Tuesday, May 13, 2008 - [Bird Snapping] Off to shoot Indian Birds!
Another day, and I`m headed off home to India -to capture the ultimate bird - my fiancee. I`m going to get married! Thus, I guess bird snapping may take the back seat for a while. However, compared to the bird desert that is the UK, India is plentiful in its stock of birds and I`ll definitely be having my camera on hand most times, so if I can get Internet access, expect a few Indian birds in this space.
Some of my trophies from the last time I was there include
this Eurasian Golden Oriole:
this beautiful Black headed golden oriole:
Rackett tailed Drongos:
Tree Pie:
Cattle Egret:
a Coucal:
Green Barbet
That is to name just a few..and if you are wondering where exactly in India this place is - it is none other than God`s own country - Kerala. Hope to post again soon enough.
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Posted By Tee to Bird Snapping on 5/13/2008 06:50:00 AM
Friday, May 9, 2008 - [Bird Snapping] Intelligent Crows
Growing up in India, where crows are the most common of birds, I have largely tended to ignore these birds when on my bird snapping trips. I was surfing blogs again when I came across this video. Its amazing how intelligent these birds are.
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Posted By Tee to Bird Snapping on 5/09/2008 10:13:00 AM
Tuesday, May 6, 2008 - [Bird Snapping] Notes from my feeder
The Sparrows continue to visit. The mom arrives with the chicks and feeds them straight from the feeder. Of course, that makes sense does'nt it? Why carry the food all the way to the nest when you can bring the babies to the food! Besides its an opportunity to get them to practice their flying and gain life experience in general. Sometimes the chicks themselves pick up a seed or two from the ground. Looks like they are growing up before my eyes.
As you`ve seen above, I've now added suet balls to the menu, but none of the birds have shown any interest yet.
Meanwhile, the Dunnocks still continue their visits, but these days they seem content to feed off the ground. I suppose they are primarily ground feeders anyway.As the sparrows are messy feeders, they drop more than they eat onto the ground. Thus the dunnocks have all they want on the ground and thus dont bother feeding off the feeders anymore.
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Posted By Tee to Bird Snapping on 5/06/2008 06:23:00 AM
Sunday, May 4, 2008 - [Bird Snapping] Sparrow family videos
The feed in my bird feeder has been disappearing at an alarming rate these days, and I was beggining to wonder why. Then I saw a horde of sparrows descend upon it and I knew why!Along with the group I noticed were two baby sparrows, possibly out on their first few trips away from the nest. I couldnt get a picture that time though, however, I was ready when a mother and one chick came back. It is amazing to see how big the chick is when compared to the mom. Do sparrows grow smaller as they grow up??!! Anyway, It feels nice to know that my feeder is supporting a family.
The other day I had my radio on while filming this male and female sparrows at the feeder. I didnt realise that the camera was picking up on the sound. When I played it back, it appeared as if the sparrows were chatting while feeding! It makes for a funny scene!
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Posted By Tee to Bird Snapping on 5/04/2008 02:05:00 AM
Sunday, May 4, 2008 - [Bird Snapping] Cycle birding along Eastville park
Today was another nice day, and I set out again on my cycle-birding trip. These days I just cant seem to stay at home and sleep the weekend away! I was a bit apprensive about the weather when I started but it soon cleared up into a lovely day - neither too cold nor too hot and I found myself drifting along cycle paths into a lovely park. I soon headed into this path which passed onto a bridge, and looking over the bridge I came across a moorhen along with a few Mallards. It seemed to ignore me and get along with its chores, allowing me ample time to capture a video.
I moved on along the river, to pass some nice calm and invitig scenery and onto a narrow bridge. While on the bridge, I saw a flash of blue and looked up to see a Kingfisher fly past.That was my 4th sighting of a Kingfisher this year, yet I have not even a blurred picture of it to show. The bridge opened out to the other side of the river, interrupted by a weir. It was so calm and nice that I stood there watching the water , listening to the sound of birds. Suddenly, out of nowhere, another flash of blue descended into the trees by the bridge. I abandoned my cycle and set off after it. Coming back onto the bridge, I just managed to see the Jay before it flew into another clump of trees. I followed it , and it in turn went a little further, never giving me a good pose but just about keeping me interested to follow. Another set of trees and up a hill..all the time taking me away from my cycle! Finally, almost mockingly it flew away over the hill, leaving me with only this shot! I`ll get him another day! I returned to my cycle and resumed my journey. The track led on to a big open space with an artificial pond in the centre, I was thrilled to see that it was full of water birds. However, my atention was drawn first to a Grey heron standing nearby. I seem to be seeing a heron on all of my weekend trips now. As you can see from the above picture, he didnt stay for long, and I focussed my camera on other candidates. There was this coot, which was feeding these chicks which looked more like moorhen chicks than coot ones..or do coot chicks look like that? (can someone please answer that in the comments if you know?) ..and then there were these Canada geese and a swan, which very obligingly flew up to me and posed for all kinds of shots. and of course, more moorhen and more coots and ducks but also, there was this cute squirrel which came of the tree and posed for some good pictures Having finally reached the end of the park, I decided to turn back. I`d told you earlier about having seen a blackcap that wouldnt pose for a picture. On my way back, I saw another one, and this time I didnt let it go. I clicked a couple of pictures from far, but which when cropped, clearly shows him off! I also saw a mistle thrush on the same tree The elusive one on this trip however, proved to be a wren which jumped out in front of me and sat in tantalizing positions, but my camera was not in hand. By the time I got the camera focussed , it got away. I enjoyed the spring air and its lovely sights on the way back. If the weather holds good, I plan to come along this route on my way to another location, soon enough. I hope I`ll get as much birds on that day too.
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Posted By Tee to Bird Snapping on 5/03/2008 01:12:00 PM
Wednesday, April 30, 2008 - [Bird Snapping] Golden eagle attack!
I was surfing a few blogs when I came across this video of a Golden eagle. I`m not sure what exactly the other birds are, if you know please leave a comment. (They are Capercaillies or Woodland Grouse - Thanks Nigel) It almost broke my heart to see the second bird stand up in defence of its partner, although they were fighting when the attack happened...what do you think is the outcome?
Wednesday, April 30, 2008 - [Bird Snapping] Kestrel in Flight.
I`d mentioned earlier about me mistaking this Kestrel for a Peregrine. I managed to get some video footage of it. Note the typical hovering display. It seems this is typical of the kestrel.
...and more hovering.
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Posted By Tee to Bird Snapping on 4/30/2008 12:19:00 AM
Sunday, April 27, 2008 - [Bird Snapping] Bird Snapping along Avon gorge.
I`ve been planning a trip to Avonmouth estuary for a while now to try out my digiscope. Last week I set out only to have my plans foiled by rain. Yesterday, however, I gave it another try and the weather blossomed into lovely sunshine and my date with Avonmouth birds was on.
It was just as I reached the portway, overlooking the Avon gorge, that I had my first photo op. I looked up to see a bird hovering above as if it was suspended in the sky. I was really excited, as I took it to be a peregrine falcon, as the Avon gorge is a known breeding site for this endangered species. I snapped away eagerly causing passers by to look up to see what was so interesting overhead.
I got quite a few shots but even with full zoom, the above one was the best I could manage as it flew past over and across where I stood. These are the times I desperately wish I had a zoom lens
However, it turned out that this one was not a peregrine, but rather a Kestrel, the typical suspended hovering, being a dead giveaway.
It was time to move on, and I headed to the Avon bridge which has a cycle path running alongside it over the gorge. I was surveying the paths below and noted a few pools. In one of the pools sat a Grey Heron, just begging to be photographed. I clicked away again. This is not the first time I`ve seen one or photographed one, but this was the first time one sat still enough for me to click away as long as I needed.
Thus I had the perfect digiscoping opportunity. I fished out my digiscope and braced it against the railings and clicked away. Unfortunately, my CP950 s LCD screen is almost useless in even low light, not to mention yesterdays lovely sunshine, and I had to take educated guesses about the focus, slightly changing it and clicking numerous shots, thus eventually getting atleast two that were good enough.
I soon moved on from the bridge and joined the National cycle network 41. I spent some time wading through the overgrown marshy grass, and spotted this starling, as well as a blackcap, but it got away before I could click at it.
I then moved on to the track just overlooking the gorge, and began digiscoping these yellow legged gulls, which took offense and flew away as soon as they were in focus.
However, as if in compensation, out fluttered two birds, which on later reference turned out to be wheatears, and sat within range of digiscope and camera. One of them flew away as soon as I turned my attention on it, but the other was content to pose. I first used the digiscope from a safe distance, and when I was sure I had enough shots,
I decided to take the risk and venture closer with the camera. The bird did fly away as soon as I got close but it sat close by enabling me to get a few good shots before it took off.
My next candidate was this gull. Identifying gulls is tricky business, but I think this one is a exceptionally bluish herring gull. The main difference from the yellow legged gulls above being just that.. their legs are not yellow.
Time was passing and I had a long way to cycle back, thus I began my journey back, but tried a short detour, where I chanced upon my first green finch. It wasnt a good poser and left me with few good shots. My earlier snaps of the peregine-turned-kestrel inspired me to try a few more bird-in-flight shots. Heres two:
The one above is perhaps a buzzard or harrier, while the one below is quite clearly a gull.
...and those were my collections for the day. I had a tiring ride back home, but the days gains were worth it. My first sightings of a blackcap, wheatear and even the greenfinch, opportunities to put my digiscope to use and beautiful sunshine all day. Its been a day worth its weight in birds.
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Posted By Tee to Bird Snapping on 4/26/2008 04:15:00 PM
Saturday, April 19, 2008 - [Bird Snapping] Risking life and limb for bird photography!
Today was a horrible day with the rain pouring down all throughout. However, having not had my usual share of bird photography or cycling for a while now, I decided I wasnt going to let the rain play spoilsport. So off I set out in the rain to explore unknown territories. One path led to another and I ended up pushing my bike along a muddy footpath leading to god knew where. However, the place seemed to be filled with birds and it wasnt long before two great tits appeared and presented a photo opportunity.
They seemed content to let me approach and went about doing their "stuff". With the rain pelting down, I didnt hang around and had to move on. I caught a glimpse of a great spotted woodpecker, but it flew away even before I had a chance to grab my camera.
The footpath suddenly started into a steep descent bringing me close to a cliff. I was begining to descend the path when, out fluttered a Jay and sat on a perfect location on a tree branch. Had I pulled it off, it would have made a lovely snap, but of course the settings on my camera were all wrong and I ended up with a horribly overexposed pic before the Jay took off.
I was in no mood to let it go though, so I abandoned my cycle and followed it periliously close to the cliff face, only for it to fly away and sit further away.
Everytime I framed it, it would fly away to another location just around the corner. Finally, it sat on a tree just out of sight and wouldnt budge. I decided that I`d have to venture to the tip of a narrow ledge of rock outcrop if I were to go home with a anything at all.
Thus risking life and limb, I balanced on the wet rocks with a less than grippy shoes to snap the bird. I did finally get him, but unfortunately, there was a twig in the way. He was off before I could take any sillier! risks!
Cropping the shot though, brings it out in its glory . I love the way the rain drops show up on the twigs and the rain in the background. I guess that makes it worth the risk. I continued exploring and finally hit a deadend. The footpath continued, but my cycle wouldnt fit through. On my right though, was a steep drop and I could see what seemed to be a cycle path far below. ..thus once again trusting in my nimble foot I decided to half walk, half slide down the slope, with my cycle tagging along protestingly! I was half way down when I suddenly saw a great spotted woodpecker again! This time it wasnt flying away! Thus I balanced my cycle on the skiddy slope and set off to get a decent picture of Mr woody wood pecker! Unfortunately the limitations of my camera wouldnt allow for more than these shots. I finally made it down the slope and spent another couple of hours exploring the area but I saw no better photo opportunity than a couple of magpies. I returned home drenched, cold and hungry, but I guess that Jay shot more than makes up for it.
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Posted By Tee to Bird Snapping on 4/19/2008 11:33:00 AM
Sunday, April 13, 2008 - [Bird Snapping] Field test of my digiscope setup
I tried out a field test of my digiscoping setup today. I headed out to a park, where once again there were plenty of magpies just far enough. I must say I need to work on getting my focus perfect, as I discovered that most of my pictures were slightly out of focus.
On auto mode, the camera struggles, but on a manual shutter speed priority mode, the shake is eliminated . However, I need to set a higher exposure compensation to make up for less light at higher shutter speeds.
As you can see from the above pics, a shallow depth of focus is achieved easily. My camera came with a 16 MB card and having the settings on fine, filled up the card space quickly. While I was about to wind up and go home three rabbits ran out of the bushes about 70 m from me and started chasing each other. I had time for one snap before they ran off into the bushes again! Amazing shot!(?)
and just to wind up, I shot this kite which was about 150 m away None of the images above are edited.
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Posted By Tee to Bird Snapping on 4/13/2008 03:42:00 PM
Saturday, April 12, 2008 - [Bird Snapping] DIY Cable release bracket for Nikon Coolpix 950
Having setup my Nikon Coolpix 950 with my "ASDA scope", I now diverted my energy towards another vital setup - that of a cable release adapter. I had noted from my previous experience, that manual clicking of the shutter button resulted in a lot of shake, leading to image blurring. Unfortunately the CP 950 does not have a provision for electronic shutter release cables or support for remote controlled shutters. I therefore invested in a mechanical Shutter release cable. This is basically similar to a bicycle brake cable. When one pushes the knob at one end, a tip comes out at the other end, which when placed in position can depress the shutter button of a camera. However, it is spring-loaded and returns to its original position after the knob is released. I had the inspiration for making the bracket from this site, but I made modifications depending on whatever was available at hand. Furthermore since I do not own all the tools required, I resorted to my own means to accomplish tasks. 1) First of all, I started out with a 2mm strip of aluminium which I purchased at B&Q. 2) I now proceeded to make a hole at one end, which would serve as the hole where the bracket would attach to the tripod. I first hammered a hole with a big sharp needle and proceeded to make the hole bigger using a pair of scissors (for want of a better tool!) by grating off . Aluminium, being relatively soft will grate off easily. ( a drill is a better idea - if you have one)
3) once the hole was made, I measured out the distances where I was to make the bends and marked it. I dont have a vice to make the bends, so I ended up placing the strip between a half closed door (hinge side) and then bending it. It works well.
4) Once I made two bends, to make it into an open square, I placed the camera inside, aligned the tripod hole with that of the camera and marked the position at the opposite end which overlay the shutter release button. I then sawed off the excess strip.
5) I then made a smaller hole here, one that will take the end of the shutter release cable. This end of the shutter release cable has a thread for screwing which sharpens towards the end. Hence, when placed into the hole, a portion of the thread emerges at the other side. 6) To fasten it in place, I screwed on a metal washer at this end. I suppose any sort of washer that is thin enough and holds the cable in place will do. The one i used was not really a washer, but just a thin metal sheet with hole that sat at the bottom of a candle! 7) Because the tip that emerges to push the shutter button is narrow and can scratch the camera, I had to add a non scratchable end to the tip. The site I mentioned earlier, used a cut off pencil eraser, but since I didnt have an pencil lying around, I rummaged through my draw and came up with a rubber plug that comes with ink refil kits, used to plug the hole in the ink cartridge.
And, thats it, the bracket was ready, all that remained was to hook it up with the camera and test it. ...and so I did, and I can say it works super fine.
One thing I could have done better though was to make the upper bend a little higher, so that there would be more gap between the bracket and camera. With my current setting, I find it difficult to access the power dial of the camera as the space is barely enough to sqeeze in a finger. Otherwise everything seems perfect.
Disclaimer: If you do it, do so at your own risk, I accept no responibility for any mess up you do!
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Posted By Tee to Bird Snapping on 4/12/2008 11:26:00 AM
Saturday, April 12, 2008 - [Bird Snapping] DIY digiscoping adapter for Nikon Coolpix 950
Earlier, I had posted about my experimental digiscoping with a Minolta Dimage x20. On field testing, I had more blurred pictures than good ones and I wished I had invested in a camera with a bit more manual controls. Thus inspite of my almost empty purse, I always had my eye on ebay for a good coolpix series camera that fell within affordable range. I thus ended up bidding and being outbid on a Nikon Coolpix 950 - a camera which is said to be amongst the best for digiscoping. However, it seems like luck and fate was on my side that day as, the highest bidder defaulted and I was offered a second chance on the item. A bit of haggling over emails with the seller brought me a good deal as the wonderful seller offered the camera to me for a mere £23.00 and next day delivery. I now thank my stars for having accepted. A few other CP950s that I`ve been keeping track of on ebay have been selling over £35.00! Yesterday one of the same sold for £80.00 ! I recieved my cp950 as promised and as soon as I held it up to my scope I was amazed at how suited it was for digiscoping. First of all, as soon as it is switched on, the camera zooms in almost fully eliminating that vignetting without you even having to adjust. The twistable body allows you to see the screen whether your camera is too high or two low. It also allows one to direct the LCD away from direct sunlight. I`m really happy with my purchase, if any of you are on the lookout, there maybe some still available on ebay - check this link. I now had a decent digiscoping camera and a not so bad Scope. I now had to marry one up to the other. There were two problems with this. The camera objective is 28mm and the scope eyepiece is 37mm. I could easily overcome this problem with a 28-37mm adapter, which I did buy on ebay. However, the other problem was that while there was a screw on thread for the camera, the scope eyepiece had no thread. I was going to have to find a way to join it without screwing it. I pondered and pondered and tried all my DIY skills to come up with an idea but everything that I tried was unsatisfactory and resulted in camera movement or unstable sitiuations. Finally after a whole day I realized the only solution was the simplest one - to fix the adapter onto the scope and then screw the camera on. I managed to come up with a surefire method to accomplish this. 1) First of all I removed the rubber cap covering the scope eyepiece to expose the plastic below that mounted the lens. 2) I heated up the stove and placed the adapter, wide side below onto the stove. 3) When the adapter was really hot, I picked it up using a pair of pliers and placed it level onto the eyepiece, and gently pressed it down so that it melted the plastic and settled firmly into place. 4) I now dabbed a wet cloth onto the hot adapter to cool it and prevent it from melting the plastic further or transferring the heat onto the lens. ...and viola it sat fixed in place as if it had been built in!
However, I had made one grave mistake. When I screwed in the camera, It screwed in and sat at an angle and not in line with the scope. I could rectify the positioning by adjusting the zoom ring on the eyepiece but I found that due to the weight of the camera, the eyepiece would move by itself and 20x was the only position it would stay locked (but skewed). Also, I feel 20x is the ideal zoom for digiscoping so I needed the camera to be level in this position.I therefore had to reheat the adapter while it was on the scope (and risk damaging the lens) and adjust the adapter into the correct position. It worked without any damage and I now had an inbuilt adapter. The only side effect I noted was that due to the heat, the colour of the paint on the adapter turned from black into a dusty red. I screwed in my camera onto the adapter and viola.. it was perfect! Why had`nt I thought of this earlier!
I'm going to be field testing the setup soon enough and I hope it wont let me down, so keep watching.
P.S. I`m sure there are many who are going to want to try a similar method. Before you try the same, please bear in mind that mine is a cheap spotting scope (bought from ASDA for £25)and I had little to lose in case I messed up. I`m lucky it worked ! I accept no responsibility for any damage resulting from an imitation of my method!
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Posted By Tee to Bird Snapping on 4/12/2008 10:05:00 AM
Saturday, April 12, 2008 - [Bird Snapping] The Sparrows decide.
I`d mentioned earlier about how two representatives of the sparrow gang have been surveying my feeder from a distance. That was two days back and I thought they had gone off to hold a meeting and decide if they should shift base from the neighbouring block. I can now confidently announce that they have decided - favourably! ...and as a result, I was able to snap my first shots of the sparrows feeding. This morning when I heard them outside, I waited with baited breath, expecting them to go for the Niger feeder. But no, they went straight for the regular seed feeder, and afterwards hopped onto the ground and had a mouthful of muesli as if to say I`ll have a bit of both for inauguration! Now I just wish some bird will start feeding on the Niger seeds too. It does cost a bit afterall!
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Posted By Tee to Bird Snapping on 4/12/2008 03:08:00 AM
Thursday, April 10, 2008 - [Bird Snapping] Of Sparrow meetings and Starling visits.
There have been developments at my feeding station since I last posted. First of all, as a last ditch attempt to attract more birds I invested in a nyjer (niger) seed feeder and some niger seeds. As in the the month and a half that the peanut feeder hung outside, there was no activity, I replaced it with the niger seed feeder. ....and I think it has paid off. A block away from my house is a hedge which houses a permanent house sparrow population, and I kept wondering why the sparrows wouldnt venture one block away to feed upon the treats offered at my garden. This morning I heard the unmistakable chatter of a sparrow and looked out of my window to see a male house sparrow sitting in my hedge and chattering away as if to ask if to wake up any hidden dangers around. However, he soon flew away. A few hours later I heard the sparrow again and I looked out to see a female sparrow sitting in the hedge and observing every movement around. I think both of them were checking out if the place was safe enough for feeding or if the feeders below were actually a trap. Eventually the sparrow flew away without feeding and wasnt back for the rest of the day. I suppose they have gone away to take a decision if the spot is safe or not. I hope the decision is a favourable one!
The first time I saw starlings I thought they were amazing birds, I had no clue that they were so common. Their spotted metallic sheen and yellow beaks are atrractive enough, but in addition to that their songs are just as interesting. I`d mentioned in one of my earlier posts how a couple of them had been foraging in my garden. Well , they were back today. They seem to have no interest in the feeders though and prefered to dig insects out of the ground. Anyway, I didnt waste any time and I was snapping away before these quick footed birds vanished around the corner. Its surprising that both the sparrow and starling populations have declined so much that they are on the Red list. At the same time these two birds are also the most common garden birds in the UK
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Posted By Tee to Bird Snapping on 4/10/2008 09:23:00 AM
Tuesday, April 8, 2008 - [Bird Snapping] Mouse attack
When I left for work today, I made a mental note to top up the empty feed on the ground feeder. In the evening when I returned, I had a glance through my dirty window to look for any birds foraging near the feeder and I noticed a strange shape in the feeder. For a minute I thought somebody had left a stone in the tray...but then I noticed that the tray had a long a tail that unmistakably converted the stone to a mouse! The same fellow I had snapped earlier. I ran upstairs to get my camera and took a few shots from my window, but on coming downstairs to get a better picture, I found he`d vanished.
I decided to top up the tray with some muesli belonging to one of my long gone ex housemates, and went outside to do so. Just as I was about to reach for the tray, Out jumped Mr mouse from amidst the grass giving me a scare! I didnt even realise he was there!
Anyway, The dunnocks seem to have loved the muesli. Soon after, both of them were there checking it out. I was as usual playing about with my camera. I realise that useless blue-fringing lens may not be totatally useless afterall. It seems to be alright when I use it for videos, and that comes as a welcome relief.
And so, I was taking a video of the dunnock approaching the ground tray full of museli. Mr. Dunnock sits around in the bushes, half hidden for a while, then sticks its neck out and surveys the area around. It then hops onto the ground and in little jumps, approaches the feeder tray, as if approaching a minefield. Anyway, as he reaches the tray and starts to feed, out jumps a missile - Mr mouse - who unknown to both me and Mr Dunnock was hiding in the grass again! The missile then vanishes into thin air leaving behind a stunned Mr Dunnock - all on camera!
P.S
It all happened so quick that one hardly sees the mouse if one blinks in between. Here`s a slow motion of the mouse jumping past:
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Posted By Tee to Bird Snapping on 4/08/2008 09:42:00 AM
Sunday, April 6, 2008 - [Bird Snapping] A good day for bird photography
This morning I woke to find that it had snowed through the night and most of the grass was still white. It was still cold and I wondered if it would be worth going out in the cold. After a while this starling flew over and sat atop a lamp post outside my window and chirpped away as if to say something., maybe it was telling me to get out. After much hesitation I finally stepped out and I must say it paid off. I headed out towards a small path, tucked in between a housing colony and a college. I`ve been here many times and I`ve always been rewarded with finches, tits, robins, sparrows and dunnocks, occasionally there are chaffinches and siskins and I`ve also briefly seen a few birds which I`ve been unable to identify. My decision not to use the 3x lens paid dividends as I think most of these shots would have been ruined with it. My first snap was of this magpie . Magpies normally fly away at the sight of me, but this fellow seemed content sitting on the branch while I setup my camera and clicked away.Perhaps it was the cold that was making him so inactive. I moved on from there and shortly ahead, a gold finch flew into view and started tweeting away. I've tried much to get a good shot of these birds before and the results were not too impressive....but here was one begging me to take a shot of her! I clicked away and got what I needed. I even managed to catch this shot of it taking off..almost turning upside down in the process!
Along the path, I came across a pair of mallards, I`ve seen this pair in the same place earlier too, I think its a resident pair. The male took to the water on my approach, but the female seemed content to pose for me. I tired digiscoping it, but all I got was some very blurred shots. After the ducks my attention was directed towards a group of tits - a great tit, and pairs of long tailed tits and blue tits, all of which was a little too far away to be in good photographic range of the camera, making me wish I had a good teleconverter.
All throughout my shoots, I`ve been persistantly annoyed by robins. They often distract my attention when I`m shooting other birds, but when I turn to snap a pic of them, they fly away or stay hidden among branches. I was experiencing yet another "robin moment" when this fellow jumped out and sat on the bush nearest to me- it was now or never, and I had time for one composed shot before he flew away. I got my shot! While tracking the robin, another bird decided to confuse me by playing hide and seek with the robin and me - a dunnock! Is this how dunnocks repay me for the feeder in my garden? Anyway I got the better of him and got this good shot . I knew I`d got some good shots and with the snow beginning to fall lightly,and my hands freezing away, I decided it was time to turn back. On my way back, I once again came across the same magpie in the same branch and I couldnt resist clicking away again. This time he flew off leaving me with this shot. I must say, its been a really good day for bird photography.
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Posted By Tee to Bird Snapping on 4/06/2008 08:09:00 AM
