Cool Cormorants

As I said the other day I had a go at photographing some birds in flight and I managed to capture a few shots of these cormorants. I know they are not the sharpest images but looking at them I think I can see what I need to do differently next time.

I almost decided against posting these but I thought that in spite of the lack of sharpness one of the features I wanted to capture is the shapes of the birds in flight and these shots show that off well. 

Tracking birds is challenging and getting the focus spot on is difficult especially when the lens is quite slow. In the third of these pictures I think the focus point is on the top surface of the wing and that looks good, it's just a shame that it's not sharp across the whole image.

Why The Rush...

Tomorrow I will get back to posting pictures of birds but I just wanted to share this shot of a rush in full seed. I love the wispy, fluffiness of this plant growing on the waters' edge. It was quite a windy day so it took a few attempts to capture a sharp image as the grasses and rushes were blowing about so much.

I really like this image and hope you do too.

Kingfisher

Over the next few days I will be sharing some random shots from past photo expeditions.

Today's offering is this beautiful kingfisher spotted at Mere Sands. It came after several hours waiting but stayed for less than 10 seconds so this was a super lucky shot.

Red Breast

I had intended to leave the woodland of Mere Sands Wood behind and go back in time for some pictures from a few years ago but I decided I couldn't leave it without posting one more shot of a beautiful robin.

Enjoy

A Random Post

I couldn't decide on an appropriate post for today so I picked this one.

Blowing In The Wind

Normally  I would try to avoid lens flare however every now and then it can work to good effect as I think it does in today's pictures of this reed head with its seeds ready to blow away on the wind.

Woodland Birds

When I am out in the woods I very often struggle to see the birds because I am colour blind so looking up into the tree tops I am sure that I miss a great deal in spite of their beautiful plumage... However I managed to capture this lovely Great Tit as it took a brief pause on its flight through the trees.

The Nuthatch is one of my favourite woodland birds, I like the orange and grey of its feathers and I like the black mask giving something of the appearance of a bandit.  This little bird was visiting a cache of seeds in a small hollow in the tree trunk.  It was quite difficult to get a steady shot in low light conditions as he was constantly on the move but I don't think these are too bad.

Reeds and Abstract Reflections

On the one bright and sunny day we have had in ages I went back to Mere Sands in the hope of getting some shots of birds in good light. However there were hardly any birds there to be seen.  Thinking that my luck really has been bad recently I sat and looked out across the lake and was struck by the colourful reflections and so I decided to make the most of my day out and take pictures of something different.

In the first of today's pictures I like the colour of the reeds which shone gold in the sunlight. The second shot is of tree trunks reflected in the gently rippling water, looking at it now I think like the bottom half of the picture more than the image as a whole because there is greater distortion and more abstract quality.

The third and fourth images are of the same area with more reflections of the trees and the sky visible through the naked branches. These are much more abstract images than the first two and it is the richness of the colours and the patterns which make these pictures my favourites.

Good Grebe

By the time I got round to the last hide at Mere Sands to see the grebes the light was really poor and that has affected the quality of these pictures which are not as sharp as I would have liked.  The birds in these shots are a Great Crested Grebe and a Little Grebe. In spite of the atrocious weather they were undeterred as they patrolled the lake in search of a meal. They really have quite impressive fishing skills and they dived for a long time, often resurfacing some distance from the original dive.

I saw both come up with fish but was unable to capture the moment because I had had to close the window to the hide to avoid a soaking as the rain lashed down. I did manage to get a little wet but it didn't spoil my day out.  I hope that when I go back I will get some better shots of these cracking little birds.

In A Flap

So these first three shots are of Goosander, the first two being male and the third female. As part of their preening routine they scratched and rearranged their feathers and then shook them back into position.  I like the  diamond pattern in the first picture, formed by the outstretched wings and the dark feathers of the birds' back.

In comparison to the males the female in the third picture was much more calm and serene. I like the chocolate brown plumage of the head with the white bib which almost looks like a smile.

I took this final shot because it struck me as funny how all four ducks buried their heads at the same time, as if they were camera shy.  Can you come up with a suitable caption for this picture?  if so leave a comment...

And A Robin For Luck

I have been so frustrated recently because it is about five weeks since I was able to get out at a weekend to take some photos and when I saw the weather forecast for today I thought it would be another washout.  However I decided that I would head off to Mere Sands Wood and if the weather turned nasty at least I could take shelter in the hides.

I had hoped to get some pictures of some of our winter visitors however I was told by the warden that due to the unseasonably warm weather the usual migrant species from Scandinavia and the Arctic haven't turned up yet (if they do at all) and so there wasn't very much in the way of bird life and waterfowl to see.

Undeterred I walked around the quiet woodland and had a really lovely day. The light was really poor so getting good shots was a challenge, as you can see from the first two images I had to use a high ISO (10,000) and the resulting images are a bit grainy.  I was however pleased to get the shot of the Grey Heron just as it landed and you can see its wings extended to slow it down and the feathers along the leading edge of its wings extended further to act as air brakes.

The third picture is of a male Goosander, there is not a lot of detail in this picture but I like the reflection and the sense of motion created by the ripples in its wake.

The final picture is my first photo of a Robin this winter, I know that everyone loves Robins so thought I would add it to my blog for today.

I had a great day out, it was peaceful and quiet and although I did have to take shelter against a really heavy downpour I was happy.

Hungry Birds

Yesterday I headed out to Mere Sands Nature reserve but was really disappointed because there were so few birds around.  I did have a very pleasant walk and it was nice having some quiet time in the hides.

For a little while I hung around a feeding station for the wild birds and watched as various birds flew in and out to grab a quick snack.  It was really difficult to get a decent shot because they all came and went so quickly. I did however manage a few and the four pictures above of the Coal Tit and Robin are the best of the bunch. 

I like the contrast between the tit which was alert and watchful, ready to take flight at the slightest movement and the robin which was curious yet confident.

At the water's edge...

A mixture of shots today.  The first one is a bit abstract and you may well wonder why I have chosen this. Apart from the fact that I like this picture the wooden post has a particular purpose as it is there as a perch to attract Kingfishers although I have not actually seen it being used.

The second shot is of a Great Crested Grebe chick and the third shows an adult grebe, possibly a parent of this chick.

The final shot shows a view across the mere which was beautifully calm and a really nice place to spend a Saturday morning.  I will definitely be back.

Little dragon

Today's pictures were taken using the camera on my phone.  I also took some pictures using my DSLR with my macro lens and at some point I will get round to posting some of them. 

I'm quite pleased with how clear these shots are.  I had a great time this morning and look forward to sharing them with you...