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Monday, 6 March 2017

Bolton Abbey's birds



The woods around the river at Bolton Abbey are an ancient remnant of sessile oak trees and are managed as an SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest). They abound in wildlife (most of which is invisible on a day at half-term when the woods are full of families having a great time and a film crew is working!) The birds are nurtured, with nest boxes provided and some food supplied during the winter. I managed to snap this nuthatch. They usually dart round to the far side of tree trunks, out of camera sight, but this one was getting interested in a pile of seeds left near a bench. 

There are a few Mandarin ducks among the mallards on the river. They're showy and colourful, a species introduced to the UK from China but now established and breeding. 























Who can resist a robin, especially one that hops closer and closer in the hope of some tasty morsels? This one would have looked better photographed from ground level but I didn't dare move to crouch down or it would surely have flown away. 



6 comments:

  1. Beautiful photographs.
    They'd all look great as paintings as well.

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  2. Terrific shots! The mandarin duck's exotic to my eyes.

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  3. Beautiful photos of beautiful birds. You were in the right place at the right time for the robin photo, it's lovely.

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  4. That Mandarin duck looks like it is ceramic. And, that is a robin? Not at all like our American robins.

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