Buzzards (Borde Hill Gardens)

By Paul Cecil | Published August 26, 2008

We took a trip out to Borde Hill Gardens in Sussex today despite the continuing lack of sunshine. The gardens were pretty, but not spectacular. As well as a woodland area (where we saw a pair of female pheasants) there's a fishing lake and some interesting garden features. The gardens would no doubt have looked better with some decent light!

Italian Garden at Borde Hill

Garden statue

Lake

As ever though it is the wildlife that catches my eye, and right at the start of our visit we popped into the 'plant sales' area. Overhead I could hear some birds calling. There were three buzzards circling overhead. Two adults and a youngster, judging by size. Bad light is the curse of these moments, a white/grey sky and no sunlight to catch the detail. These needed a fairly extensive rescue job, despite pushing exposure compensation to its maximum.
Common Buzzard

Pair of buzzards

Camera note: Landscapes all taken with the EF17-40mm f/4L USM lens. The buzzards were caught in the EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM lens.

This entry was posted in Bird of Prey, Landscape and tagged , .

12 Comments

  1. gdare August 27, 2008 at 5:08 am #

    I like the garden, despite grey sky 🙂

  2. Words August 27, 2008 at 1:08 pm #

    Thanks, Darko. I would just like to see some blue skies. It's been a miserable summer so far, and now it's nearly over 🙁

  3. gdare August 27, 2008 at 8:08 pm #

    But I have heard on the news the other day that you will have very nice September,weather like it was supposed to be in August :up:

  4. Words August 27, 2008 at 10:08 pm #

    That would be nice! 😀

  5. cakkleberrylane August 27, 2008 at 10:08 pm #

    Still – amazing photos! The buzzards in different positions are wonderful!!

  6. Words August 28, 2008 at 12:08 am #

    Thanks Cynthia. It was a nice trip out, and made a change from my usual haunts.

  7. chthoniid August 28, 2008 at 12:08 am #

    Looks like a great place to visit.

    Sometimes an external flash can assist with shooting birds in those circumstances. Of course, you have to be close enough for it to have an effect and be able to trigger the flash at very high shutter speeds.

    It looks like you did a good job processing the shots- not an easy subject to extract detail from.

    And England bet SA in the cricket- there must be smiles all around 🙂

  8. Cynthia23 August 28, 2008 at 12:08 am #

    Your photography is always great. It captures the atmosphere of the day perfectly. It looks like it was a great day. YEAH! for us who love your photography. 🙂

  9. Words August 28, 2008 at 12:08 am #

    Brendan, I didn't take the external flash with me on that trip (error!!!), but it wouldn't have helped with the buzzards. They were way too high. I doubt even a 'better beamer' would have helped on those shots. I used the internal flash for the statue shot (but that limits the shutter to 1/250).

    I'm not sure about the cricket though. A South African captain won the match :whistle:

  10. Words August 28, 2008 at 12:08 am #

    Lois, thanks!

  11. SittingFox August 29, 2008 at 12:08 pm #

    Wonderful picture of the buzzards displaying :up:

  12. Words August 29, 2008 at 9:08 pm #

    Adele, they were only overhead for a minute or so, but great to watch and slightly closer than I'm used to seeing them.