Easter Owl

March 29, 2016 by Words | 3 Comments

After Good Friday’s fulmars, I headed to Sheepcote Valley on Easter Monday in search of the short-eared owls. It took me a while to find them, but I eventually spotted one, and then another. This is a small selection of shots.

Short-eared owl ruffling its feathers

Short-eared owl ruffling its feathers

Short-eared owl in flight

Short-eared owl in flight

Coming straight at you!

Coming straight at you!

Now three similar shots but with different colour variants. Seriously, I work hard to vary the background colour by changing my position (it’s difficult to get an owl to pose).

Short-eared owl perching at Sheepcote Valley, Brighton

Short-eared owl perching at Sheepcote Valley, Brighton

Short-eared owl perching at Sheepcote Valley, Brighton

Short-eared owl perching at Sheepcote Valley, Brighton

Short-eared owl perching at Sheepcote Valley, Brighton

Short-eared owl perching at Sheepcote Valley, Brighton

Camera note: all photos taken with the Canon 7D Mark II and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens.

Posted in Bird of Prey, owl Tagged |

Fighting Fulmars at Rottingdean

March 28, 2016 by Words | 4 Comments

Regular readers will have seen me post about the fulmar colony at Rottingdean many times before. Fulmars are often mistaken for gulls (when I was taking these shots several people pointed out the ‘nesting gulls’ to their partners/parents/children). All mistaken: Fulmars are ‘petrels’, related to the albatross (not gulls at all). Anyway, Friday was good and the fulmars got into full swing by mid-afternoon.

Their main activity is flying along the cliffs and attempting to land…

Fulmar at Rottingdean Cliffs, East Sussex

Fulmar flying along at Rottingdean Cliffs, East Sussex

Their other main activity is guarding their small rocky roost.

Fulmar nesting at Rottingdean Cliffs, East Sussex

Fulmar nesting at Rottingdean Cliffs, East Sussex

Combined, this means a lot of this…

Fulmar at Rottingdean Cliffs, East Sussex

Fulmar attempting to land but being seen off by the cackling incumbents.

I could have taken those three shots any time over the past few years (I have so many exactly like them). What made Friday special was a genuine on-the-wing spat between two of the birds.

Fulmar sparring at Rottingdean Cliffs, East Sussex

Fulmar sparring at Rottingdean Cliffs, East Sussex

Fulmars sparring - not the very flimsy legs (part of what makes landing so difficult)

Fulmars sparring – note the very flimsy legs (part of what makes landing so difficult)

Fulmar sparring

It’s more noise than serious fighting

Fulmars at Rottingdean Cliffs, East Sussex

And one of them finally dives away

Camera note: all photos taken with the Canon 7D Mark II and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens.

Posted in water birds Tagged |

Brighton Marina (HDR)

March 25, 2016 by Words | 2 Comments

Good Friday today, and I headed down to Brighton Marina with the aim of walking around the breakwater, a great location for some of the less common species of sea birds. I got there nice and early, but the breakwater was locked. So I made do with a short lens and some experimental HDR work (all processed in camera).

Brighton Marina on Good Friday 2016

Brighton Marina on Good Friday 2016

Brighton Marina on Good Friday 2016

Brighton Marina on Good Friday 2016

Brighton Marina on Good Friday 2016

Brighton Marina on Good Friday 2016

Later on I focused on the local fulmars who were very active (I even witnessed a genuine spat between two of them). I’ll post some of those soon (still working through them as I took far too many shots).

Camera note: all photos taken with the Canon 7D Mark II and EF 24-105 F4L IS USM lens.

Posted in coastal, Landscape Tagged |