The DWT Brownsea lagoon can be a really nice place for photography of close Waders. However, this isn't always the case in early morning, when the light can be challenging. I arrived at the Avocet hide about 09:00, to find that the Curlew Sandpiper that had been seen the previous day, had been joined by a second individual. They were on the mud just outside the hide. This is often an ideal hide for photography, but I was looking into some very challenging & harsh early morning light. I took some pictures & went to improve the camera settings. When I looked again, something had spooked them & they had disappeared. They spent the rest of the day at the very back of the lagoon.
The two Curlew Sandpipers
A closer crop of the left hand Curlew Sandpiper: They really are a lovely Wader
Earlier in the Summer some of us had taken part in public guided walk training with Jonny, one of the two resident DWT rangers. We now were sufficiently staffed with volunteers on a Weds to offer a guided walk to the visitors. The plan was I would share the leading of this guided walk with one of the other volunteers, Stephanie. Unfortunately, nobody turned up, so we did the guided walk anyway with Stephanie doing the guiding & me playing the part of a visitor. It was a useful session for both of us, to help hone the guided walk before we had any real visitors.
Common Lizard: A head & shoulders view with a frustrating piece of grass
Later in the afternoon, one of the lagoon's Greenshanks was feeding close to the Avocet hide. Fortunately, the light was significantly better than it had been during the early morning.
It had been another enjoyable day as a volunteer on the DWT Brownsea reserve and with lots of good public engagement & I even got the chance to be a member of the public during the late morning.
