I'm always looking for better ways to get good photos. My latest little trick is to get garden birds to come down to feed on a log placed above a tray of water set up to look like the edge of pool. Portraits of birds showing a nice reflection are also very attractive and this is what I am trying to achieve. It's been trial and error, but so far, even though I haven't managed a good "reflection" shot yet, I have had some good photo opportunities. The tit species that usually visit me haven't got used to it yet, but I am sure they will very soon. My current garden Robin is very strangely wary, this is unusual because Robins are normally quite confiding and sometimes can even be quite tame. They are also very territorial so you can be sure that you are seeing the same bird each day. Anyway, to get to the point, I did manage to photograph my "garden resident" yesterday and it was quite a nice picture to say the least.
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| Date/Time | 19-Nov-2010 14:48:15 |
| Make | Pentax |
| Model | PENTAX K-5 |
| Flash Used | No |
| Focal Length | 300 mm |
| Exposure Time | 1/160 sec |
| Aperture | f/3.5 |
| ISO Equivalent | 1600 |
| Exposure Bias | -1 2/3 |
| White Balance | |
| Metering Mode | matrix (5) |
| JPEG Quality | |
| Exposure Program | aperture priority (3) |
| Focus Distance |
Then during the evening I was getting quite excited at the prospect of today's photo opportunities. As soon as I got up this morning I sat in the hide and waited for the "action". It's only in the garden but you never know what is going to fly in, it couldn't be better really. I sat there quietly in the hide and almost immediately one of the resident Dunnocks was there on the "film set". We currently have a pair of Dunnock chasing around and I have no idea which is the male. This picture show the species very well and also how very photogenic they can be.
| Date/Time | 20-Nov-2010 09:56:47 |
| Make | Pentax |
| Model | PENTAX K-5 |
| Flash Used | No |
| Focal Length | 300 mm |
| Exposure Time | 1/1000 sec |
| Aperture | f/3.5 |
| ISO Equivalent | 1600 |
| Exposure Bias | -1 2/3 |
| White Balance | |
| Metering Mode | matrix (5) |
| JPEG Quality | |
| Exposure Program | aperture priority (3) |
| Focus Distance |
I left the relative comfort of the hide after an hour or so, Jenny wanted to visit Exmouth and it is only fair to go with her on her outings at least sometimes! We walked along the beach which was really nice, beautiful scenery and lots to see. We watched a Herring Gull carry a Mussel from the low tide line to the road, hover with it and then drop it deliberately from 30 feet to break it open. This is amazing behaviour when you think about it, how have they learnt to do that? One low point was watching a Spaniel run in to the surf and try to catch a Shag which was fishing close to the shore. When it came back out of the water it ran up the beach and back to the owner who thought it was quite clever! I told him that he should keep his animal under control and apparently, I am a "weirdo" because I care about wildlife…………….. we live in a society where people have no respect for the wildlife around them. He was a big lad and a bit threatening but when you really care about something it is worth standing your ground!
An afternoon session back in the hide was really good even though the weather had turned very dim in fact, almost dark by 3. But I still persevered because there was a couple of Blackcaps, both male and female coming and going and yet more Dunnock opportunities.
It was dark (almost) when the Blackcaps put in their appearance.
Wildlife in a Suburban Garden 
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