Pages

Tuesday 26 August 2014

Birds of a Feather - Thematic Photography

Carmi couldn't have made a better choice of a topic for me this week.

Feathers abound on the grass by the side of the road along which I take my morning walk.

A feather down
And if that is not enough - 

Four feathers
But not from a thrush.

Tail feathers
However there is a sad tale to this as these feathers are all that remained of a wood pigeon demolished by a hawk.

Man, the worse predator of all, can also have a devastating effect.

Owl - a road kill victim
Other birds play hide and seek behind - 

The chimney pots
Jackdaw viewing spot
Discussing last night's soap
While sparrows watch the children cross
Some just watch the world go by.

Young blackbird on kitchen window sill
A much better place to be than behind glass at - 

Detroit Zoo - King Penguins
Some birds just have to pretend while - 

Waiting for the mail.
Meanwhile there is a work in progress for me - I'm trying to get a decent shot of this bird.

Nuthatch (image scanned from a bird book)
This is the best I have done so far from 50ft away and through a double glazed window.

Nuthatch clearing ivy from a nesting box


We saw this bird for the first time in our garden only last month; now it is a regular visitor.

Fortunately it's a little smaller than the bird we saw at nearby Preston Park.


However my favourite so far this year is one some of you have seen before.

Male Bullfinch
It was making itself comfortable in a hand towel while it recovered from the argument it lost with our lounge window.

Now is the time for you to recover to and fly over to see other 'Birds of a feather' at Carmi's Thematic-photographic-307.

8 comments:

Author R. Mac Wheeler said...

poor bullfinch :O(

(and owl)

Gilly said...

Those are all great shots, Bob, especially the Bullfinch! Nuthatches are very difficult to photograph, I think, they are so quick, and usually upside down anyway!

Such a shame about the owl.

ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said...

I love those nuthatches and their squeaky door noises.

It's great that you have some housing for them. I have a couple nest-boxes, waiting to be put up.
~

Alexia said...

These are wonderful, Bob - all so interesting, with a story to tell!

Sad that owls can be road kill - I've never seen that before.

Jo said...

Great pix Bob but very sad about the owl. I am a bit surprised though. I love that bullfinch, so colourful.

La Crona said...

Like a whole story in itself.

Catherine said...

I find birds tricky, too. My husband's new camera has 60x zoom, maybe I will borrow it to try out. Though there is also the problem of small birds moving rather quickly (unless stunned, like your bullfinch)

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy said...

What a delightful assortment of bird photos, Bob. That huge one in the park is quite a work of living art.

Hope that you are doing well.

Kathy M.