Reed Buntings

Before the cold wind blew and rain fell this morning, it was lovely to see these Reed Buntings alongside The Cam.   What amazing camouflage they have, particularly the lower image, and what beautiful markings.   Always a delight to see.

I am continuing to use the same lens (100mm-400mm) with x 1.4 convertor, and hand-holding it with automatic focus.

Cat after a Collared Dove

Robin made this bird table to prevent squirrels from stealing food put out for the birds - only partially successful though.   Squirrels have found a way of climbing the wobbly bird table and helping themselves.

Yesterday I noticed one of our cats sitting below the bird table as she had obviously seen there was a bird feeding on the table.   Then she started to crouch down as though she was going to attempt the overhang to get herself onto the table.   Again her endeavours were only partially successful - thankfully.

More Birds

On a recent trip to Wicken Fen it was lovely to see a Marsh Harrier and a Hobby even though they were so far away.   Nearer home, and with the auto-focus wheeze of a 100-400mm lens and x 1.4 convertor, the magnification has made it easier to get 'better' images of a Blue Tit and a Moorhen flying above The Cam.

Bit of a surprise to see this Grey Heron so troubled by a couple of Black-headed Gulls!

Great Crested Grebe Feeding

It has been a very long time since I posted something onto the blog, but here is a break in that pattern!   I have been to Iceland recently and plan to complete a book of images, some of which I hope will appear here in due course.

The wind was 'up' this morning at Clayhithe and The Cam was 'rough'.   I know Great Crested Grebes are pairing up at present and I was hoping to have seen a courtship dance.   Instead I saw a Grebe struggle to swallow what I think is a Rudd fish.   On occasion it had to drop the fish back into the water to re-orientate it for swallowing purposes.    All the time the Grebe was struggling, its mate was nearby with its beak wide open.   I couldn't hear over the wind whether the mate was calling.   Would welcome any explanation on this behaviour.

One of the images captures a Mallard flying past, but I wasn't expecting that and didn't have the focal length to get that sharp!

An exciting development when using a 100mm-400mm lens is to use it with a x 1.4 convertor and get automatic focusing!   Yes, automatic focusing with a convertor, but only the x 1.4 convertor, and not the x 2 convertor in my experience!   This 'wheeze' was shared with me on the Iceland trip and I used it today for the first time at home.   Brilliant.

Tree Creeper in our Garden

Not for years have I noticed a Tree Creeper in our garden, but one was climbing up the trunk of a weeping Silver Birch tree yesterday.   It was there long enough for me to get a camera and telephoto lens to take some photographs of it through the window.    I was pleasantly surprised to get a couple in focus - handheld and through glass!

I had forgotten what an extensive foot span the bird has - almost the length of its body (head not included).

Dave and Spit in town

Dave was lost in thought when I was walking past and I was pleased he was happy to have his and his dog's photographs taken.   They were very comfortable in one another's company and I guess had had several coffees outside different cafes over time!   I'm not sure whether I prefer the colour or black and white image of Dave cuddling Spit.

Lakenheath Fen II

A few more images from an outing to Lakenheath Fen yesterday afternoon.

A delight was to see a couple of Cranes flying towards what I assume was going to be their roosting site for the night.

 A number of other birds were flying around before the end of the daylight and these were Starlings and corvids, probably Rooks.

A couple of Greylag Geese also put in an appearance.

I had a very high ISO setting for these Rooks roosting in a poplar tree, and the evening light was taken at much the same time.   I was impressed with the functioning of the Canon 5D Mk III and the handheld lens.

Lakenheath Fen

Ambitiously I decided to see if I could handhold a 300mm lens with 2x extender.   Although there were plenty of images which were not sharp, I've now got to decide whether I risk this combination of lens and extender when on holiday next month.   I think more practice is indicated!

It was lovely to watch both a male and a female Reed Bunting in some reeds.   The male is moulting which is why he isn't looking quite as smart as will do later in the year.   There was an obliging Chaffinch too, near the feeders.

Another venue and another Bittern, but it didn't come that close to be photographed.   The last of the five images must be of a female Pheasant - again at a distance.

Men in the Blue Boat out Sculling!

It was quite early in the morning when these 'oarsmen' (as my father would have said) or those more often referred to as 'rowers' these days, were having an outing in sculling boats.  These are the men who have been chosen for the University's Blue Boat to race on 6 April against Oxford - you know the one!   Their sculling technique was impressive and so was their focus.   I guess their having an outing in sculling boats will have sharpened up their skills at balancing the boat when they get back into the 'eight'.   No one was wasting time, on or off the water, and they were showing a competitive edge much of the time.   Getting around Baits Bite Lock was an interesting exercise with each person using their own technique for carrying a sculling boat and a pair of blades.   All were in sculling boats except one 'pair' - the most difficult boat to row because of the balance being dependent on each of them counter-balancing the other.


In the first picture I've kept the exposure as it was taken to show that most of the sculling boats had lights on their bows - it was that early in the morning!

Lackford Lakes - first visit

Yesterday was sunny and not too cold, so good weather for a trip to Lackford Lakes.   The lakes are disused gravel pits and one of the hides looks perfect for Kingfisher spotting, but had run out of light and time to make use of that hide on this outing.

From the Seggal's Hide a Bittern was seen, and its camouflage was perfect!   One can just see the bird in the photograph.   Soon after we had left the hide, the Bittern gave a full appearance of itself!   Typical!   I shall have to go back and try again.

It was lovely to see Heron, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Lapwing, and both male and female Golden Eye.   I think there were also Gadwal, but I shall check that out before posting their images.