Sunday, April 27, 2014

Get The Picture?

There are new photographs today for blog readers, but as is often the frustrating case for budding photographers, “something” intrudes into the scene far too often. So let’s start with a couple of the better ones and then head downhill as trees, branches, twigs, stones and goodness knows what get in the way to spoil the photograph.

A male Chaffinch posed beautifully at Lane Ends. The female is on a nest nearby, the male keeping guard to make sure no harm comes to his partner. 

Chaffinch

Chaffinch

Two Jays were in the trees again; up to no good I’ll wager. Out on the marsh the highish tide concentrated the Pink-footed Geese and allowed a more accurate count of 340, a rather high number for late April when the geese should be in thawing Iceland. Two Whimbrel flew over, plus a mixed flock of 90+ Dunlin and Ringed Plover, too fast and high flying to count as separate entities. A Lesser Redpoll chattered from the tree tops as a Reed Warbler croaked its unmelodic theme from the small reed bed, the annual spot next to the road and my first Reed Warbler of the year. 

I found 4 “Greenland” Wheatears along the sea wall, each in turn doing its best to avoid a clear portrait or take the meal worm bait. 

 Wheatear

 Wheatear

Wheatear

At Fluke Hall there was a Tawny Owl again. This one sat in the trees, seemingly unperturbed by my proximity, the two of us separated by a tall hedge and a cluster of leaves swaying in the breeze. Try as I might I could not get a totally unimpeded photo. Hopefully the owl will be there or thereabouts on another day for a new attempt. 

 Tawny Owl

As two Mistle Thrushes collected food for their nearby nest one broke off to give chase to a female Sparrowhawk, the thrush rattling out an alarm call for all to hear as it pursued the hawk though the trees.

The road transect gave a count of 4 Whitethroat, 4 Blackcaps, 3 Chiffchaff and at least 6 Willow Warblers. One of the Willow Warblers atop a clump of bramble appeared quite amenable to a picture, but did not shift its pose until it flew off. Concentrating on the bird's eye, only at home later did I discover the stray pieces of vegetation which ruin the picture. 

Willow Warbler

Maybe it was possible to get the picture at Conder Green? The customary species appeared and the usual counts ensued. Lots of Swallows and a few House Martins headed north, 71 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Spotted Redshank, 15 Redshank, 1 Greenshank,16 Tufted Duck, 2 Wigeon and 12 Oystercatcher. 

The wispy grass cutting across the bright orange bill makes for a far from perfect picture of an Oystercatcher, but it will do for now until a better one comes along. 

 Oystercatcher

Log in to Another Bird Blog very soon for more pictures.

Linking today to Stewart's Photo Gallery where there are lots more bird pictures.

As there are one or two fences in today's post I'm linking to The Run-a-Round Ranch Blog.  I'm sure there will be more birds on Theresa's fences, so go take a look.

41 comments:

Findlay Wilde said...

I would be happy with any one of those pictures. From Findlay

FAB said...

Yeah, I agree with Findlay but I suspect the perfectionist will never be happy.


David M. Gascoigne, said...

Hey Philmeister, I think you are being hard on yourself. The pictures are perfectly fine, and if a little bit of nature intrudes on a picture of.......nature, who's to complain about that? My favourite is of the Tawny Owl, but then again I am a total sucker for owls. I give you my personal ten out of ten for great pictures of interesting species, accompanied as always by your chatty, informative narrative. After all that praise I am quite exhausted. I had better go and lie down until this flush of kindness washes away!

eileeninmd said...

Phil, these are all great shots! And beautiful birds. I love the pretty Chaffinch and the Willow Warbler.. The Tawny owl sighting and photos is awesome and I always love the cool looking Oystercatcher.. Great post, have a happy week!

theconstantwalker said...

A wonderful post Phil..

Kay L. Davies said...

You are too hard on yourself, Phil. The photos are lovely. I have a soft spot for Oystercatchers, having met some in the Galapagos Islands, but my softest spot is for little birds like the Wheatear and the Willow Warblers. So pretty. I've always loved owls, too, and I'm sure I told you we saw Pink-footed Geese in Iceland.
Well, we're off again, next week to Eastern Europe. I know, I know, I should be in England and Scotland, but my husband keeps finding last-minute bargains on river cruises. It's such a lovely life, cruising down a river, that I can never say no.
All the best,
K

Carole M. said...

that's the thing about us wishing for the ultimate photograph - the birds don't quite know what angle you want them to pose, or whether it's just another two steps to the right you're after. Each of your images are natural and clear; they paint another wonderful picture for your readers Phil.

Louisette said...

wonderfull shots congratulations :)

have a good evening:)


(¯`v´¯) From Belgium .`·.¸.·´ Wonderfull Sunday
¸.·´¸.·´¨) ¸.·*¨) Hᴀᴘᴘʏ Wᴇᴇᴋᴇɴᴅ
(¸.·´ (¸.·´ .·´´¯`·.¸¸.ƸӜƷ 5★★

Louisette said...

wonderfull shots congratulations :)

have a good evening:)


(¯`v´¯) From Belgium .`·.¸.·´ Wonderfull Sunday
¸.·´¸.·´¨) ¸.·*¨) Hᴀᴘᴘʏ Wᴇᴇᴋᴇɴᴅ
(¸.·´ (¸.·´ .·´´¯`·.¸¸.ƸӜƷ 5★★

Isidro Ortiz said...

Bonitas capturas Phil.Un abrazo

Christian Perrin said...

Wow, never realised you were so hard on yourself as a Photographer! These are all fantastic images and I wouldn't have noticed any of the vegetation "intrusions" if you hadn't have pointed them out, because all the photos are composed in a way where I am drawn to the face of the animal anyhow. I know what it's like though, as I had a similar feeling towards a Kangaroo photo that I took a few weeks ago. I am learning to use a Photoshop-like program named 'Gimp' where I took away the foreground twigs and I was quite happy with the result.

Margaret Birding For Pleasure said...

HI These shots are marvelous, and you are too hard on yourself.

mick said...

I agree - you are a perfectionist - and you take the kind of photos I aim for - but alas seldom achieve!

Cynthia said...

I think your photos are amazing. The first ones are my favorites. I love seeing birds I don't have in my area.

Jane Hards Photography said...

Beautiful, bird portraits, I've been back twice to have a further look around your blog.

sunshine said...

Great sights, love the Tawny Owl.

Jen said...

I'm going to have to disagree with you. Twigs and leaves don't mar the photograph, they add to it.

Dział Przyrody MŚO said...

Fabulous shots, Phil! Well done!
Have a nice day :-)

Mary Howell Cromer said...

Those Wheatear images are amazingly wonderful, and the others are great too. Just being able to get so close to these is a wonder. I so know the frustrations, for many times, more than not, I will say. out loud sometimes too ;) gee just move that branch, or could you pop from that wire, over onto that tree, or, or ;) and I just take the image and share as is...

TexWisGirl said...

any old time you have images like those first few and you want to link in to good fences with 'em, i'd be mighty pleased. :) LOVE your chaffinch. and that sweet owl, too!

Karen said...

They are all terrific captures Phil! I do love that chaffinch, and the warbler. The owl is awesome!

Pieni Lintu said...

Great shots all!!!

Nette Cecilia said...

Great shots i like the owl ,Nette

chai-and-chardonnay.blogspot.com said...

The owl seems to pose for you! Great shots and branches and twigs sometimes only enhance the picture!

Unknown said...

I think they're great shots all of them.

Hootin Anni said...

That Tawny Owl is 'to die for' gorgeous!!!!

Kenneth Cole Schneider said...

Your beautiful photos provide no evidence of your difficulties in getting clear views. If you are like me, I throw out 19 of every 20 shots, often because I did not see that obscuring leaf in front of the bird's eye-- or worse, it blinks!

Wally Jones said...

Another great birding day! Good counts all 'round, nesting birds, high-flying migrants, a beautiful Tawny Owl, stunning Oystercatcher.

Very impressive, Phil!

One thing. I reviewed your post several times looking for the photographs with flaws and spoiled bits you mentioned but couldn't locate them. I can only assume you were referring to some other posting with offensive images. Just thought I'd bring the error to your attention.

Cheers!

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Love the chaffinch guarding his family! And the owl. And I'd be more than thrilled with any of those pictures. In fact I'd be more than thrilled just to see those birds!

Rohrerbot said...

The owl shot is fantastic as are the others. Everyone loves owls:) Any of these birds would make me smile actually as they would all be lifers. The Wheateaters fascinate me. I need to study up on the entire group because I barely know anything about them.

Neil said...

All great photos.

Roan said...

I would be thrilled if any of my bird shots turned out as good as what you perceive to be your worst. All are great shots!

Cranberry Morning said...

Are you becoming cynical about jays? LOL Love these bird shots. And that owl - fantastic!

marilyn said...

Don't see any of these birds here and I love the orange eyes, legs and beak of the Oystercatcher.

TexWisGirl said...

thank you! just awesome!

21 Wits said...

They are all wonderful!

Ida said...

These are just delightful. Such sweet birds. I loved them sitting on the barbed wire and the fence posts.

Brian King said...

Beautiful photos! The barb-wire perch is fantastic!

Dave said...

Great post and great work with ALL these images Phil. Great that you got a day roosting Tawny too, brilliant.

RobinfromCA said...

I think all of your photos are wonderful! The bird with the red beak is just stunning and the owl is a great capture. The others are just too sweet!

Jenn Jilks said...

I love the names of the birds out your way! chaffinch...
(ツ) from Cottage Country Ontario , ON, Canada!

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