I had an absolutely amazing and lucky encounter today. I had gone back on to Exminster Marsh to carry on photographing the flying ducks. (I was very successfull by the way). I decided to walk across the 5 bridges over the marsh and towards the canal. I was alert and poised with my camera ready because I knew that the ditches and dykes have teal and shoveler in them and I was armed and ready for when they took to the air. As I approached bridge number three I was stopped dead in my tracks because there in front of me, just crossing the tiny bridge was a small water bird. It took me a few seconds before the penny dropped, I saw the white tail and noted red on the beak and I thought, just for a split second that it was a Morrhen but then I realised, just as quickly that it was an elusive Water Rail. What a stroke of luck, a Water Rail no more than 6 feet from me with my camera in my hand.
.
Now, of course I have seen them before but they are skulking birds and quite hard to get a shot off. The little bird was as surprised as I was and it stopped in it's tracks as well before deciding what it's best course of action was. It thought about moving back to the right but changed it's mind and in the end went the other way. All this indecision meant that I had time to take 42 shots of it. The overall encounter lasted just 15 seconds or less but it seemed like an eternity. Water Rail spend most of their time moving through the vegetation at the edges of ditches and other water, it's path would have been blocked by the little bridge and it was just a coincidence that just as I had arrived to cross itso had the Water Rail. In the 7 years or so that I have been wandering around with my camera I have only on two other ocassions had the chance to "snap" a Water Rail, once in Wales and once before by the Exeter Canal, again on the edge of a ditch. The outcome of this chance encounter was brilliant for me, I finished up with some absolutely stunning photographs that I am so very chuffed with. My new camera and lens is a brilliant combination and like I said to my wife Jenny just a few minutes ago, if only I had bought this lens before I would have saved myself a shed load of money! Check back later for the "ducks in flight"...... back out to the marsh again for more now. PS To this post.... this is the second chance encounter at this spot, previously I stumbled upon a Bittern
Recent Comments