Mirror, mirror, on the wall

Tuesday 13th February 2007

Had an hour to spare this afternoon so went my local patch, Pugneys Country Park. Bitterns showed briefly from the hide but my favourite duck of all time, the Red-Crested Pochard was primping himself up on the main lake. I've never seen a duck spend so much time bathing and preening. He's learnt to move the swans out of the way by nipping at their tail feathers. The swans do not like that and get out of the way quick. The local lifeguards then decided to do some work and remove part of the floating jetty I was using to take my photos. Typical.

Used my usual combination of Nikon D2Xs/ 600mmf5.6 manual lens and for those technically minded the settings were RAW, ISO 200, 1/320sec f5.6.

I still love using my old long lens. Although its a manual focus, its crisp and a delight to handle. No one seems to want manual lenses any more and they are going or a song on e-bay. It's a real challenge keeping a moving bird in focus!!

Bittern to death

Monday 12th February 2007

Had the day at Potteric Carr Nature Reserve near Doncaster. Chose a day when the cafe was shut to avoid the crowds.

Had a close encounter with a Bittern which had caught a huge perch and was trying to swallow it. After much straining and gyrations, it gave up and flew off into the reedbeds to sulk.

It started pouring down so I went to the feeding station where a Grey Squirrel amused those there with its antics.

Bittern encounters -Part 1

Tuesday 6th February

Spent a while in the hide at Pugneys country Park in Wakefield, my local patch. 2 bitterns came out to play on the iced-up water. One (Laurel) tried to walk on the ice and kept falling through. The other (Hardy) looked on from above. They seemed to like the sunshine. They were a long way away for photography, even with a 600mm prime lens +1.4x converter.

Also present was a Red-Crested Pochard, by the jetty on the main lake. Posed for photos whilst having a wash and brush up. I love action photos but they are so hard to get!

Little Grebe at Cannon Hall

Thursday 1st February 2007

Nice place to be with a camera. Found this little grebe skulking under tree branches which had fallen into the water during the gales. It's amazing how many people passed by without spotting the grebe. I was sitting with the camera against a tree, and the grebe gave a great show, diving for sticklebacks.
Lots of Teal preening in the middle of the lake too.

American Robin in Bingley

Tuesday 30th January 2007

Went to see the Juvenile American Robin today. What a poser. It commuted between Holly bushes in house gardens and open scrubland where it proceeded to pull up worms. It posed for a few photos before retiring to a Hawthorn to digest its meal. Met some friendly birders there and people were sensible in not trying to flush the bird.