Some images from Davidstow today

I spent the morning searching for unusual waders on Davidstow airfield but sadly found nothing special.  The normal migrants were present including ten Dunlin, ten Ringed Plover, 20 Northern Wheatear, two Whinchat and one Yellow Wagtail. I was also testing a used D300 Nikon camera, the results of which are below.

Juv Northern Wheatear

Skylark

Juv Dunlin with lens pointing directly into the sun (exposure +0.3 to +0.7EV.)

Tagged Dunlin update

I took this shot of a Dunlin amongst of flock of around 200 at Hayle Estuary back in early May 2011.  I found this obvious bird with its' bright leg rings ( double orange rings on the right leg, green flag on the left), but on closer inspection, I could see a vertical aerial stuck to its' mantle plus a second aerial attached to the tail. 

Mark Grantham has now confirmed that this bird was ringed as an adult on 16th March 2011 on the Tagus estuary in Portugal, so a nice record. (Thanks Mark, for the update).

Text me when you get there...

I took these shots today of a Dunlin amongst of flock of around 200 at Hayle Estuary.  I found this obvious bird with its' bright leg rings ( double orange rings on the right leg, green flag on the left), but on closer inspection, I could see a vertical aerial stuck to its' mantle plus a second aerial attached to the tail.  Whatever your personal opinion is on this new method of migration study, this individual seems to be unperturbed by the encumberance.  (If it is a female, good luck to the interested male...) 

Dunlins at low tide in Mount's Bay

Winter plumage Dunlin with Purple Sandpiper in the background



Taken near Wherrytown beach



First year Dunlin

Consolation photo's after today's Buff-breast dip at Davidstow!  That said, it's surprising that any wader stays here given the disturbance on the site.  Today's entertainment included microlite aircraft, fixed wing aircraft, dog walkers, dog walkers from the car, kite flyers, boy racers, radio control planes and a motor bike !

Adult and first year Dunlins

First winter above, moulting adult below, taken last week on Marazion and Long Rock beaches.

First years, above and below.

Dunlin on Marazion Beach

This first year Dunlin image was taken on Sunday morning at the Red River on Marazion beach. The waders were particularly attracted to the rotting seaweed. The morning session was the best I have had for several weeks - everything fell into place; the birds were tame and more interested in feeding and the light was just stunning. There's something about the intensity of light on the south coast in the morning which is hard to beat.

EXIF Detail: Aperture priority. Ap F/9. Shutter speed 1/400s. Exposure 0.0 EV. ISO 400. White Balance set to Cloudy. Matrix metering.

Juv Dunlins at Davidstow

The two juv Dunlins were taken at Davidstow disused airfieled last week. They seemed to be attracted to the sheep****.

The photos were taken with a 600mm F/4 with a 1.4x Teleconverter from the car window. Original EXIF detail is: Focal length: 840mm, Shutter speed 1/800s, ISO 640, WB Cloudy, Exposure -0.7EV, Aperture F/7.1. They were all taken in RAW format. Many thanks to Sam Williams for helping out with the problem solving!

Waders at Little London beach

Dunlin and Turnstone are common in Mount's Bay and the sheltered beach known as Little London, below the town of Marazion, is a good area to photo waders on the beach. For some reason, they allow reasonable approach here and seem unperturbed by human presence. The shots were all taken with the 600mm lens and 1.4x TC. Tripod mounted. Aperture F/6.7 ISO 400. Exposure 0.0 (which was too high) and corrected by minus one third in Photoshop. The images have been cropped 50%.