A sprinkling of snow...

rosehips


leaves


berries


twigs


nettles


sycamore leaves


lichen

photos taken with Nikon Coolpix 995

Dullness

Teal


Black-headed Gull

Walked all around Ferry Meadows in hope of finding some redpolls to sift through, but didn't even manage a Siskin or a Bullfinch. Pretty poor stuff...

photos taken with Nikon Coolpix 995 + Leica Apo Televid 62 with 16x eyepiece

Remember when it was warm and sunny?

I hate it when it says '100% cloud' on the Metcheck weather forecast. So here's a look back at some of this year's insect photos.


Marsh Fritillary, Andalucia, Spain, 22 May


Hummingbird Hawkmoth, Andalucia, Spain, 23 May


Four-spotted Chaser, Woodwalton Fen NNR, 30 May *


Large Red Damselfly, RSPB The Lodge, 23 June


Six-spot Burnet moth, Summer Leys LNR, 17 July


Musk Beetle, Woodwalton Fen NNR, 28 July


Hoverfly sp, RSPB The Lodge, 9 August


Banded Demoiselle, River Nene, 28 August *


Small Copper, RSPB The Lodge, 12 September


Comma, RSPB Minsmere, 20 September

digiscoped photos* taken with Nikon Coolpix 995 + Leica Apo Televid 62 with 16x eyepiece

Sunday morning fishing on the River Nene

'Think there might be something tasty in here...'


'I'll take a closer look...'


'This is my river!'


'Now, where was I?'


'Success at last!'

photos taken with Nikon Coolpix 995 + Leica Apo Televid 62 with 16x eyepiece

Putting the decorations up

The spiders have their Christmas decorations up already...


Needles


Catkins


Brambles


Bracken

photos taken with Nikon Coolpix 995

Wintry leaves

photos taken with Nikon Coolpix 995

Ferry Meadows Country Park

A 'celebration' of the Black-headed Gull:









Gadwalls performing nicely on Lynch Lake






... and Tufted Ducks on Gunwade.


The best kind of red-eye (on a drake Pochard)


Grey Heron on the meadow of the same name


Woodpigeon dozing in an oak tree




Lesser Redpolls eating seeds (rosebay willowherb, I think)


Autumnal leaves... in winter




Goldfinch fodder

digiscoped photos taken with Nikon Coolpix 995 + Leica Apo Televid 62 with 16x eyepiece

Inland birding

A jaunt southwards this morning to take in some of the delights that inland birding brings. What, Mallards, Great Crested Grebes and Green Woodpeckers? I hear you ask...



For once, no... Above: Great Northern Diver at Diddington Pit (part of the Paxton Pits complex). A rather too obliging bird that came too close to the shore and disappeared from view. Sometimes you just can't win.



Then, off to Grafham Water and the angling lodge at Mander CP. Superb views of a smashing little bird. The male Long-tailed Duck was also showing very well and diving all too frequently. In days gone by, I'd have been happy with getting really close views of a gorgeous seaduck, but now I WANT PHOTOS! Sadly, this record shot was all I could manage.

We could have driven the short distance to Needingworth and the drake American Wigeon, but opted instead to visit a site in an adjacent county, where we enjoyed some splendid Short-eared Owl action. Four birds were present, with two getting involved in some aerial claw-to-claw combat with each other.

To sum up, a good day's birding... I mean twitching...

digiscoped photos taken with Nikon Coolpix 995 + Leica Apo Televid 62 with 16x eyepiece