What birds or bird have you seen today – communal thread, I hope!

I went to Brandon Marsh today, hoping to see the bittern that had been photographed in the last few days - but apparently it flew away at about 7.45 am (half an hour before I arrived).
So it turned into a quiet day again!
All with the D500 and Nikkor 200-500mm zoom.

Robin171219 by Malcolm Fisher, on Flickr

Whooper Swan by Malcolm Fisher, on Flickr

Bottoms Up! by Malcolm Fisher, on Flickr
 
Not today, but earlier this week....

 
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Fading light and thick fog meant ISO 10000 and 1/320th hand held @600mm, but at long last I've managed a shortie with a vole, hoping for some sunshine next time! :)

Short-eared owl with Vole by Phil D, on Flickr
lovely mate,you did well(y) very well indeed !! Ya just can't beat shooting in the best of blighty's grey can ya,:rolleyes: I got to site twice and in came the grey,mind shorties were hunting which is always stunning to watch.My other two attempts grey when I left home :LOL:lmao. .

Phil me old mucker all the best for the new year oh and merry chrimbo aswell, well i'm at it:D I'd ask for a couple of days of sunny stuff over the break for both of us ,but it would be asking for a miracle:banghead:.,

Lovely to see with a kill Phil , I realise the detail isn't there but what can one do .it's still a lovely frame. ..... it#s just so much nicer shooting with a few spangles about especially these rascals.

have a good un kiddo cheers for the help and thoughts. this last while:)

stu
 
lovely mate,you did well(y) very well indeed !! Ya just can't beat shooting in the best of blighty's grey can ya,:rolleyes: I got to site twice and in came the grey,mind shorties were hunting which is always stunning to watch.My other two attempts grey when I left home :LOL:lmao. .

Phil me old mucker all the best for the new year oh and merry chrimbo aswell, well i'm at it:D I'd ask for a couple of days of sunny stuff over the break for both of us ,but it would be asking for a miracle:banghead:.,

Lovely to see with a kill Phil , I realise the detail isn't there but what can one do .it's still a lovely frame. ..... it#s just so much nicer shooting with a few spangles about especially these rascals.

have a good un kiddo cheers for the help and thoughts. this last while:)

stu

Thanks Stu, Merry Christmas and a happy New year to you and the family mate

The shot was one of those bitter sweet moments we've all experienced Stu, Shortie out hunting, makes a kill, lands on a post near enough for a shot with vole in its talons, then takes it in its beak, great to watch and something we all dream about capturing.

The bitter part, in good weather it was on a post that should've been in some glorious late afternoon sunlight :banghead:.........oh well, always next time! :D, cheers, atb matey
 
Walking the remnants of the turkey off up the (quite dark) estate today, came across this little guy, as well as a very inquisitve goldcrest but in that light, it was always going to be a blur. Had the little but mighty Fuji to hand, a great impromptu walkabout camera.


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Thanks Stu, Merry Christmas and a happy New year to you and the family mate

The shot was one of those bitter sweet moments we've all experienced Stu, Shortie out hunting, makes a kill, lands on a post near enough for a shot with vole in its talons, then takes it in its beak, great to watch and something we all dream about capturing.

The bitter part, in good weather it was on a post that should've been in some glorious late afternoon sunlight :banghead:.........oh well, always next time! :D, cheers, atb matey


ha we could so easily become bitter and twisted,lol:D,my bitter part is those 4 or so frames of a dive I nabbed yesterday:banghead:,Ahh man that dive is fast, I always miss it ,but not completely this time................naturally images are pants,but I can see what was there if only I had that bit more light. I'm really frustrated by it Phil larking around aside. In the two years or so I had me 1Dmark iv no shorty images nowt to show, I'm getting chances now and had a taste of a bit of light with that. I've got a bit of time to get at them and the light is so dull I barely bothered today. I'm not sharp It takes a while for the penny to drop, image wise.........I can see a set or so of images begging to be made,but I can't do it without sun light.,lordy bro it's killing me!! Can't complain I've maybe got close to those 550D images from two years back with one cool chance and blown a couple of others,but yeah mate I feel ya. tis wildlife init;)

Lanscape looks cool the mountain never flies off and lenses are sooo cute and light why the hell do we have to be drawn to birds and beasties...........he said not wishing to change anything bar a drop of sunshine in the right place at the right time:)

stu
 
So far, todays garden visitors are :

2 pairs of bullfinches
10-12 sparrows
2 fat wood pigeons
a thrush
2 or 3 blackbirds
starlings
some bluetits
Chaffinches
a collared dove
and the usual gaggle of rooks or crows that fly over a couple of times a day...

I'd love to get a decent shot of the bullfinches, but they're always at the bottom of the garden picking around on the grass (which is a bit tufty) so hides them :(
 
So far, todays garden visitors are :

2 pairs of bullfinches
10-12 sparrows
2 fat wood pigeons
a thrush
2 or 3 blackbirds
starlings
some bluetits
Chaffinches
a collared dove
and the usual gaggle of rooks or crows that fly over a couple of times a day...

I'd love to get a decent shot of the bullfinches, but they're always at the bottom of the garden picking around on the grass (which is a bit tufty) so hides them :(

I remember having so many sparrows in the garden when we were growing up, and never see them nowdays, though there are some a few streets away. I miss them!

Saw this yesterday, does anyone know if this is Grey Wagtail?

OI000640 by alligator1975, on Flickr
 
Great thanks - not seen one before and it seems to have less yellow on it's front than in my book and your photo - maybe a juvenile? Will head back and hopefully catch one again a bit closer/

Yours could well be a female, which has a lot less yellow than the male. Also bear in mind the ID books tend to show images of birds in their breeding plumage where in winter the plumage may not be drastically different but just a bit duller. I was out on Dartmoor in May of last year and on one of the rivers there were grey wagtails playing 'catch me if you can' up and down for ages - lovely to see. The males were a vivid yellow. Never seen them that bright before, but that was them in peak breeding plumage.
 
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Not long back from holiday in Cyprus where I took these pics - not too sure what the second one is.

(Thought my laptop had given up the ghost however turns out I was trying to charge it with the plug switched off. :( Hence no photos for a while! )



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Not the best image ever to grace these forums but just to show as it may be my first sighting of one (knowingly) unless someone corrects me. Happy for that to happen if I've got it wrong but this looks potentially like a water pipit to me.

Anyone?

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Finally manage to get out to the reserve with my camera today only to get a phone call meaning I had to leave, next time
phone is staying in the car

Pair of cormorants enjoying the sun


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and a female reed bunting

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I was wondering why the first Teal shot is more to my liking than the second because it's facing right rather than the left as in the second shot. I took them re. the reflection. The water was like a glass surface yesterday.
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Same spot..female Mallard preening.
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Another for the reflection. Pintail
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It was really cold so I went into a warm observation lounge for lunch and took this shot of two Bewicks looking at what, I don't know but it looked quite funny.
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Wigeon. Taken yesterday at Slimbridge. Looks like a pairing underway. I was standing still at one point and a pigeon flew onto my head from behind me and stayed there until someone shooed it off. Lol. I didn't realise they did that. I was wearing my beannie hat at the time.
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