The Bird Thread

Yeh they are small enough that I don't have an excuse not to carry them with me and so will hopefully get lots of use

Great kingfisher pic, I finally managed to photograph one myself last year (not very good though, will try again this year).

@greentricky lovely :) My brothers bought me a pair as a (very generous) birthday present a few years back. The clarity and colour is astounding, and so compact (although I frequently kick myself for not having them with me day-to-day). Enjoy!

@Ludd stunning photos as ever, thank you!

Thanks - it put on a good show for us, but then insisted on sitting behind a stick!

A pleasure - i am glad that most people who look at my photos are doing so on tiny screens that hide the poor focus, camera shake, noise etc!

There are two kingfishers in Endcliffe Park at the moment, one in each pond. Should wander down with my camera but feeling poorly and low motivation at the moment.

Did see a owl on a bike ride the other night, was a nice sight.

A owl is always a fine thing to see. I have seen a barn owl three days running, that’s probably why I dreamt last night that I saw two of them in Kennington.

First time in over a month of not feeling exhausted from Covid so managed a longer walk and got a couple of Whooper swans in a large flock of Mute's, Goosander, Teal, large flock of 40+ goldfinch, 150+ jackdaw in to roost and 80+ Redwing

Walked round the park in the rain today while the children were at circus school. Spent a bit of time trying to photograph Golden-Crowned Kinglets, which AFAICT look exactly like Goldcrests but are apparently a different species. Fun to photograph because they will come quite close to you but never stop moving, so got lots of pictures of damp branches, but a couple I liked:

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It's always sad when children run away to join a circus to avoid the birdwatching obsession of their parents.

Oh, lovely pictures, by the way.

It's always sad when children run away to join a circus to avoid the birdwatching obsession of their parents.

Scarily accurate!

A question for those that telephoto… Do you tend to carry a tri/monopod as standard kit? Having spent years on the sidelines with decision paralysis I’ve finally committed but have zero practical experience. I’m more of a shoot what I see when I’m walking guy as opposed to full camo sat in a hide type guy.

My photos are hand-held. Last night I was getting some clobber ready to take out for a pre-work ramble and did try out what it would feel like on a monopod (using one leg of a fairly heavy tripod I bought for astronomy). Interesting to see how much easier it makes things, so I might try it in earnest one day. But extra clobber to carry, and no way am I getting camo gear.

In fact I am still leaning towards switching to lighter gear with image stabilisation. Didn’t go out as I am too tired and it is too windy.

Monopods can make a handy walking stick!

Thanks, I'll keep an eye on eBay as I need a bag to carry this precious cargo anyway.

I don't generally take a monopod for photography as they are useful in a hide but outside birds are often high in trees or in flight and monopod doesn't work great for that, especially as I'm tall. Have started using a small spotting scope and use a monopod with that as it makes a big difference with the higher magnifications but don't generally carry scope and camera as just become bag man.

Failed search for Bewick Swan's today that someone reported near by but did pick up Egyptian Geese, fieldfare, redwing in good numbers and a jay

love the moon shot, and the kingfisher.

Awesome Kinglet.

Who knew.

Had light snow the last two days, brought Redwings to the trees today in the street which was a first for me, been lots about recently in near by fields though. Also male and female greater spotted woodpecker, mistle thrush, nuthatch and lazy fox all in my 15 minute lunch leg stretch. Love it when you have a day like that.

There were 7 redwings in a tree opposite my house yesterday. First time I've seen them.

Some early morning goose action, and a fieldfare just managing to stay upright on the ice.

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I’m liking the colour gradient on the goose picture. If I can drag my carcass out of bed pre-dawn tomorrow I’m going to give my new camera an outing to the Tring reservoirs.

Managed to be up for dawn but the mist was almost fog. I'm also at the bottom of a very steep learning curve with adult cameras but image stability helps.

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Lovely crisp chaffinch!