Feathered friends

Today I concentrated on the local birds. Lots of the usual suspects were around, but there were one or two surprises (to me at least). I'll start with the quirkiest of the lot, a juvenile wood pigeon which was flitting between our roof and the back of the garden. It was reasonably bold, as well as being reasonably bald! It also seems to have blue eyes, though I suspect these will change to the more usual red/orange over time.

Juvenile wood pigeon

This is a greenfinch, either a youngster or an adult in early winter plumage.

Greenfinch

This next bird had me baffled when I took the photo. It was some distance away and to be honest I had no idea what I was looking at (beyond a fast-moving dot). It turned out to be a hobby, swooping after something it had seen.

Hobby

The final two birds were spotted out on the Downs. I'd gone in search of kestrels (none were around). But there were plenty of smaller birds. I think I've identified these correctly, but do say if you think otherwise. I have great trouble distinguishing small brown birds at a distance (they have a troubling tendency to look alike), and I'm not always confident even when the photo is on-screen and my 'Complete Birds' book is to hand. The first is a tree pipit (I think).

Tree pipit

I'm fairly sure this next one is a whinchat, which although not a first sighting is one of my more unusual 'spots'. The distinctive feature is the broad band over the eye.

Whinchat

I do have more photos of spiders and dragonflies, but I'll save those for another time :bug:

Camera note: all shots taken with the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens.

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This Post Has 6 Comments

  1. CedarFox

    22 Sep 2008

    Nice photos! I really like the clarity of the Juvenile wood pigeon shot. :up:

  2. zetorres

    22 Sep 2008

    Very nice, first photo is to funny! 😆

  3. SittingFox

    22 Sep 2008

    Nice to see a hobby again! Pipit ID is not my star subject but I think you're right on that one. I like the RSPB's online guide.

  4. Words

    22 Sep 2008

    Eric, thanks. 🙂

  5. Words

    22 Sep 2008

    Adele, yes the RSPB link is one of my well-used bookmarks. The hobby was a nice surprise indeed. They'll be heading south soon enough.

  6. Words

    22 Sep 2008

    Thanks Ze! 😆

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