http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk en-gb steam-train-photos.co.uk 2012-5-10T00:00:00Z steam-train-photos.co.uk http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#118042 I only went out twice due to having a bad flare up with my back problems. There was a coots nest with 4 young that was in a superb position but I had to forego that and some train runs. 2012-5-10 14:55:10 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#116170 March has been a roller coaster. Quality over quantity. I have not been about much due to health but on the times I have managed it I have made it count. Sun for once on the Settle and Carlisle Railway at Ais Gill not full sun but the best I have seen it. Then someone put me on to a Leucistic Robin has white on it and just on cue we had a day of snow and I got a great shot.Unfortunatley the snow blocked the M62 and other roads but not the route I needed.Every cloud has a silver liningThe return of the Green Duchess is what all steam fans have been waiting for and after teething problems it made its initiall run. Now there were 3 swans and the train put them up right on cue. 2 had gone past but the 3rd who was obviously was a bit braver and showing off to a female took of a bit later and was bang in the right place. 2012-4-10 07:40:36 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#114064 Fantastic February it really was. I have been struggling with my back problems but I made it count with the snow.2 trips to the Great Central gave me some great snow photos which made up for me being upset whenI was too ill to go to the gala when it was sunny. Then I had a trip up the Settle and Carlisle and the sun came out on cue it was if it was destined to be. I take video too I just put the video on a tripod and lock it up and let the train run through. One one shot a patch of sunlight came along with the train. If the train had been 2 seconds earlier it would have been dull but no the sunlight came along like a studio light on a performer on stage. Result. 2012-3-7 15:39:16 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#111624 Little to report due to my back pain keeping me grounded. I managed to get out for the royal train however it was pouring down so the photos are only included for content and not quality. That goes against my principles however it is the only time I have seen the royal train. I did expect a wave from Prince Charles but he must have been leaning out the other side 2012-2-2 13:00:21 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#110963 Little to report due to poor weather on the days I could have been out. I was pleased with a couple of my railway shots adding them to my Showcase gallery though. The wildlife has returned to the Rother Valley which has been absent the past 2 years but it is difficult trying to improve on what i have as they are the same species. 2012-1-23 12:10:29 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#108110 Just 2 trips out due to illness. One trip was to the Midland railway centre which was very good and I was pleased with 2 shots which encouraged me to add a gallery for there. The other outing was to see Tornado on the ECML which is always difficult. The shot at Retford please me but I binned the second one. 2011-12-4 14:55:39 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#106914 Not much to report. Not been out due to having a bad spell with my back just made a trip to the Great Central Railway to see Wadebridge and the Somerset and Dorset No. 88 2011-11-15 20:17:09 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#104021 A great month for steam train photos but no wildlife. The drought and strange seasons has ruined the butterfly and dragonfly photography mainly becouse there are hardly any around. No flowers for the butterflies to feed on and I firmly beleive the severe cold snap last November and December killed off the dragonfly larvae.The last of the summer season steam trains came up trumps with nice weather for most of them. For te first time I have a photo on Arnside viaduct in sun. Here the clouds usually wait untill they hear the train and then proceed to cover the viaductin shade. 2011-10-6 12:52:23 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#102069 What a strange month where was it The summer missed August this year. It was the best month for railway photographs for some time due to the high volume of mainline aseam specials. By picking the days I managed 21 photos. The wildlife side was a dead duck metaphorically speaking. 2011-9-7 17:50:18 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#99625 A very good month for high quality photos. There was a steam train passing the signal box at Castleton Rochdale 10 minutes late which was blocked out by a unit going the other way. This may be the last chance as the signal box is to be replaced. The remainder of the day produced some decent shots nothing spectacular but very good never the less.I was looking to add some wildlife photograph as I went on a short cruise to Norway. There is little wildlife there and the only photos of note are of Gannets which came past the ship while out in the North Sea. I expected different gulls at the ports hardly any. My wife was dive bombed by a pair as she found some young ones on a grass roof of an old hut.However a gala at the Great Central Railway the Sunday after I returned produced 10 very good photographs and to cap it all a single Brimstone butterfly on the Rother Valley country park gave me arguably my best ever butterfly photograph. 2011-8-2 08:33:33 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#97799 I had 2 good steam shots locally and thats about it. Little running in June. Butterflies have fared badly due to the draught. Little rain has not produced the flowers the butterflies feed on. We have large areas of meadow land that are almost devoid of butterflies. 2011-7-6 17:31:14 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#95406 Fantastic May. Yes I was pleased with my efforts not a lot on the wildlife front just some ducklings and goslings but the train photos were good. We had some sunny weather which resulted in about 8 good shots. May ended with a trip to the North Yorks Moors Railway to see Tornado and out of the 3 runs 2 were in sun. Result. I even had 2 very good shots locally. A gala of old steam locomotives at the Great Central Railway was a flop for me the weather could not have been darker and when I arrived home the sun had been out. Stiil a fantastic month despite this. 2011-6-3 13:28:56 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#93636 Super start for the butterfly season summer weather has enabled the best start I can remember. I have even had a teneral damselfly on my hand. Railway photos have taken a dive locally with palisade fencing now having 100 coverage. This is to try and combat the copper wire theft that is currently rife due to high scrap value. 2011-5-10 19:34:44 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#92320 Nothing much to say no wildlife photos due to poor light I have not made any efforts and the few steam train shots have been blighted by the sun going behind a cloud just at the wrong time. However as they say You have to be in it to win it. So next time eh 2011-4-23 09:15:14 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#88339 Photo wise a disaster. No sun so no wildlife photos. I have spent most of my spare time building up my model railway in the dull weather. I did manage 2 railway shots in the sun though however there has been little steam activity in the north. I have changed my domain name to reflect the swing to steam train photos on my website. 2011-3-3 11:08:08 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#86744 Slow month but it illustrates never give in. Little wildlife on the Rother Valley due to the cold December. I think most of the winter visitors continued south. A Pintail and a pair of Mallards flying my only 2 photos. The wait came on the Great Central Railway gala which was in dull weather however right at the death the sun broke through and even though it went back in it changed the ambient light from flat to having an edge. I finished the day with 5 good shots. No mainline steam in my area and mostly dull weather so I progressed with my model railway. 2011-2-11 15:06:33 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#83841 December started off like a house on fire with some steam train excursions in the snow. A couple of trips were cancelled though. I concentrated on the bridge on the ECML over the Chesterfield and Stockwith canal at Retford. This has never been much of a shot due to being treeed in. However on arrival the offending trees had gone ready for a crane base to be installed to facillitate the replacing of the bridge on Christmas day. So I did all the trips here but had a big disappointment when I thought a steam special had been cancelled. Bang on time a diesel came up with preserved stock and another diesel at the rear. I wrongfully assumeed the steamer had failed it had not but was 50 minutes late. The day after I wasted all day similar thing stories of thee hours late rerouting etc. So I came home to find the train came shortly afterwards After the horse has bolted I joined the telephone preservation scheme hopefully I should avoid such totall disasters in the future. 2011-1-4 12:46:02 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#82445 A bit of a let down having just come home from Kenya. Trying to keep warm has been a priority untill I climatised. The snow was welcome though. I was to go up the SampC but hurt my back after 45 minutes clearing the drive so put plan B into action and come up with a cracker of a shot of 60007 Sir Nigel Gresley. The Midland Railway Centre on the following day provided some some nice shots due to some great lighting. 2010-12-9 20:11:33 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#80531 Fantastic month end. 2 steam train runs a Castle up the SampC and for once very lucky with the light. 4 shots in sunshine for once. Played it safe regarding locations as I kept to the lowlands and it paid off. Also a run by a Black 5 in the rain. To cap it all got a last minute bargain of a lifetime to go to Kenya. Because of the vehicles used the Maasi Mara is my only option and having been plus it is at the end of the season and most of the grass will have been eaten by the herds leaving or already left I decided to go low key and stay local. A day in Shimba Hillls enabled me to get shots of the elusive Hartebeest and some decent shots of Sable Antelopes which I only had poor shots previuosly. Also I did my own thing and searched locally. I all I addedreplaced about 40 shots on the gallery and could have done more result. 2010-11-17 09:49:05 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#78275 No wildlife photos this month so far. However I saw a hatch of butterflies one day while out photographing trains. For a hour or so just after midday it was very warm. Would you believe it a Brimstome settled nearby and I almost touched it no I did not have a suitable lens. Normally you cannot get within 10 feet of these. One thing I noticed was that just like the one I photographed at the end of September it sort of layed on its side almost so its wings where fully broadside to the sun absorbing as much heat as possible. Then just as quick as they appeared they were gone.The Steam railway Gala at The Great Central Railway was superb and I managed 17 shots in the sun however as it was hot midday the steam dissapated for a few shots.The sun came out for small spells during the Castles run on the S and C. Unbelievable 4 shots in sun. That is about 72 6 against as the sun usually goes in for me when the train comes around the bend. 2010-10-19 11:58:34 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#76754 A sad month as September 10th was the last day a steam train passed under the Falsgrave gantry. A great shot of 6233 to end a great era. No other worthwile railway shots though.A few Migrant Hawker Dragonfly phots from the warm sunny days at the beginning of the month added. The a bonus of a nice day for the 30th when I had a stroll along the waters edge at the Rother Valley which produced a nice shot of a swan flappping and some migrant hawker and common darter dragonflies. Then another bonus as a Brimstone Butterfly settled as I was coming away. Normally these do not show much this time of year but to get one settleing as well made my day. 2010-9-30 15:26:12 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#75570 I tried to get to Scarborough as many times as possible to photograph steam trains under the Falsgrave signal gantry. It is coming out in October 2010 as the track layout is to be remodelled. New sidings have been installed at Seamer I assume to acomodate the engineers trains. No wildlife shots as I have not been out much due to the weather and health which is improving health not the weatherThe summer season of steam trains is coming to an end and the poor weather in prospect does not bode well in the near future so it will give me time to revamp my website. 2010-9-1 18:51:18 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#71853 Total disaster for wildlife hardly been able to walk so with little sunshine about I have not been out.I have been driven to Scarborough twice and thought I have done well there. The signal box will close and the gantry will be removed in October. So I have tried to cover this from all angles. 2010-8-1 16:19:08 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#69755 Very poor where are all the butterflies I had a couple of days in Kent and in a meadow full of wildflowers saw 3 butterflies. One Meadow Brown one white and a skipper. The river was abundant with Banded Demoiselles just like you see on TV with small groups flittering above the floating vegitation. How approachable they were particularly the females which I need to get fully camoed up around here. The few steam trains appart from just 2 were blighted by the dreaded cloud arriving just before the train to clear as it passed. I did run over a rabbit at the beginning of the month though 2010-7-7 15:51:34 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#67345 Strange month this year no butterflies to photograph yet some ducks and swans have had early young. Good swan shots with signets from the golf course ponds. On the train side several mainline runs were cancelled. The Great Central Railway has been superb with several events the highlight being the vintage weekend with 19th century engines. Unfortunatley the sun did its best to spoil things going in as trains approached and coming back out as they passed. Cant win em all 2010-6-8 12:26:50 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#64348 Very little on the wildlife side coots have chicks which are fantastic little things with their red heads but I have not managed to inprove on what I already have. Few butterflies showing but nothing improved here either. However some good steam railway shots added. The ones at Scarborough may be the last with the manual signalling as the remodelling is currently underway. 2010-5-2 10:54:26 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#62128 Nothing much on the wildlife front due to poor weather. Nature photography is a waste of time unless it is sunny as I am not looking to add more shots now but to improve on what I have. The migratory birds seem to have left earlier this year. Also the Goosanders have been spread around possibly due to last years poor summer the fish may not have not spawned too successfully on the northern lake. I did see a carpet of fry on the fishing lake around August and estimated 10000. There was a big carpet of them further along I saw a small patch and counted around 100 which give me a yardstick to estimate the number in the carpet.Some good shots of Tornado on the Great Central Railway have replaced some older steam train photos. 2010-4-3 13:38:16 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#59425 Very poor complete contrast to last year. Very little sun and only 2 trains both of which failed My back problems re occuring made it about the worst month ever. Just 3 shots of Goldeneye and one steam train shot to add. The Goldeneye shots have replace 3 on the first Rother Valley gallery. 2010-2-28 15:06:23 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#57877 The snow brought birds who feed from fields into built up areas to find food. I just managed 2 hours of sun for Fieldfares and Redwings stripping the trees of berries. After 3 days the trees were bare and the birds had moved on.Little on the train front the only main line run in the North did not happen due to some sort of failure. However I managed a few on the Great Central. Few yes I messed up that day and spoiled most of the shots. There is another day I hope 2010-2-7 00:15:14 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#55461 A lot of railway excursions this month and some excellent light. 4 shots with snow. Wildlife fared less but some ducks on snow are different. Went to Scotland over Christmas and took loads of photos but only a Buzzard on a telegraph pole was added to the site. All other shots not being as good as I already have. 2010-1-4 15:54:55 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#53821 A lot of the wintering birds are returning to the Rother Valley including a Great Northern Diver on the last Sunday.I have added several railway photos this month. My health continues to improve which has had me in the Humber estuary for the Grey Seals. 2009-12-2 11:33:09 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#51745 Fantastic October. My health is improving still and I am getting about more as you will see from the increase in railway shots. Wildlife very poor just a few Migrant Hawker dragonflies early on. My attempts at foxes has been a disaster. Still I am very happy with the railway shots something I have been struggling to get over the past years. 2009-11-1 15:00:42 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#50232 Not much to say just a few Migrant hawkers and Brown hawkers about. Few buterflies no photos of these.2 trips up the Settle and Carlisle added some railway shots mostly in poor light but atmospheric. 2009-10-8 14:04:25 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#48075 August has been both good and bad. The poor weather has kept the numbers of butterflies and dragonflies down. However it has provided steam for the summer railway excursions. In case you do not know the saturated steam is absorbed straight into the atmosphere on hot dry days. The cooler summer days have caused it to condense to a degree and become visible. This has resulted in only 2 wildlife shots added but lots of railway photographs. I gave up on the wildlife trudging around for hours on end with little or nothing to show for it. 2009-9-3 18:46:00 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#47250 A Barn Owl was hunting early morning for a couple of weeks which kept me busy and was good for 3 photos on seperate occassions. Appart from that just added Common Hawker and Dark Green Fritillary to the wildlife galleries in July. As my mobility continues to improve I am seeing more steam trains. Royal Scot class 46115 Scots Guardsman back on the main line after a 31year absence is superb. Consequently my steam galleries are building up. 2009-7-31 14:14:54 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#43269 A good start to the month a 7 day Nile cruise which has added 20 shots to the African photo gallery. Suprisingly no butterflies but little in the way of flowers so that answers the question. Some very tiny blues flittering about the base of a tree on one occasion plus about 4 whites is all I saw. Dragonflies fared little better I have shown a redpurple darter but the only other 2 species I saw were very dull so I have not uploaded them. Egrets and Squacco Herons abound.Mid June a trip out on the Farne Isles produced some good Puffin shots there was lots of them this year also I have replaced 2 Arctic Tern shots. Dragonfly and butterflies a bit slow however a pair of Ruddy Ducks helped June to be an excellent month all round. 2009-6-30 17:56:45 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#42216 May finished in a heatwave bringing out the dragonflies. I found a different colony of Banded Demoiselles on the river Rother. Butterflies have now moved on the early species finished. The last Saturday I had my first ever grizzly Skipper.The few hot sunny days in early May had me in the bluebell woods where I almost acheived my objectives with butterflies the one exeption being a brimstone. The Orange Tips and Brimstones seem to have passed their season so have the bluebells by the 3rd week. Large Whites are prolific however Tortioseshells are scarce again this year. Concentrating on the bluebells resulted in missing most of the chicks and duckling being hatched. However the mute swans eggs on the Rother Valley were just about right allowing 1 day old gosling photos.Not much in the way of migrants. The Great Crested grebes on the north lake persist in rebuilding their nest only for the jet skiers to wash it away each weekend. There was one egg during 3rd week in May. All seems to hav... 2009-5-31 11:54:35 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#39077 Not a lot has happened. The Barhead departed and I have only seen a few terns 2 Arctic that were around a couple of days. An intrepid pair of grebes keep trying to build a nest on the north lake. If it doesnt get bombed out by swans it gets washed away at the weekends with the jet skiers. Pity as it is an easy photo shot. Some photos added. My aim has been for butterflies on bluebells to which I have had moderate success. It became rapidly clear that they are not keen on them only landing for a few seconds.My increased mobility has had me out taking railway photographs and after a few good comments about them I have added another gallery to show them. 2009-4-30 17:45:59 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#38211 March has started off well with some good flight shots and some replacement photos. 15th a Barhead came in probably the one from this time last year. The spring weather is here and the Goosanders and Goldeneye are getting fewer. Dog walkers are around early and the sun is high at 9.00am. I found an emerged Tortioseshell butterfly in my garage that I set free so it will be soon time to forget the birds and go butterfly hunting. The photo opportunities are getting fewer as most of the wintering birds have gone which has led me to have a few trips out now I am getting around again resulting in adding some shots to the Other UK bird photo gallery. However the Barhead was still present as of 31st March. 2009-3-31 15:36:25 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#37451 Fantastic February I am walking again and have oiled my shutter finger adding over 20 shots to the More Rother Valley gallery. No robins in the snow but the ice on the lakes made for different shots. Then right at the end a pair of Goldeneye came in close enough to get some good shots. Nothing exotic but appreciating what we are blessed with. 2009-3-1 11:56:33 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#34420 A Smew on the reserve 2nd Jan. Even too far away for the digiscopers. It was a black dot to meLittle to report as I have had difficulty walking however I hope I have turned the corner and should be getting out more.I have just added a few to More Rother Valley birds in January 2009-1-31 17:33:52 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#34317 A poor month all round just 3 short trips out to the Rother Valley due to ill health. However a good Widgeon shot and a stunning shot of a Mute Swan. 2008-12-31 11:10:38 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#33117 Not a good month healthwise only getting out on a few occasssions and adding just 3 pics to the More Rother Valley gallery. The Swan landing and the Goosanders. I am pleased with these Goosander shots as they took some time being very shy. I want a good one with a fish. I did manage one but it was too far away to have any impact. 2008-11-30 17:08:29 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#31687 October has been a bad month due to struggling with my back problems so Ive only made a couple of short sorties one being to see a steam loco. This however this prompted me to add some steam photos yes I know they are not wildlife but they have a sort of life within them. I hope that you like them. 2008-10-31 14:12:17 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#30304 If the old saying Alls well that ends well is correct then September has been a good month. I am getting out more as my back has started to settle down and the Migrant and Southern Hawker dragonflies have performed well on the odd sunny day at the back of the month.Just one bird photo added but several dragonflies. I was wondering which to delete to make room but decided to open a second dragonfly gallery. Even though some are the same species the photos are different so when it comes down to personnal choice why not have them all. 2008-9-29 13:09:05 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#28417 Little to report due to my back problems stopping me from going out much. Just added a Small Copper a Bee and a Peacock butterly locally plus a couple of birds taken in my garden. 2008-8-31 17:32:37 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#26543 Nothing to report on the bird scene. Butterflies seem to be having a very bad year lots of meadow browns are showing but little else apart from common blues. Some of the reasons are that my local hotspots that were old pit sites have either been landscaped or just generally getting treeed up resulting in less meadowland. My quest for a good photo of a female Broad Bodied Chaser dragonfly is not going well due to the poor weather however I have improved on my male broad bodied chaser. Getting a female is far more difficult as they only come down to the water to mate and oviposit then they fly off into a tree far away. Things picked up the second week with three additions of Little Grebe photos in the OtherUK bird photo gallery and weekend 1213th there was a profusion of Marbled White butterfiles plus some 5and 6 Spot Burnet moths and a sprinkling of Ringlet butterflies. 10 Shelduck landed in the main lake at Rother Valley but they were far off so I did not wait to see them depart the ... 2008-7-30 10:53:31 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#25628 Weekend 14th was my first venture out for 5 weeks due to back problems Good to see the Banded Demoiselles are on the riverside again. 5 males and one female seen I did not see any at all last year their habitat was just covered in mud. I missed the Black Swan that dropped in Friday 13th and a Barnacle Goose earlier in the week. The grass has been mowed along Barbers Lane the butterfly hotspot taking all the wild flowers out which will result in dispersed butterflies. Thats my cue to go elsewhere and Pleasley colliery near Mansfield is the place for butterflies and dragonflies. Just two visits resulted in 7 photos to be added to the relevent galleries. 2008-6-29 13:39:41 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#23780 Sunday 4th early morning there was a Black Tern on the main lake that flew North at 9.30am. Too dull and misty for good photos. Lots of chicks are around 9th May canadas greylag moorhen coot and a few mallard.With the sunshine we have several butterflies Orange Tip mainly Brimstone Peacock Small White and now Common Blue have just started to appear. Since the first week nothing to report due my continuing back problems I have not been photographing 2008-5-21 17:18:42 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#22333 The Whooper Swan departed north Friday 4th around 10.AM. 1st April the Bar Headed Goose reappeared and came accross to the lawn. 2 Oystercatchers have been around for sometime and are now finding worms on the lawn and are more approachable. A couple of Peacock butterflies have been spotted but so far the weather has been to cold to bring butterflies out of hibernation. The 2 Egyptian Geese have been spotted so hopefully mother nature will take over and they have a second brood.Little happened mainly due to bad weather then on the 21st wow a Red Crested Pochard came in midday and went to roost on the island. No sign the following day however the sun came out and so did a few butterflies. Just five in as many hours but its a start.Wow now we have an American Wigeon on the reserve came in 23rd evening and caused quiet a stir which stayed about 10 days untill the end of April.Still a distinctive lack of butterflies but during the last week some Greylag goslings and Coot chicks hatched thu... 2008-4-30 17:42:48 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#21751 Some photo opportunities presented themselves on the Rother Valley firstly a Whitefronted Goose came in and has stayed a while. On 12th March both a Lesser Whitefronted Goose and a Bar Headed Goose paid a visit around lunch time both coming out of the water for about 10 minutes. On Sunday 16th 41 Whoopers came in and flew north west at 10.30am. A male Shelduck has been active also.Great excitement followed by devastation. 2 Egyptian Geese have been around for several months and we were blessed with 6 chicks. At 11am Wednesday the 26th there were 6 yet at 3pm there was only one The next day nil. Over the last weekend a single Whooper dropped in and a hybrid goose stayed long enough for some photos. 2008-3-30 09:29:04 http://www.steam-train-photos.co.uk/page30.htm#20751 A stay over for the weekend at my youngest sons new house in north Kent enabled me to track down some Rose Ring Parakeets and take lots of photos early Sunday morning before the dog walkers dispersed them. We had 2 Scaups at nearby Ulley resevoir I am pleased with my female shot however I only managed distant shots of the male some flapping his wings but its not good enough to include The Rother Valley country park had a Pink Footed Goose White Fronted Goose and Lesser Whitefronted Goose all drop in during the final Sunday which I managed to capture through the lens however not really what I was after but when trying to close in on them they all flew off 2008-2-29 15:04:10