Tag Archives: blackbird

A Short Tail and other birds

Mar
05
2015
by Words | 4 Comments

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.

Five Birds

Mar
02
2015
by Words | 4 Comments

This is something of a return to some of the more regular species that abound at this time of year. Birds are getting ready for nesting and mating, and – common species at least – are very easy to see.

The crows are busy gathering nesting material.

Crow carrying twig

The blackbirds are taking to the rooftops…

Blackbird on roof

The robins are everywhere. This one was in a small wooded area near Falmer Pond. Nice early morning sunshine.

Robin in tree

Possibly my favourite of the early birds, was this male mallard quietly sitting on the church wall. It took me an age to get round to the best angle, but here it is.

Duck on wall

The final shot was taken at lunchtime, when the light was less helpful. It made a change to see a herring gull doing nothing much at all.

herring gull

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

Blackbird (male and female)

Feb
05
2015
by Words | 3 Comments

Some more images of commonplace birds, this time the blackbird (Turdus merula). For the male at least, the naming is clearly descriptive: the blackbird is indeed black. It generally also has an orange beak, tongue and eye-ring. Less often the beak and eye-ring are red, but orange is the classic and most common form.

blackbird singing

Blackbird (male) singing

Blackbird (male) eating berries

Blackbird (male) eating a berry

Those were taken yesterday (but were put to one side in favour of the wren. The next three shots were taken today, on the edge of a woodland path. It’s the female of the species, and she is brown… from beak to tail.

Female blackbird

Female blackbird head on

Female blackbird

Female blackbird side view

Female blackbird

Female blackbird in angry mode!

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