Sunday, May 30, 2010

Oi! Get orf my feeder!

All too often, I look out of the window to see this:

Feeding Rooks

Feeding Rooks

Rook raid

Incoming Rook

At least this is a bit more amusing:

Some mothers do 'ave em

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

All things bright and beautiful

Though I've lived here for three and a half years now, this garden still amazes me. It's just not normal. Yellow Wagtails aren't meant to have a bath in your pond, and then finish their toilette while perching on your garden table! It's not normal and I'm glad it's not.

These digiscoped-through-double-glazing photos (and video) aren't up to much technically, but they capture the moment for me. There were so many interesting poses and postures. And look at the length of those hindclaws!

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail


photos taken with Canon Powershot A640 + Leica Apo Televid 77 with 20x eyepiece

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Scarce Chaser? Too right...

Made my annual pilgrimage to Roxton today in search of Scarce Chasers, but they were nowhere to be seen (despite being out and about at Woodwalton Fen, not that far away)!

Banded Demoiselle

Banded Demoiselle

Banded Demoiselle
Banded Demoiselles

Red-eyed Damselfly...
Red-eyed Damselfly (I think)

Seven-spot Ladybird
Seven-spot Ladybird

River Great Ouse

River Great Ouse
the River Great Ouse

Hawthorn and Ash

Ash tree
Hawthorn and Ash

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM or Canon Powershot A640

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Rain/shine

Rain/shine
Dark clouds developing tonight...

photo taken with Canon Powershot A640

Sunday, May 09, 2010

Fat bird of the barley

Corn Bunting

They don't do a lot, Corn Buntings... Good beak though.

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM, Extender EF 1.4x II 

Chick chick chick chick chicken...

Hens

These lovely ladies are my Mum's new hens. From left to right, meet Marengo, Speckle and [the as yet-unnamed] The White One. They arrived on Thursday and have each produced an egg per day so far.

I can vouch for the quality of the eggs, having tasted a sponge cake made with three of them earlier today. Mmmm.

Eggs

photos taken with iPhone 3G S

Wednesday, May 05, 2010

Cute baby birds

Ringing Starling chicks

Ringing Starling chicks

Spent the afternoon ringing Starling chicks.

The chicks were carefully removed from their nestbox. We fitted them with lightweight metal leg rings, weighed them and measured their legs (normally we'd measure birds' wings but they didn't have any feathers yet!). Then they were put safely back in their nest where the parents resumed feeding and brooding them.

We also collected faecal samples (that's poo to me and you) for later analysis of what they'd been eating.

Well, I think they're cute, and I didn't get crapped on once!!

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D

Saturday, May 01, 2010

Mr Cetti's Warbler

Cetti's Warbler

We seized the only opportunity for good Bank Holiday weather on Saturday. A visit for some ringing at Warren Villas was the way forward. We were pleasantly surprised to hear a Cetti's Warbler singing as we put up one of the nets. The sound got closer, and while we were securing one end of the net, a Cetti's Warbler appeared in the other end!

This is the first Cetti's Warbler to be ringed in the Ivel valley, the eighth ever to be ringed in Bedfordshire and the first for me (anywhere)!

We caught a nice selection of birds - Sedge, Reed and Garden Warblers, Blackcap, Song Thrush, Dunnock, Robin and Kingfisher.

Kingfisher

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D