Monday 20 May 2013

Macro on Monday - Guess What

gold starA brilliant week last week as everyone identified the dandelion seed correctly. Congratulations and virtual gold stars to Adrian, TexWisGirl, ImaBurdie, Matron and Ragged Robin.



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It has been a good, or bad,  year so far for dandelions. They have spread copiously everywhere so your outlook depends whether you are a seed eater or a gardener!

Now for this week's macro photo
Guess What:
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Clue: Ouch!      No prizes, just for fun.


Chaffinch
For once I was quick enough off the mark. As I was passing the seed feeders on the way  back after photographing a dandelion a male Chaffinch landed on a feeder and stayed there just long enough for me to get one shot. I was only 8 feet or so away and grateful it didn't take flight while I zoomed the Nikon in on it. Following a suggestion from Adrian I now have the Nikon permanently set to -1 exposure. That means I usually have to lighten the finished photo a bit but highlight blow out is lessened and detail seems much crisper.

Male Chaffinch


Nestbox
It seems pretty certain now that just five of the eight eggs have hatched. The ones laid first had to endure some chilly conditions. Those five seem to be coming along just fine and are growing rapidly. Both parents are doing a grand job finding enough small food for them as weather conditions are very variable going from damp, cool overcast to occasional warm, sunny periods. The double size streaming video from the nest box is available on midmarshnn which is a bare-bones blog I set up just for that one thing.

6 comments:

  1. the chaffinch is just gorgeous!

    as for this week's clue, i'd not be able to guess what type of plant. here in texas, it would be a prickly pear cactus, but there...

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  2. Ouch; a nettle is my guess.

    Nice shot of the Chaffinch John; a very underrated bird, just because it is common.
    I seem to remember the Turtle Dove was common once. Hmmmmm.

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  3. oh my, I don't have Windows Media Player, waited all weekend to finally see the babies from my "M-F Day computer" and the sites never loaded.
    :(


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  4. I couldn't come up with an answer at all for last week's John. I guessed it was a seed but that was as far as it went. Given the amount here (far too many in my garden at the moment) I should have guessed immediately!

    I'm thinking a cactus this week possibly Prickly Pear. My brother had one, vicious things, I'm sure the spines jump out at you ;-) No cheating by the way, I made my guess before clicking on the comments :-)

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  5. Macro guess - nettle leaves??

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Thank you for visiting. Hope you enjoyed the pictures. Any comment, or correction to any information or identification I get wrong, is most welcome. John

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