Sunday afternoon

I was having a fairly lazy and chilled time this morning when a voice sounded behind me saying I’d been very inactive and I should do something about it. I can’t say that I was all that enthusiastic but I thought that I could go and check the gravel pits to see if there were any lilies still flowering. I had also been told a fortnight ago that there were a family of Great Crested Grebes on the 3rd lake and that the little ones were riding on the back of the adults, so I thought I could give them a look too.

Off I went and arriving at the first lake I went to one of the back pools that has the lilies. Initially it looked as though they were over and the leaves were very lush. And then to my surprise I saw a couple of lilies poking out from under the leaves and the a third appeared on the other side of the pond. I spent time photographing them and was then also aware of red and blue/black damselflies so the camera was diverted. After some time I wandered off to the third lake. Talking to a fisherman he told me that he hadn’t seen anything of the Grebes. Another 20 yards on there was a gap in the trees and shrubs and there some 30 or so metres from the shore there was a lone Grebe. I was also aware that in the middle of the lake there was movement and noise and there was the rest of the family – much too far away to get a decent photo. One of the chicks left the group and headed for my Grebe – fascinating, the parent Grebe caught a fish and handed (beaked) it over to the little one. It was a good afternoon.

Today’s blip is the Red Damselfly and in extras I’ve uploaded a lily and a Grebe shot.