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Tuesday 23 December 2014

A Dull Day - or so I thought.

A walk on an extremely dull day.

With binoculars and a camera for scene shooting only, I ventured out for what turned out to be not quite such a dull day. I was only intending to observe birds rather than photograph them. This of course has its risks, because 'Sods Law' dictates that you will always see something of interest that you could have photographed if you had taken your camera with you. 

With the high winds I did not expect to find much in the way of birds and if I wanted to take scenes it was going to be tricky requiring lots of over exposure.

Most of the scenes reveal that Winter has well and truly taken hold with bare trees, dead foliage, muddy fields and soiled water that showed by the colour the extent of recent rainfall.







I met a local Birding colleague who was searching for the Stonechat that I and others had seen recently.

It was not long before we found the little bird who was still in the same area. Hopefully, it will remain for the Winter period and we get to see it often. I then carried on with my walk and 'Sods Law' was about to come into play.

As already stated, I did not have with me a camera and long lens used for bird shooting. The scene below was shot from a small bridge (known as Swallow Bridge).
When I arrived at the bridge I looked up this water course and just on the first brown stalks to the right was a perched Kingfisher. To my surprise it didn't move straight away like normal. I could (if I had the right camera) have taken at least 10 shots before it flew off up stream. It landed on the opposite side of the stream on the distant, but visible left corner. It was then joined immediately from the other direction by another Kingfisher. Subsequently they both flew off upstream. I had received reports previously from other Birding colleagues about Kingfishers frequenting this location.





To end, a shot of the edge of a field where Winter Wheat is already showing through the soil. 
See below.


16 comments:

  1. Hi roy. That is a lovely place for a walk and yo see rids. Pity you didn't have your big lens with you. Do I see a Heron in the sixth shot? Anyway, the shots of the countryside are really beautifully lite.

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    1. Thanks Margaret, yes that Heron sits there quite often.

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  2. sometimes it's nice to just watch the birds without the "pressure" of a camera!

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  3. Hopefully you'll have another opportunity to capture Kingfisher but I guess the lost opportunity hurts. Under such conditions I always try to think that our lives are richer than the moments having been kept with our cameras but sometimes it's cold comfort... Winter looks similarly here at the moment, more like spring, even sun showed up today. Yet it's Christmas tomorrow and I'm looking forward to it! Merry Christmas to you and your family. :)

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  4. I'm sure the birds, and animals, can tell when we haven't got the 'right' gear with us Roy and then just to rub it in they take the mick by sitting up in a perfect pose!
    Never mind, you still came home with a great set of winter scenes and perhaps next time 'Sods Law' will be a thing of the past and you'll strike it lucky with those Kingfishers?...[;o)

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    1. Thanks Trevor, yes you are right for sure. I think they even know which make of camera you have especially when they give a derisory look about the inadequacies of your kit.{:))

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  5. Hoe dan ook het zijn gewoon mooie foto,s van de winter van nu.

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  6. Hi Roy, found your blog through Gunilla's. It looks good. Super bird photos, and the same sort of getting out and exploring that I like. Look forward to following you.

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  7. Just popping by to thank you for all these beautiful photographs throughout the year Roy. Always such a pleasure to visit. Merry Christmas!

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  8. Beautiful scenes, even on a dull day your photography makes everything look fabulous. Great that you got to see the kingfishers, but of course we all know about sod's law! :-)

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  9. This is very nice to see. The flow of water and the trees and landerijene there you have very nice photographed it. Class.

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