Spring is in the Air

Wonderful to hear a couple of Skylarks trilling away at Trumpington Meadows - not enough for the collective  'Exultation of larks' but still enough to raise the spirits. Plenty of other activity among the rooks, waterbirds, gulls and jackdaws

Bradgate Final Day

Just a few final images from Monday's visit to Bradgate. I was looking for different behaviour images and was intrigued by this Fallow Stag that repeatedly reached up to try and get at the foliage. The Jackdaws busy removing ticks etc from the Fallow deer were tolerated until they tried into the ears. The light was awful so Red Deer images not best quality but enjoyed watching the sparring etc.

Bradgate Park: Birds

Although most photographers go to Bradgate for the deer, especially in the autumn, there are plenty of birds to snap. Starting with the shyer species - Grey Heron, Buzzard, Jackdaw and Pied Wagtail. Jackdaws are born with blue-grey eyes. Their irises change to brown in the first winter and white once they gain their adult plumage. The Black Headed Gulls and Mallard ducks gave plenty of opportunities for 'action' shots as well as portraits.

Birds Return As the Tide Recedes

We left it a bit too long after the hide tide to take a walk along The Walls at Manningtree so most of the birds were a fair distance away except for this Black-tailed Godwit collecting small animals on the shingle close to us. The camouflage is so good it was hard to see without going in close with the lens. The Turnstones and Jackdaws were much more confiding and Black-headed Gulls, Lesser Black-Backed Gulls and Redshank also showed.

My Latest Project - the Toilet-Tent Hide

I had long planned to set up a hide in the garden to photograph birds at our feeder but couldn't afford the prices of professional hides, so here we introduce you to the budget hide - a pop-up toilet tent (£18) with some old camouflage netting to cover the lens window. The birds are amazingly tolerant of its presence - even the very wary young Jackdaws.