Last Waxwings

There was recently a small flock of thirteen waxwings quite local to home for a couple of weeks in North Wales . They had become a popular attraction and even made front page of the local press. So I called in one late afternoon, to find the birds occasionally flying down to the rowan tree, being viewed by a small crowd and in some some wonderful low sunlight. I expect this will be my last session with the waxwings which no doubt will be departing northward soon. It has been a great winter for them across the UK and they are always a pleasure to photograph. For those interested the following photos were taken with the Canon 50D body.

Lucky photograph of the brief session was to catch one of the birds hovering off the end of some berries, having just plucked one while in flight.

Trip to the Zoo

I decided to take a trip to my local zoo at Chester as it always good to put a bit of exotic wildlife in front of the lens. It was very busy as you would expect at a weekend and I didn't stay too long, and just had a quick tour with the camera and 300mm lens. I like to take an occasional trip to the zoo as it requires a very different photographic technique to achieve good images and overcome the problems presented by mesh and glass enclosures. I was immediately drawn by the deep roaring of the male asiatic lion.

Then over to the new cheetahs, this one not looking to impressed about being photographed.

They are very beautiful cats and I find the new enclosure good for photography.Playful elephantsKomodo dragon taking a drinkMoving on to some close relations of the reptiles, with some of the zoo's birds. One of their large collection of conure speciesCrowned crane forming an almost abstract photoHornbillPelicanI can only wish that the flock of pigeons that visit my back garden were this colourful!

Sawbills

Sawbills are such wonderful looking birds and a great site as they feed in a team working their way up a lake. We have three species in the UK, the goosander, the red-breasted merganser and the smew. All are very attractive birds to photograph. Smew are generally very thin on the ground especially in my local area and in fact the only ones I have seen have been captive birds in waterfowl collections. The other two birds are notoriously tricky to get close. There are a few red-breasted merganser on the local marine lake each winter which is not an easy place to photograph them as it is a relatively large lake and they are happy to sit out in the middle way beyond camera range. Occasionally you get lucky.

Two females surface after a dive

They are always quite scruffy looking birds with their wayward head feathers but the male was looking particularly smart on this occasion with prime condition plumage. The black head that changes to green as the head moves is difficult to expose properly with the camera especially when combined with the white feathers. Moving on too goosanders, which are a new species for me to photograph. I took a trip over to North Wales specifically to photograph these birds. It is always such a joy when you head out for a particular species, especially a new one, and come home with some results.

The rust red head of a female goosander

The males are a stunning bird but again a very tricky exposure.

and that characteristic male posture display with beak pointing skyward.

Assorted Waders

One of the reasons I love the winter is the assortment of waders that can be photographed locally. A group of birds I will never tire of photographing. The best tactic always seems to be to find a spot, keep low and still and wait for them to come to you, usually with the advancing tide. However, you can guarantee that just when they have come into photography range, you will see a dog running past in front of your lens and the flock taking flight. Chasing around a beach after waders is pointless as all you will end up with is photos of flying tail feathers. It is also important that the birds are allowed to feed and roost undisturbed to conserve their energy on those windswept winter beaches. The prime consideration of any wildlife photographer should always be for the welfare of their subject. So let sleeping waders sleep...

Knot Dunlin RedshankSanderlingWhen they do wake and soft winter light is shining, with a bit of good positioning and luck you can then really enjoy the pleasure of photographing these wonderful birds

Small and fast across the water, a sanderling in flight.

Purple Sandpiper Knot feeding on the estuary mud. Wading redshank

Oystercatcher looking for earthworms

and a bonus Black-tail Godwit while waiting for another species

Fieldfare and Larks

The winter migrants will be heading north soon, so I thought I would give them another visit.

The birds listen to the soil, for worms below. I also recently came across a group of skylarks. A bird that I always love to photograph. A number of the birds were ascending skyward in song flight, which seems to be early in the year, but much appreciated.

White Moorhen Update

I decided to revisit the leucistic moorhens to see how they were doing. I was concerned with the recent cold weather, causing the lake to freeze, may have left them vulnerable to predation. However, I can happily report the both were present and looking very well. They had changed slightly since my last visit in that there beaks' have now taken on the more typical moorhen colouration which makes them even more appealing.

As usual with their bright white plumage they are a very tricky exposure, so for these photos I resorted to some spot metering on the camera.

I will probably return again now in the spring as I hoping that the normal coloured adults will produce some more leucistic young. I am intriguied as to what these chicks will look like.

Lunch Hour Buzzard

I often take my camera to work with me which allows me to pop out for my lunch hour to try and take a couple of photos. This is not always successful but certainly beats sitting at the computer eating a sandwich and restores my energies for the afternoon's work. I had noticed a buzzard that kept perching on the telegraph poles on the road leading up to the office and so decided to try and get a couple of pictures.


Being given the 'eye'. Enough to strike fear into any rabbit but fortunately I am probably a lot less edible.

Winter Woodlands

Firstly apologies for the lack of updates in the last week, but I have been struck down by a flu like virus and have spent most of it in bed trying to sleep it off. Before falling ill I paid a visit to a local woodland where there is a fair amount of public feeding of the squirrels and birds and so armed with some bird feed it is usually relatively easy to get the birds where you want them. I much prefer undertaking woodland bird photography in the winter as the lack of leaf canopy lets the light through.

I went for two main species which were nuthatch and stock dove. I managed to get two nuthatch coming in to the feed at close quarters. One was ringed and the other had an unusually long upper bill which is the bird I concentrated on. You have to be very quick with nuthatch and try and get them before they have reached the food.Frequently you fail although I suppose a nuthatch tickling a nut with its tongue is appropriate!

The nuthatch was really I diversion while I waited for some Stock Dove to arrive. Despite the number of visitors they are still wary and it took quite a while before I got an opportunity to get some photographs. In fact thinking about it, they are a species that you don't often see photographed. To me they are a very under-rated bird presumably because they show a similar resemblance to feral pigeons. The reason I particularly like this site is that the carpet of beech leaves forms an attractive setting for these woodland birds, particularly when you can get down low to give a more intimate feel to the photograph.