reaching the RSPB house and car park we went off in search of some birds in the nearby trees, unfortunately I did not get any pictures at all as the birds were off elsewhere today.

Brother Mick also tried but he too had no luck so eventually decided to give up and had a quiet sit down to rest his weary legs.

The sky was becoming quite dark and it looked like rain was on it's way again, so packing up we went off home, stopping briefly to watch some horses in a nearby paddock playing together. You can see that the weather has turned colder as the horses are all wrapped up snug and warm against the chill air

We hope that you enjoyed our day out. More pictures can be seen in our galleries at www.voinapics.co.uk

Steve & Mick

A Morning at Oare 4th November

2006-11-05T15:38:00.000Z

There was a definite winter chill to the air today, but the sun was shining so brightly that we decided a morning visit to Oare was in order. However, when we arrived it all appeared to be very quiet with only a few resident Mallards about, who swam over to greet us as we got out of the car.

We stood there enjoying the peaceful quiet for a while, when across the lake flying towards us we spotted a Gray Heron. We watched with delight as he flew closer, closer and yet closer still until he was flying just yards away.

And then he decided to land on the bank by the small stream only a few tens of yards away. What an amazing bit of good fortune, we have been trying to get a good picture of a Heron for a long time now, so this was turning out to be a super morning.

The Heron continued to delight us by walking back and forth across the bank, stopping every now and then to pose for us so that we could take his picture. Eventually tiring of showing off he strode away across the bank to hide in the nearby reeds.

Brother Mick was extremely happy with his good fortune, and cosily wrapped against the chill, took picture after picture of the Heron.

A loud honking to our left revealed a flock of Greylag Geese flying off from the lake and heading by the looks towards the Elmley reserve flapping their wings with gusto as they tried to keep themselves in nice formation.

The Ducks were not impressed at all by this display and quickly took off to fly by us showing just how much better they were at formation flying. We must admit, it was a very impressive display.

After the display, it was was all quiet again, so standing with our hands warming in our pockets we patiently waited to see what other delights the morning would reveal.

And it took the form of a little Pied Wagtail, playing on the embankment. He was having great fun hopping about in the Autumn sunshine and stopped every now and then to wag his tail in greeting to us.

We would have loved to have stayed longer, but another engagement in the afternoon meant that we could only spend the morning here. So with a last backward glance at the tranquil scene, we packed up and went off home for some lunch.

We hope that you enjoyed our morning out. More pictures of the Heron and his friends can be found in our gallery at www.voinapics.co.uk

Steve & Mick

A visit to the Garden 29th October

2006-10-29T16:32:00.001Z

We have not been able to get out much over the last few weeks so today decided that we would spend a couple of hours enjoying the Garden. It is not a huge garden, but we are lucky enough to have a few small trees and bushes. We also have a small congregation of Starlings and Sparrows that visit us each day for their dinners. Here we can see a little Female House Sparrow patiently waiting for us to top up the peanut feeder

But she was beaten to it by her husband who swooped down to munch on them as soon as we had finished topping it up. The Sparrows like their peanuts and they empty this feeder within a week.

At the back of the garden hanging on the potting shed is another peanut feeder. This one is very popular with the starlings as it is easier for them to get a good foothold and there is often several of them squabbling over the peanuts

Sometimes the feeder becomes so popular that a queue begins to develop along the fence nearby as the Starlings wait for a gap on the feeder so that they can flutter over and enjoy the nuts.

We have a small crab apple tree in the garden that produces pounds and pounds of apples each year that has been used for both delicious apple pies and on one occasion some potent apple cider.. The tree is also host to several more bird feeders containing mixed seeds and kernels. For some reason, the front feeder is the most popular one and always boasts a good collection of Sparrows and Starlings enjoying the seeds. In this picture you can also see one of the lamps that we light when sitting outside during the evenings.

When sitting outside, we also like to light the Chimnea if the evenings become a bit chilly. We can then warm ourselves by the fires cosy glow whilst the ladies enjoy a glass or two of fine wines, whilst we quench our thirsts with a generous tankard or two of ale.

Although there is a chill to the air, the days are still sunny and warm enough for the flowers to lift their heads and open out their pretty petals to show of their lovely pastel colours, made even more vibrant by the low golden sunlight. They look so nice that we just had to show you a selection to enjoy.

We hope that you enjoyed our Garden. More pictures can bee seen in our Galleries at
www.voinapics.co.uk

Steve & Mick

Northward Hill 07th October

2006-10-08T19:10:00.000Z

We decided on a visit to Northward Hill this weekend. It was another gorgeous sunny day but the wind had a hint of Autumn about it and reminded us that colder days are on the way. Parking the car, we prepared for our walk but a rustling in the nearby trees caught our attention. It was a pretty Great Tit watching us with interest.

We started our walk, enjoying the sights and smells of the late harvest. The shrubs and bushes are still full of the fruits and berries waiting to be picked and savoured but best be quick as they will soon spoil. We will enjoy some of these plump blackberries later, maybe in a tasty pie for our tea.

It was very quiet at Northward Hill and the grassy footpaths had a spring bought back to them from the recent rains. There are still plenty of fungi growing so we stopped to take a picture of some colourful toadstools sitting their like little miniature Mexican hats.

In amongst the fungi the thistles were showing off their thorny crowns, standing proudly erect they beckoned for us to us to take their pictures. We just had to oblige.

You can see how picturesque the walks are here at Northward. The leaves are just starting to turn towards that lovely golden brown and the low sun bathes everything in a soft glow. It was a very peaceful and enjoyable walk.

It was so peaceful and quiet that brother Mick nodded of when he sat down to rest his weary legs. He contested this observation quite vigorously, but we can see that he really was having a nice quiet snooze

At the top of the pathways is a gorgeous view across the pastures. In the distance amongst the grazing sheep is a building that we think may be an old abandoned tin mine. We are not sure on this so would welcome any information that you may have about it

Time was pressing on so we started our way back to go home. Before we left we looked back at the sights of the plump berries standing within the drying grassland and framed by the blue skies and green trees. A truly magical sight.

We hope that you enjoyed our walk today. More pictures from Northward can be found in the nature gallaries at www.voinapics.co.uk

Steve & Mick