Saturday, 27 February 2010

Tales of the unexpected.

Not a lot of pictures for two days birding and what there is are really only record shots, from quite a distance, but one bird from yesterday and another today were unexpected.
Obviously the whereabouts of Cirl Buntings is quite sensitive and we came across this one in
a flock of 200-300 Chaffinches.



Spring must be on the way as we saw several Bumble Bees, this Small Tortoieshell and what
we think is a Muslin Moth Caterpillar.
FRIDAY:
Started at Poltesco and flushed at least 5 Woodcock. In the bay were 7 Great Northern Divers and 1 Red Throated.
We spotted the Hen Harrier while driving past Goonhilly Downs and I took these very distant shots from the car. By the time we had parked up and walked onto the moor, it was gone.
As most of you know I have been struggling with flight shots. Having followed Steve Roger's advice, I am starting to improve (I think), but as the blue sky will tell you, I forgot to alter the iso's. Good job it wasn't something rare. Sue

Posted by at
Labels: , ,

18 comments:

  1. Bob Bushell27 February 2010 at 19:29

    Really nice pictures.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Chris27 February 2010 at 19:40

    I think that your flight shots are very good! Well done on the cirl bunting, I think I've seen this guy only once in France. Quite hard to get pictures of it and you got it singing!!! A beautiful post once again.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Bobbster27 February 2010 at 20:35

    Great post, excellent capture on the singing Cirl Bunting. The buzzards shots just need a slight increase in exposure, almost there.

    ReplyDelete
  4. holdingmoments27 February 2010 at 21:18

    Great find with the Cirl Bunting, and great shot too.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sam and Lisa27 February 2010 at 21:32

    excellent birding in lean times, I like the Cirl and the male Hen H is brill.
    Sam

    ReplyDelete
  6. Bennyboymothman27 February 2010 at 22:06

    Hi there
    I thinbk your cat maybe a Ruby Tiger... well spotted, I also like the very well focused Small Tort!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous27 February 2010 at 22:33

    Hello, it´s a pleasure to see this blog, great photo work, amazing photos, thank´s for sharing.
    All the best, have a nice day.

    José Filipe

    ReplyDelete
  8. KaHolly27 February 2010 at 23:14

    Being from away, your posts are always so educational for me! I'd love to add some of your birds to my lifelist. ~karen

    ReplyDelete
  9. KaHolly27 February 2010 at 23:15

    PS, What WAS Steve's advice about photographing birds on the wing?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Montanagirl28 February 2010 at 14:20

    Ya, what was Steve's advice? I have trouble with birds on the wing as well. I'll check back later and see if you left any good tips via Steve.

    ReplyDelete
  11. FAB28 February 2010 at 20:03

    Good detail on the Buzzard despite the settings Sue. I'm still waiting to get close enough to a Hen Harrier even for a record shot. Well done.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Bill S.1 March 2010 at 02:24

    Beautiful pictures of the flying birds. Good luck in finding more of them.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Terence Ang1 March 2010 at 11:02

    Nice shot of the raptors. Love it alot.

    ReplyDelete
  14. ShySongbird1 March 2010 at 13:58

    Lovely photo of the singing Cirl Bunting, I have never seen one. Great to see a butterfly so early in the year, no sign here yet and I don't think there will be for a while.

    ReplyDelete
  15. jowan1 March 2010 at 18:03

    For the record is it possible to have a grid or site for the Small Tortoiseshell? Three species seen so far in Cornwall. Red Admiral, Peacock and Small Tort. Small White and Brimstone seen elsewhere
    Cheers
    John
    Cornwall Butterfly Recorder

    ReplyDelete
  16. swopticsphoto2 March 2010 at 14:27

    Hi Sue - nice shots of the Hen Harrier - the flight shots of the Buzzard require the exposure to be raised to plus 1, (not the ISO), then the camera meter will expose correctly against the bright sky. Basically, the bright sky tells the meter to darken down, thus everything looks black. You have to fool the meter and raise it upwards!

    ReplyDelete
  17. JRandSue2 March 2010 at 19:21

    Thanks everyone for your comments,thank you Steve for your advice.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Jorge Sousa7 March 2010 at 21:31

    Great blog! Congratulations from Portugal. Jorge Sousa www.ibernatur.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)