Garden stuff: One of the Grey Squirrels that eat a good amount of my bird food; one of my favourites - a Long-tailed Tit; a shy female Blackcap playing hide-and-seek.
Still six Purple Sandpipers present at Windy Corner (I am amazed at this picture - a moving object, taken at 4:30pm in the shade on a north-facing dark rock platform ISO 800, f/5.6, 1/40th sec, hand held - it shows that the Canon lens is pretty good indeed).
30 January 2010
A few local birds. Top: the long-staying Red-crested Pochard at Wrafton Pond; an Ilfracombe Black Redstart that was just as annoyingly mobile as they always are; Bottom: a fairly dodgy photo of a Curlew at Fremington Quay.
23 January 2010 - Taw Estuary (Isley Marshes RSPB)
Five of the six Spoonbills that have been wintering here gave a nice fly-past before heading east. (The sixth one was still asleep in the marsh).
17 January 2010 - Ilfracombe
Male Black Redstart on top of a tall building taken from a long way away.
16 January 2010 - Saunton Down, Devon
Another record shot of mainly grey sea, but this time it's my second tick of the year - Velvet Scoter.
13 January 2010 - Capstone, Ilfracombe
Harbour Porpoise are not quite guaranteed off Ilfracombe, but out of the last 6 times I've looked for them I've seen them 4 times and within a couple of minutes. Around high tide seems to be the best time - today they were pretty close in (no requirement for bins).
8 January 2010 - Ilfracombe
The cold brings loads of thrushes into town. The Redwing above was chased out of the ivy by the Song Thrush below. Also, weirdly, there has been an influx of Lapwings into the town which have been very active in flight and reported in people's gardens! Until this week, I had never seen Lapwing in Ilfracombe.
5 January 2010 - Ilfracombe
An Oystercatcher where the Purple Sandpipers used to be.
3 January 2010 - Ilfracombe
With the Harbour Porpoises being too far out to photograph today, these common birds take the limelight - Pied Wagtail and Herring Gull (first winter).
2 January 2010 - Velator Quay, Devon
This Water Pipit is my first tick of the year. Below: Kingfisher - not photographically great but the first one I've nailed so it gets a look in here.
Croyde (Baggy Point)
It turns out that the boot of my C4 Picasso makes for a great hide - the Jackdaw below landed just outside the 3m minimum while I was eating a snack so I just had to photograph it! With glimpses of both Black Redstart and Dartford Warbler here this morning, 2010 has really kicked off!
1 January 2010 - Fremington Quay, Devon
Above: A few slightly less common waders to start off 2010's Year List... a narcissistic Grey Plover, Spotted Redshank and (in flight) Greenshank. Below: Curlew. All of these birds were quite distant but I like the golden January afternoon light in all the pictures I took today. I had hoped for sharper Curlew pics but it's given me a New Year Resolution - take the tripod!
