Around lunchtime on day 3 we moved to the Afternoon Roller Hide, as distinguished from the Morning Roller Hide which presumably faces in a different direction. It's only about a five minute drive from the Red-foot Tower, so ideal for doing two in a day and wasting no time driving, although frankly I would have appreciated a bit of time back at the hotel in order to cool down and lie down!
The big downside to this hide is its size. Whereas the tower hide we had come from was large and comfortable, this was small and highly uncomfortable, with the seats being too low and there being nowhere to put your legs. Many periods of pins and needles, combined with stifling heat made this very hard work indeed, and eventually we gave up. I think the bird had twigged that we were in there after all our noise trying to remain comfortable (impossible!), and thus after the first hour it only came in direct to the nest box rather than landing on the perch. In addition the options are very limited - one bird, one perch, and no supporting cast. Apparently the Morning Roller Hide had a lot more activity, and a few more species present. Nonetheless I managed some pleasing photos during that first period, though I have to say that I can't really enthuse much about this hide - my best Roller photos were probably taken here, but there were far more options for different Roller poses at the Red-foot Tower Hide earlier in the day.
Gear
Lenses: The longest you have, a 500mm lens is ideal for portraits with a 1.3x crop body, as well as for the bird in flight. A 400mm should be fine with a 1.6x body.
Cameras: See above.
Other: A tripod is essential.
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