Portmore Lough

Portmore lough is in County Antrim here in the north of Ireland. It is one of the RSPB nature reserve’s I like to visit Portmore a few times a year. Spring time brings in the Common Tern to the nesting rafts on the lough and so on a hot sunny spring day ( note these are not words we use a lot in Ireland ) I arrive at the reserve. With only a few cars parked up it meant the hide by the lough would be quiet. The walk to the hide showed butterflies and damselflies were out, but a breeze blowing made closeups difficult.

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Blue Damselfly. Getting  a shot of this was hard work, even this one could have been sharper.

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Yep it’s a red Damselfly.  These seemed to land on the ground which helped with the wind, but hard on the knees.

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Black-veined  white butterfly. This one is a little battered, it was the only shot I got plus a workout. Then it was into the bird hide or bird blind depending when you are from. Two women were there and after a short update on what was seen I set up the camera. There are three nesting rafts and has well as Common Tern’s there was Blacked Gulls nesting.

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A Common Tern bring in lunch. I sat and watched the coming and goings around the rafts for an hour. I find by spending time studying these birds, patterns arise. This helps to get photographs, so lets meet the Common Tern and Black Headed gull.

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This photograph shows the Common Tern ( left) and the Black Headed Gull.

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This gull is a young immature Black headed gull. On the way back to the car park I stopped close to the feeders and shot this Sparrow.

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I believe this is a House sparrow. So it was back to the car and pack my gear away and the 40 minute drive home.

Thank you for visiting.

George.

 

Rising mist.

Was going to sea my daughter and was passing the Spa lough, there was heavy fog that morning but by the afternoon it was lifting. So has I passed the lough I had to grab a couple of photograph before the mist was gone.

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and my last one in monochrome.

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Thank you for visiting.

Spring morning in the back yard.

Woke this morning to the rising sun hitting the bedroom window, one look and I and my old pal where quick to get outside. I was setting up the tripod just has the last of the mist was kissing the lough surface. I took these with a 70- 300 telephoto lens, bracketing some of them and editing them in HDR Efex Pro. With the mist and a hoar frost coating the foliage it was a beautiful morning to be out. My old pal enjoyed following whatever scents and trails he was came across. Exploring the world by his nose like dogs do.

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Thank you for visiting.

 

Drumlin’s , lough’s and frost.

Sunday morning with a hoar frost covering all the vegetation and the gravel welded together, me and my old pal set off for our morning walk. The cold biting at flesh exposed and the sun rising in the sky it was a beautiful morning.

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This part for Ireland has rounded hills called Drumlin’s  and within the valleys lough’s of various size. With the sun still low the land contours and the frost covered foliage stood out has the landscape changed with the light acting has a large craving chisel.

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And with nay a breeze the lough mirrored the beauty of nature’s landscape plantings. Has my old pal and I wandered around the lanes exploring short off shoots heading down the lough’s edges where others came to fish.

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With it being cold the edges around the lough still had ice on them. Carved like cut glass with the remains of last years reeds forming hollow masts. It gave a look like a modern sculpture to the edge.

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Reaching the far side of the lake and the sun in our faces we stopped to watch a swan drift by. I turned around and there sitting in the sun my old mate was sat waiting. Getting low I quickly shot a couple of frames.

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With the sun reflecting of his coat and the sun in his eyes it was time to make our way back. Like myself he loves his rambles around the lane and lough’s as he checks out every path our wild friends make while living there lives.

Thank you for visiting

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Thought I would give it an Irish tricolour look.

Enjoy your weekend.

 

A Cold & Misty morning

So a misty morning greeted me with a heavy frost coating the world in fine jewels. Just me and the dog out for a morning stroll, with a 17-70 zoom on the camera we headed out. With the mist acting like a giant softbox the landscape soft on the eye, my old pal and I headed off down the road.

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Yes this is a road, one of the many little L roads in Ireland.

A stop at one of the small loughs and it’s soft on the eye with the mist still down.

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 A couple of close ups for the foliage

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A beautiful morning in a grand part of Ireland where the pace is slow and the company great.

Thanks for dropping by.