Archived & Upcoming Images of the Day
New camera setup in trial brought us a regular sight for us but not often included in these pages because they rarely frequent the ground level sites. These are Tree Sparrows - an endangered species we are delighted to have breeding profusely on our little patch. Genuine single exposure - all 'one peck apart'.
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This pair of collared doves were 'playing' in the wind at sunset with the orange sunlight 'playing' over them.
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We saw the full moon just rising at the East horizon just as the sun set in the West, and we alternated a few pics. These successive frames have them both sitting on our horizon. First the setting sun.
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And now the rising moon, with vastly different camera settings. The orange moon is not being 'lit' by the locally orange sun, but is the same atmospheric effect that make the sun look orange.
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Isn't it strange how you can tell this is attraction and not threat as these robins continue to court.
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Can't resist the inevitable image of frogs mating. Basically a one day event in an area of 'Round pond' recently cleared of overhanging branches to let the light, and consequently sun's warmth, reach the water.
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A different buzzard to 'usual' visitors flew over the brook to the north. This is a montage of 3 frames at about 8 frames/second accurately positioned by aligning the background details in each image - not usually possible against the sky.
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A new 'breed' of camera (Casio EX-F1) can store good quality pictures at high speed until you tell it to stop. Just right for catching action you know will happen but don't know when.
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Doesn't this rook look like a teenage lad feeling proud of the pretty girl he has taken to the cafe?
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A piece of behaviour we have not seen/noticed before is the male
mallard duck helping the hungry female (eating to make eggs) by
stiring up the water with his feet but not feeding himself.
Note the bubbles as she (left) filters food out of the water and
ripples around him (right) as he paddles like mad keeping still.
The cooperation between mallard males and females breeding on a
quiet pond contrast markedly with the disgraceful frenzies at
over-populated public park lakes.
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The 'small' raptors have been in short supply lately so this male kestrel seen across the fields to the north was a welcome sight. The female has also been spotted - unfortunately being harassed by jackdaws and rooks.
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First close flyover of a heron this year, so we have montaged 2 images less than a second apart to celebrate. Not that the frogs and newts will be pleased when he/she spots them in the pond.
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We don't know what the bird on the right was, but love the acrobatic attack.
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A slightly belligerent looking male chaffinch watches us watching him in an Ash tree. With the pink front, blue beak and green back, if it was a few times the size and unusual, even non-twitchers would travel miles for a glimpse.
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We seem to have a number of pairs of collared doves. This pair visited one of the photo sites and took their portraits.
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A robin coming in to land on the log at site 2
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Male chaffinch taking off from site 1. Note the distinctly blue beak the males develop in the breeding season
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'More grub than I could eat in a week!'
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Buzzards are occasionally circling over our patch making use of the updraft from the North wind to gain height. First the classic hanging in the air view.
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And then a view that really makes it clear that this bird is a hunter.
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Some sort of skirmish between a robin & chaffinch male. A minute or so later a chaffinch was back feeding so we assume the exchange was short lived.
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We see a field vole at this site perhaps a couple of times a week, but usually out of focus at the back triggered by something else.
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The Hazel catkins know it's time to go regardless of the snow.
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The melting of the snow has brought back the fieldmice.
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The snow seems to have brought the redwings back into view.
Brrrr
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A less than usually nervous Pied wagtail spent quite a while paddling and pecking the wet ground under the icy melt water.
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Here it is wading in the inch of so deep 'stream' running along vehicle ruts.
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Our first ever photo of a Snipe. The area round this automatic camera was saturated with running melt water - just right to attract this mud probing bird. We rate this the most unexpected image at this site since Kestrel with Mouse (click to view) back in Feb 2007.
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About 200 sheep feeding in the adjacent field have attracted Lapwing. Here one of the flocks flying overhead
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A couple of days after the above one of the Lapwing got sufficiently used to us standing at the corner that we could get this pic. We had not realised their feathers contained so much colour.
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A chance flyover of a shag right over the house.
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A visit from a healthy looking fox only just after dark.
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We startled this barn owl from one of our fence posts, which then proceeded hawk the area for 10 minutes or so. Of hundreds of images we managed to get, here is our initial view.
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It didn't seem too bothered by our presence, and flew by close enough for a 'portrait'.
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The owl spent some time 'hopping' along the fence posts 70m or so to our North. Not ideal for good images, but we rather like this sequence probably lasting about 1 second in real time.
Elegant Dunnock on icy snow.
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Brrr. Its presumably colder to let the cold air in shaking it off than leaving it!
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