It felt like a quiet day today, but among all the commonplace birds there were two surprises. I'll come on to those in a moment but sticking to the chronology of the day will start with a couple of shots of a jackdaw in flight. These were taken over open fields. There were plenty of distant shots to be had, but one bird decided to glide right in front of me. Most of the shots only captured part of the bird, but two frames were ok.
At lunchtime I was back in the woods. It was quiet. No sign of woodpeckers or treecreepers. I'd all but given up hope of getting anything until the tiniest movement on a tree, shrouded in shade, caught my eye. The shot is not very good, and I've lightened it a lot to bring out some detail. I'm including it here as a record of the sighting. It's not that goldcrests are especially rare, but they are tiny… the smallest UK bird (an honour they share with the firecrest). 
Back home it was back to the commonplace, in this instance a greenfinch perching just outside a window towards the end of the day.
The final bird was at the far end of the garden. It's not wholly unfamiliar to me, but I don't recall ever seeing a blackcap in the garden before. This is the female (hence the red rather than black cap). It was a grabbed shot, but it's my favourite of the day. The light was perfect.
Three other pieces of garden news. The blackbirds have built a nest just above one of the bird feeders. I'm already looking forward to seeing the fledglings. And around dusk the bats are flying. I'm resisting the challenge of attempting to photograph them!
The other news (this time with an image) is about the tadpoles. They are just about free of the spawn and are creating a bubbling froth as they heave around on the surface. I took this shot last night.
It will be back to the woods tomorrow. I'm sure it still has many treasures to reveal.
Camera note: all birds taken with the Canon 7D and EF 400mm f/5.6L USM lens. The tadpole froth was photographed with the EF 100mm f/2.8L macro IS USM lens.
derWandersmann
30 Mar 2012Very nice shots; I must agree, the blackcap is a really nice shot. It might have been posed.
gdare
30 Mar 2012Blackcap with red cap and geenfinch with yellow feathers 😆
derWandersmann
30 Mar 2012Try "Chartreusefinch".
SittingFox
31 Mar 2012Well done re: the blackcap! I left the UK before they arrived, I think. Last year was very good for them though.
Words
2 Apr 2012Adele, thanks. It was a nice sighting, and I certainly didn't expect to see one in the garden.
Words
2 Apr 2012Erwin, thanks!
Words
2 Apr 2012Darko, yes that birds and names. We have brown blackbirds too.
Words
2 Apr 2012dW, thanks! The blackcap was only there for a few seconds. I was very pleased to get any shot, but delighted with what emerged.
Wulpen
19 Oct 2012Very nice