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Sunday 4 May 2014

Nightingale

My first Nightingale images.
It is quite frustrating standing around listening to a Nightingale singing, which can only be two metres from your position and you cannot see it, no matter how hard you try. This is quite normal for me during April and May.

In the Woodland/Grassland Reserve that I visit regularly, this year there are quite a number of Nightingale. 

I know most of the locations where I would expect to hear them, so it was a surprise to find one in a different area and even more so that I could actually see it in the undergrowth. The light was poor, but I just took as many shots as I could and thankfully a few where suitable enough to post. 





NB: You may be interested to know that the Reserve is one that John Clare (the Poet) walked regularly and is just a couple of miles from where he was born and lived. Clare was the first person to record details of many of the birds, plants and wildlife on what is now a Nature Reserve managed by Natural England.

Clare wrote "The Shepherds Calander".
In the verses pertaining to April there is a line:

"And to thy ripen'd blooming bowers the Nightingale belongs;
And singing to thy parting hours, keeps night awake with songs."

You may have heard of the song "A Nightingale sang in Berkeley Square."
I was amused when I walked by Berkeley Square in London once. 
I tended to think that a Nightingale was likely to die from Nitrogen Oxide poisoning with all the car fumes rather than sing. {:))

28 comments:

  1. It's my first Nightingale, too!! Thanks for sharing such interesting images!

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  2. An excellent set Roy, of a difficult bird to capture on camera. A real beauty.

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    All the best.
    Ana Freire and Jorge Gonçalves.

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    1. Thanks Ana for your visit and kind comments.

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  4. Hey Roy... This bird reminds me of our thrush's back to in color and size, but very much like the Mockingbird here who sings during the night !!
    You have very nice shot's of it with good view of the complete bird even though he likes to remain hidden!!

    Clare had that right about the N.O. poisoning!! When I see someone jogging or running in the city limits I think good for the heart, but what about your lungs!!

    Grace

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    1. Thanks GG. Definitely not good for the lungs.

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  5. Excellent! I've heard them but not seen them before. That is a great shot Roy :-)

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  6. Wonderful images, Roy. I have many a bird in the bushes that have given me frustration. It is always interesting to step back and look at how birds have influenced our culture and literature. I always think of Romeo and Juliet debating whether it was a Lark or Nightingale singing.

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    1. Thanks Steve.
      Could have easily been both.?

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  7. Thanks to our modern age, I can find the reference for the memory that these images sparked of freshman English class when Romeo wonders if he should take off or stay longer and get busted.

    JULIET
    1 Wilt thou be gone? it is not yet near day:
    2 It was the nightingale, and not the lark,
    3 That pierced the fearful hollow of thine ear;
    4 Nightly she sings on yon pomegranate-tree:
    5 Believe me, love, it was the nightingale.

    ROMEO
    6 It was the lark, the herald of the morn,
    7 No nightingale. Look, love, what envious streaks
    8 Do lace the severing clouds in yonder east.
    9 Night's candles are burnt out, and jocund day
    10 Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops.
    11 I must be gone and live, or stay and die.

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    1. Thanks for that cultural moment Steve.{:))

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  8. Simply fantastic Roy, I am green with envy :-)

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  9. You must have felt one of the luckiest man on earth being able to take a picture of this lovely creature.
    Thank you for sharing,
    Sjerp

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    1. Thanks Sjerp, it was a bit unbelievable to start with.{:))

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  10. Well captured Roy, they don't usually show this well, you made good your opportunity!...[;o)

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    1. Thanks Trevor.
      I couldn't believe I was seeing it to start with and it wasn't even singing so it was a very looking sighting.

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  11. Even if the light was bad, this is a great chance to see the Nightingale.
    Extraordinary. And the pictures are beautiful ! Bravo Roy

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  12. Fantastic photos, Roy. It is such a difficult bird to see - let alone take photos as good as these. As I mentioned on your last post, I've never been able to take a decent photo of one. This year I've only glimpsed them again, and haven't seen one singing. But I've been listening to them and their beautiful song - wonderful!

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    1. Thanks Wendy.
      There are plenty about this year, a lot more than normal.

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  13. Wonderful captures of a bird I don't think I have seen or even heard.

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    1. Thanks Lyn, you have probably heard it without realising it was a a Nightingale .

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  14. I thought you had to be in Berkley Square to see these ??

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