Moor migrants
A quick interlude took place yesterday in my pursuit of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. Whilst on a long walk (without my camera :-o ) on Dartmoor earlier this week, I spotted a lovely pair of Wheatears. These seasonal visitors have just arrived from Africa and enjoy spending the summer in western parts of the UK. Stony moorland is a favourite habitat for Wheatears, and whilst trekking past Grimspound on the way across Hamel Down to Widecombe-in-the-moor, I made a mental note to return the following day with my long lens.
I quickly got distracted by this melodious Wren - 800mm, f/6.3, 1/500s, ISO 500
Yesterday was a beautiful morning – crisp, clear and cold (3 degrees Celsius when I set off). Grimspound on Dartmoor is a bronze age village (1400-700 BC) between Hookey and Hameldown tors. Today, all that remains is a rather impressive circular granite village wall and the stone foundations for 24 huts. The granite wall is around 150m in diameter. It was at the southern entrance to Grimspound I had spotted the Wheatears the previous day.
A Dartmoor Pony on a cold morning - 800mm, f/6.3, 1/1250s, ISO 400
So yesterday I grabbed my 800mm lens and set off. On my way up to look for the Wheatears I immediately got sidetracked by a lone Wren chirping loudly from a tree. The detour was worth it as I caught a fine image of this early morning songster.
A male Wheatear - 800mm, f/6.3, 1/1600s, ISO 180
Up above Grimspound several Dartmoor ponies were feeding in the low warm morning light. It is not easy to frame a good image of large ponies with the amount of ‘reach’ that the 800mm lens provides, but I did have a go. Note to self: Also bring a wide-angle lens next time.
A female Wheatear - 800mm, f/6.3, 1/1250s, ISO 160
Then I spotted the pair of Wheatears along the path up to Hameldown Tor. I circled around and spent the next couple of hours patiently waiting for good shooting opportunities. The birds were highly active over a large area flitting between the granite boulders. Tracking them and resisting the temptation to crawl towards them eventually paid off, as they started to come closer allowing me to capture a few images of these beautiful summer migrants. Another magical morning on the moor 😊
Male Wheatear - 800mm, f/6.3, 1/1600s, ISO 400
A chirpy male - 800mm, f/6.3, 1/1000s, ISO 125