It seems an age since I've been able to explore the local fields. Yesterday the weather was good but I was in London, so today I grabbed with both hands the opportunity offered by blue skies.
I stopped off by the fields on my way in to work. The pigeons were flocking as usual, but the more interesting activity was in the trees alongside the fields. A small flock of long-tailed tits were flying about, doing their best to hide among the thinning autumnal leaves. Occasionally one would semi-perch on the more open branches, before flitting out of view again.
At lunchtime I took to the fields, with a short detour to grab my wellington boots. It was muddy out there after all the recent rain. The skies were clear, and the views beautiful. No raptors about today, but I did come across a pair of jays. I managed a long distant shot, but it can't compete with the wonderful portraits on The Black Rabbit's blog.
I had more luck with the jackdaws. They were out by the woods in small flocks, filling the air with their distinctive cackle.
The star turn of the day though was a magpie I came across as I was heading back to work. It was hunting for what appears to be bread among the leaves, and flying back and forth between a nearby roof and the tree-lined car park. This kind of persistent and consistent behaviour is perfect for photographing wildlife as it allows you to get the right side of the light, plan the shot (at least to some extent) and get properly organized.
That was the day (there are more shots in the November Birds album), and having had some reasonable success after the best part of a week of almost nothing I was not entirely surprised this evening to see the nicked-ear vixen out in the garden. She had appeared very fleetingly last night (I saw her for all of about 2 seconds), but tonight she was more relaxed.
The nicked-ear vixen
Camera note: the birds were all taken with the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens. The vixen was photographed with the EF70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 DO IS USM at full extension.
Vulpes vulpes
12 Nov 2008Super Magpie capture!
gdare
13 Nov 2008The magpie shot is great!
Here, magpies would not let me come too close to make a decent photo, I think it is easier to catch a sparrow…
anonymous
13 Nov 2008TBR writes:
Thanks for the mention – I'm very humbled!
Your magpie shot is another world class effort Words.
Maybe I should attempt a jay in flight?!
Flying Red Fox Blog
13 Nov 2008Lovelly Magpie 😀 The full Moon was rising perfectly at around 4pm so i took a couple of photos of it.
I often wonder how i cannot seem to get a decent photo with my fuji S9600, maybe i need a more powerful camera perhaps or take a photo through a telescope? I would like to catch a lovelly photo of the moon one day 😛
I saw a couple of Foxes yesterday at work, they were by a hedge near the loading bay in the sunshine, i wish i had my camera with me though! Apparently they were the local foxes so i might have another chance if i work the early shift tomorrow.
SittingFox
13 Nov 2008Yes, the weather was lovely yesterday and I was at home…with no camera :insane: 😥 although that situation should shortly be rectified :whistle:
Anyway, another nice series here! 🙂 I like the magpie in flight and it's nice to see the foxes fluffing out for the winter! And long-tailed tits are always fun to watch.
cakkleberrylane
13 Nov 2008Stunning Magpie!!
Words
13 Nov 2008Thanks Vulpes! The magpie is one of those shots I've been 'chasing' for a while now.
Words
13 Nov 2008Mark, glad you liked the magpie. As for 'shooting the moon' you will probably need to change a few settings on the fuji, because the automatic settings will get confused by the brightness if you are zomming in, and by the darkness if you're zooming out. If you have manual settings you should try something like: aperture f/8 and shutter about 1/400s. If it's too bright you can increase either or both settings by one notch. If it's too dark reduce the shutter to about 1/300s, and then 1/200. Don't go below 1/200 though as camera shake will start to happen (well it does with me). If it's still too dark you may need to increase the ISO setting, but the pictures can get a bit grainy/noisy if you set that too high.
Fab that you saw a pair of foxes. There's a good chance you'll see them again if they're local. It would be great if you got a picture of them!
Words
13 Nov 2008Doug, you are way too modest. Those jays of yours are absolute stunners!
Words
13 Nov 2008Adele, I don't know how you're coping sans camera 😥 Today ended up too wet for much of anything, but the early morning was great. I'll be posting a couple of shots later of goldfinches.
Words
13 Nov 2008Thanks Lois!
Words
13 Nov 2008Darko, I usually have the same problem but this one was distracted by its own activity 😆
SittingFox
13 Nov 2008I am coping by imagining the 50D which I should have sitting on my desk soon :whistle:
😀
Words
13 Nov 2008Oh so you took the plunge! 😀 😀 Worth waiting for I'm certain.
Flying Red Fox Blog
14 Nov 2008Thanks Words, i wish it was clear enough to practice that last night, or hopefully its still 3 quarters full on Sunday when its hopefully sunn. 😀
I will take my smaller camera to work with me from now on so i dont miss another chance of snapping the two local foxes, they have a nickname *Uni Foxes* 😆
Words
14 Nov 2008Mark, yes it's just lots of practice really. And figuring out where the various contraols are (sometimes you have to dig into the menus for certain functions, or to turn them off), but once you've got it roughly figured it's just a matter of making slight variations to see what works best. Good idea to take a camera to work. Once you start looking there's nearly always something interesting around.
Cynthia23
14 Nov 2008The Magpie photo is fabulous! Yeah, for the nicked-ear vixen! :up:
Words
14 Nov 2008Cynthia, thanks!
Words
18 Nov 2008Brendan, the magpie was great. Since I've relocated office I have a great place to park on the edge of the woods. Perfect for some early morning shots. The vixen is pretty irregular at the moment, so I grab what I can when she appears.
chthoniid
18 Nov 2008Lovely magpie shot- it was very nice of it to let you plan the shot so well 🙂
Your vixen also looks like she had decided to co-operate with you also 😀