Titivating Birthday

Over the last couple of years it has become a bit of a tradition for me to take my Birthday off work and head out for the day with the camera. This year my birthday fell on a Monday but the forecast was poor and so it was postponed to the following day when the forecast was for some clear sky and sunshine. The choice of venue for this year's birthday session was really dictated by the weather, and an early start saw my friend Steve and I heading south to a well known car park where the birds have been fed for many years. This site requires some tolerance by the photographer as there is a lot of disturbance from visitors passing through who usually seem to have little respect for the birds or the fact you are trying to take some photographs. However, it does have the benefit of plenty of birds and the fact you can set up a temporary mini feeding station to your liking.

The site does not usually offer anything unusual to the photograph although is frequented by the scarce Willow Tit and a number of Yellowhammer. As we drove in to the car park I was looking forward to a relaxing day, spent in good company, photographing some small common birds.

The first job on arrival was to set-up the mini feeding station giving due consideration to the path of the sun and backgrounds. We came prepared with some small branches and an old log. Birds started visiting the perches instantly and even while we were still strategically placing out the feed. It was then back to the car yto use as a temporary hide. For this small bird photography at close quarter I usually use a 25mm extension tube on the 500mm lens as it makes the bird a little larger in the frame. The other important consideration is to use a reduced aperture to increase the depth of field (the depth of the photograph in focus) which is very narrow at close range with a long lens. This reduces the potential problem of the head being in focus and the feet out of focus which always looks a bit odd. A steady stream of birds started arriving.

Despite being a common bird there is no denying that Blue Tits look superb at this time of year.

Another common tit species and the largest, the Great Tit.

The broad black mid-line markings showing this to be a male bird in fine early 'spring' plumage.

I must admit I could happily sit for hours photographing these common birds when the light is so good and they are looking so beautiful.
At the other end of Tit size scale, the smallest species the Coal Tit.

This next bird is one of the best looking Coal Tits I have seen in a long time and had excellent colour and markings.

Of the Tit species when it comes to looking 'cute', the award would certainly go to the feathered pompom that is the Long-tailed Tit.

I have always had a fondness for this species and it was great to have two or three birds periodically visiting the temporary feeding setup.

Another species that occasionally called in for the free handout, and the most frustrating to photograph, was the scarce Willow Tit.

Photographing small birds is never easy and requires quick reflexes but the feeding behaviour of the Willow Tit compounds the problems as it dashes in grabs a seed and then flies off very quickly. They are also one of those species that rarely seem to be looking in the direction of the camera.

In addition to the constant arrival and departure of nearly all the UK tit species, the occasional Nuthatch would bring welcome change.

This one captured in typical Nuthatch hanging off a tree pose.

There was also an occasional Yellowhammer putting in a brief appearance and a wonderful bird that topped of a productive and enjoyable day.

Doctor's Orders

Photographing wildlife can put a fair amount of strain on the body. Anyone who has ever tried making a commando crawl with camera gear across estuary mud for wading birds will certainly know the aches and pains that can result a couple of days later. Often you need to adopt awkward positions with a heavy camera, to get the angle on the subject, whilst staying still for long periods which can play havoc with some muscles. The upshot of my recent photographic exploits have left me with intense pain down the right side of the neck that doesn't seem to be improving and so I headed to the docs. The Doctor's orders were ..'no photography for two weeks' and not the 'you should take a long holiday somewhere exotic with your camera' that I was hoping for. The withdrawal symptoms are already setting in but softened by the poor weather and light.

I do have a bit of a backlog of photographs and so will be able to keep with regular Blog posts while I recover. The set of images for this post were taken on New Years Day. I always start the year with a clean slate and as if I have never photographed anything as it gives you fresh eyes even for the very common. I also like to start with a productive first session and headed off with my friend Steve down to the Midlands for the day. The roads were quiet and I was hoping for a peaceful day, not really thinking that later everyone would be out in the sun walking off their hangovers! Despite the disruption it was a fun start with a good variety of tit species to photograph.
A tiny bird that requires some quick responses with the camera, the Coal Tit

At the other end of the tit size scale, the Great Tit.

The Blue Tit, which really are beautiful birds when you stop and take time to look at their colours.

A group of Long-tailed Tit fluttered through quickly but just as the sun disappeared behind a cloud.

One of the birds I had travelled to target was the Willow Tit. These hyperactive birds are always tricky to photograph.

The other bird I was hoping to photograph, the Yellowhammer, did not show very well due to the number of people walking around with only this less colourful female bird appearing.

Flying Start to the Year

The first couple of days of 2008 were slow due to terrible light conditions. I took a visit up to my feeding station to undertake the twice weekly filling of the feeders and stayed for a short session. It was fairly quiet up there, I think mainly due to the nearby presence of a sparrowhawk that fly past quite regularly. Still managed to get a couple of shots.

Blue titA chirping Coal tit

and the male woodpecker was doing his usual rounds

The real treat though came on the way home when a flock of fieldfare were located. The Fieldfare is a bird that I have struggled to photograph for the last to winters, mainly because they are so shy and flighty. Usually if you at look at them sideways from a 100 metres they are off, so I made the most of this good opportunity.

Waiting for Redstart

I have started my plan to get some redstart shots, a first for me, and came very close to getting some on Friday. I am confident I will achieve this goal at some point next week. While waiting for the redstart to put in an appearance I spent some time taking some shots of other birds that were close to the hide.

Mistle Thrush
Carrion Crow

Coal tit bring mouthfuls of grubs back to the nest

and a Great tit

Down in the Woods

The woodland feeding station has been busy with birds with some new species just appearing including goldfinch, siskin and pheasant. I manage some first shots of the nervous woodpecker the other day using the hide, although it was interesting with the odour from the sprouting wild garlic under foot!!!

Here are some recent visitors

Long-tailed tit

Coal tit

Blue tit
Dunnock
and a female Great spotted woodpecker

Woodland Feeding Station

At the start of the year myself and a friend set up a feeding station on the edge of some private woodland, follwoing gaining permission for access at the end of last year. The various feeders have been regularly kept filled and there are now plenty of birds of many species arriving. The other day I gave it a short test with the camera for the first time with many of the birds seeming oblivious to my close presence. Here are the first few shots.

Blue tit

Great titCoal tit

Chaffinch and Robin

Woodland Birds

Whilst photographing the squirrels at Formby Point I became easily distracted by the abundant bird life in the woods.

A Treecreeper

Coal tit

The tiny Goldcrest which are always tricky to photograph.

and Song Thrush