What have you seen
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We saw our little Goldcrest yesterday! Elusive but regular visitor, such gorgeous tiny little birds!
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Yesterday I guided the man who rings Marsh Harriers onto a nest I found.
He gave me a walkytalky?, and then he disappeared into the reedbed 200 yards away. He carried a long pole with a flag on top and I then had to guide him onto the nest. Bit like 'Bernie the Bolt', left left bit to right. At one point he almost came through the reeds into the main body of water. On the first run he couldn't find the nest, he then turned back for another run and on his way back came across the nest, with 3 chicks. He ringed and tagged 2 chicks, the third was too small.
Only pity was, I couldn't see the chicks, no way could I wade waist deep in a reedbed.
Waiting for permission from a farmer to stake out another nest sight across the river.....always be a couple of hundred yards from them, so no fear of interference.
Before anybody brings it up....he is a fully licenced ringer!
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Whilst waiting for the airshow to start a cormorant landed on the river and promptly started to fish, he was very successful, getting 3 eels within 15 minutes:
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Enjoyed seeing the source of the river Cam the other day at Ashwell, lovely chalk river bed and springs.
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Can you imagine what that must feel like to swallow them.
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The feeding station is bonkers at the moment, can’t fill them up fast enough. Goldfinch young are feeding on Niger seed along with parents, they had not touched the niger in years, so I stopped putting it out until a few months ago, they would only take sunflower hearts. The sparrows are all over the fat balls and wild bird seed. Starlings mad on suet sticks. All the above were ignored until the chicks were being fed with all birds set on sunflower hearts, which they now do not touch.
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The 2 Peregrine juveniles are very close to fledging in the Avon Gorge if anyone is on Baltic Wharf this week. Managed to get a few pics of the parents hunting today and returning with a pigeon, not sure if it is suited to posting here, nothing gory, but a strong image. Whilst there, a massive Great Dane arrived by my side trying to eat my lens, fortunately she was friendly until her owner caught her up and told us about a family of Kestrels that had just fledged near the observatory by Clifton Bridge.
When I found the spot, there were six Kestrel floating around in the wind, what a fabulous sight.
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Just been catching up with this great thread, Fabulous pictures, and sightings,
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Fabulous pictures, BM and OP.
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Saw what I took to be unusual behaviour today. A male Blackbird kept wiping it's beak on the grass, backwards and forwards. I just wonder if it was trying to sweep away grass cuttings to see what was underneath worth devouring.
We spotted a White Ermine Moth the other day, which is I believe unusual as they normally hide away during the day.
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Thanks, there must be a lot of juicy worms round here then.
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Still waiting for son to turn up with the lens, so I thought I would have a look for some other flying creatures until it arrives.
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Greylag
After our last exchange of difficulties with focusing on brown birds, I had the opportunity of borrowing a Nikon D500 with a 300m 2.8 lens and a 1.7 converter.
This I was able to compare like for like against my 5D Mk4 and my daughters 7D Mk2 with the same lens and converter combination aleit a 1.4 converter taking pics of a newly fledged family of Kestrels from the same position. The weather was very poor for the Nikon test with fairly heavy drizzle and sunny for both Canon tests.
The outcome surprised me a little, but not entirely.
Nikon D500 - 171 pics taken, 30 out of focus with half of those down to operator error when the bird moved outside the focus zone and I failed to keep up. the other 141 were then put through photoshop to see how sharp they were after cropping. The outcome was 115 sharp images of a brown bird in flight against backgrounds of trees, rocks and sky obviously the less cropping required gave better images and several were the sharpest pics I have ever taken of birds in flight.
Today I carried out the same test in sunshine using my 5D - 115 pics taken 5 sharp images after photoshoping 4 were perched birds and only one flight shots that was reasonable. The camera would not lock on to the birds against the trees or rocks but ok against the sky,but to far away to take decent pics.
Pics were from the Nikon in drizzle. I am afraid the images do not really show how sharp they are, it has given me clarity on the where my problems lie. The Canon camera delivers great shots when sharp, but the bin rate is very high in these conditions. Today I was using it in its worst conditions for its focus system.
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Hi OP
It is certainly a strong possibility. I have run out of settings to try on the Canon. Unfortunately I am heavily invested in canon lenses and it would be a very difficult choice to change however the results were clearly in favour of the change. I was not convinced previously that I might not have been responsible for the lack of sharpness as I could not find a focus setting that allowed me to take the pics I want to take.
A further loan will confirm the decision.
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Had a gannet glide along the side of the ferry just a few feet from where we were sitting, the other day. Camera was in the MH on the car deck.
Terrible din yesterday afternoon in the garden. looked up to see a bunch of gulls and a couple of crows giving a buzzard a hard time.
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Love watching Gannets fly, masters of the air.
Came across this bad boy over the weekend, a Scorpion Fly, not rare but can't recall seeing any around here
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We're looking over Port Holme meadow from our Brampton pitch, claiming to be the largest meadow in England but sadly carved up by the railway, more meadow the other side. We've just missed the meadow being cut and the cattle are keeping the edges down. Very handsome cattle, Blonde d'Aquitane, I think?
Apologies for phone photos!1 -
Baby Tawny Owl at Titchwell over the weekend, showing quite well around reception
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Back on the road again...still not convinced its the camera or me?
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Are you now at Ludham Brue?
