Summer colours

I know! I know! It's another Starling. Perhaps I should start the Starling Appreciation Society. I think that acromyn is taken? Couldn't resist posting this gorgeous bird. The thing I like most about Starlings is the fantastic range of colours they display and they move through adolescence. This great iridescent example graced my bird feeder the other day. Lurvely.

Tower Bridge

I never tire of this shot. The first time I've ever actually visited Tower Bridge in London. As we came away, late afternoon, I turned to look back and saw this beautiful sight. The low sun was shining through and sitting perfectly on the bridge. This has been my desktop for months now and I have no plans to change it.

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.

Pitlochry by night

These shots were taken in 2006 shortly after I got my DSLR. They show the Pitlochry Dam and lake in Perth and Kinross. The beautiful stillness of the water reflecting the stunning sky caught my attention. The Dam itself is bathed in yellow lighting which gives a dramatic look to the structure as you approach from downstream. A truly excellent place to visit. Provision was built into the dam, for trout to travel upstream and a camera and infra-red monitor was installed so that visitors could see the trout as they pass through the special underwater tubes on their journey up river.

Starling Silhouette

Have I mentioned that Starlings are my favourite garden birds? I believe that the art of taking a good photograph lies firstly in the ability to be able to spot the photograph oportunity. Something different, out of the ordinary. This juvenile Starling decided that the ball finial top of next-doors bird table was an ideal place to sit and soak up some sunshine. I decided that it was an ideal opportunity for a great picture. It's normal to see birds perched on objects for short periods of time before they fly off just as you focus your lens. Less common I find to have the opportunity to catch them so comfortable with their surroundings that they feel happy to squat down and ignore you. Seperated by a garden fence I was only about ten feet away for this shot. Juvenile Starlings are beautiful birds with their muti-layered brown plumage, but the silhouette made it stand out.

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.