I Love the Avant Garde

 I will come back to ducks in my next post but today I wanted to share a quite remarkable and very stylish seabird.

This bird is from Pacific coast of Chile, Ecuador and Peru but has been found in Hawaii and parts of Central America. Its numbers are declining to the point that its conservation status is "near threatened". 

The Inca Tern is mostly dark coloured, which is unique among Terns, and as you can see from these photos as well as its silky slate grey/black plumage it has a bright red bill with vivid yellow accents. But most striking is the Daliesque moustache comprised of long white satiny feathers. They make a mewing sound a bit like a kitten so we could say these birds are the cats whiskers (sorry).

Their food is mainly small fish and crustaceans but they will also eat offal and carrion, so not too picky. They can feed in flocks of up to 5000 birds and will follow fishing boats or pods of whales/dolphins.

These pictures were taken at Martin Mere where there are several of these beautiful birds in an aviary. They are a joy to watch in flight, however since these images were shot through netting capturing a decent photo in flight wasn't really possible.

Don't feed the pigeons

I hesitated before finally deciding to post this picture of a feral pigeon, they are sometimes referred to as flying rats because they're often seen as pests, certainly in cities; and in many places it is an offence to feed them. I wonder if people would like them more if one of their other names "city dove" was used more than feral pigeon it sounds slightly more appealing as a dove doesn't it. 

Regardless of what you call it it is actually quite a nice looking bird, not pretty, certainly not beautiful but this bird certainly has character and is a fine specimen.

How Deer You

These are the first of the wildlife shots from my trip to Canada. These beautiful whitetail deer were spotted on Mission Island near the Mission Marsh Conservation area (site of one of my best wildlife sightings during the trip).

These deer are completely wild but have become used to living alongside the residents in this quiet community grazing on the lush grass and feeding on the apples in the autumn. Although they seem quite happy posing for photos they remain alert and will quickly disappear into the undergrowth if they get spooked.

Smiling Buck

Tamron 150mm - 600mm f/5:6.3

ISO 100   600mm  f/6.3   1/160 sec

At Dunham Massey I had spent most of the time in the gardens photographing the spring flowers but before going home I wanted to wander into the deer park and see whether I could get some nice shots.

At this time of year the herd of deer is spread out around the park in small groups and unlike the autumn months when there is a lot of activity in early May the deer seem much more relaxed and were contentedly feeding as the many visitors walked by. 

It wasn't really the best time of day to get really interesting shots but I do like this one of a young buck who was gently munching on some grass. He was completely at ease as I approached and seemed to pose for me. You can see that his cheeks are full of food but with his lips parted slightly I think it looks very much like he is smiling.

Gotta Love a Tree Hugger

While camping lake side in the provincial park we were visited by lots of critters on a daily basis including chipmunks, skunks and squirrels. During our stay we saw grey, black and red squirrels but by far the most friendly were the reds, like this one that let me get up close as he posed for this delightful portrait. He had been active around the site all week but had been quite difficult to photograph because he was so darned fast so patience was the key to getting this shot. 

I think that you will agree he is adorable.

Nuthatch

This is one of my favourite birds.  The nuthatch is quite a bold and friendly little bird.  It almost seems like this one was sat posing for the camera but really it was constantly looking round for grubs and insects, it was always on the move, so it took some patience getting these shots

Graceful Swan

I really like swans, they are so graceful and serene (when they're not hissing at you).  They will often pose obligingly for a photo as in the first of today's pictures and then they swim away so gently leaving barely a ripple.  I am really pleased with the second picture because it captures the reflecting well.  A few moments later a strengthening wind broke up the water's surface and there was no chance of getting another reflection. As always timing is the key.

On a rock

Black Backed Gull

Common Sandpiper

Common Gull

After the difficult birds in flight yesterday I have picked some much easier shots for today. 

You could think that these three birds were actually posing for these photos.

#Seabirds #Waders #DeeEstuary #WirralCoast