My work colleague and friend Maggie lives on a canal boat and needed to visit the local chandlers (I think that’s what you call a shop that sells boat things!) which is situated alongside the canal at Brinklow, Warwickshire. So, I thought it would be a nice change from sitting at mt desk for lunch and also a good chance to maybe catch a picture or two. I wandered down the towpath onto the grass and stood for a moment watching a boat coming towards me, steam rising from the chimney as it made its way peacefully between 2 rows of moored boats, some aged and other pristine. As they neared the lady at the front of the boat called out to me with much excitement, announcing that they had been accompanied for several boat lengths by a Kingfisher! Now, the illusive Kingfisher is a bird that I have wanted to photograph for sometime, but spotting them is extremely difficult and this lady had also tried to grab her camera but missed her opportunity and so as they passed I tiptoed towards where they had seen it and stood quietly, hoping for a glimpse! But it was not to be, well not in the 2 or 3 minutes I had as we needed to head back to the office. But, upon looking back at the images, on image 29 if you look really closely at the boat moored on the left of the picture, you can just see the head of the Kingfisher as it sat on the edge of the roof!!! Now I know that to the seasoned bird photographers among you this is a pretty poor effort, but firstly I didnt know at that stage that he was there, and secondly if I had known I would have focused on him! Im on holiday next week, I know where I will be heading!
Archive for the ‘canal’ Tag
41 Day 185 – My First Kingfisher! Well I Can See Him! 2 comments
41 Day 93 – Smoke on the Water 3 comments
Rain rain go away! Well I know we need it but every day for weeks?? So at the moment my outdoor pursuit of an image is restricted to a few moments grabbed here and there (generally dry whilst Im sat behind my desk I may add!!). However, tonight on my way home and having spent ages stuck in the queueing traffic I took a chance and drove into the countryside a mile from my home and parked the car on the side of the road. The spot I chose is a bridge which passes over the Ashby canal but less well known is the walking route alongside that occupies an old railway track since removed and left to grass over, I have cycled past it many times (in the summer!!) Apparently it was a railway built to link Stoke Golding to Hinckley and the rest of the area but was never used, hence the name ‘ghost railway’, so out came the camera and yeap you guessed it back came the rain! But I still managed to get some shots! For railway enthusiasts I have added a link regards the ghost line history.
http://www.stokegolding.co.uk/blue_plaque/blue_plaque_10.htm
41 Day 34 – Bottoms Up! 2 comments
By the time I got home tonight it was still light and so I headed to a small village a mile from where I live in the hope of finding todays photo. I wasnt really sure what I wanted for todays photo but just as I was about to return to the car I noted a group of ducks with their young heading down the canal. The ducklings seemed to be having a great time chasing each other round and diving head first into the water copying their parents! At this point I started to snap away and have ended up with a rather cute image perfect for a caption competition…let me know your caption!!
Do you reckon she's gone yet??
