Delamere

Last weekend I had planned to visit Conway RSPB reserve to search for Britain's smallest breeding bird, the Firecrest; this beautiful little bird shares this status with the commoner Goldcrest. There have been up to three Firecrests recorded at Conway this winter, and I managed to photograph one bird during a brief visit last November, and a return visit was very much on my mind.
Unfortunately, near-gale force winds greeted me as I left the house, and the clouds threatened rain and sleet. Probably the worst conditions for viewing such a sprite, nevermind trying to photograph one. So I changed my plans and decided to head for Delamere Forest in Cheshire where I knew I had more than an outside chance of capturing reasonable photos of the birdlife.
I took a bag of sunflower seeds and headed for a car park deep in the forest that is frequented by common woodland birds. I was not disappointed; no sooner had I sprinkled the seed than at least 5 Robins and legions of tits were hopping around my car. And although the light was still poor, I still captured some acceptable images, including a dapper Nuthatch; my first of the year. A female Great Spotted Woodpecker was visible on a distant tree, but never came close enough for a photograph. Likewise a Redpoll put in  a very brief appearance near the car, but was far too quick for my camera.




Our only breeding Accentor, the subtly beautiful Dunnock




Only one Coal Tit was seen.



Firecrest at Conway RSPB, last November.

 

Woodland birds

Took my lunch and my camera to a local woodland in the vague hope of photographing some birds on a dull winter's day. A quick sprinkling of bird seed on a fallen log enticed a few birds close to my car. Unfortunately the light was awful so a high ISO was required to achieve a reasonable shutter speed to try and freeze any movement. The images also suffered slightly from the colour of the log which was almost black and looks like rock in some of the photos. For a while I even attempted a few "arty" shots with a deliberately slow shutterspeed to blur any motion. This is not to everyone's taste, but trying to judge when a small bird is about to take off and capture that moment is a skill in itself. I think only one of these impressionistic images worked, but that's the joy of digital photography; anything is worth a go. Below is a selection of images from today, I shall return on a sunny day, with more time and with a decent perch for the birds. Although the usual Great Tits and Blue Tits were the most obvious birds a few Nuthatches put on a good show, while an overflying Raven was a great addition to the year list.

Monet, Manet or just a mess?

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