Single Goldfinch feeding on Dandelion seeds
I spotted a pair of Goldfinches, land on the ground today, which is unusual and they were feeding plucking the dandelion seeds from a dandelion. You can just make out the dandelion in front of the bird, and one seed floating in the wind.
I quickly lept for my DSLR, and changed to a 300mm lens, hand-held, no tripod, on max, taken through the kitchen window!
This will be my last post of 2010, and to all readers a Happy New Year 2011, a may it be a Prosperous One!
It’s been the coldest December in North Yorkshire since 1840, ball cock froze, drain pipe froze, pipes froze, and the ground is just starting to thaw, after tomorrow I think all the snow may have gone, that fell in late November 2010.
Here are a collection of photographs taken in December 2010, to remind us of those cold dark days
All the best for 2011 – Folks…
David Nash a British sculptor based in Blaenau Ffestiniog, has an Exhibition running until the 27 February 2011 at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. So we thought we’d pop down today and check it out. Here are some photographs
Black Ball
Chim chiminey
Chim chiminey
Chim chim cher-ee!
long overdue check on the Chim chiminey! These are for you Lindsey!
Yes, I know it’s from the lyrics’ – Take That’s Patience, but it seems very fitting here …..
I’ve been experimenting with taking photographs of birds for a while, but the problem I’ve always had is how to get close-ups photographs of the subject, without disturbing them whilst they feed on the feeders, I don’t have a bird hide or jacket yet, in the past I’ve used remote control to fire the camera, but the birds were suspicious of the camera when it was too close to the feeders, and they wouldn’t feed. I do have a spotting ‘scope, and with a camera adaptor mounted on a digital SLR, I’ve been experimenting with the camera in manual, and manual focus for many months. I think these are the best shots I’m going to get until I purchase that big Canon Lens!
and before you critique the following photographs, please remember the birds were photographed at 100m, in manual focus, manual exposure, and remotely fired to avoid camera shake on the tripod!
Great Tit on peanuts
Goldfinchs and Sparrows on niger
There are eleven species of grasshopper native to Britain. They vary in length from 20 to 30mms depending on the species. I cannot recall the last time I saw a British Grasshopper. So I’m pleased to have seen this on on my Chilli plants, and I’ve photographed it for you!
British Grasshopper (click for close-up)
This could be a young Common Field Grasshopper, Chorthippus brunneus?
I’ve managed to capture four Goldfinches on the nyjer feeder. The feeder was moving in the breeze like a pendulum, so a little difficult to manual focus with me gear! Photographed at a distance of 50 feet. Not as crisp a focus, as I would like, I’m waiting for an additional eyepiece which will magnify the viewfinder image, so I can sharpen the focus on the ‘scope before remotely firing the shutter. The viewfinder produces a small, dark image and I cannot be sure if it’s in focus.
Bird's gone!
I know it doesn’t look very special, and it was the first rushed shot, when daylight was fading this evening, and there was a Long Tailed Tit on my nuts. But the special thing about this photo was it was taken with my Digital SLR attached to my spotting ‘scope. The bird feeder was 100 metres from the position of the camera.
I hope to get some birds on the next shots!
Snowed in again, so we walked 6 miles in total to the local town and back in the snow to get some bread and margarine. We stopped for 30 minutes to have a coffee, to fuel up for the return journey.
It too us an hour to walk the 3 mile journey, 30 minutes in the coffee shop, and just over an hour to return home, light was fading on the return journey, and Lindsey took a few photographs of the sunset.
Sunset over Snow
Taken one evening last week, when I return from work. I didn’t find the crock of gold either!
![[Valid RSS]](http://andysworld.org.uk/images/valid-rss.png "Validate my RSS feed")