Tag Archives: West Berkshire

Pictures, Thoughts

Two bird sightings on a nice afternoon out

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One of my New Year’s resolutions was to have a at least one hour walk of some sort every Saturday and Sunday (unfortunately having a daily one-hour walk isn’t logistically feasible). While I have already failed that resolution for various reasons I’m still trying to achieve that goal when possible. Today I managed 1.5 hours at the Hosehill Lake nature reserve near Theale.

Among many other birds I spotted two birds I don’t think I have taken pictures of previously. I’m not sure if I identified them correctly, if I’ve got it wrong please let me know in the comments. I believe the first one is a Gadwall Duck, the second one I think is a Garden Warbler. As I said, if I got it wrong please let me know so that I can update the post.

(click on the picture for a full-size version)

Pictures

A few local birds from this weekend

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This weekend I visited two local nature reserves, on Saturday I visited Decoy Heath, on Sunday I visited Padworth Common. While I didn’t spot any rare birds there were a few common local birds around. Here are a few of the pictures I took:

Click on a picture to see the larger version.

Pictures

Woodpecker and Shovelers

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On a cold February Sunday afternoon with short sunny intervals I went out for a short walk to see if I could spot any local birds. There wasn’t an awful lot around but I managed to get decent shots of a Great Spotted Woodpecker and two pairs of Shovelers.

I also spotted a Kingfisher at the pond just outside my flat, but unfortunately didn’t manage to take a picture of it.

Pictures

Long-Tailed Tits

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Went for a walk locally along the Kennet and Avon Canal and the River Kennet this afternoon. Not an awful lot around, so I ended up taking pictures of Long-Tailed Tits. A small flock of may be half a dozen of them was at the River Kennet. Surprisingly difficult to capture on picture, as they are constantly on the move.

(Click on the pictures for larger versions)

Pictures

International Space Station and Startrails over Aldermaston Wharf

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The last pass of the International Space Station over the UK in 2015, on Christmas Eve (click on the picture for the full size):

It was a low pass (as you can see) and not as bright as previously, also it wasn’t as dark as I had hoped. Still, fairly happy with the picture (which is a composite of over 100 pictures). Oh, and the thick stripes are clouds.