Perches and light make the better shots

there is no substitute for nice light a nice background and a nice bird in combination -- we have been seriously spoilt in Lincs this month lets hope for an equally exciting winter

Steppe Grey ready for the off?

the bird has been wide ranging today and feeding almost continuously on beetles and other insects as well as the usual worm diet; although it was still present and perching within 3 feet of people at dusk the early evening was moonlit and I just wonder if it might make the jump tonight

light maketh the bird

or something like that -- some nice if brief afternoon light on the shrike today --pattern of outer tail feathers shown here -- I must write some descriptions of this bird

Steppe Grey Shrike on a better day

in spite of the wind and occasional showers the bird was much better looking today than in the rain on Saturday -- still munching earthworms at a rate of knots

Steppe Grey Shrike

in flight it is so distinct from Great Grey

shrike harassment

this bird clearly has no consideration for birders or cars and continues to harass them repeatedly; at one stage it disappeared under my engine and seemed to have gone up into it -on a serious note any car drivers approaching the site would do well to look closely for the bird on the road and verges to avoid running over it!

Desert Wheatear Saltfleet

in better light and now so much tamer than at the weekend it comes nearly as close as the shrike

Desert Wheatear Saltfleet 2

on a variety of perches and its little home with the corrugated roof

Desert Wheatear Saltfleet 3

Tundra Bean

the Tundra Bean was grazing in the field at Saltfleet until someone walked down the path and flushed it without even seeing the bird -- I suppose I should say thank you for the nice flight shots they gave me but a little better field craft would have been preferable

Tundra Bean and Glaucous

the second winter Glaucous Gull with the limp that has been cleaning up after the Grey Seals at Donna and the Tundra Bean (appears to be  a juvenile) at Saltfleet -- it was feeding nicely in a wet field until two ignorant dog walkers in florescent jackets decided they needed to flush it!