More Foxes

I have really done well with the foxes this year. It was a planned project that actually went to plan, for a change. I now have several hundred images of them to sort out. Here are a couple from this week of the cubs mother, she is the most confiding of them.

Garden Birds

A few images of garden birds taken in the spring.

Blue Tit

Blue Tit

Coal Tit

Great-spotted Woodpecker

Great Tit

Robin

A Swarm of Honey Bees

Yesterday morning I looked out of the window to see clouds of bees at the front of the house. After a while some of them started to settle on a pine tree, by the driveway. Throughout the day they all eventually congregated in the same spot, there were literally thousands of them.

Apparently what was happening was that the queen leaves the hive to create a new colony, she takes with her approximately 60% of the worker bees, these can number tens of thousands. She then settles in a temporary location and all the workers surround her for her protection. They can stay there for several days, while the scout bees find a new hive location, which they then move to.

It was an amazing sight and fortunately they settled low down, this gave me the opportunity to get some close-up shots.

Sandwich Terns

A few Sandwich Tern images from Cemlyn Bay, Anglesey.

Gannets

My final post from the recent trip to Bempton Cliffs. The target species and stars of the day were the Gannets. Always entertaining and great fun to photograph, especially as a strong wind made them show off their aerobatic skills, giving us some good opportunities for a variety of flight shots.

Guillemots and Razorbills

A few more shots from my recent trip to Bempton Cliffs RSPB reserve.

Guillemot

Razorbill

Rose-coloured Starling

A few weeks ago a Rose-coloured Starling spent some time feeding in gardens at Rhos-on-Sea, North Wales. I had never photographed one before and this was an adult male in perfect plumage, so I went over for the day. It didn't really go to plan though, as I only saw the bird for the first time at around 6pm, and even then it was distant. It didn't come down to the feeders and my only photographic opportunities were on the rooftops. A very smart looking bird though.