News

The House Sparrows turned up again and true to form they had a bit of a squabble about which one was going to have the prime position on the feeders.


Squabbling House Sparrows


They're sorted

Greenfinch and Chaffinch were again the most frequent visitors to the feeders


Greenfinch

A single Robin was back and to most of the morning and I got a few nice pics.


Robin

A collared Dove dropped in for a few minutes.


Collared Dove

After having fleeting glimpses for weeks of what I believed was a Goldcrest, he did reveal himself today albeit fleetingly. I did get a photo but unfortunately it isn't as good as it could be; hopefully better luck next time.


Goldcrest

There were quite a few butterflies on the wing, including small and large White and Peacock.Plenty of birds flying over including Buzzard and a wader possibly a Redshank from the noise it was making.

Thanks for reading

Andy

Unfortunately the weather wasn’t conducive to photography on Saturday morning and Sunday was a family day with, stepson his partner, two grandchildren and two dogs visiting.

I did however get some photography in but not of the grandchildren or the dogs, it was dog beds,

It obviously didn’t have the challenge of getting a small fast moving bird pin sharp in the frame but they did want the colours reasonably true and that can be difficult.

I used the train from the Hilight background to display them on and after I’d done a few test shots I ran through them quite quickly.

The two colours that proved the most difficult to get right were the dark blue and brown but after some adjustment in Photoshop they seemed quite happy with them.


Dog bed in Camo material

They have sold some of the beds to their local police force for the police dogs to use and have has positive feedback.

If anyone who owns a dog is interested the website is:

www.toughmutts.co.uk

cheers

Andy

I didn’t get to “The Eyes” over the weekend and as the weather forecast is for the weather to deteriorate over the next few days I took a few hours off work yesterday and visited “The Eyes”.

The light seemed good and there was a light breeze and after parking up I crossed the footbridge to the nature reserve with great hopes. As I crossed the bridge I caught sight of a small wader, possibly a Sandpiper as it flew up the bund toward the footbridge then it suddenly turned back and landed on the bank. When I was leaving it was on the other side of the footbridge and again landed on the bank before I could get a good look at it.

With the light being quite bright and not much wind I was hoping to get some nice photographs of the Black-necked Grebes. Over the last few weeks the grebes had been favouring the north pool so I went to the Rotary Hide first.

I scanned the water and could only see one grebe and it was out in the middle of the pool and after nearly an hour of waiting for it to come closer to the edge I gave up. I did try taking a few photos but they are in the trash folder now. While I was there I counted three BNG’s and I heard plenty of Sedge Warblers but none came out into the open.

As I walked to the John Morgan Hide I was hoping that the Dunlin or Redshank that had been reported may be still around, at least then I wouldn’t have wasted my free time.


Dunlin

As luck would have it a single Dunlin was walking between the Gulls on the waters edge. After a while another pair of Dunlin appeared from nowhere and then a little later a pair of Redshank and a Lapwing.

At least they were at the edge of the water for most of the time so photographable.


Lapwing

Just for information I was using a 500mm f4.0 Canon prime lens with a 1.4x teleconvertor fitted to a Canon 7D camera: that is the equivalent of a 1142mm lens on a full frame camera.

The camera settings, were ISO 200, using aperture priority set at f5.6, the shutter speed varied between 1/250 to 1/800 sec.

The photographs that appear here have also been cropped at either 50% (1:2) or 100% (1:1) to show the birds at a reasonable size in the frame.

The Redshanks appeared to be male and female as one of them was making some serious advances, but the other one wasn’t having any of it and it made a hasty get away. Such is life!


Redshank

There where plenty of other birds around including Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, Shelduck, Gadwall, Shoveler, Tufted Duck, Pochard, Coots, Moorhen, various gulls, Mallard with chicks and Mute Swan with five chicks.

Thanks for reading.

Andy

I’d managed to fill the feeders during the week and there were quite a few birds around when I arrived. So after I’d topped the feeders up I sat in the hide and waited.

I hadn’t seen any House Sparrows for a few weeks but two turned up making a welcome return and true to form they had a bit of a squabble about which one was going to have the prime position on the feeder.


House Sparrows

Historically Blue & Great Tit have been the main visitors with Greenfinch being infrequent but things appear to have changed around with Greenfinch and Chaffinch being the most frequent visitors currently.


Greenfinch



Chaffinch

The colourful Goldfinch was also a frequent visitor with up to six there at one stage and even though they look attractive they do have a bit of an aggressive streak and like to squabble amongst themselves.


Goldfinch

The most unexpected visitor was a Great Spotted Woodpecker and I got a few nice shots.


Great Spotted Woodpecker


Great Spotted Woodpecker

Apart from the birds there were quite a few butterflies on the wing, including the Brimstone butterfly. It wasn't in good condition and it looked like it had had an hard time.


Brimstone Butterfly

Thanks for reading

Andy

As the weather forecast for Sunday was rain, I wasn’t really expecting to get out with the camera but when I got up it was quite bright.

After breakfast I went to my hide in the hope that I’d get a few more birds visiting the feeders than I did last week.


Chaffinch

There were definitely more birds around even if they were the usual suspects but because the feeders and perches are close to the hide, you can get frame filling photographs easily.


Robin

Robin, Blue & Great Tit, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Goldfinch and Dunnock were frequent visitors a Wren was also around but kept out of sight. I also had the first Collared Dove to visit.


Greenfinch

The Tree & House Sparrows appear to have disappeared as I’ve not seen any for a few weeks


Goldfinch

There were plenty of Swallows flying around and I could hear a Skylark but I couldn’t see it.

I’m pretty sure I also caught sight of a Goldcrest, whatever it was it was very small and not a Wren but it stayed in the trees and didn’t give a clear view.

There were also a couple small birds flying around that didn’t stay still long enough to get a clear view of them but at a rough guess based on the colour and size I’d say Willow Warbler.

Thanks for reading.

Andy

Every working week seems like a month and every weekend seems to disappear in a flash!

With the weather forecast for Saturday being sun, the draw of the Black-necked Grebes at “Woolston Eyes” coupled with the fact that I’d left a flash card there last weekend was too great to miss.

The Black-necked Grebe season seems to be in full swing now with up to twenty birds recorded, possibly more.

After parking up I could hear a Chiffchaff calling and eventually I found it but would it face the camera, no, or when it did there was a twig in the way. It’s very frustrating this nature photography!


Chiffchaff Behind

I went to the John Morgan hide first because my flash card should have been there but it wasn’t and neither could I see any Black-necked Grebes, a bit of disappointment with that then.

There was a bit of activity around the feeders so I managed to get a photo of a male Bullfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker and a Magpie.


Magpie


Great Spotted Woodpecker

As there weren’t any Black-necked Grebes to be seen and none of the waders that have been on No3 Bed apparent, I decided to go the Rotary Hide.

When I got there, there were another couple of photographers in there but they weren’t birders and a bit unsure of what they were photographing. It’s nice to be able help someone and I remember when I was in the same boat a few years back.

Anyway there was a group of six or seven Black-necked Grebes on this pool. I already had the 1.4x convertor fitted to the 500mm on the Canon 7D, so it was just a case of setting the tripod up and waiting.

It wasn’t too long before some moved in front of the hide and I had a fighting chance of getting a few reasonable shots.

The light was quite variable but there was some lovely light at one stage giving a lovely yellow/green cast on the water.


Black-necked Grebe


Black-necked Grebe

The hide may be 50ft or more from the water so even with the equivalent of an 1100mm lens, the photos still need a very large crop applied to see the birds at a reasonable size in the frame. So with the convertor fitted and lots of cropping applied the quality of the photos isn’t great; but I’ve seen worse.

At one point two Black-necked Grebes started displaying only to be halted in their tracks by a third one muscling in on the act; two’s company and threes' a crowd! It spoiled a decent photo opportunity as well, shoot.


Black-necked Grebe starting to display


Three's a crowd

While I was there Brian Martin camera into the hide and handed me my flash card so the day wasn’t as disappointing after all: I took some half decent photos and my flash card was back in my bag. Thanks Chris, Dave and Brian.


Black-necked Grebe

I like to play with Photoshop, so the above has had some Photoshop treatment, personally I like the treatment and I think it is an improvement on the original but it’s probably not to every ones taste.

Thanks for reading,

Andy

Jervaulx, a Cistercian abbey was founded in 1156, the daughter house of the abbey at Byland.

The Cistercian Order was based on austerity and set out to establish themselves in wild and inhospitable areas where they could dedicate their lives to prayer, study, meditation and manual labour. The north of England offered just such an environment.



Viking settlement during the Anglo-Saxon period had led to the destruction of many of the older monasteries and the Cistercians filled this spiritual vacuum with monastic houses like those at Rievaulx, Fountains, Byland and Jervaulx.



At the height of its prosperity Jervaulx Abbey owned half of the Ure valley and was renowned for breeding horses, a tradition that remains in the area to the present day. It was also the original home of Wensleydale cheese.



Although severely ravaged and pillaged during the dissolution of monasteries, Jervaulx's ruins remain amongst the beautiful countryside of the Yorkshire Dales.

It was purchased by its present owners in 1971 and is reputedly the second largest privately owned Cistercian abbey in the United Kingdom.
It remains a place of beauty, peace and history and is famed for having over 180 species of wild flowers among its walls.



A detailed guide to the site is available from the Visitor Centre. An honesty box system of entry helps to conserve the site for future generations.

While we were visiting Jervaulx, I met a young photographer who was with his grandparents. He'd made a good choice of camera and was using a Canon camera. I believe his name was Connor so if he does read this and has any other questions feel free to contact me.

Andy

Fountains Abbey


The Abbey taken from where the abbots house once stood

If you have an interest in photographing old buildings or churches you could do worse than a visit to Fountains Abbey in North Yorkshire. There are also gardens and a lake, a deer park and Dippers on the River Skell.

In my opinion it is well worth visiting and will keep you occupied for a few hours, may challenge your photographic skills and perhaps allow you to try something different.

The Abbey – A Brief History


Shows the western facade, great west door, great west window and the west range

The Abbey was founded in 1132 and operated for over 400 years, until 1539, when Henry VIII ordered the dissolution of the monasteries.
Construction began in 1132 when a two-storey wooden church was built. A church built with locally quarried sandstone later replaced it. In 1146 the original cruciform, un-aisled stone church was badly damaged by fire and rebuilt in an enlarged form on the same site.
This structure, completed around 1170, was 300-foot (91 m) long and had 11 bays in the side aisles.


The south aisle looking east

A lantern tower was added at the crossing of the church in the late 12th century. The presbytery at the eastern end of the church was much altered in the 13th century. The church's greatly lengthened choir, commenced by Abbot John of York, 1203–11, and carried on by his successor terminates, like that of Durham Cathedral, in an eastern transept.

The 160-foot (49 m) tall tower, which was added not long before the dissolution, by Abbot Huby, 1494–1526, is in an unusual position at the northern end of the north transept and bears Hubys’ motto 'Soli Deo Honor et Gloria'.


Shows the north tower

The cloister, which had arcading of black marble from Nidderdale and white sandstone, is in the centre of the precinct and to the south of the church. The three-aisled chapter-house and parlour open from the eastern walk of the cloister and the refectory, with the kitchen and buttery attached, are at right angles to its southern walk. Parallel with the western walk is an immense vaulted substructure serving as cellars and store-rooms, which supported the dormitory of the lay brothers above.


The magnificent west range used by the lay brothers

These buildings extended across the river and at its southwest corner were the latrines, built above the swiftly flowing River Skell. The monks' dormitory was in its usual position above the chapter-house, to the south of the transept. Peculiarities of this arrangement include the position of the kitchen, between the refectory and calefactory, and of the infirmary above the river to the west, adjoining the guest-houses.


Dipper on the River Skell

After the dissolution of the monasteries the Abbey buildings and over 500 acres (200 ha) of land were sold by the Crown, on 1 October 1540, to Sir Richard Gresham, a London merchant, After a few more owners it was sold to William Aislaby who was responsible for combining it with the Studley Royal Estate.

In 1966 the Abbey was placed in the guardianship of the Department of the Environment and the estate was purchased by the West Riding County Council who transferred ownership to the North Yorkshire County Council in 1974. The National Trust bought the 674-acre (273 ha) Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal estate from North Yorkshire County Council in 1983.

In 1986 the parkland in which the abbey is situated and the abbey was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It was recognised for fulfilling the criteria of:


View taken from the south around the area of the cloister passage

“being a masterpiece of human creative genius, and an outstanding example of a type of building or architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates significant stages in human history”.

Location

Three miles south west of Ripon in North Yorkshire, England

As the weather forecast for Sunday was rain I wasn’t really expecting to get out with the camera but lo and behold we had light!

By the time I’d organised myself time had moved on a bit but the weather still looked promising so I decided to visit “The Eyes”.

I always have mixed feelings about visiting “The Eyes”, it’s generally quiet meaning there aren’t hoards of people around so it’s easy to take photos without upsetting anyone. The cons being the hides aren’t that close to the water so unless you’ve got a very long lens you are going to struggle to take “quality” photos of the birds on the water. However I have heard rumours that a hide may be constructed closer to the water for photographers.

As I walked across the footbridge on to No.3 bed there were a couple of Great crested grebes looking resplendent on the water not too far away; always worth a shot or two but the results are never really flattering.


Great crested grebe

There were also quite a few Swallows and Sand Martins flying around and even some sitting on the hand rail of the bridge. Unfortunately I didn’t get a shot at them..

As I’d heard that the Black-necked Grebes were favouring the North West Pool I decided to visit there first. I counted six all up at the same time so there were at least six on No.3 bed.

I’d only been there a short time and a Redshank flew in followed by a second one shortly afterwards.


Redshank

There were also five or six Little Grebes on this pool, a small group of Pochard, the obligatory Black-headed Gulls, Coots, Moorhens, Shelduck and Mallards.


Little Grebe

The Black-necked Grebe were quite a way out on the water but eventually a couple of them ventured closer to the edge so I fitted the 1.4x tele-convertor in the hope that I’d have a decent chance of the birds being larger in the frame. I’m reluctant to do this now as the drop in quality is significant and it makes the autofocus much slower.


Black-necked Grebe

Not a good photograph but better than none at all.
Soon after I could hear a Water Rail calling (likened to a squealing pig) and then I noticed the reeds twitching and out one popped, they are definitely skulking birds and rarely come out of the reeds into the open. Then when they do come out they don’t hang around and generally run at top speed to wherever they are going.


Water Rail

This one was as wary as the others I’ve seen and only gave a partial view initially and then it did come out but run quickly to another clump of reeds. It is difficult to get an absolutely clear shot on these birds there’s always something else in the frame. Eventually it did give an almost clear view without much else in the frame before it disappeared at high speed into the reeds on the other side of the cleared area.


Water Rail


I then walked back to the John Morgan Hide and there were quite a few birds on the water and the same Redshanks on the edge of the water. There were also a couple of Buzzards flying over the pool but they didn’t come that close to upset the other birds.

There were quite a few Coots doing what Coots do best, squabbling and generally chasing each other. I did have a go at taking a few shots but they weren’t that successful.


Coots on the run

Overall I had a really enjoyable time, some frustration but best of all a few reasonable pics but unfortunately not of the Black-necked Grebes.

Thanks for reading my writings.

Cheers

Andy

I visited the hide on Saturday filled the feeders with feed and sat and waited. Being truthful I was expecting nothing as it had been three weekends since I last visited and I received it in abundance.

It was about an hour before I seen a bird which was a Wren flitting about in the undergrowth but by the time I’d got the camera trained in the right area, it was on its way.


Great Tit

I had a few visits from Blue and Great Tits and male and female Chaffinch and a single Goldfinch. The only other bird that visited the area was a Long-tailed Tit that stayed in the conifers for a few minutes and then moved on.


Long-tailed Tit

No Robins, Sparrows, Blackbirds or even Pheasants so a really poor show.

There were plenty of Woodpigeons and Corvids flying over and I could hear Buzzards calling but couldn’t see any.

As it is light in the evenings now it should be easier to keep the feeders topped up and hopefully that will encourage the birds back.

Thanks for reading

Andy

As I didn’t manage to leave the house other than to go to the shops over the Easter holiday I had to make do with taking photographs in the garden or indoors.

Luckily I do have some bird feeders in the garden and although I’m not keen on taking photos of birds on the feeders sometimes you don’t have a choice.


House Sparrow

Having looked at the list of the top twenty five garden birds found in the recent RSPB garden survey I think I can safely say the birds we see in our garden are consistent with the list certainly up to 15th although I’ve never seen a feral pigeon actually in the garden..


Goldfinch feeding on leaf buds

Rank Species

1 House sparrow
2 Blackbird
3 Blue tit
4 Starling
5 Woodpigeon
6 Chaffinch
7 Great tit
8 Goldfinch
9 Robin
10 Collared dove
11 Dunnock
12 Magpie
13 Coal tit
14 Feral pigeon
15 Greenfinch
16 Jackdaw
17 Carrion crow
18 Common gull
19 Long-tailed tit
20 Wren
21 Fieldfare
22 Song thrush
23 Rook
24 Pheasant
25 Great spotted woodpecker

From 16 to 25 we have seen Carrion Crow, Long-tailed tit, Wren,and Song Thrush.


Long-tailed Tit

During the last twelve months we’ve also seen Goldcrest and Redpoll and since Christmas we’ve also seen Brambling, Siskin & Reed Bunting; we regularly have five or six Reed Buntings in the garden.


Female Reed Bunting


Siskin

Thanks for reading.

Andy

I had the opportunity to visit Woolston Eyes NR yesterday and there were plenty of birds to be seen albeit at a distance.


View from the Centre Hide showing the effect of recent work to clear reeds and vegetation on No3 Bed

On the water were Gadwall, Shelduck, Shoveler, Teal, Tufted Duck, Pochard Pintail, Mallard, Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, Great-crested Grebe and the obligatory Moorhens & Coots.


Shelduck

There were also lots of Gulls including Black headed, Lesser black backed and juvenile gulls but not sure what.


Displaying Black-headed Gulls

Around the feeders there were plenty of the usual suspects including Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Bullfinch, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Willow Tit, Great-spotted Woodpecker, Magpie and still some Brambling to be seen.


Great Spotted Woodpecker


Magpie at the feeding station

A Buzzard also made an appearance that put the gulls into a frenzy.

Two Black-necked Grebe had been reported but weren't apparent during my visit.

Thanks for reading.

Andy

It’s been around six weeks since I wrote anything in my news section and it feels almost as long since I ventured out with the camera.

Poor weather, work, family issues and dog minding have curtailed my opportunities for outdoor photography but wherever and whenever possible I have tried to do some photography. This has even included in work taking photos of various pieces of equipment for reports. However most of the photography I’ve done in recent weeks has been indoors at home or in the garden.

I took some photos of the dogs, a Shih Tzu and a Bulldog that we’d been minding and there were a couple of those I was pleased with.


Bear the Shih Tzu


Alfie the Bulldog

The subjects for the indoor photography have been mainly flowers, and perhaps abstract photography may be the best description of the other subject.

Flower Photography

The equipment for the flower photography consists of Canon 5D mkll, macro lens 100mm or 180mm, tripod and cable release. Most of the shots have been taken using natural light although there may be some fill in flash or reflected light used.

Some of the resulting photographs were single shots but most are from three or four shots which are then aligned and stacked in Photoshop to produce a photo with an increased depth of field, which isn’t usually obtained in a single shot when using a macro lens.


Single flower shot using macro lens


Composite photo of a number of shots aligned and stacked in Photoshop

Abstract Photography

Most of the photographs are coloured lines and curves and if nothing else they are bright and colourful!





Lastly I visited the hide on Sunday and it was very poor morning. The only bird I saw for about an hour was a Robin and that didn’t come out into the open very often. The only other bird I got a decent view of was a Coal Tit and that didn’t stay long enough to photograph it. There were plenty of other birds around as I could hear them but nothing came near.


Robin singing in the bushes


Robin

C’est la vie.

Andy

It was bright and crisp on Saturday morning so I decided to spend a few hours at Woolston Weir as I had read on “The Eyes” website that there had been some Goldeneyes on the weir pool for a while.

Unfortunately they were quite distant and it did take me a while to pick them out amongst the hundred or so Tufted Ducks. There appears to be a few alternatives for the collective noun of ducks on water, including raft, paddling and team.


A raft or paddling of Tufted Ducks

Eventually a female of the species came just about close enough to get a photo!


Female Goldeneye

Luckily the Mallards and Canada Geese didn’t have a problem with getting up close and personal.


Female Mallard


Canada Goose

Just before I left I did manage to get a photo of a male Goldeneye and a pair, male and female together.


Male Goldeneye


Pair of Goldeneye


Andy

A pretty miserable weekend weather wise although the snow was nice and added some interest, however the light was awful.

We've had Reed Buntings visiting the feeders in the garden for quite a few weeks now and Saturday was no exception with about six birds in the garden, males and females.

Most of them are ringed so I imagine most if not all are from "The Eyes".


Male Reed Bunting

Settings: ISO800 f4.0 1/1600sec +2/3EV 500mm


Female Reed Bunting

Settings: ISO800 f4.0 1/250sec 500mm

We've also had a Brambling or two frequenting the feeders which is a nice change from the usual Tits & Chaffinches.


Brambling

Settings: ISO1250 f4.0 1/100sec 500mm


Brambling

Settings: ISO800 f4.0 1/320sec 500mm

Considering the photos were taken at between ISO800 and one at ISO1250 and through a glass window the noise isn't that bad really.

Thanks for reading.

Andy

On Sunday morning I choose to visit Woolston Eyes as I needed a change of scenery and hopefully I would see some different birds. When I got up the ice on the car was pretty obvious but even so I didn’t think it had been cold enough to freeze the pools down at “The Eyes”.

Unfortunately I was totally wrong and there was no open water at all and consequently no waterfowl although there were quite a few Teal flying around the pools. Presumably looking for some open water.


Flying Teal

Unusually I met a few people to talk to and Douglas Buchannan told me the committee were considering erecting a photographers hide but this is still very much a consideration rather than a definite. I know I would be interested in using it depending on where it is erected i.e. how close it is to the water and the view from it.

Apparently the contractors carrying out the work on No3 bed have lost a digger to the water/mud and it is now submerged; an expensive error to make but no doubt it was insured.

I took my time wandering around the meadows and attempted to be artisitic with my photography, whether it worked or not I’m not sure.


Teasel with water droplets



I eventually made my way around to the Centre Hide and although there weren’t any waterfowl to see, there were quite a few birds using the feeders.

Although the feeders in my opinion are slightly too far away from the hide for good photographs, it’s always worth having a go.


Feeding Station by the Centre Hide

Just for information the above photo was taken with a 24-70mm lens set at 62mm and there is a Great Spotted Woodpecker on the RH Feeder.

Luckily even though the sun wasn’t splitting the heavens it was light enough to get a shutter speed of 1/500th at f4 and ISO 400; I don’t like using ISO’s >400 because the noise becomes more noticeable.

Neither was I tempted to use the 1.4x teleconvertor that I had in my bag, as that reduces the amount of light reaching the sensor and slows the autofocus. Of course it does increase the effective focal length of the lens by x1.4 so the subject appears larger in the frame. However I decided that if I got some interesting birds on the feeders I’d use a tighter crop with the Photoshop software that I use for editing the photographs. Swings and roundabouts!!

The cold weather must have made the feeders an attractive proposition for the birds as there were quite a few birds around, including Brambling, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Jay and Willow Tit.


Great Spotted Woodpecker


Jay


Brambling


Willow Tit

Thanks for reading.

Andy

As this is my first post of the New Year I would just like to wish anyone reading this a very happy new year, better late than never as they say!

I think the last time I posted anything was around the 4th of December and unfortunately not a lot photographically has happened since then. My time has been spent with visits to family, Christmas shopping, Christmas and a load of poor weather. So in between working and what I’ve just mentioned there has been very little time available for photography!

Since the turn of the year however I have been to the hide a couple of times and made a visit to Woolston Eyes.

The birds visiting the feeders at the hide are the usual suspects which are mainly the common garden birds, Blue and Great Tit, Goldfinch, Blackbird, Chaffinch, Robin, Pheasant, Wren, House, Hedge & Tree Sparrow. On Saturday however I did get a visit from three partridges but unfortunately no photo.

Usually the Wrens of which there must be quite a few from the noise they make, keep themselves well hidden in the undergrowth and rarely come out into the open. On Saturday however one did come out into the open and I managed to get a reasonable photo of it before it disappeared back into the undergrowth.


Wren

Of the common birds I listed above it may be worth mentioning the three sparrows, House, Hedge & Tree, strictly speaking the Hedge Sparrow or Dunnock isn’t a true Sparrow and is actually a member of the Accentor family of birds.
The Hedge Sparrow name dates back many years to when people were not as aware as they are now and lots of small birds were classed as Sparrows. Apparently the name Dunnock is derived from the old English word ”dunnakos” meaning little brown one.

Unlike our two true Sparrows the Dunnocks’ head is quite grey in appearance and it has a very thin beak. The true Sparrows have a heavy beak as they are seed eaters. Dunocks also flick their tails and wings regularly.

The following three photos should help any none or casual bird watchers identify these three birds.


Hedge Sparrow or Dunnock
Note the grey Head and slim or narrow beak!


House Sparrow
Male and Female together, the male being the upper one, note the brown head and grey crown, white cheek patch and black bib.


Tree Sparrow
The head of the Tree Sparrow it totally chestnut i.e.no grey crown. Also note the black cheek spot which is absent in both the House Sparrow and Dunnock.

I hope that helps the none twitchers and casual bird watchers identify these three common garden birds, although I’ve never seen a tree sparrow in our garden.

Thanks for reading.

Andy

Anyone that read the earlier post "Been to the Dogs" may like to know that Jessie had five pups but sadly she died immediately afterwards.

Sarah and Claire are hand rearing the pups, they started on two hourly feeds but have now moved on to four hourly!!

Strange that they had the photos taken when they did.

Andy

Sometimes it takes a long time to actually do what you've talked about for what seemed a long time. Anyway a day out with my great friend Barry actually materialised and we spent the day photographing on the Wirral.

I've got to say I was definitely out of my comfort zone as I normally know where I'm going and what I'm going to take. The only thing I had decided was that I wasn't taking the 500mm lens.

We started off at Rock Ferry and although it didn't look a very promising location when we arrived, we did spend over an hour there.

I've seen lots of images using HDR on the web so I thought it was an ideal opportunity for me to try something different.

A rotting and decaying boat was the first subject then the legs of a working pier and a couple of shots of the wider view.


Decaying Boat


Anglican Cathedral from Across The River


Working Pier in Black n White

When we finished there we headed across to the other side of the peninsula to Heswall.

We had lunch at Sheldrakes which was pretty excellent and then headed onto the marsh.



For once I actually took my wellingtons with me and that was certainly a wise move as I was ankle deep in mud most of the time.



There was plenty to capture our attention and we spent the afternoon snapping away. We even managed to get some shots during the "Golden Hour".







I really like the last photo and I've had it printed onto Acrylic but at the time of writing I've not seen it yet. On screen it looks excellent but I know it can be deceiving on screen.

Anyway I had a great day way with excellent company so thanks Barry for an excellent day.

Cheers

Andy

Lots of birds flitting back and to, but nothing out of the ordinary.

All the usual Tits, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Wren, Sparrow etc.


Chaffinch


Tree Sparrow


Blue Tit

For no other reason other than I could, I decided to convert the above photo to monochrome and then add some of the blue back in.
To try and make the bird the centre of focus I also added a dark vignette.
I think it works so feel free to comment if it doesn't.

Cheers

Andy