Whoopers

in the dire light conditions I just tried a few shots to maybe get something different on the Whoopers -- at least it got me out of the house for a few hours

Turnstones

some of the 440 Turnstones at New Holland on this morning's tide; getting the tide, the sun and the birds together seems to be impossible!

dull dull and duller

it seems like the weather has been dire here for weeks but maybe its only one week -- last night at midnight there was a clear sky and it was -6C; dashed out this morning at dawn to the usual 100% cloud cover, murk, mist and dreary dullness; two different manipulations of a Mute Swan in the murk; one noisy and contrasty the other cleaned up and lightened -- 

Cormorant

struggling for any birds locally at the moment -- need a trip somewhere inspiring

Steppe Grey Shrike flight shot

I had not previously posted this shot of the Steppe Grey Shrike in flight, showing all the relevant ID characters,  ---

It has just been published in Dutch Birding Vol 30 No6 p427 -- Dutch birding continues to be one of the best Bird Journals in Europe and uses only the best quality photographic paper so the published images are at their best; at 30 pa for 6 bumper issues it should be a must for all birders -- 

check it out at the DB website

http://www.dutchbirding.nl/

Stormcock, double glazing and glazed AF

a long story originating with a cork tipped shuttlecock my camera eye, a possible detached retina, hospitals and eye drops and glazed vision ending up with dark glasses looking out of the living room window and trying to decide whether the creamy blob on the house roof across the road was in fact a Mistle Thrush - it was and descended with its mate to chase off the Blackbirds from the berry laden bush -- I was almost tempted to get the camera out when amazingly one of the Mistles flew across the road and landed on the small cotoneaster right outside my room window; the photos are testament to the AF of the 1DIIN and the 300 2.8 and the quality of our double glazed windows as I couldn't see if anything was in focus and left it all to the camera and hope! 

And hopefully all is well with the eye 

odds and sods 17.12

a fine and sunny day but restricted by teeth and eyes! more above -- local bird photography was of low reward but some images of Fieldfare even if not the ones I wanted

thrushes

 a big arrival of Redwings and FF here at the weekend but are they flighty! 5 Waxwings but even they are flighty being associated with the thrushes

male Goldcrest

life is hard for tiny insectivores in weather like this -- thick gorse provides shelter and internal heat plus food

Robin

a real wild forest Robin not a tame garden specimen -- the adoption of the car wheel arch was pure survival tactics on a rather frosty day

Lapwing Green Plover

the old english name is always more suitable on a day with light as beautiful as today

Ringed Plovers

a scarce winter bird at Pywipe, only 27 today, so finding a colour ringed bird was quite interesting; it proved to be a breeding bird ringed at Snettisham in the summer of 2008

Black-tails

still 2500 in their favoured Humber winter site at Pywipe but amazingly 5 new colour ringed birds today out of 18 birds recorded taking my tally to 168 colour ringed individuals since 1995!

Sparrowhawk

maybe not as good as they looked on the back of the camera but an unexpected success as I tried to stalk a pair of fighting Mistle Thrushes

Water / Rock littoralis?

a single Water Pipit at a regular site (as elusive and flighty as ever lower two pin pricks) plus this Rock Pipit -- is it me or does this look different enough to British birds to be a littoralis; all the birds that remain here to early March are usually littoralis