Abbottsbury Kestrel

Saw this beauty in the distance on a coast walk between West Bay, Bridport and Abbottsbury in Dorset. The closer I got the further away she flew. Then, just as I neared the end of my walk, she flew right over, stopped and posed for me. I couldn't have asked for more. As she flew off after a few minutes, and with a huge smile on my face, I thanked her for the great photo opportunity. Made my day.

Bird on a wire

I may have mentioned before. I need a better lens. I have professional aspirations and amateur equipment. I am always looking for the close up shot which is usually too far away. When this Sparrow showed up on a recent walk along the Dorset coastline, I quickly grabbed the camera. As usual I had the wrong lens fitted as I had just been taking landscape shots. I fumbled around whilst remaining calm and quiet, managing to fit the zoom without disturbing the cheeky chap. As I focused the image, the sun broke through and made the shot. Lovely jubbly, happy days. I like to get at least one memorable photo whilst on a walk. This will do.

Patience is the key

Firstly, please forgive the focus. Like many people, we were lucky to have a couple of Sparrow nests in the eves of our roof. It was difficult to avoid the constant chirping of the male standing guard and marshalling the female back and forth collecting food for the chicks. I sat and watched the too and fro from the nest for a while taking the odd snapshot of the female in flight. All of a sudden there was a mighty ruckass. The male had obviously caused upset and the female was quick to let him know who was in charge around the chicks.

Hello my S'tarling

Starlings have to be my favourite garden birds here in the UK. Their young give new meaning to the term juvenile. I'm often alerted to their presence in the garden by the loud squabbles of the young birds as they jostle for position on the feeder or bird bath. With patience and the right lighting conditions, this shot was taken. I'm pretty sure it was probably taken through the panes of our double-glazing. I love the variety with young starlings and the beautiful irridescence of the adult birds. Long may they choose to visit my garden, I can't get enough of them.