Category Archives: water birds

Honey Moon?

June 13, 2014 by Words | 6 Comments

Tonight we are supposedly seeing a very rare moon as it passes low in the sky. I doubt very much that Southern England is the best place to see anything and to be honest the moon looks very much as it usually does. It is low (well I photographed soon after moon rise so it would be low), but because of this it does pick up a good reddish-orange glow from the atmosphere. Both these shots will expand quite a bit if you click on them.

Honey moon

Honey moon

As for the day, the mini heatwave is continuing. There are swifts overhead and they always present a nice challenge in rapid contortionism as you follow them through the lens on their fast and erratic flight. A couple of shots from yesterday.

Swift in flight

Swift in flight

And one from today.

Swift in flight

The final shot is a cute one of two sleepy herring gull chicks settling down for a nap.

Herring gull chick

Camera note: Wildlife photos taken with the Canon 7D and EF 400mm f/5.6L USM lens. The honey moon taken with the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens.

Also posted in Birds, Moon Tagged , , , |

The Herring Gull Chicks Get Fed

June 10, 2014 by Words | 4 Comments

I’ll come on to the herring gulls in a moment, but I’ll start with just about the first thing I saw when I arrived at Falmer Pond this morning: a pair of herons jousting over a treetop perch. I was on the far side of the pond from where they were, and the sun (which was already getting set for a glorious day) was conveniently behind me.

Grey herons

Grey herons

I also can’t not show the Falmer Pond newcomers. Yes, there is another clutch of greylag goslings, and they look incredibly cute nestling in the long grass (what else would you expect?).

Greylag goslings

Greylag goslings

And then I headed off to work to check out how the young gulls were doing. We have nests on several buildings, but one in particular offers a great vantage point from a balcony to a nesting point on one of the green roof areas. When I got there, the young herring gulls were getting ready for breakfast (a regurgitated feast collected by the adult). Not pretty, but the chicks can’t wait!

herring gull chicks feeding

herring gull chicks feeding

herring gull chicks feeding

Sated, the chicks then posed for a few photos.

Herring gull chick

Herring gull chicks

Herring gull chicks

Camera note: all photos taken with the Canon 7D and EF 400mm f/5.6L USM lens.

Also posted in Behaviour Tagged , , , |

A Normal Day at Falmer Pond

June 2, 2014 by Words | 4 Comments

It was very much business as usual at Falmer Pond today. The rabbits were out in the fields in the morning. There are plenty of young ones about, looking healthy and bright-eyed.

Rabbit in field

Rabbit in field

The big white goose continues to make splash.

White goose

It can’t compete though with this pair of greylags playing chase across the surface of the pond.

greylag geese

greylag geese

The oddest encounter is this final sequence of the Falmer rats. Not that it’s unusual to see them, but this young rat was being fed scraps of ham by two women who were delighted and intrigued by its cute behaviour, even going so far as to shoo away the ducks in case they frightened it.

rat

rat

rat

All in all, a normal day at Falmer Pond.

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

Also posted in rabbit, rats Tagged , , |