Red-backed Shrike, South Denes, Great Yarmouth

A few snatched shots of a little cracker...

Skua ID Pics

This floated over the bank at Salthouse yesterday, and then again a short while later at Cley.  I spoke to a nice chap on site who veered toward Arctic, and I tended to agree.  However, it has been suggested that this might be a Long-tailed so here are some ropey photos.  Any thoughts?

Wryneck again!

Went to Salthouse, but only to check out the migrants you understand.  Seemed that the Wryneck was still in situ.  So I had a look for a little while, like you do, and then continued with the Stonechat, Wheatear, Whinchat, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Redstart, Linnets etc.  Then it seemed that a group of chaps with large lenses pushed the proximity envelope too far and it flew off.  But not very far...

Wryneck, Gramborough Hill, Salthouse

I first dipped on a Wryneck in 1989, and have waited until today to get that monkey off my back.  Needless to say I (we) had a great afternoon at Salthouse today, migrants putting on a great show.  Wryneck a bit distant for a decent shot, but the Lesser Whitethroat below was very nice...

The man behind me had a camera malfunction just as this bird appeared.  He wasn't pleased...

Another day, another Tern photo

Juvenile Common Tern preening

Returned for another go...

Learning and Terning

Kept it on 'M' with quickly changing light, - blown whites, clipped wings, no reflection in the eye, lousy background etc etc etc.   I might catch up with them again tomorrow, when I will learn a bit more...

What is the best lens for taking photos of Dragonflies?

Well, not a 500mm lens with a 2.2m minimum distance basically.  Wholly inappropriate, but it was in the garden so I gave it a go.  

Female Common Darter.

Swifts gone, so a Swallow will have to do.

Wheatear again.

Couldn't resist another of this bird.

First Wheatear of the season...

And a jolly nice find too.

Garden Buzzard again!

I still find it hard to accept that I have seen a Buzzard from my garden, but now I've done it again!  Heard a crow make a noise like it only does when a raptor is about (I assume that the noise is corvid for "shit the bed it's huge cor blimey, there's a nasty piece of work in the sky for sure me ol' china"), looked up and saw the Buzzard drift behind a house.  The camera was set up for something completely different to shots of big birds in the sky and I nearly totalled the tripod in the rush to get the camera separated from it. The bird thankfully banked round and drifted right over my head, and much lower than last time.

So here you are, ISO 800, 1/8000 f.6.3.  Nonsense settings, but it is still the best picture I have ever taken of a Buzzard from my garden.  From my garden!

European Roller, Horsey

Birders, or more specifically Twitcherers, are weird.  I've said it before and my position is regularly supported by the actions of the above on these twitches.  

Today's example. I noticed today at the Roller at Horsey (did I mention that I had seen a bloody Roller!!!)  that when members of the public asked what on earth  are you lot pointing expensive optics at, the stock response was 'it's a European Roller'.  Why the 'European' bit?  What do they care if it is European, Himalayan or Martian?  Just tell them that it is "a Roller" and that it is bloody bright blue, most excellent and stop being so bloody pompous about it all for crying out loud.  

Anyhow, this is what you will see if you go there.

It is there if you look hard enough.

As the opportunity for a decent photo of the bird are verging on the non-existent and this is  blog based on my current adventures in bird photography here is a photo I took in my garden this morning instead.

This was eating leftover curry rice.  Really it was.  Very nice curry too.

Black Redstart

I'll admit that this post does contain four photographs of the same bird, but I do like Black Redstarts and it just sat there, what else do you expect me to do???

Magpie's eye

A couple of rushed shots of a Magpie in the garden this morning, had to take the ISO up to 800 to get anything worthwhile...

Another juvenile Pied Wagtail

No excuse needed to post a new photo of this little bird as far as I am concerned.