Blue Tit

These were taken in the park on March 2nd:

An Hour in the Park

A few shots from yesterday in Singleton Park, Swansea.

A bit dark in this wooded area opposite the Ornamental Gardens, so shutter speeds were low and ISOs high, but I managed a few shots, albeit some of them are a bit grainy.

A Magpie showing of its iridescence:

I caught this Blue Tit in a quirky pose:

A squawking sound in the canopy alerted me to the presence of this Ring-necked Parakeet - the first time I've seen it in a few months, and in exactly the tree in which I saw it for the first time:

Nuthatches were keen to come down for the peanuts I put down for them, although it was difficult to get a shot without a nut in their mouth:

This Robin would probably been better in a vertical composition, but I didn't have time to turn my camera round:

A couple more Blue Tits to finish:



Park- and Shore-birds

I went into the Botanic Gardens in Singleton Park for half-an-hour or so before they closed this afternoon.

Here are a few of the shots I took:-

Blue Tit:

Coal Tit:

Male Chaffinch:

Robin:

Magpie:

After the gardens closed, I walked along the seashore to Blackpill, where it was high tide. Here, there was the usual large gathering of Oystercatchers; smaller numbers of Curlews; a handful of Ringed Plovers and Dunlins; half-a-dozen Knots; and a flock of several hundred Sanderlings, of which this was part:

Birds in the Park

This lunchtime, I went down into my local park with my camera, and a bag of peanuts to feed the birds. Here are some of the results.

Blue Tit:

Robin:

Male Chaffinch:

Another Robin:

Female Blackbird:

Nuthatch:

I then tried taking a few backlit, 'contre-jour', pictures.

Great Tit:

Nuthatch:

Eventually, I managed a shot of the fast-moving Coal Tit:



A Walk in the Park

Early yesterday evening, I walked down to the Ornamental Gardens in Singleton Park, where I thought I heard a familiar-sounding screeching coming from the woods. I followed my ears, and discovered the Ring-necked Parakeet sittting high in an oak tree, screaming and preening, opposite a large hole which it was no doubt hoping to use as a nest hole. Very little chance of the poor fellow attracting a female, I thought!

Anyway, I returned again this evening with my photographic equipment, hoping to capture some photos of this unusual bird. I saw the parakeet whizzing around with some Magpies a couple of times, but was unable to find him perched anywhere close enough for some pictures.

Once again, I had to use the everyday species for some photographic subjects. This Robin came to my picnic table to obtain some peanut crumbs, and took some off to feed his mate:

I liked the background on this backlit shot:

The backlighting on this willow catkin also appealed to me:

My 500mm lens doubled as a macro lens for this shot:

Wood Pigeons must be one of our most beautiful, and yet under-appreciated, birds. The tame ones in the park afford great opportunities for attempting to capture their beauty:

Ditto the Blue Tit. What a stunning-looking bird:

Finally, a shot of the burgeoning flower buds of a Horse Chestnut tree, rimlit by the now low-angled evening sunlight:

How lucky I am to have such a great green space to escape to right on my doorstep!