Mike's Tech & Photo Blog

BBC Springwatch featured one of my Goldfinch pictures last night: Goldfinch on Springwatch Shame they spelt my name wrong though! See the original on Flickr.

The new Top Trumps "Birds of Prey" pack has my picture illustrating the Secretary Bird card 😀 Here's the original picture: From Flickr

We went back to the Seaton bird hide the next day, there were plenty of birds but the weather was poor. Cold and very dark and not at all suited to photography. Here's the best I managed (a ll taken with Nikon D700, 70-200 f/2.8G VR II and TC-2E III converter (400mm focal length equivalent): Male Pheasant Enjoying Leftovers from Bird Feeder Little Grebe  (I got quite close to this, but it's a very small bird!) Cormorants Flying along the Axe

We also visited Black Hole Marsh nature reserve, which is a large saltwater lagoon having two large bird hides, one in the middle of the lagoon  (Island Hide) and the other overlooking both the lagoon and the Axe Estuary (Tower Hide). There were many birds to be seen, but just as at the Seaton hide, a 400mm lens was not really enough to get frame-filling shots of the birds. All the following taken with Nikon D700, 70-200 f/2.8G VR II and TC-2E III converter (400mm focal length equivalent): Heron Fishing on the Lagoon with the Island Hide in the background Axe Estuary from the Tower Hide Pair of Bar-tailed Godwits Little Egret Mallards on the Lagoon Lapwing Fallow Deer  and Egret on the banks of the Axe Pied Wagtail on the thick green algae of Black Hole Marsh. Rat enjoying leftovers from the bird feeder

Whilst down in Devon, we also visited the nature reserves and bird hides on the Axe Estuary. Whilst not as picturesque as the Otter Estuary at Budleigh Salterton, there is a much greater variety of birdlife on the Axe. However I now realise that when Birders say that you can get close up views of the birds, they mean with a powerful spotting scope and not with a photographic lens! The 400mm setup I was using was not really enough. In the hide All the following taken with Nikon D700, 70-200 f/2.8G VR II and TC-2E III converter (400mm focal length equivalent): Curlew Group of Redshanks Little Egret Female Pheasant (in the garden) Cormorant (at Seaton Hole)

The unseasonably warm weather continues with wildlife aplenty. I managed to get a little bit closer to one of the SparrowHawks that lives around here: Soaring SparrowHawk Nikon D300s, 70-200 f/2.8G VR II and TC-1.4E II converter. Still not close enough to get a decent shot though! A Grey Heron also flew over while I was watching out for the SparrowHawk. St Albans must be one of the best places in Britain to see Herons, as they are a common sight in the fields. Never mind the large breeding colony in Verulamium Park. Heron Flying Over Local Fields Also saw some more mundane wildlife, still enjoying the last vestiges of Summer: Bee Supping Nectar from a Wildflower Young Rabbit at Sunset

Autumn is definitely arriving here in St Albans, with the leaves starting to fall and the squirrels collecting acorns. Autumn Berries This greedy fellow was running around our garden with two acorns in his mouth at the same time: Not one acorn but two! The farmers have ploughed all the fields round about and there are plenty of Birds of Prey to be seen soaring high over the freshly ploughed fields looking for food. Unfortunately I couldn't get close to them and the following shots are the best I could do armed with my  Nikon D300s, 70-200 f/2.8G VR II and TC-1.4E II converter  (420mm focal length equivalent). I think you would need a 600mm and to get a lot closer to get decent shots. Buzzard SparrowHawk (female) SparrowHawk (female) Kestrel (female) Also saw a group of 3 partridges picking over the fields, in the same place as the Birds of Prey above - I wonder how long they will last before becoming food themselves?