Feathers and Fluff

 

Here we have a selection of birds starting at the top with a mallard duckling, then a black necked stilt and finally a Puna teal.

All of the pictures were taken in Chester Zoo but the first two species can be seen in the wild around the UK whereas the teal is a resident of the Andes in Peru. It has a striking blue bill.

The ducklings were sat with their mother in the shade of a picnic table and while a common sight I couldn't resist the calm relaxed expressions.

The stilt is very elegant and I loved the reflections as it carefully waded through its pool in search of food.

At The Bird Zoo

I recently spent a couple of days visiting Martin Mere Wildfowl and Wetland Reserve to watch some of the winter migrants. As well as the wetland areas there are some other pools with other species in "the bird zoo".  It is a nice opportunity to get up close to some beautiful species such as these the Chiloe Wigeon and the Northern Shoveler. 

On this particular day I had gone expecting clear skies and good conditions however although it was calm it was cold and very grey and overcast  so in order to use a fast enough shutter speed I had to use quite a high ISO.  

Rare Breed

Canon 24 - 105 mm 1:4L

ISO 200  105mm  F/10  1/100 sec

ISO 200  105mm  F/10   1/100 sec

ISO 100   105mm   F/8.0   1/250 sec

The bird in the third picture today is an Eider Duck and I spotted him sitting enjoying a quiet moment in the shade of some tress near a small ornamental lake. He has really beautiful markings and the pattern on his back in some way reflects the dappled shadows on the ground int he background.

The bird in the first two images is a Scania Goose and it is a rare breed native to Sweden. It is a hardy breed derived from the Greylag Goose and is able to tolerate the climate in Southern Sweden throughout the year. It really is quite rare however with only 172 being registered in Sweden in 2011 (according to Wikipedia) and I don't know whether that number has increased or decreased since that time.

This particular specimen was part of a small flock in the Slottsskogen park in Gothenburg. Apparently these birds can get quite large, too heavy in fact to fly. I think they are quite a pretty bird and I particularly like to confident pose in the second picture.

Shelduck On The Wing

Today I wanted to continue the theme of birds in flight and today's choice of bird is the beautiful Shelduck. 

These were some way off and so I have cropped in quite close to get the best image. You can see from the first two pictures the fantastic markings on the underside of these handsome birds, seen here in breeding plumage. In the  first two images we have a male bird and in the other two shots there are two males and one female. The way they can be distinguished from each other is the male has a raised knob on its bright red bill.

These birds are more commonly seen around coastal estuaries so seeing them at Mere Sands was a treat. They will be busy rearing their broods of 8 to 10 young around about now. They like to nest in a variety of places including in holes on the ground, under brambles or between straw bales but they are also known to nest in trees.

They like to hang around in small family groups but can be seen in larger groups towards the end of the summer before the adults head off to the North Sea where they moult.

Living on the coast I am quite used to seeing these birds but surprisingly I haven't photographed them very often but having taken the time to find out a little more about them today I am inclined to go out and look for them again quite soon.

A Shoveler Shaking It

I had been watching this Shoveler feeding along the edges of the mere. It swims low in the water dipping its characteristic broad beak under the surface to scoop up a tasty meal. 

Then after a while it just stopped moving and I could tell it was shaping up to do something, I thought it was going to take flight so I was ready to try a shot of it taking to the air but instead it just had a good old shake to limber up those wings. It makes a nice series of pictures and I love the way he holds his head perfectly still, always alert for predators and the way he uses his tail feathers to maintain balance. I am sure that under the surface his feet are working away too but you can't tell from these shots.

It's A Teal

Today I have a couple more pictures from my New Years photo shoot at Mere Sands. This is a teal which is the smallest common duck and generally can be found in marshy ponds.

This one was part of a small flock that were feeding in the shallow waters around a reed bed. Although it looks quite relaxed it was very alert and they are able to take off almost vertically if alarmed. Luckily there was nothing to spook this chap and the still water provides nice reflections and gentle ripples.Te

More Moorhen

Moorhens are typically timid birds but this one has some serious attitude strutting his way through the reeds on the edge of the mere.

Striking Birds

I have had a hard time in the past getting half decent shots of these birds because the places where I have seen them they tend to swim too far out or they seldom stay still for long and they will dive for ages and come up in a completely different place.

In the spring they perform beautiful courtship rituals using their elegant ruff to show off and attract a mate, and they dive down and collect nest materials also in an effort to prove that they have good breeding potential. I hope one day to be able to photograph that behaviour because it really is spectacular.

For now here are a couple of shots of a pair that were serenely swimming at Longton Brick Croft in Lancashire. I have been there a few times in the past and while I have always enjoyed my visits there has never been very much to photograph so I was pleased on this occasion to capture these images to share today. They were a fair way off so I have had to crop these pictures a bit but I'm fairly pleased with them.

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.