A right mixture!

Jo

Jo

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Jo Fisher
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A couple from our day out at Bempton Cliffs on Thursday:

#1 Gannet



Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Canon 400mm f/5.6 L
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/1250)
Aperture: f/6.3
Focal Length: 400 mm
ISO Speed: 100

#2 Guillemots (a really difficult shot given the light)



Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Canon 400mm f/5.6 L
Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture: f/6.3
Focal Length: 400 mm
ISO Speed: 100

#3 Signets, hatched only a few hours previously. Taken in Cambridgeshire somewhere :)$ can't remember where)



Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Canon 400mm f/5.6 L
Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/640)
Aperture: f/8.0
Focal Length: 400 mm
ISO Speed: 100

#4 A Baby Blue from the garden



Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Lens: Canon 400mm f/5.6 L
Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 400 mm
ISO Speed: 320​

#5 Finally a lost Racing Pigeon + info for anyone interestd. The shot is rubbish but this one is more about the message. No sniggering at the back, you know who you are :p

3686165220_5b97b16c7d_o.jpg


Last Saturday 27th June 2009 there were a few Pigeon races going on in the UK. Unfortunatly the birds were released in apparent good weather, having waited for some fog to clear, but in fact further along the flight path the weather was still bad. This lead to mass losses (100's of birds) for pigeon fanciers all over the UK :(. These birds are not bad racers, just unlucky. A lot of people even lost their champions in these races which are worth quite a bit of money, and future income from any young they may have produced.

These birds will either be very lucky and find their way to another fanciers loft, where they will be fed up and liberated this week. Or they could find their way to someones garden, and the owners might take pity on them and offer some bird food. They might build up enough strength to get home that way, but the likelihood is that they will have to be caught and collected or shipped to their owner.

But unfortunately if people don't do either these birds will DIE. They are not wild birds and won't survive out there. They will starve, or meet an untimely death some other awful way.

So if you have one of these pigeons in your garden, or you know someone who does ... Go armed with some bird food (wild mix will do), get down on the ground as low as you can, and offer the seed to the pigeon on a flat palm. It will come to you and feed, some will come quicker than others. If you repeat this process a couple of times and gently offer out your other hand it will let you touch its wing feathers. Try not to make sudden movements and it should be fine. Then you place a firm hand on the bird, whilst you get in position to pick it up with both hands over the wings. Hold the bird to your chest as this calms them. Right down the the ring number from the solid ring on its leg and contact the site below:
http://www.rpra.org


Another way of capturing the bird (this is how we did it for ease), if you happen to have a rabbit run outside prop it up on one side with a stick, which you have tied some string to. Throw a bit of seed as far under it as you can ... then wait. It shouldn't take long for Mr Pigeon to wander under for a feed, then you can pull on that string and hey presto! one caught pigeon :D

Pop him in a box with enough airflow, and put it in a quiet place. He might need a bit of water and food. But don't worry too much. Once you have been in contact with the owner you can ask them what to do with the bird until it can be reunited with them.

This shot was taken at Hunstanton car park, where there were more than a dozen lost racers wandering around. It seems like the majority of these lost racers have scattered all along the East coast in the bad weather(fog and high humidity). Ironically, we were at Hunstanton carpark to give a fancier his bird back that came to our garden! He was from Yarmouth. Unfortunatly we didn't have the means to capture the birds in the carpark, but I have passed on the information to the bird club website. Hopefully someone has been and attempted to collect at least some of them.

Thanks for looking and reading.

Jo
xxx
 
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Cracking photos once again Jo. Hopefully someone takes care of those pigeons but unfortunately I had no clue about this just as most other people don't :(
Fingers crossed, anyhow.

On a side note, looked at your website, and there is some talent in there! Nice one :)
 
Cracking shots as usual...........I love the gannet one - didn't realise how big their wingspan is!
 
Nice set Jo, the Signets are adorable, but the Gannet is a nice capture also :clap:
 
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