Category Archives: Birds

Pied Wagtail, Kestrel and a Buzzard Mobbed

Most of these were taken on Saturday, but were put to one side in favour of the garden time lapse sequence and sunset. I’d been down to the local recycling centre (with most of the wood from the pergola I took down a few weeks ago. The short trip takes me past Sheepcote Valley, which is one of my favourite spots for kestrel watching. I was in luck… almost.

kestrel

That was about the only usable shot I managed. As I was moving across the valley for a decent angle, two corvids (a crow and a magpie) decided they wanted to share that particular tree. Why they chose that one and not any of the many around it I don’t know, but the kestrel objected to their company and flew off over to the far side of the ridge.

I contented myself with looking to see what else was a round, and was rewarded with this pretty little pied wagtail reflected in a pool of water. The pool is temporary. It was actually nothing more than a large puddle on a gravel path, but the wagtail seemed to like it.

Pied wagtail

Pied wagtail

Pied wagtail

Pied wagtail

Pied wagtail

Today was misty, so not many opportunities to go out. The only sighting of note was a buzzard over the garden being mobbed by the local herring gulls. Generally just one or two gulls will pick on the raptor, but with breeding season around the corner the gulls are taking this all a little bit more seriously. These shots are all cropped beyond anything sensible.

buzzard and gulls

buzzard mobbed by gull

buzzard mobbed by gull

Finally to round things off, one more picture of Saturday’s glorious sunset.

sunset over woodingdean

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

Also posted in Bird of Prey

Woodpecker without its weasel

You must have seen the recent photo of a weasel riding a green woodpecker. I can’t match that, but I can show a green woodpecker that’s lost its weasel.

Green woodpecker without weasel

Green woodpecker without weasel

Just a couple of other pictures today. This is Ridge Road at Falmer. I really like the light in this shot and am beginning to appreciate landscape photography. I may even start using some proper landscape lenses if this goes on.

Ridge Road

Final pic for today is a greedy rat gathering up bread left out for ducks. Taken early morning, of course, when the little devils are quite active.

rat grabbing bread

Greedy rat!

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

Also posted in Landscape, rats Tagged , , |

A Short Tail and other birds

I’ll start with the title bird, a male blackbird that I’ve been watching for the past week or so. He’s missing his tail feathers, though they do seem to be recovering slowly. He can fly, but tends to keep to the same small area between the edge of Falmer Pond and a local garden. He’s certainly quite bold, and as a pond regualr deserves a mini-feature here.

Blackbird with missing tail feathers

Blackbird with missing tail feathers

Blackbird with missing tail feathers

The other birds today are a moorhen on a rock, and three greylag geese portraits.

Moorhen on a rock

Greylag geese

Greylag geese

Greylag geese

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

Also posted in water birds Tagged , , |