Up close

Finally got around to posting again - photo's are backing up a bit - after a few days up north.

When I got my new camera kit the ability to get in closer to the subject led to the inevitable habit of trying to fill the frame every time. I now realise that the right thing to do is to achieve a balance between the desire to go in close on a subject and the equally relevant - and often more relevant - need to set the subject in the context of it's environment. If you want to see what I mean have a look at some of Dave Slater's pictures - very good pictures may have the subject as a relatively small component, but set the context so well. Examples would be his snow bunting or redpoll shots. In both cases reining back a little makes for a lovely photo.

http://www.djsphotography.co.uk/BritishBirds/Buntings.htm

http://www.djsphotography.co.uk/BritishBirds/Finches.htm

That said I am now going to ignore the points I've just made and post a selection of uncropped near frame fillers from a recent trip up north. Many were simply a consequence of the lens combination I was using when a bird flew to a certain position, and I snapped away! You may or may not be able to click them for larger versions. Sorry about the seed in quite a lot of the pics - bit intrusive, but that's why the birds were there. I've got other shots without it, but not necessarily so close.

Coot

Mute swan

Reed Bunting - male (not old and greying, just coming into breeding plumage!)

Reed bunting - female

Pheasant - female

Blackbird - male

Blackbird - female

Greenfinch - male

Dunnock

Willow Tit

Long-tailed Tit

Tree Sparrow

Bullfinch - male

Bullfinch - female

My last shot is a close up - more than filled the frame - but also a bit of an abstract crop, because I liked the patterns and the light.

Now that's what I call a tufted duck!

New TRESemme Extra Hold Defrizzing Tuft Gel

"Nip flyaways in the bud with this frizz-killing gel"

Let sleeping ducks lie

Sunshine and a high tide led me to Slimbridge on Saturday, having failed miserably to find the Frampton cattle egret en route. I eventually got in - what time is 9.30 to open - and found the birds well down on recent numbers. And all asleep - at least that's how it seemed.

Common Teal - who sleep standing

Tufted duck
Pochard

Pintail - with a flicker of life at last
The waking up thing slowly caught on

and soon the wigeon looked positively energeticWaders were a bit distant, but the usual suspects were there, with a curlew
and a redshank just about coming into range (thank God for 10MP)
Nice enough couple of hours before the hide population became intolerable - I bet it's great midweek, but when there are more people than birds it's time to leave!
[OK I know that's an exaggeration, but I just can't handle the elbow-to-elbow thing]

Winter blues

Some days it's hard to remember we're still in the midst of winter. The snowdrops up the lane are a week or two ahead of last year, and the sky can be summer blue.
We have loads of blue tits in the garden at present. Our garden birdwatch count may only have been 7 at one time, but flocks are clearly moving through constantly, judging by the rate we are getting through peanuts.
It's all too easy to forget how tough this time of year can be for the little guys though, and even though the winter has been pretty mild here so far, not all are going to make it.


Mind you it could be much worse. On Mike McDowell's blog (see digiscoping link to the right) he describes Wisconsin mornings when all the local birds have lost their tail feathers, because they've frozen to their perch overnight.
I was surprised to see how healthy this one looked given that massively overgrown bill, but he can certainly eat pastry, and I guess must still be managing other food as well.

Fingers crossed we keep some decent weather beyond the next week.

Big Garden Birdwatch II

Back online, and now on broadband - at last! Another Big Garden Birdwatch last Staurday, and last weekend actually saw some reasonable weather at times. We've been doing a lot of feeding this year, and the addition of pastry to the mix has added another strand to the attraction bow, so our numbers were generally up this year, with the exception of house sparrows.

Stars of the show this year were the starlings, with 22 being the highest number.
This lot come in mob handed, aiming for the pastry and raisins. The same mix has proved to be the main attraction to the blackcaps. The male we have this year is pretty shy and hard to snap ........

but the female is bolder. The second of these shots was taken yeaterday with me lying full length, but in full view, on a frosty patio.The newcomers to our BGBW records (that sounds a bit anal to me. I don't keep a record, but I don't recall us ever having them regularly, and I certainly didn't mention them in last years blog entry) were the wagtails, and the pair of pieds are also getting quite tolerant of my presence. The grey has taken to sitting around the base of the birdtable, which is really not very photogenic.
Of the rest greenfinch did very well at 11, house sparrows and blue tits 7 each, chaffinch at 6. We only had 1 goldfinch, and this has been the pattern so far this year - usually a pair - but I've just seen a group of 8 on the feeders, so perhaps the weather change might have moved some around.
I always feel it's nice to contribue to this annual event. It's been nicer still having some sun and the chance to take some photo's! Try clicking the pictures for bigger versions.

Winter scent

In several places along local road verges there are coarse heart shaped leaves that grow thickly in patches. Right now the leaves are sparse and the scented flowers reveal that this is winter heliotrope. They almost look pretty.

Shortcrust

Footnote to previous post ............. wagtails do eat pastry. So do blackcaps. At least they do in our garden.

Shortcuts

Recent reports of red crested pochard and smew at Swillbrook Lakes in the Cotswold Water Park had me salivating, so last weekend Kay and I set off on a trip ..................


.............. and struck lucky. But I guess I'd better come clean, because we didn't go to Wiltshire, just to Slimbridge! So they're not actually wildlife snaps at all. Still nice to see - never seen a male smew in breeding plumage before - what a cracking bird.
I think this goldeneye may have been a wild one. Whatever, it was showing the mating display well, but not as clearly as the one below in a pen .............

Looks like it's head is on upside down, doesn't it?
There were wild birds around though. Not rare, or unusual, but the chance to get some close views of birds accustomed to people. A nice wave on the water added some value to the blackheaded gulls

as did the persistent iceThe moorhen was much less shy than usual ..............

and I finally got a decent close-up view of probably the most elegant duck we have, in the form of this pintail (along with the Bewick swans the reason I'd actually wanted to go).The surprise package was the aquatic woodpigeon .............

clearly evolving into a fish - look at those gills it's growing - just like a lamprey!

Raptors

The New Year was ushered in with a trio of raptors, and promises that at least the buzzards may prove to be a source of more pictures as they have taken to using the trees around a field just a couple of hundred yards from home.

The short eared owl and kestrel were down at Aust Warth on Severnside, but the light was poor again.

Meanwhile the wagtails are like buses. These shots were taken when I was trying to track down some fieldfares near home.

The close up shows that the grey wag at least was feeding on rat-tailed maggots. May sound like something from a Pogues Christmas song, but is actually - and I feel almost unbelievably - the larval stage of a type of hoverfly (Eristalis). Look at the long tail used for breathing when in the water.

Also observe the curious phenomenon known as sunshine, clearly detectable in the last 2 pictures - it may have been brief but the timing was helpful!