{"id":940,"date":"2007-09-08T00:09:34","date_gmt":"2007-09-07T23:09:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.permuted.org.uk\/photography\/archives\/940"},"modified":"2013-11-24T16:32:31","modified_gmt":"2013-11-24T16:32:31","slug":"a-dust-bath-a-lake-and-a-kingfisher","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.permuted.org.uk\/photography\/a-dust-bath-a-lake-and-a-kingfisher\/","title":{"rendered":"A dust bath, a lake and a kingfisher"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

I made it out to Wakehurst Place again today (see earlier post<\/a>). It's a wonderful parkland to wander around, with fabulous woodlands and wetlands, plus of course the extensive plant collection. I've added more photos to the Wakehurst Place album<\/a>, but there were some exceptional moments that have made it out to the blog.<\/p>\n

The first was when we were walking along a path and noticed a pheasant taking a dust bath beneath a tree. He was oblivious to our attention, and maintained a mini dust storm for about 10 minutes. He was eventually joined by a female \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

See the dust fly<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

A closer look<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

A final blast of dust!<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Moving on around the park, we spent a short time in the hide overlooking the lake. As we were moving away a large bird circled and swept out of view. It was too quick for me to identify (and too far away), but it was huge. Possibly a heron, or an osprey. I need to spend more time there. Further along the wetland area we came across some ducks (well, they are everywhere).<\/p>\n

Gliding ducks<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

What I had really been waiting for in the hide was a kingfisher, a bird I've never seen and certainly never photographed before. As chance would have it, we sat on the far side of the lake for a rest (Wakehurst is vast), and in the far distance I spotted something bright. Very small, but bright!<\/p>\n

Kingfisher (full frame)<\/span> <\/a><\/p>\n

A closer crop<\/span>
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

It was a heck of a distance away, and the light wasn't good. The kingfisher was keeping more or less within the shade of the woodland. In the end I pumped up the ISO to 1600 and was rewarded when the kingfisher swooped along the lake.<\/p>\n

Kingfisher swooping<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

I'll do an update on the foxes soon, but I'm pleased to report that we seem to be back to regular visits. Check out the Fox of the Day<\/a> for the most recent pictures (today's will be uploaded in the next hour). <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[980],"tags":[33,334],"class_list":["post-940","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-birds-2","tag-birds","tag-wakehurst-place","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t