Well here I am today, another step nearer the three score and ten years. As I get older the years seem to get shorter. For a while I have been looking in to getting a longer focus lens and two days ago I finally made my mind up to get the Canon 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 IS USM as a birthday present to myself. I ordered it from a camera shop in Cardiff and was pleased when it arrived less than 24hrs later. That gave me a chance to have a play with it yesterday afternoon.
Before the new lens arrived I spotted this Wood Pigeon collecting nesting material.
Clockwise from top left -
Breaking off a twig
Flying off with it.
Resting on the telegraph pole.
Taking the twig into the Leylandii.
The following were taken with the new lens, usually at 400mm and still needing to be cropped:
Lighting conditions were very variable with one minute sunlight and the next grey cloud. As this lens is a little slower than the 70-200mm I had to increase the ISO to keep the speed up in the dull conditions.All were hand held.
Male Greenfinch singing in the tree top.
Male Chaffinch
Wood Pigeon on the roof.
Collared Dove having a doze.
Wren skulking in the shadows.
It is going to take some time getting used to the extra weight of the 100-400mm lens. I think I will have to start indulging in some wrist strengthening exercises.
Yesterday morning there was a pair of Blue Tits giving the outside of the nestbox the once over. Neither of these birds went inside so I am thinking it may be a different pair. No sound with this video clip.
This is a still taken from the video showing both birds investigating the box.
As we returning from our early morning perambulation I spotted a rainbow. Well, part of what we normally think of as a rainbow as it was only showing on the edge of a cloud. Surprisingly, to me anyway, the Sun wasn't far away from the rainbow, a little lower in the sky and about 20 to 30 degrees to the left. At first the rainbow appeared to be straight, which was what had caught my attention.
As the Sun continued to rise and the cloud moved the rainbow followed the outline of the cloud.
Also to be seen were the trails left behind by all the early morning flights from the various airports in the midlands.
Searching through some sites this may well have been what is know as a fiery rainbow which is seen when the sun's rays pass through ice crystals in high cloud.
This is one of the orchids I treated myself to last Sunday. I have always wanted a Cattleya but in the past they have been so very expensive. Also they tend to be more tender that the varieties I usually go for but this time I couldn't resist the temptation of those beautiful three inch flowers.
I will just have to take care to find it a suitable place next winter.
I got up about a quarter of an hour earlier than usual and had a quick peek through the kitchen window. There was a tight group of five Stock Doves feeding on the spillage from the seed feeder near the bottom of the garden. Fortunately they stayed there long enough to get some video which I will save for Friday.
The morning started well at about +5C and with fairly clear skies and plenty of sunshine it climbed to +10.6C in the shade though with a cool breeze it didn't feel all that warm. Mid morning I made a trip to Focus (top up with bird seed) and then on to Wyevale Garden Centre (suet treats, dried mealworms and a couple of orchid plants).
Needless to say the fine weather didn't last all day as once it was near afternoon walkabout time the rain arrived. Fortunately we found a short lull and managed to stay fairly dry. When we returned the rain came down even harder but that didn't put off some hungry birds. For the first time I saw two Stock Doves on the lawn in the afternoon. Normally they only appear early morning and are usually gone soon after 7 a.m..
Their waterproofing must be good as the raid drops stood on top of their feathers. After a short while a Wood Pigeon slowly ambled across the lawn. If I hadn't seen it move normally I would have thought it was injured by what I saw it do next.
It slowly lifted and stretched first one wing then the other, leaning its body to expose the body feathers under the wings to the rain. It seemed to me it was obviously having a shower. After letting some rain fall on the feathers it would then give them a quick preen.
I managed a short piece of video through a window which was well and truly rain soaked.
Noises off are the local House Sparrows, rain and Bobby crunching his tea! I can't say I can remember ever seeing a bird take a shower in the rain before today. Even just watching the local wildlife in a back garden brings interesting and surprising behaviour.
Believe it or not I could actually feel the heat from the Sun for a short while this afternoon. A bit of bright light also made some difference to the photos I took. All are quite small crops from the originals.
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
Male Chaffinch
As you will probably gather I have been taken by the border I have started adding to my photos.It is one of twenty customisable choices in a free plug-in called BorderMania which will work in programs such as Paint Shop Pro and Photoshop. It can be downloaded from HERE.
After virtually ignoring the nestbox for three days there was a short flurry of activity yesterday afternoon. Both birds visited the box and several trips were made to take out more of the dried grass stalks. This is a small part of the action.
The entrance hole to this nestbox is quite deep as it goes through two thicknesses of wood. The bird usually deposits the bits of material in the hole as it goes out and then comes back to take them out from the outside. Sounds are of other birds in the vicinity - Blackbirds, Starlings and the occasional Collared Dove.
The garden is almost deserted this morning. Just a couple of Blackbirds where there are normally a dozen or so. I guess the overnight rain has made them think twice about getting up early. No signs of any doves at the moment.
I looked cautiously through the kitchen window first thing this morning in the hopes the pair of Stock Doves were there. Yes. There they were, but what's this I see. Another .. and another. In the end I counted six of them busily feeding on the lawn. I grabbed the camera and started to photograph them when two in particular caught my attention.
They spent a couple of minutes performing synchronised movements, bowing, slow wing stretching and circling round each other before one decided it had had enough and flew away. Love is in the air. Spring is just around the corner.
