Some Wetland Residents

Hello again all. Last week I managed to have a mosey around two of the WWT Wetland Centres, at Barnes (near my home) and Arundel (the next nearest), and thought I would share a handful of shots of what I found there. If you like birds and wildlife at all I recommend them for a visit. They have a good mix of a 'collection' of species, which are effectively captive, although not particularly in enclosures, and wild animals, some of which you can get very close to, and others which can be seen from the extensive hides provided. Long lens recommended though.

Anyway, first up, water ON a duck's back...




A Bufflehead (somewhat of a cutie) seeking refuge in the shade:




Bewick's Swan - he looks built for speed to my mind:




and it's not all birds! Here's a frog (Marsh Frog?):




and a Damselfly (Blue tailed Damsel I think):




Sleepy Scoter... These guys are all black and look very cool!




A Mallard throwing shapes (ahem...)




and finally a white headed duck. I can never resist these ducks. Their big blue bill is just a wonder




I hope you like these. Any C&C welcome as ever. There are a load more on my flickr if anyone wants to see more...

Regards

Love them all, pin sharp, my outright fave though is the Bewick

Lovely set Mat, I've never seen a white headed duck before.

John

Lovely sharp shots Mat what lens did you use

Many thanks Steve, John and Emma. The pics are mainly taken with the DA*300 on my K-7, although the Damselfly was taken with the DFA100 mounted with a 2x teleconverter. The DA*300 is a great lens, but last week it was nice and sunny so i could get the aperture squeezed down small to f8, f9 and still get decent fast shutter speeds, giving some sharp results.

Cheers

The DFA100 performs well with the 2x TC, could I ask which TC.

John

No problem, I use a Kenko Teleplus MC7 (it also has 'DG' written in the side). It performs well, I think, and supports autofocus in more 'conventionally' powered lenses but it doesn't support SDM/HSM.

Thanks Mat, I have the Teleplus MC7 (non DG) I keep meaning to try it on the Tamron 90mm Di, The Tamron 1.4x works well with the 90mm, now the MC7 is definitely on my "to do" list

John

Nice varied and interesting set. I've never seen a white headed duck either

Lovely set Mat, I must take a trip down there soon.

I've been thinking of a trip to Barnes for a while now so will have to take a drive up that way before too long.

Lovely shots, especially the Bufflehead. Only ever seen photos of them from the US before, they are a beautiful little duck.