Aw, ma. The water's cold.
Brrrr. I'd better get this over with or I'll never hear the end of it.
Can I come out now Ma? I've washed behind my ears.
Hedgehog Visitor:
The lighting for the feeding area has been flickering for a while since rain got in the fitting so yesterday I reset the camera to switch to black and white at night and made some temporary Infra Red lighting. I thought it would not be strong enough but as it turned out it was a bit too strong. One Hedgehog visited before my bedtime last night and another about 1.30 a.m..
Changes in picture quality were caused by me fiddling with the software!
Walkies:
On the morning walk I was taken by surprise. As we approached the first field which has just been ploughed and harrowed I spotted a group of nineteen geese gleaning any left over grain. I think they were Canada Geese. Nearly half of them appeared to be juveniles judging by their smaller size. I only had my mobile phone with me and though the camera is good on very close subjects its wide angle lens did no justice to the photo. With only 3 mega pixels it could not be cropped much.
I tried to get a bit closer but as I crept towards the group they slowly wandered away.
Unfortunately that was the best shot I could get of a sight I had not seen before in the thirty plus years of walking that lane. Often see them overhead but not on the ground.
I like your goldfinch family bathing pictures.
ReplyDeleteThank you Emma. That is the first time I have seen a Goldfinch bathe so I just had to keep snapping.
ReplyDeleteCracking shots of the Goldies John. I've rarely seen them bathe here.
ReplyDeleteI clicked on the goldfinch bath scene and viewed the photo at its original size through Flickr. The flying droplets of water are frozen in midflight. Great shot!
ReplyDeleteThat lovely set of pics just called out for those captions John ;) great stuff!
ReplyDeleteMy goodness those hogs do enjoy dining at the Midmarsh Cafe, not too sure it's polite to sit in one's dinner plate whilst dining though!
It is always the way if you don't take the camera you can almost be guaranteed to see something interesting!
I do love Goldfinches and you've got some great shots of them as they perform their ablutions John.
ReplyDeleteLooks as though your Hedgehogs are permanent residents now - although I presume they will be hibernating in a few weeks time?
Canada Geese do seem to be congregating in flocks now and well done on "capturing" grounded in the field :)
Thanks Keith. First time I have seen one bathe.
ReplyDeleteThank you Wilma. It was a really bright morning for once which gave a fast shutter speed to freeze the action.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jan. I enjoyed trying to think up captions for those.
ReplyDeleteLooking around other bloga it seems to be the 'done thing' for hoggies to sit in the middle of a meal. :)
I never take a camera on the early morning walk as it is usually too dull and nothing ever happens - except that one morning.
Thanks Tricia. That young Goldie stood in the water for ages before it decided to get the rest wet. Then it really went for it.
ReplyDeleteI'm still waiting and hoping for a hog to explore the house. Nothing seen so far.
I was really disappointed not to get a decent shot of the geese. I must hunt out my pocket size Pentax digital camera which unfortunately eats batteries but at least has a 4x zoom.
Good morning, John :-)
ReplyDeleteVery entertaining! Great pics and text of a lovely sight in the garden. On saying that I don’t see goldfinches bathe many times in my garden… so no girlfriend chances up here then ;-)
Ah… the rain is a pest when it comes to filming hogs but then again it can’t be fun for the hogs either. Just wondering… have you heard anything about Hope… did she survive?
Ah… great capture of the geese, I love to come across field like this too. Perhaps if you had your camera they would have all taken flight… that’s usually what happens with me!
Thanks for the link to my hedgehog house video posting. Looking back at your posts it seems weather is providing you with posting moments. Gosh that was an experienced pigeon! Loved the chaffinch too… a lovely little bird. Ah the goldfinches don’t surprise me in the rain at all… snow, sleet all weathers they are at the feeders in my garden. LOL… (although I shouldn’t) don’t you think the birds look amusing eating in the rain? Maybe its just me :-o
Would you believe it… it was dry when I started this comment… now we have that fine rain showers of the kind where you don’t think you’ll get wet and you get soaked. Oh and I see the many visiting house sparrows of the moment have emptied the five ball fat feeder… they can do that in a day now, especially when its raining :-D
LOL… I’ll go and get my coat on then. Hope its dryer with you :-D
Great Goldfinch shots John. Hopefully the Canada geese will visit more often. Take you camera on walks -always.{:)
ReplyDeleteHi Shirl. It was unusual to see the Goldie bathing so I was pleased to be in the right spot at the right moment.
ReplyDeleteIt was your question about Hope which prompted me to phone Elaine to see if there was any news as I kept forgetting.
The birds here have almost gone of the fat ball feeder at the moment. No doubt it will become more popular again in the Winter.
Thank you Roy. I am always on 'auto pilot' for the early morning walk and usually forget about a camera until it is too late.
ReplyDelete