TITS!

 Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit and my favourite... Long Tailed Tit

I was able to get out for a couple of hours today to visit Mere Sands Wood where despite the biting wind the sun was shining  I was able to photograph a few different varieties of our beautiful birds.

These were all some distance away, at the limit of my lens in some cases nevertheless they are all rather nice.

A Few Days in December

 So, I know that we are now part way through January, almost a third of the way actually so it may seem a bit late to post something with a title "A Few Days in December" but that is what these pictures and those that I  will share over the coming days represent.

I managed to get out for just a few days last month, although I have had a fair bit of time on my hands the poor weather and a lack of motivation on my part meant I didn't get out as much as I would have liked and when I sat down to review my images I actually thought that I wouldn't have very much to show for it. 

As it happens on those few days out I did get more than a few shots and perhaps more important than the images themselves I had time to unwind, to reflect and to connect with nature in a way that I really needed. Although I had my camera with me the primary purpose was just to get out and enjoy being out, without putting any pressure on myself to get the perfect shot.

Above are a few images from my first day out, a short visit to Mere Sands Woods. The weather was not great, the lighting poor and I really should have used a faster shutter speed but as I say photography was not the most pressing thing for me, I really enjoyed my walk and mostly just watching. The pictures, well they are a bonus.

I hope that you enjoy the images above of a Great Tit, a couple of Blue Tits, a hungry Nuthatch and  of course, what winter walk would be complete without a Robin?!

Some of these images were made possible because someone had left out some seed on a tree stump where I stood a while and watched the birds come down in a frenzy to feed. 

The Robin shot was captured right at the end of my walk, I think it is quite a nice image but I had an even closer and perhaps more meaningful encounter with a Robin on one of my other days out, which no doubt I will tell you about in a future post.

Cuteness Up A Tree

Without a doubt today's choice matches yesterday's selection for cuteness. As I said then, the Robin is probably just about everybody's favourite garden and woodland bird but the Blue Tit is also probably high up on most people's list. I love it when I spot them visiting the feeders in my garden and I have friends who have them nesting in their garden year on year and it is always great to hear about the progress of each brood. 

This little chap was sat in a tree above my head at Mere Sands Wood and I almost missed him while I was looking in the lower branches and the bushes around me. I am glad that I did spot him though because he sat long enough for me to get some lovely shots

Little Blue

This little Blue Tit is just so cute. I was recently talking to a friend about how so many of our native birds lack colour when compared to lots of exotic species from around the world and yet when you look at some of the pictures I have posted in the past week, of Gold Finches, Lapwings, the Great Spotted Woodpecker and this little beauty today perhaps our birds are not so dull after all.

These birds are seem so delicate and small and yet they live outside in the harsh wet and cold as well as coping with the heat in summer showing that they are really quite hardy.

A Blue Tit

Always a favourite of mine, the Blue Tit. Such a dainty little bird with pretty plumage.

While this one was flitting back and forth to the different feeders, filling up on nuts and seeds I spotted another little Blue Tit flying around gathering moss and feather obviously to line a nest. 

At one point I also heard a knocking sound which at first I took to be a woodpecker but looking around I saw that it was in fact another Blue Tit pecking away to enlarge the entry hole to a nest box on the wall of a shed. This surprised me and impressed me at the same time to see such a tiny bird customising the nest box to fit its purpose and make it more accesible.

Great Tits

The first shot is of another Blue Tit the other two are of a Great Tit which was noisily chirping away to warn other birds of my presence but it seemed quite happy to stay close by as if watching what I was doing.

I really had a good time watching the birds and capturing these images but I was even more convinced that I need to save up and invest in a bigger telephoto lens.  I'm thinking a 150mm - 600mm lens will probably be on my shopping list to get even closer and hopefully better pictures in future

In the meantime I hope you have enjoyed today's photos.

A Little Beauty

I think that like the Robin the pretty little Blue Tit is another beautiful and interesting bird with lots of character and charm.  They're more skittish than the Robin so getting a good shot requires a little more patience.  Their feathers have an almost fur like quality as can be seen in the second picture which is a crop of the third photo. 

I am quite pleased with today's pictures. Certainly worth the wait. Tomorrow I will have a few shots of another popular garden/woodland bird.

Let me know what you think in the comments field below...

Wild Birds

Today I have chosen a couple of very simple shots on of a Great Tit and the other a Blue Tit which I snapped near the car park in Blanchland in the North Pennines.  It was a miserable grey day with non stop rain but it didn't prevent me from getting out for the day with my mum.  

We had been to High Force in Teesdale and then called in at Blanchland for lunch at the White Monk Tearooms which is in the former village school. Before heading back home I took a few pictures of the birds that were resting in the trees near the car.  It was hard getting a clear shot because of the rain on my lens and these while not perfect were the best.  The Great Tit has a crumb of biscuit clasped in its beak, I think he was pleased for an easy meal on such a miserable day.

Over the next few days I will post some more pictures from the day out including the waterfall and some photos of Blanchland which is a lovely village and definitely worth a visit in better weather.

A Bird in the Hand

I was going to post another Delamere Forest photo today but then something happened this morning as i was getting ready to go to work that changed all of that.

I had gone back up to the bedroom to get a jumper and saw a bird fly across the room and settle on the curtain rail.  I was completely taken aback because none of the windows were open and I could not work out how the bird had got in.  I could see that it was a blue tit and it was obviously a bit distressed flying from one end of the room to the other.  I got my camera and took a couple of quick shots while it rested on top of a box on the wardrobe keeping a safe distance from me.

I then went to open the blind on the velux window and immediately the little bird flew to the window, it rested on the frame and as I lifted my arm to open the window if flew and settled on my arm and then flew into the bathroom.  At first I couldn't see it then found it clinging upside down on my towel.  I took one last picture then gently took the bird in my hand, it clung to my finger and I took it to the opened window.  I opened my hand to release it and it just sat there for several seconds before flying off.

It was a lovely start to the day and although the pictures aren't great in a technical sense I think they are worth sharing.

As for the mystery of how it got in I deduced that it must have come in through the extractor fan in the en suite, I guess it had been sheltering there during the gale force winds yesterday and overnight.