Thornton and Bradgate - 19 October 2012

A trip out to Thornton reservoir found little in the way of wildlife. There was a lone cormorant on a post but shielded from the camera by bare branches.
A large male mute swan trying to drown an juvenile, the young one had a neat trick to get away and something I've never seen a swan do before. When the adult jumped on top of him, he went down and swam under water for about twenty metres before resurfacing, he repeated this three times before another adult from the other side of the water came to his rescue. Unfortunately it was  too far away to get any photo's

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400 L Lens
1/160 @ f7.1, iso 1600, 235mm

On the way back to the car park we spotted this fungus, I cant find it in my books but it looked interesting.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400 L Lens
1/1600 @ f7.1, iso 1600, 400mm

I was about to get in the car when I saw this black headed gull in winter plumage and it seemed to be trying to tie itself in a knot.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400 L Lens
1/200 @ f7.1, iso 1600, 400mm

On the way home we were passing Bradgate Park and spotted this fungus at the side of the road. I think it might be a honey fungus.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400 L Lens
1/250 @ f7.1, iso 1600, 400mm

Looking over the wall we spotted these fallow deer. There was a large white stag as well but he was mostly hidden so I couldn't get a decent picture

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400 L Lens
1/500 @ f7.1, iso 1600, 400mm

The Rut must br near starting but we've not seen any signs yet.

A Couple of common birds 5 October 2012

There's still not much in the way of variety around, but here are a couple of birds I took the other day.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L lens
1/1000 @ f6.3, iso 800, 400mm

This one looks unusual, but a close look reveals it is a Mallard hybrid. The amount of different mallard Hybrids I see they must be the most promiscuous of birds.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L lens
1/2656 @ f6.3, iso 400, 100mm

I always like to see a Mute Swan at full sail, this one was trying to scare off the other birds from food that some children were throwing for them.

Look away now! 29 Sept 2012

If you don't like Hairy Creepy Crawlies

Look away Now!

We have a visitor who decided to set up home outside our back door, She/he has made a good job of his temporary home and seem s to be having a lot of success feeding himself.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm, L Lens
1/2000 @f 6.3, iso 1600, 400mm

It's a common, Garden Spider, but I do like the patterning on its back. it arrived a couple of days ago and seem settled in for a while.  it'll keep the flying nuisances down for a while.

Thornton Reservoir

My movement is a bit restricted at the moment and the few times I've been able to get out There hasn't been a lot of wildlife to see. So I thought you might enjoy this sequence shot at Thornton water a while ago.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400 L lens
1/400 @ 6.3, iso1600, 400mm

Watermead Park - 1 Sept 2012

As usual there wasn't much birdlife in evidence at the park, but I got to the "hole in the wall" hide just as this cormorant surfaced. I'm not sure what it has caught, but it seems to have quite a struggle swallowing it,

They were all taken on the same settings, using the Canon 7d with my ef 100 - 400mm lens at it's maximum length. The settings were: 1/1600 @ 6.3, iso 1600.
Sorry the quality isn't as good as I'd like, The light wasn't the best and I didn't have time for the niceties. I would have liked to drop the iso to 800 but didn't want to miss the action.

The Curse of the Sin Eater

My book "The Curse of the Sin Eater" is derived from a practice that actually existed and funereal practices that still exist in some parts of the world.

It is now available in paperback. 

Of course the Kindle/ebook version is still available.

Both can be purchased from Amazon.

Kirby Muxloe Castle - 24 August 2012

A quiet stroll round the castle between showers made a pleasant afternoon. As soon as we stepped out of the car we saw this bracket fungus on a tree in the middle of a field.

Canon EOS7d, EF 100 - 400mm L Lens
1/100 @ f6.3, iso 400, 400mm

The water-lillies were filling the corner of the moat, unfortunately most of them had their faces away from us, but there were a couple that presented their best aspect.

Canon EOS7d, EF 100 - 400mm L Lens
1/800 @ f6.3, iso 400, 400mm

A mallard, trekked across from an adjacent field, followed by her chicks,  and launched into the moat. Another late or second brood, there seem to be a lot about at the moment.

Canon EOS7d, EF 100 - 400mm L Lens
1/64 @ f6.3, iso 400, 400mm

Someone nearby started feeding the young chicks and it wasn't long before all the other Mallards took an interest, this male making a mess of his landing, a real splashdown.

Canon EOS7d, EF 100 - 400mm L Lens
1/200 @ f6.3, iso 400, 400mm

Finally a Heron showed itself, I have seen very few of them over the summer and this one was particularly devious. Every-time I got into position for a picture, it took off and landed further away. It took some chasing to get this one.

Canon EOS7d, EF 100 - 400mm L Lens
1/125 @ f6.3, iso 400, 400mm

Livelier time at Thornton - 7 August 2012

I haven't been to Thornton for a while, not since the water was well down. After all the rain recently the reservoir is back up to normal levels and the bird life, albeit common species, is collected around the car park area. This seems like a trend, at Watermead park, there is a crowd of birds at the southern end car park. Maybe they're all collecting in areas where they get fed, strangely their seems to be less blue/green algae in these areas as well.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L Lens
1/1600 @ 6.3, iso 800, 170mm

Someone throwing bread close by attracted the attention of a number of birds, but this coot was quickest off the starting blocks.

Next a CUTE ALERT!

I liked the unusual colours on this one, 

it stood out from its darker siblings.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L Lens
1/1328 @ 6.3, iso 800, 400mm

A Mallard, with a late brood of seven chicks, got mixed in with the general melee for food, and her chicks had to move quickly to avoid being hit by the bigger birds.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L Lens
1/500 @ 6.3, iso 800, 370mm

The mother of the chicks, probably feeling guilty for leaving them to fend for themselves, had a bit of a set to with another mallard when she got too close to her babies. The mother is the darker bird on the right of the picture.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L Lens
1/3200 @ 6.3, iso 800, 235mm

One late brood that had no problems were the four cygnets of the Mute Swan, no-one seemed to knock them about. The father chased off a group of domestic geese, just because they were white.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L Lens
1/400 @ 6.3, iso 800, 370mm

Something I have learned over the years is always keep watch behind you (eyes in the back of your head would be useful), I turned from the feeding frenzy to see this Dunnock feeding on the crumbs dropped by the bread throwers.

Watermead and Swthland - 1 August 2012

I think all the birds have migrated already and who could blame them. This rain is too much.

Sveral visits to various places and I haven't got much of interest, sometimes I don't see anything to take the camera out of its bag for.

At Watermead we saw a bit of a show by the Red Eyed Damselflies.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L lens
1/3200 @ 6.3, iso 800, 400mm

And two of them had a romantic interlude, interesting how different the colours are.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L lens
1/2000 @ 6.3, iso 800, 400mm

 A day later at Swithland Woods, I didn't see a single bird. It was a dry warmish day and I put some feed mix out in in the usual place, but only this squirrel responded. He was nearly at the feeding station when a dog and owner came past and he ran for cover.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L lens
1/200 @ 6.3, iso 1600, 400mm

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L lens
1/40 @ 6.3, iso 1600, 180mm

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L lens
1/640 @ 6.3, iso 1600, 210mm

Between the showers - 18 July 2012

Even when the rain stops for a couple of minutes there isn't much wildlife about, on a recent visit to Swithland Woods I didn't see a single bird.

A quick dive out to Watermead Park between showers and there were only swans and mallard on the water, that was only for a free feed.

Canon Eos 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L Lens
1/2656 @ f6.3, iso 1600, 390mm

Canon Eos 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L Lens
1/2656 @ f6.3, iso 1600, 400mm

Back in the car park a couple of magpies were in residence, I think they must have scared off anything else.

Canon Eos 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L Lens
1/125 @ f6.3, iso 1600, 400mm

But not much stops the Chaffinch and here she is having a good feed.

Canon Eos 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L Lens
1/160 @ f6.3, iso 1600, 400mm

Joy in Love 7 July 2012

My latest ebook is available on Amazon. I'm hoping to release it in Paperback by next weekend.
Also, now I have figured out how the Amazon price system works, I have reduced the price of most of my ebooks.

Watermead Saturday - 30 June 2012

There weren't many water birds about today, probably didn't like the wind. But in the car park, I put out some seed on the fence post and just had time to pick up my camera before the first Chaffinch arrived. That was a male, a female soon followed and another male. There followed a bit of a discussion about who should be feeding there.

Canon EOS 7d, EF100 - 400mm L lens
1/160 @ f6.3, iso 1600, 400mm

This was a later visitor and he arrived with what looks to be an Emerald Damselfly firmly clamped in it's beak, I suppose it wanted some meat with it's veg.

Canon EOS 7d, EF100 - 400mm L lens
1/80 @ f6.3, iso 1600, 400mm

The Great Tit went straight for the nuts when the chaffinch wasn't looking.

Canon EOS 7d, EF100 - 400mm L lens
1/80 @ f6.3, iso 1600, 400mm

And this malting Blue Tit wasn't too sure what to do, so it stood there looking scruffy.

Excalibur's Last Battle

My Latest Release

Now Available in Paperback

as well as ebook

From Amazon.co.uk/.com/and all euro countries

Swithland Woods - 19 June 2012

A tree stump in the car park at Swithland Woods, Leicestershire, attracts a good deal of wildlife, that's why I often feature it. Walking through the woods it's often hard to get decent pictures, but just sitting in the car, after spreading bird food on the stump is about as easy as it gets.

Below, the Great Tit gave an interesting display, after first surveying the area from a nearby post.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L lens
1/250 @ 5.6, iso 800, 400mm

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L lens
1/320 @ 5.6, iso 800, 400mm

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L lens
1/1328 @ 5.6, iso 800, 400mm

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L lens
1/1000 @ 5.6, iso 800, 400mm

In a tree nearby this tit watched the show and later came to feed. Identification is a little difficult, I think its a coal tit that's not fully fledged yet,  there were other coal tits visiting the stump as well, but I might be wrong. Any suggestions gratefully recieved.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L lens
1/250 @ 5.6, iso 800, 400mm

We had a visit from a Nuthatch as well, but I liked the pictures in the trees better than those on the stump.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L lens
1/200 @ 6.3, iso 800, 400mm

As I was packing up a squirrel wandered out onto the road a little way away and started feeding at the roadside. When he found something worthwhile, he decided to sit on a post to chew on it.

Canon EOS 7d, EF 100 - 400mm L lens
1/250 @ 6.3, iso 1600, 400mm