Woodland portraits

It was a good feeling today to get back into the forest with a hide. Nothing too unusual, although the brambling and treecreeper were nice bonuses.

As always check the 'latest Pictures' album HERE for better views of some of these snaps.

So near and yet ...............

The firecrests at Orchard Pools, Severn Beach have been provoking some fair interest locally, and they have been showing quite well - if you get lucky. In the gales and rain last Sunday I had the merest glimpse in the depths of the hedge (it was a long day, half spent sheltering in the car, the rest getting colder and colder), but today was better and I had some pretty good and close views, despite a much shorter visit. Sadly getting a picture was another matter. If only I could have moved it along a bit to a more open area! Still my first ever firecrest - let's celebrate the positives!

The frog chorus

No Oscar winner but there's a video of the frogs at Nagshead HERE . If you can hear past the recorder hiss you can just (and mean just) hear something of the croaking males.

And a couple more shots in need of a home ........

The Eyes Have It.

The pictures posted recently by Chris, Andy and Brian of frogs in the Forest of Dean, the promise of at least some sun, and freedom from needing to be in mobile phone contact saw me head off to Nagshead, full of hope that a) there would be frogs there, and b) by this time they would be well into spawning mode.
Happily the answer to both was yes. The ponds sounded like the motocross circuit at Marshfield as hundreds croaked away, and the problem was how to get a clear shot of the little blighters in amongst the crowds.
Then again how do you snap a frog? There are the orgy shots .....
the floating on the top shots .....
the courting couple shots ....
the eye shots ....
the 'Satchmo' cheek pouch mid-croak shots ....
or the portrait shots.
Sorry about the numbers. I took way, way too many (this is less than 3%), and jiggered my back again especially for the more eye level shots. It had only just settled down from the previous weekends gardening!
In the end these are my two favourites (for now at least), and both feature the eyes.
I really like the Peeping Tom shot. All these are shown in much better quality HERE - just click the link and look in the 'Latest Pictures' album.