Time to observe
Sitting next to my boat whilst having a cuppa on the bank of the short entrance to the beautiful Rockland Broad, situated a short distance off the River Yare, my attention was drawn to a small little brown bird flitting back and forth from a small area of old Norfolk reed. At first I took little notice, but always looking for a birdy pic I move my position, this would give me better results with the sun behind me if a photo opportunity did arise. I sat for I guess 20 minutes watching this lovely little warbler, wondering why it kept coming back to this sparse area of reeds.
It never dawned on me until I saw it fly off with a fetal sac that there was a nest among them, something that would have been second nature to me as a 13/14 year old lad. On first inspection I found nothing as my search was mainly concentrating on the reeds themselves, but as I looked closer I spotted the nest neatly tucked away about a foot above the ground within some nettles and bramble.
Whitethroat Nest
What a thing of beauty it was with a full clutch of chicks too, I quickly got Jak's to hold the vegetation to one side while I took a photo,quickly we placed it back to its original position and beat a hasty retreat. Within two or three minutes the parent bird was back at the nest with a beak full of insects for the waiting hungry chicks. We settled back in our chairs soaking up the Norfolk sun and marveled at how hard these birds had to work if they were to be successful rearing their brood. What species was it I guess you are wondering? It was a Whitethroat, a migrant, it winters in Africa, South of the Sahara.
Whitethroat
I never did get a clear shot of this hardworking bird, but was happy to have observed its world for a short time.
Sitting next to my boat whilst having a cuppa on the bank of the short entrance to the beautiful Rockland Broad, situated a short distance off the River Yare, my attention was drawn to a small little brown bird flitting back and forth from a small area of old Norfolk reed. At first I took little notice, but always looking for a birdy pic I move my position, this would give me better results with the sun behind me if a photo opportunity did arise. I sat for I guess 20 minutes watching this lovely little warbler, wondering why it kept coming back to this sparse area of reeds.
It never dawned on me until I saw it fly off with a fetal sac that there was a nest among them, something that would have been second nature to me as a 13/14 year old lad. On first inspection I found nothing as my search was mainly concentrating on the reeds themselves, but as I looked closer I spotted the nest neatly tucked away about a foot above the ground within some nettles and bramble.
Whitethroat Nest
What a thing of beauty it was with a full clutch of chicks too, I quickly got Jak's to hold the vegetation to one side while I took a photo,quickly we placed it back to its original position and beat a hasty retreat. Within two or three minutes the parent bird was back at the nest with a beak full of insects for the waiting hungry chicks. We settled back in our chairs soaking up the Norfolk sun and marveled at how hard these birds had to work if they were to be successful rearing their brood. What species was it I guess you are wondering? It was a Whitethroat, a migrant, it winters in Africa, South of the Sahara.
Whitethroat
I never did get a clear shot of this hardworking bird, but was happy to have observed its world for a short time.
