What have you seen
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I am fairly sure the den is somewhere else, but it appears every sunny morning around 10.00 am and lazies around for up to an hour in the same spot.
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Bitterly cold day at Ham Wall today, with nothing much in range. Marsh Harrier gliding over the reed beds, with Great and little Egrets in the distance. The only bird at close range that might be of interest was a rather well camouflaged Snipe. when the stripes on the birds back align with the reeds, it is very difficult to see.
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Gloom only lifted at lunchtime.
But what a treat today...loads of Bearded tits up the river. So many......
At times they were feeding only 6/8 feet away, but nearly always having reeds in the way, but who cares. I had 2 hours this morning, then lunch and another 2 hours this afternoon.
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Great pics wish we were there
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I keep seeing lots of foxes at night whilst doing deliveries.
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In Loddon.....this close encounter happened once before about 7 years ago....yesterday the birds were so busy feeding that I could walk slowly and quietly and get to within a few feet of them. They stayed around the same area all day...if it's bright again this morning I will be back there.
You do need brightness to show them off, morning was gloomy, but the afternoon brightened.
OK...here are a couple more!
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Great photos, lovely birds Bearded Tits, never been lucky enough to see one.
Did see a deer swim the canal the other day, something must have spooked it, good swimmers too.☺
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This may be my last post as the I-pad is now covered in drool.
fabulous pics
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BM...drool no more, we are down to 2 birds....I feel as though I have let you down.
I went back this afternoon and began walking beside the river and a large bird of prey caught my eye, so I quickly fumbled my camera out and hoped the settings were somewhere near to what I would need.
This Buzzard came over nicely and I thought if nothing else happens, well that's OK.
When I got to the area for the BT's, only 2 around, so I quickly snapped this one and went home.
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That's made it worse. I walked over a mile through muddy bog alongside the severn estuary to a log I noted on my last visit that was about 50 metres from a piece of driftwood that I hoped a short eared owl would pose for me. Unfortunately as the time approached for the Owl or Harrier that has also been seen this week to make an appearance, along came another photographer in a bright red jacket who decided that this driftwood would make a nice bit of foreground interest for his sunset pics, He set up about 2 metres from the log and waited for the perfect moment. I gave up and headed back to the car when I noticed a Kestrel hovering above the car. Needless to say by the time I got within range, the Kestrel had gone.
Oh well, if at first.
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Went to Ranworth Broad yesterday and whilst walking back to the pub saw this Kestrel sat on the top of a yacht mast
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Had a lot of waxwings in a tree behind our tyre depot yesterday morning .nice sight👍
Brian & Jo
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BT's are down to one distant, really was a waste of time lugging the camera....but you never know what you are going to see. In my area they wing tag Marsh Harriers for tracking their movements and I often see and report in to the man who tags them.
This is a distant shot, but you can see the tags and be able to read them, the picture is only for the record.
One of our local birds flew down to Portugal for a bit of sun?
The attached was yesterday and my previous sighting of this bird 2 weeks back was the first time it had been seen since it was tagged last year.
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The waxwing has finally found Bristol. only a few in awful weather but managed a pic that needed a fair bit of lightening in photoshop as it was nearly dark, will try again tomorrow if they return.
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The waxwing has finally found Bristol. only a few in awful weather but managed a pic that needed a fair bit of lightening in photoshop as it was nearly dark, will try again tomorrow if they return.
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You do need sunshine, blue sky to fully show off these birds. I saw a waxwing some years back, late PM in winter and it was really gloomy, but I did take some really crappy pic's. I was happy just seeing them and emailed my b-in-law just to show him how with a bit of brightness it might have been a good picture.
I didn't know it, but he worked on it with photoshop and the difference was amazing, he bought out all the colour, sharpness and made it a very good picture. BUT.......it wasn't the picture I took! So I can't take any credit for the picture and have filed it away. BM for your record...these will be good pictures, tomorrow with some brightness, no doubt you will take better.
Waxwings when they came here would let you stand very close to the berry tree, just had to be patient and ready and hit the shutter button and hope.
The waxwings in Norwich were feeding on a tree that had some sunshine illuminating a brick wall and some autumn colour in the background, just made the pictures.
Good luck.
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Hi GL
you are correct about the need for light to raise the pic. Even with photoshop, it was impossible to get a decent photographic representation of the scene. It doesn't look good for the rest of the week either. Very disapointing having toured the rowan trees for the best part of a month in bright sunshine.
Photoshop is a great tool to rescue or enhance pics. I doubt if many advertising or fashion pics exist without considerable enhancement, but true representation is important in the natural world.
I worked for many years as a freelance sport photographer and alterations were not permitted, as editorial pics should be genuine records of an event.
I am hoping there will be a chink of light sometime before the berries run out.
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BM....I am truly humbled...conversing with a proper photographer. I am just a bloke with a camera who understands very little about how camera's work. I seem to know enough to get some half decent pic's for someone with my level of ability..
I have only had the DSLR's since turning 60...so around 10 years, I have only tried to record what nature I see as I go. My wife got fed up with me using a point n shoot at birds so she bought the DSLR for me.
If you start talking about settings and different lens sizes...I will glaze over as I have no idea about most of it.
On a slightly different thing, I have just put a USB stick in my blueray player and watched the Bearded tits on the TV screen...they really do show well in HD.
Good luck.
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GL, You jest
I am sure that any man who knows about blueray and usb stick"s probably knows more about camera settings than he may admit.
Birds turned up on time but the weather was no better. More photographers than birds today.
.
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If you ask my wife about my capability's with technology, she will run me down something rotten...'he can't read instructions(true), doesn't read manuals until he's stuck'.
These days I always use AV...why? I went on a days photographic workshop on the RSPB Havergate island, just to pick the professionals brain on settings for wildlife....only thing I picked up was AV is the best setting. The fact that you can change aperture with the rotating thumbwheel by the shutter button is useful.
I never knew you could lighten or darken photos with the exposure compensation until I was bemoaning about Barn owls in bright sunlight to another chap and he said, 'see that setting, move it this way and the flaring will be reduced'
I have wifi on my camera, never had a clue what it did until my son showed me.
As I said before, I have worked out some settings that work for me and I can usually get something that I am pleased with.
20 questions on photography.......no chance.
If someone at my camera club has a problem concerning photography...they do not come to me, enough said.
Keep your eyes out for the waxwings...we did notice that they often flew off, only to return a short while later.
I have just thought of something that I am a master at, not many people better at this than me.......sitting quietly in a hedge or bush and just waiting...waiting and waiting...til something comes along.
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Thats what we all do really, stick it on AV think of a number between 2.8 and 22 press the button, job done.
Not sure about perching in a bush though
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