Crowdy Crossbill

There are several Crossbills in the fir trees around Crowdy reservoir.  I managed to connect with about six, including this first year male and first year female near the entrance to the hide.

Walks like an Egyptian

This Egyptian Goose has been present at Helston boating lake for several days.  I went to see it yesterday in perfect winter sunshine.  In fact, the first decent day since Christmas.  This individual has been a bit tricky to catch up with.  I've visited three times already only to find that it had flown to Drift Reservoir or Loe Pool. 

Egyptian Goose is a naturalised British species originating from sub-Saharan Africa.  There is a healthy breeding population in Norfolk and the species has also bred in Devon in 2005.  It is regarded as a feral wanderer and of course escapees from collections cannot be ruled out.  This winter has also seen "new" birds appear in Wiltshire.  Whether you tick it or not remains up to you.  But for me, I just enjoyed seeing it...

Egyptian Goose at Helston boating lake.  This image is copyright and not for reposting.

Close-up on a Mallard

I took these shots yesterday at Helston boating lake in perfect low sunshine. I also used a new gadget in a right-angled viewfinder.  Nothing new to science I know, but these Mallards offered the best opportunity to use it.  The benefits are that you can lower the lens to ground level without breaking your neck.

These shots were in effect taken just a few inches above the water level, ensuring maximum light into the camera.  I have deliberatly resized these images very large so if you are lucky enough to be viewing on a 27" Mac screen, then I'm sure you will enjoy these shots!

Good numbers of Lapwing at Stithians

There is an unusual number of Lapwings currently at Stithians Reservoir, probably due to the water levels there currently. Yesterday there was a flock of 400 or so, mainly congregated in front of the hide.  The water level is perfect at the moment for resting birds, ie plenty of water for protection but raised banks for resting and feeding.  The light yesterday was perfect as well for some fairly close photography.

 

Med Gulls at Swanpool

These two adult Mediterranean Gulls were resting up on the car park at Swanpool today. The lower bird sports two leg rings, the white darvic plastic ring reading 3P71.  It was ringed at Fiskeholm, Hårby, in Denmark on 13 June 2007 and is one of the very few Danish white-ringed Med Gulls. (Thanks Mark Grantham and Camille Duponcheel.)

 

Ring-necked Duck at Par today

I went to Par beach pool today and stumbled across this drake Ring-necked Duck. It's the first time I've seen this species here. Whether or not this individual is the same bird from St Gothians, I'm not sure? It remained quite close to the island at the back of the pool, so was always distant.  The images below are 50% crops taken with an 840mm lens.

Some favourite images of 2011

Below are some of my favourite images of 2011.  Several have already appeared here and some are new showings.  They are not in any particular order but there is a brief summary of each shot below the image.  Let's hope 2012 is as good as this year...

First year Curlew Sandpiper at Achna Dam, Cyprus in September.

Adult male Lapland Bunting in May, Varanger Fjord, Norway.

Steller's Eider at Vardo, Arctic Norway, May. One of a flock of 100 or so birds.

Puffins on Hornoy Island, Norway. A fantastic place with photo opportunities around every corner.

Bar-tailed Godwit at Marazion beach in February.  This site is one of the best for natural light.

Bewick's Swan at Par beach pool in March.  A scarce bird in Cornwall offering stunning views.

Goosander at St Andrew's Pool. The cold weather brought scores of this species to the county.

Red-throated Diver at St Andrew's in March.

 Paired up Waxwings berry-passing in courtship, previously unrecorded in Cornwall. Penzance. 

The same pair of Waxwings preening together.

Winter plumage Sanderling at Gwithian.

Pair of Cream-coloured Coursers at Cape Verde in March.  This desert species breeds in healthy numbers here.

Adult female Kentish Plover near the nest, Cape Verde in March

Ad male Black-crowned Finch Lark with a juvenile, Cape Verde.

Bridled Guillemot, Hornoy, Norway coming in to land in a blizzard

First year Kentish Plover on Larnaca beach, Cyprus. September.

European Bee Eater in September in Cyprus.  Just one of thousands seen this September.

Happy New Year!

Little Gull at Par

This adult Little Gull performed well today at Par beach pool.  The low winter sunshine provided a decent amount of light this morning, just long enough to capture behaviour common of Little Gull.  This species likes to wing-stretch and lower its neck parallel with the water. as shown below.  This adult has been present here for several weeks and is occasionally joined by a second winter bird. 

Black-headed Gulls in flight

Adult Black-headed Gulls at Swanpool

Something different

Wild animal images seldom appear on this blog but I took these two at the weekend.  The fox was seen at the cut-off hide at Stithians and the rat was taken at Swanpool yesterday.  They are fairly small subjects in a wide scenery setting.  The are once again taken at F2 with the focus directly on the eyes.

Drake Gadwall on Helston boating lake

This drake Gadwall was very confiding as it dabbled close to the perimeter path.  The shots were taken with the 200mm F2 wide open at F2.  They have been cropped approx 33%.