Small Bird Central - 2 May 2013

Swithland woods just before it gets too crowded at bank holiday, was quiet and the car parks almost empty. Surprising then that at times it was like Piccadilly Circus with cars some leaving others arriving.

It didn't disturb the birds too much though and unusually it was a Coal tit that came to the stump first. It also broke its established habit by staying around for a while.

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It was followed by another tit, this time a Great tit ...

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he departed when a Robin turned up and appears to be leaping for joy at the sight of the table of food before him.

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The Chaffinch refused to go to the stump, he stayed on the ground and picked up anything that fell off.

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The Coal tit came back for more and again stayed there long enough to pose.

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I know some of my blog followers like Nuthatches (and why not) so here are a few of the next visitor, followed by one of it in a tree.

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The blue tit is always quick, he never waits around for long but I did get one shot of him.

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A movement in a tree nearby attracted my attention to this Coal tit puffing out his feathers.

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All taken on a; 

Canon EOS 7d, with an EF 100 - 400mm L series Zoom Lens.

Bradgate Park - 27 April 2013

We had a, not very, fruitful cycle through Bradgate Park, the deer were widespread in small groups, there was one large group of Reds but they were in the middle of a wide open space ant approach would have them moving away.

We did find some solitary fallow deer, the first having a good groom.

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Seemed a bit miffed at being watched.

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The next two seemed to be grazing, but the vegetation didn't seem very green for them

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The buildings in the park are quite interesting, for those outside Leicestershire, this is Lady Jane Grey's family home. There is a myth that when she was beheaded, for being queen of england for a few days, the woodsmen of the Charnwood cut off the tops of the Royal Oaks. But in fact the Oaks have been regularly coppiced for wood for the Navy etc. So any such protest would hardly have been noticed.

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Old John, on the hill behind the house, is now considered a folly. All sorts of suggestions have been made for its existence including that it was a mill and named after old John the miller.

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It's easy to see it is the wrong shape for a windmill and there is no water on top of the hill to drive a waterwheel, so I don't think that idea works. the apparent ruin at the left, is an illusion, inside those walls, a rock-face pretty well follows the angle of the walls, so nothing could have happened between them. I think they were built to look like a ruin.

All picture were taken with a 

Canon EOS7d with an EF 100 - 400mm, L series zoom lens.

Swithland woods and a persistent Nuthatch - 20 April 2013

Unusually the Great tit was the first bird to the stump this time, he chose one nut, then seemed to see the bigger nuts and spat out his first choice. His beak seemed to drop open at the size of the monkey nuts.

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But then after a good feel of the bigger nuts, he changed his mind and picked up his first choice again.

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The Robin arrived next and being more discerning,  chose the fat covered meal worm sections.

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The feisty Nuthatch arrived, but he seemed a little nervous and had a good look round ...

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... before selecting a nut ...

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and flying off with it.

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Blue Tits are always nervous, this one landed - took off again ...

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flew in a circle, then landed again.

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A Coal Tit was next, he took his time choosing but left when a Nuthatch arrived.

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The Nuthatch, decided to try his luck at the monkey nuts and ...

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Took some up into his tree ...

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... a branch had been removed from the tree (before it could fall down) and a couple of bits of bark were left sticking up. It was here that he placed them and tried to break into the outer shell ...

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... he gave us a few minutes of entertainment as he tried every thing he could ...

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... even a flying dive to put all his weight behind his beak ...

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... then he stopped to peruse the situation, before flying away ...

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... maybe to fetch help, but we had to leave then.

All taken with a 

Canon EOS 7d, with an EF 100 - 400mm L series Lens

The Dance of Love - 6 April 2013

Over the weekend we went to Watermead park again. Fortunately my back was hurting and I was forced to sit on a park bench at the end of one of the lakes.

I say fortunately because at some distance down the lake, in an area that is inaccessible to people, I saw some movement in the reeds at the edge of the water. I wasn't sure what it was, but at that distance it looked like something big, so I took the camera out and focussed on the movement.

What I saw was not something big but two Great Crested Grebe neck dancing. I've seen that many times, but I kept the camera on them in the hope that it would turn into the mating dance.

Then the male started to swim away with his neck stretched out as though he was chasing something under water. Soon I realised that the female was coming towards him from further out in the lake, she must have swum out under water and that was what he had been chasing.

Then something I've never seen live and always wanted to photograph started - the mating dance. It doesn't last long and I kept my finger on the shutter getting the whole thing in camera.

I have to apologise for the quality of the pictures this all happened at the extreme end of the lens range, to give an idea these pics are actually around on sixteenth of the total picture area, without the camera I could only see movement - not what was making it.

All taken on 

Canon EOS 7d, with EF 100-400mm L Lens

1/640 @ f7.1, iso 400, 400mm, 4 fps

feisty squirrel - 4 April 2013

Maja and I decided to go to Swithland Woods, hoping the Jay might show up again - or maybe something more rare. No such luck, there was the usual collection; Nuthatch, Dunnock, Coal tit etc.
A magpie was quite entertaining, particularly with the impression of the headless bird and for those of you who are superstitious, there was another Magpie in the trees - so as the song says "two for Joy" - I'll look forward to winning the lottery :o)

1/500 @ f7.1, iso 800, 235mm

Afterwards though it was time for a feed and he certainly didn't hold back at the table.

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Later this Squirrel came out and despite being a lot smaller, he wasn't giving way to the car, fortunately the driver had seen him.

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 He gave way eventually and went off into the woods.

All pictures taken on a Canon EOS 7d, with a Canon EF 100 - 400mm L series zoom lens.

Watermead car park - 27 March 2013

With my back giving me some gyp, I decided to set things up in the Watermead car park so I could stay seated in the car. We positioned the car about two and a half metres from a fence post and loaded the post top with wild bird food. I hadn't got back to my seat in the car before a Robin came and sat on the fence looking at me.

He obligingly hopped up to the post when I picked up my camera, the wind was lifting his feathers but he didn't seem to mind.

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A blue tit followed and though usually nervous and away before you can focus on them, this one posed for me.

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What followed was interesting, three female Blackbirds, all looking different, wanted to occupy the area around the post and a male was kept busy trying to chase two of them away. He was faithful but two of the females were determined to lure him away.

1/200  @ f7.1, 1600, 210mm 

This was the partner of the male trying to get a good feed.

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These two were the contenders who only had to show their faces for the male to chase them away.

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This handsome male was keeping watch in all directions for the usurpers.

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A Dunnock often found himself being chased off when the male blackbird caught a glimpse of his brown back and attacked before he was sure of his adversary.

1/160  @ f7.1, 1600, 400mm 

Great Tits are always a welcome and handsome sight and like the Blue Tits are often nervous, I only got this one picture of him and he was gone.

1/250  @ f7.1, 1600, 400mm 

Of course the Robin is the exact opposite, he is happy to pose and in this case sing while I took his picture.

All taken on my Canon EOS 7d with an EF100 - 400mm L series Lens.