Whilst sat eating ice cream (White chocolate & raspberry, and salted caramel flavours) and looking out across the harbour at New Quay this pair of house sparrows were fluttering around and were most definitely full of the joys of spring.
Although they are quite a common species (I am reliably informed that they were the most spotted species in the RSPB bird watch in March) they are often overlooked as being drab and uninteresting. But if you ask me, it's worth taking a closer look.
So back from my trip to the New Forest I can get back into my daily habit. It has been frustrating not having a good enough signal to be able to post pictures every day that I was away but I hope the ones I did were appreciated.
Today I have chosen a few pictures of birds taken with my super zoom.
The first is a buzzard which I managed to catch as it flew across an opening in the forest. It flew by so quickly it was really hard to get a clear shot but I am very happy with this one.
The next bird, I thought was a Skylark but it turns out to be a Meadow Pippit, there was a pair of them flying around and making quite a racket. This one settled for a moment on the fern but never for very long, it was also quite a long way off so is not as sharp as I would like and the background blur is a little distracting.
The third shot is a lot better, this is a Tree Pippit and was a little more obliging in that it sat still long enough to allow me to compose the shot.
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.
