Arty Swans

Carrying on from my last post I was making the most of every bit of sunlight.  With the rapidly setting sun I wanted to find something to photograph as the warm light would make any subject look good, I was hoping for some waders but the tide was too far out.
Having driven past some Mute Swans on a small lake I decided to go back and try for some close up arty shots.  Two males were displaying with their wings arched which made for some nice images, exactly the sort of thing I was after. I didn't have long, the light was changing by the minute, so a bit of a rushed session which could have been easily overlooked.

Some Sunshine at Last

For the first time this year we had some decent sunshine last week, so straight out and to make the most of it I stayed fairly local. Having spent weeks editing images on the computer it was great to get out and use the camera.
I found some Shoveler ducks and with half the lake frozen over they were confined to a reduced area which made photographing this timid species a lot easier than normal. I settled down and spent several hours with them. Over this time they became quite confiding, coming reasonably close. The bushes in the background gave the water a lovely brown colour which has given the shots an atmospheric arty feel.

Snowy Blackbirds

I have ended up with several hundred images of Blackbirds in the snow.  This wasn't my plan, I had hoped for Fieldfare and Redwing shots but thanks to a couple of aggressive female Blackbirds they didn't get a look in, they and other Blackbirds were chased away every time they attempted to land. Even after spreading the apples over a larger area there was one bird that spent  more time and effort guarding them than it did feeding, at times it was the only bird on the ground, with at least 15 other Blackbirds wanting to feed.
I think it must have been to the Mistle Thrush school of fruit guarding!

Christmas Robins

Happy Christmas everyone.

In Search of Berry Trees

Probably the most photographed species of bird in the UK this Winter will be the Waxwing.  Every year we have some over-wintering with us, usually in their hundreds, but this year has been exceptional with literally thousands arriving from Scandinavia and much earlier than usual.  Their main food is berries, the favourite being the fruit of the Rowan or Mountain Ash. Due to their early arrival there was still an abundance of berries and so they seemed to pick the ripest from each tree and then move on to a fresh source, eventually returning to the trees they had first visited some days later, presumably as the berries had ripened.

I had waited patiently for some to arrive locally and eventually a flew flocks were reported nearby.  The problem was that every time I went to photograph them they had moved on and I just seemed to be chasing around without any results.  After a few wasted trips I decided to head over to North Wales where several hundred Waxwings had been at a couple of sites regularly for a week or two.  It still took two days to get some decent shots and not exactly what I was after although  it was also nice to get some of them feeding on Hawthorn berries.

They are great fun to photograph and being so approachable makes all the difference, I'm sure that I'll be tempted to photograph some more before they head back to Scandinavia in early Spring.

Wintry Blue Tits

More images from my recent sessions in the freezing weather. I have spent years attempting to get shots of birds in a snow covered pine tree with little success, mainly due to the fact that we don't often get any decent snow in this part of the country. It was great to get a number of species perching in this very festive setting, the Blue Tits and Robins being very obliging, I'll certainly be alright for Christmas cards for the next few years.

Wintry Nuthatches

Nuthatches are amongst one of my favourite birds to photograph and as I mentioned in a previous post they are always great fun to do. With all the snow and frost we are having at the moment I wanted to try and get some shots of them in typical wintry settings, on snow covered logs and branches.

Photographing woodland species at this time of year is not easy, the sun being very low and moving direction as it shines through the trees, giving areas of changing light and shade. So a bit of thought has to go into setting up feeding stations for best results.  In the Winter I usually only have two or three hours of good light a day in my garden so was pleased with this weeks efforts. I will be posting other species from the sessions very soon.