Nuthatches and nearly Stock Doves

Disaster struck recently when my main camera body developed an electric fault and died. So while its back at Canon being having various bits of electronics replaced, fortunately still just under warranty, I have had to revert to using my Canon 7D. The 7D is really the camera I reach for when I am struggling for reach and distance, given the advantages of its 1.6 crop sensor, and usually involves having a teleconvertor attached which tends to degrade image quality a little. So I am not particularly fair to this camera which can produce good images even though they tend to have more noise and lack the 'polish' of files coming out of a Canon 1D body.

With 7D in hand I recently headed out to some local woods with a view to photographing some Nuthatch and Stock Doves. This is one of my favourite woods as the rust coloured carpet of fallen beech leaves create some wonderful colours under low winter sunlight. However, lighting is always tricky and constantly changing in the rising early sun. An area that was bathed in beautiful light one moment can be plunged into dark shade 5 minutes later.

While waiting for the Nuthatches, which I could hear calling loudly above, a few other birds appeared in front of the camera and it seemed a shame to waste the good light. These included a lone Magpie, and inquisitive Robin.

Eventually the first Nuthatch appeared. They are not the easiest birds to photograph as they tend to appear from all directions, quickly grab any available food and fly off to hide it in one of their 'larders'.

These attractive little birds are incredibly agile and always busy as the scurry around tree trunks and fallen dead trees looking for food.

Usually when photographing birds coming into feed I tend to try and take photographs without the birds carrying food. However, a Nuthatch carrying a nut somehow seems appropriate. This birds showing a very typical inverted pose.

As I was photographing the Nuthatch I heard some fluttering and cooing high in the trees above as the first Stock Dove started to gather. I carried on with the Nuthatch.

I decided it was time to move in to position for the Stock Doves as they slowly made their way towards the lower branches and the ground. They are quite nervous birds so usually you have to wait for them to come to you. A few squirrels had gathered so I filled in the waiting time with a few photos while laying in amongst the leaf litter.

No sooner had the first Stock Dove just landed in front of me, when I heard a galloping of rustling leaves and panting breath behind me and a very large drooling dog appeared. Squirrels and Doves immediately scattered, with the birds never reappearing. This was slightly frustrating as this area of woodland is fenced off as a 'No dog Area'. I obviously blame the owners (as dogs obviously cannot read), and it never ceases to amaze me how oblivious some walkers become, particularly to wildlife photographers, when exercising their four legged friend.

Let it Snow, Let it Snow

With the UK gripped in a prolonged blast from the Arctic, where I live has managed to remain fairly free of snow. That was until I tried to get home from my work Christmas party last Friday and 6 inches fell very quickly and hampered my already slightly 'wobbly' journey home. Having given over the next day to the inevitable heavy head, I was out bright and early on the following morning layered up with thermals and with the car thermometer reading -10 degrees C. While we are in this lengthy cold spell can I urge people to help out their local wildlife with some supplementary food and particularly water. Even if it is just a couple of bird feeders in the garden or some apples thrown on the lawn for the winter thrushes.

A layer of snow generates some incredible light with its glowing reflection lighting up the underside of the birds and animals. I decided to head to my local woods where some action would be guaranteed and ended up laying on the ground next to a fallen tree. However, I stopped off by the coast on route to photograph some Black-headed Gulls, a real camera exposure headache.

I also managed to locate amongst the flock, a Mediterranean Gull which was even more difficult to spot than usual with the white conditions.

On arrival at the woods, typically the first bird to come and investigate was a robin.

The other bird species were a little slow in coming forth that morning but gradually numbers increased. Magpies were the first to investigate the free food supply and bickered amongst themselves.

They were eventually joined by a small flock of Stock Dove and Wood Pigeon, although these maintained some distance from the Magpie mayhem.

With various parts of my anatomy going increasing numb in the bitter cold I decided it was time to finish off the session with a few Grey Squirrels. They seemed to be very appreciative of the free food supply.

I will finish this post with some season greetings by warmly wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy and Healthy 2011.

The Colours of Autumn

At this time of year I love to pay a visit to one of my favourite woodlands. It is a small mixed wood of mainly beech and oak and the freshly fallen leaves create a wonderful carpet of autumn colours. With some of the leaves still on the trees, the low sun penetrates through the remaining canopy to produce interesting spot lighting effects on the animals and birds. However, the light is constantly changing and a mobile and flexible approach is required. An area which is bathed in sunlight can 10 minutes later be in dark shadow.

I went with a particular bird species in mind, which I will come to later, but while waiting for the flock to appear, I decided to pass the time with some of the other residents. There are large numbers of grey squirrels present which I usually ignore, but this one caught in a beam of sunlight drew my eye.

I spent the rest of the waiting time with some very busy Nuthatch.

and an inquisitive Robin that was gently singing its slightly mournful winter song.

A fluttering in the canopy above announced the arrival of my target species, the Stock Dove. This is a much overlooked and very beautiful bird in my opinion. To the casual observer they are probably easily overlooked as being a flock of feral pigeons. It was time to get down in the carpet of leaf litter and try and get some low level photographs of the birds to make the most of the autumnal colours as they fed on the ground.

Stock Doves are subtly attractive birds with their metallic green nape and soft pink hue to the breast. They present a good challenge as they are usually wary although this flock has become less shy due to the numerous visitors to the wood.

It turned out to be a very enjoyable and relaxing short session. In fact as the sun is shining today and I am off work, I think I might make a return visit to the woods to try and photograph some of the other residents.

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Winter Woodland Wonders

I took a trip out to some local woodland last weekend. Deciduous woods can be great places to photograph in the winter with the leaves off the trees to let the soft end of year light through. The main target species for this session were Stock Dove, a species which are undeservedly overlooked, although this is probably due to their resemblance to feral pigeons. It was a freezing morning as I waited quietly for the Stock Doves to appear with even the nearby squirrels looking cold.

As I continued to wait a few other birds caught me eye. A passing magpie foraging through the carpet of fallen oak and beech leaves.

On the fallen tree which I was laying alongside a familiar bird appeared, which I had encountered earlier in the year, a Nuthatch with an extra long upper bill.

It was good to see the bird was still doing well and thought I would give its energy reserves a small helping hand in the bitter cold by scattering a few peanuts on the tree. These were eagerly received and taken away to be hidden in various bark crevices in the surrounding trees.

Finally the first Stock Dove appeared and within seconds there were suddenly twenty of the birds in front of me foraging through the leaf litter.

These normally shy birds came in very close and it was great to watch them busy feeding.

In a similar way to pigeons the metallic patch on their neck changes colour depending on the viewing angle.

The birds came closer to the point that all I could fit in frame was a head portrait photo.

An enjoyable winter woodland visit despite some freezing conditions.

Winter Woodlands

Winter deciduous woodlands are wonderful places to photograph. The leaves off the trees create improved lighting conditions and the ground cover of autumn leaves can create some great colours in the shots. Here are a selection of recent shots taken from a local woodland where the birds are relatively accustomed to visitors.

I was concentraing on three main target species which were Jay, Stock Dove and Nuthatch. However, before getting to some shots of them, there were plenty of magpies to also distract the attention. This shot shows some of the warm background colours that can be created by the leaf fall.

During the quiet periods there were usually plenty of Grey Squirrels, and Wood Pigeon nearby to keep the shutter finger exercised.

Nuthatch keep you on your toes as they tend to dash in grab a piece of food and fly off to bury it under some bark, before returning. I need to do a bit more work on the Stock Doves

I had three very obliging Jays, in the area of woodland I chose, and so I end up with a good variety of shots. I will post a couple of shots of them for now and dedicate my next post to some more photos of these beautiful birds.

Out Back

Just a few shots from out the back door of the house for this post. There are still plenty of goldfinch coming into the feeders and they are starting to look a lot tidier now after nearly finishing their moult.

Still plenty of young birds arriving in the flock.

No wonder the seed is disappearing so fast. Its not really that fat just fluffed up on a cool morning.

and of course the ever present sparrow flock.

A recent garden arrival that looks like it has set up territory for the winter is this robin.

Unusally for my urban location is the arrival of this grey squirrel that only appear very rarel in the garden.