Langset Moor

Just when you think you're getting the hang of this photography lark, a dark brown bird appears on the bright white snow and you're buggered!

Just had the Sigma 70-300mm with me for a walk round Langset reservoir last weekend and there we're Red Grouse popping up all over the place, often not too far away. The problem was getting the exposure right.

I've fiddled with these two shots in Picasa but unless snow starts falling a different colour, I think a new approach will be needed next time.




Paul.

Potteric Carr Nature Reserve

Yesterday we managed to mix one of Debbie's favourite pass times with a spot of bird photography by visiting Lakeside Shopping Centre in Doncaster followed by our first ever visit to Potteric Carr Nature Reserve.

I know I keep going on about the weather but there has been a distinct lack of sunshine and like the rest of our week off it's been cloudy and cold.

We trundled off through the woods, looking out for the Great Spotted Woodpecker we were told about by the friendly staff at the visitor centre. No sign of any Woodpeckers, just a couple of trains whizzing by. We didn't have time to take in all of the reserve, it's a much bigger place than I'd imagined, but we checked out all the hides along the shorter route and got some distant shots of various ducks.

After stopping at the field centre for a nice hot cup of coffee, we opened the door to the hide overlooking the feeding station and were totally blown away by the number of different birds and just how close were.

A Jay appeared from nowhere on the feeding table and a little later, Debbie spotted a Woodpecker through the trees which I could barley make out. Just as I changed to manual focus to try to get a shot, it vanished and appeared on the birch feeding post right in front of us!

Debbie was bouncing of the walls with excitement and I think I've got her hooked now. We'll be signing up for the annual membership on our next visit, which I don't think will be long!

























Apologies for the number of images, I got a bit carried away sat in that hide! Here's one more shot which Debbie got with her Canon Powershot G9 and I think it's fantastic..



Paul.

Thyberg Country Park

The weather still isn't up to much, cloudy and freezing but at least it's dry. This morning we went for a stroll round Thyberg Country Park in Rotherham. I think I went years ago and I seem to recall it was freezing on that day too.

It's a lovely place but a bit bracing in the cold wind, stand around too long to identify the little brown jobs in the hedges and you risk turning blue.

The highlight of the visit was a Goldeneye, some distance out for the Sigma 70-300mm lens to capture but at least you can tell what it is. I also struck lucky, finding a Great Crested Grebe nesting on an island not too far out, got a few shots off before frost bite started setting in.

I think it might be worth a return visit, but not until it's 20 degrees warmer!











Paul.

Lunchtime Birding

We're on holiday from today and we were going to head off to a country park we've not been to before. Disappointingly the weather is rubbish, drizzle, fog and the promise of heavy rain later.

So, no new pictures from me today but here's a picture Debbie caught on her mobile at work. The car park is regularly visited by Long Tailed Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Dunnock, Robin and Bull Finch. The Long Tailed Tits seem to be especially friendly and occasionally sit on the wing mirror, tapping on the window.



Debbie has been putting out peanuts and fat balls for them for a while now and she's getting a better variety of birds there than we get in the garden.

Paul.

Practice In The Garden

It's been a lovely day today, the only reason we've not been out for a walk somewhere is because we were up late on the loopy juice last night. I've been out in the garden and rescued the bird bath that's been on it's side since we had the strong winds the other week. With severe gales forecast tonight, I've dug the base into the soil about a foot down. The water might only be two feet off the ground but at least it's not going anywhere tonight.

After I'd got the bird bath sorted out, a solitary Starling settled down in the tree patiently waited while popped back in to get the camera.



I set up the tripod a few yards away from the feeders and tried out a few tips I've read about over the last week:

Don't zoom to the full 500mm.
Use f8 rather than f6.
Actualy remember to check what the iso is set to.

The local Goldfinch crazy gang turned up to help me out with a few practice shots which saved me from the embaresment of the fourth tip, putting a soft toy in a tree!



For the most part, everything came out pretty sharp but that may have been more to do with the welcome sunshine than anything else.

Paul.

RSPB Old Moor

Given the howling wind over the weekend we elected to visit RSPB Old Moor on Sunday so we could at least escape the cold in the hides.

It's the first time I've not resorted to sports mode, sticking with aperture priority all the way and it wasn't without it's problems.

One problem is the camera, the lovely Nikon D50 only shows the iso setting on the top lcd screen and even then only if you hold in the button which is fiddly when balancing a large lens.

The other problem was the light, sunny all morning and as soon as we got there, the clouds rolled in! I tried iso 400, 800 and even 1600 and eventually just about got the shots I was after.

The lakes were great but the highlight of the visit was the feeding garden where the variety of birds on offer was amzaing and I got my long awaited shot of a Long Tailed Tit!





















Paul.