Crests

The last week has seen good numbers of firecrests all along the south coast, so I was pleased to bump into a couple in the willows down Marsh Lane. I even managed to jam a reasonable shot of one...

Fluke shot!

A couple of goldcrests were even more obliging although they were actually too close to follow with the 400mm lens! Managed a couple of shots that were almost in focus...

Don't zoom in!

local birding

Been slogging Galley on a pretty much daily basis as time allows but apart from a brief richard's pipit and my 3rd Galley yellow-browed warbler of the autumn at Shite Lane last weekend, its been pretty quiet of late.

Did manage to catch up with some just off-patch rares this week though, in the form of a juvenile american golden plover

That's it asleep at the back, honest!

and a juvenile spoonbill at Muckross this pm. Which was nice.

Old spoons yesterday

ears and hammers

Not been an awful lot of variety going through Galley of late. Did stumble across a few wheatears the other morning - the first photo opportunity I've had this spring.

A few were bathing in the recently refreshed puddles down the top lane.

Couldn't resist another go at the showy male yellowhammer - cracking birds!

A few more photos from Ross

Had another hour with the camera at Ross on Saturday. The state of tide & the light were quite different from the previous week, but I managed to find plenty to snap at.

Here are the "best" efforts...

Black-headed gull

Male teal

I feel like Jono!

mostly off-patch "record shots"

Purchased a secondhand 400mm lens from the dreaded ebay a couple of weeks ago, and have been playing about with it a bit since it arrived. Slowly getting the hang of things, although still a lot to learn. Really enjoying the instant response from the camera, after becoming increasingly frustrated by the lack of pace of the bridge camera. The following are the "best" results so far, heavily sharpened natch...

Robin in the garden

Black-tailed Godwit at Ross

Greenshank at Ross

Black-headed Gull at Ross

Dunlin at Ross

Redshank at Ross

Dodgyscoping for beginners

Finally got a digiscoping adaptor for my SLR and scope so had a couple of rushed attempts at getting a "great capture" - looks like there's a lot to learn altho I'm quite pleased with the horses!

Prepare for a dodgyscoping master class!

best of a bad bunch

Otter from the Magic Patio

Horse of the Day

Iceland gull on the lake

Iceland gull