Recent content by Duck_Pond

Super set Richard - love the last ptarmigan (first post) in the snow. Great colours of the bird, rock and backdrop. Cresties always look great :)

Excellent - they don't hang around in flight, so marvellous timing to get this.

Thanks all - didn't see it storing any of the insects, though it did perch out of sight frequently. It scoffed down the insects each time we watched it. Weirdly it pecked the body off the butterfly first, giving the impression it'd discard the wings, then ate them too!

Funny about the colours matching - there was a pair of blackcaps also feeding in and around the hedge, and the female (very similar coloured head) got pretty close to this shrike - maybe concerned that it was competition! Soon backed off when it saw it, though compared to the great grey...

Made the trip down to Somerset to see this pretty little shrike. A first for me and a pleasure to watch and photograph. Woodchat Shrike by Pete Walkden, on Flickr Tried for a few flight shots but it was so quick at launching off for insects, we kept missing it! Carl (Malvern Birder) got...

Thanks all. No pics of the beer - that didn't last long enough for photos. If you're in that area I recommend the Sculthorpe Mill. On a summer's evening it'd be fab for a few ales and a meal. Lovely garden out back too.

Lovely shot. I got very wet, muddy feet chasing one of these along the beach at Titchwell once, as it was in summer plumage.

Still lovely to see. I hear them calling frequently near the little owls so I assume there are a few around the area. This from around there?

To try to minimise my dismay at turning 40, I headed east in search of beer and wildlife last week, with an eye to perhaps getting some better shots of marsh harriers, which seem to invariably remain distant from me, at places like Titchwell and Cley. Found a couple of good spots, one of...

Yes, the one and only :) Lovely lady. Know her grandson too, though he's in Norway at the mo doing wonderful things with a camera out there.

Was fortunate last year to meet a lady who has devoted her later years to monitoring adders in the Wyre Forest, and she kindly showed me a couple of locations for them in a patch of the woodland. This year I've taken the time to locate and photograph a few of these fascinating snakes, though...

Very nice - was togging some myself yesterday. Great creatures.

Perhaps trying to look like Batman instead of his usual guise, and the ears have slipped forwards...

Lovely set - envious of the light you had too! The harrier is a gem.

Urban shots of them are becoming more and more "the norm", as they move into our towns. Caught it in a superb pose as it's launching off. I like it.