Wheatear

A very windy early afternoon saw me walking along Swansea seafront. Dodging the fallen trees, I saw a half-dozen Swallows flitting overhead, as well as a migrant Wheatear sheltering from the gales on a grass verge. It was quite approachable, but of course I don't have my big lens with me. I returned home to watch some snooker (can't miss Ronnie O'Sullivan!), and came out again later with my camera gear to see if the Wheatear was still around. I eventually located it a few hundred yards along the promenade, on the grass opposite St. Helen's. I tried a few shots with my 500mm lens attached to 1.4x and 1.7x converters, resting my camera on a beanbag on the ground for support:

I got a few strange looks from passing cyclists as I lay face down on the wet grass (but, with a face like mine, I get some strange looks at the best of times, so I'm quite used to it!):

It soon began raining, and got darker still, meaning I was down to a 1/2 second exposure at ISO 1600 (which is pushing it a bit on my 40D) for this shot:

I might head down to see if it's still there tomorrow, but my experience with Wheatears suggests they don't hang around long when passing through on migration, so I don't hold out much hope of it still being around.