30-November-2014

Just a couple of pics today. This kestrel is almost a constant companion when you stand on the mound. Im hoping it gets used to the human shape as it never comes very close.

28-November-2014

What no birds!! Yep a little walk around Carshalton today. Popped into the church and Honeywood the local museum. Its well worth a visit i have to admit.

24-November-2014

Finally felt like the winter had turned up today. A ground frost for a good 30 mins and a little bite to the air. had a Great White Egret fly over, thats my 4th for the year. A nice red kite rushed through being chased by crows and a good flock of 80+ Linnets

18-November-2014

Good light this morning and a fair bit or patience got me quite close to the Meadow Pipit flock. There are 40+ birds on the mound, but i failed to id any adult birds using the coverts.

11-November-2014

A quick visit to the farm today to see if i could finally photograph the Phal. Initial hopes were blown away as i walked through the gate. The people in charge had decided to mow flat the mounds. They were looking in such good condition for the winter, and now just look like a country park - amazing that they have no concept of conservation. So with a heavy heart i went round to the hide and there in front of the reeds was the phalarope. Set up camera and the sun goes in !!!!

3rd November 2014

Lesson learnt!!

Sitting in the hide today and Frankie picked up a Short Eared Owl high to the East. With the rain starting to pour down it was obvious that this owl wasnt going to leave and was looking for a place to land. The corvids and gull did their usual job of trying to scare the bird off ( this is why owls don't settle ). I made the decision to leg it onto the mound incase it went down on the top. Eventually the owl flew past at head height and within spitting distance, but being a twat i had set the camera up and with the rain pouring down the light levels were shocking. So firing away at 160th of a second proved costly in regards to the photo quality.. Its Normally at this point when a photographer would say " This is a record shot ", but alas this was just bad practice on my part lol.