Tag Archives: Wildlife

Pictures, Thoughts

Red Kite, Buzzard and an Emu during a Saturday walk

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It had been far too long since I had last been out for a one of these, a local walk to see what comes up and take pictures. But this Saturday lunchtime I finally got my act together, installed the big 500mm lens with the 1.4 extender on the Nikon and went out. I had to realise I am quite out of practice, most of the pictures of birds in flight weren’t very good. Really need to get back into it, practice, practice and practice some more. At least I got a few decent ones of birds perched. And a curious Emu in a field. Here we go (click on the pictures for the large version carousel):

Picture of a well presented Red Kite perched in a mossy tree
Red Kite perched in a tree
Picture of a beautiful Red Kite in flight with wings in V shape
Beautiful Red Kite in flight
Picture of a juvenile Buzzard sitting in a tree
Buzzard in a tree
Picture of the head of an Emu surrounded by tiny flies
Emu surrounded by tiny flies

I also spotted a Little Egret, unfortunately it was too far away to take pictures and by the time I had managed to get into a good position (quite challenging because of badly flooded footpaths etc) it had moved on, so I missed out on that one.

With spring hopefully just around the corner I hope this will kickstart me into getting out again. Fingers crossed there will be more posts with wildlife and nature pictures over the coming weeks and months.

Pictures, Thoughts

Imke’s and Armin’s day out at Hengistbury Head, Dorset

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After a few long years where we didn’t see each other in person mainly due to Covid but also a few other reasons my sister Imke visited me in West Berkshire for the August bank holiday weekend. On the Sunday we decided to drive down to the coast and visit Hengistbury Head for the day. We enjoyed some nice walking with some great views in particular to The Needles at the Isle of Wight. Take a look at the gallery with some of our favourite memories (and even some pictures of us):

Sunny beach at Hengistbury Head with the Isle of Wight in the distance
Sunny beach at Hengistbury Head with Isle of Wight
Imke on the beach at Hengistbury Head panorama
Imke on the beach at Hengistbury Head panorama
Windswept Armin resting on the beach
Windswept Armin resting on the beach
Imke having a nap in the sun
Imke having a nap in the sun
Armin photographing the sea at Hengistbury Head
Armin photographing the sea at Hengistbury Head
Mudeford sandbank from above
Mudeford sandbank from above
View over a beach from the top of some cliffs, a bird in the air
View from the top at Hengistbury Head. And a bird.
The Needles at the Isle of Wight with passing sailing yachts seen across the sea
The Needles at the Isle of Wight with passing sailing yachts
Colourful Heather at Hengistbury Head
Colourful Heather at Hengistbury Head
Starling on a table
Starling on a table
Little Egret at the Mudeford Sandspit
Little Egret at the Mudeford Sandspit
Three birds and a plane
Three birds and a plane
Cliffs at Hengistbury Head panorama seen from the beach below
Cliffs at Hengistbury Head panorama
Walkers on a beach below a cliff
Beach walkers at Hengistbury Head
The Needles on the Isle of Wight behind a wave splash
The Needles on the Isle of Wight behind a wave splash
Dog on Hengistbury Head beach with the Isle of Wight's Needles behind
Dog on Hengistbury Head beach with the Isle of Wight’s Needles behind
Beach at Hengistbury Head with the Isle of Wight in the distance
Beach at Hengistbury Head with Isle of Wight
Beach and cliffs at Hengistbury Head with the Isle of Wight in the background
Hengistbury Head and Isle of Wight in the evening light

We had lunch at Beach House Mudeford (pricey but nice pizzas enjoyed on the beach) and tea at the Hiker Cafe (Burger and chips). We had to be careful that the Starlings didn’t steal our chips, they are quite aggressive and fearless (please do not feed them!).

Pictures, Thoughts

August morning walk along the Kennet & Avon Canal in West Berkshire

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I go for a walk along the Kennet & Avon Canal every morning, on a weekday I usually walk from Aldermaston Wharf to just past The Rowbarge in Woolhampton. Over the weekends I often walk a bit further, past the old Lock Cottage towards Midgham.

Usually I’m walking with a pair of weights, today I decided to leave the weights at home and turn it into a photo walk. I left fairly early in the morning at about 6:45, which gave me some nice mild light for a while.

Here are 10 of my favourite pictures from this morning, click on the pictures for the larger version in the gallery:

Picture of a Swan preening in the morning sun on a canal
(1) Swan cleaning in the morning sunshine
Picture of a Swan preening in the morning sun on a canal
(2) More Swan preening in the morning sun
Picture of two colourful red, green and yellow canal boats moored in the morning sunshine
(3) Colourful canal boats on the Kennet & Avon Canal
Picture of the stern of a colourful canal boat moored at a bollard
(4) Colourful canal boat stern at its mooring
Picture of a white flower
(5) White flower
Picture of a canal boat moored in a stretch of canal with an alley of trees
(6) Canal boat in the tree alley
Picture of a small pepper plant in the morning sunshine
(7) Pepper growing in the morning sun
Picture of trees reflecting in the calm water of a canal
(8) Tree reflections in the Kennet & Avon Canal
Picture of a canal flanked by a lot of green trees
(9) Bright green trees along the Kennet & Avon Canal
Picture of some green trees in some nice morning sunshine
(10) Green leaves in the sunshine

A variety of pictures, from Swans to colourful boats to beautiful trees and reflections. I hope you’ll find something you’ll like. Maybe let me know of your favourite picture(s) in the comments?

Pictures

Squirrel outside my window

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Back in January I noticed a Squirrel in the tree just outside my window. I quickly grabbed my camera, which luckily had the big telephoto lens attached, and quickly took a few shots before the Squirrel moved on. Then something else came up and I kind of forgot about about the pictures. Today I remembered I them and decided to edit a few of them. Here’s the result, hope you like them:

Picture of a Squirrel hanging from a branch
Squirrel hanging from branch
Picture of a Squirrel grabbing some food
Squirrel grabbing some food (2)
Picture of a Squirrel grabbing some food
Squirrel grabbing some food (1)
Picture of a squirrel eating
Squirrel eating (2)
Picture of a squirrel eating
Squirrel eating (1)
Squirrel outside my window (click picture for bigger version)

Considering I took these pictures through the window on a dull overcast day with not much light I’m quite please with the results (and Photoshop’s help to get the best out of them). What do you think?

Pictures, Snippets, Thoughts

Robins in the New year’s sunshine

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On the second day of the new year 2022 I managed to get out for a short photo walk around Aldermaston Wharf, returning as the rain arriving from the west set in. I didn’t see an awful lot, but managed to capture these two Robins in the mild New Year’s sunshine high up in a tree:

  • Picture of a Robin looking straight at us
    Robin frontal view
  • Picture of a Robin in full voice, singing loudly
    Robin in full voice
  • Picture of a Robin singing away
    Robin singing away
  • Picture of a Robin sitting in a tree
    Robin sitting in a tree
  • Picture of a Robin looking up
    Robin looking up
Robins in the New Year’s sunshine

As usual, click on the pictures to view the larger version and visit the gallery. I hope you enjoy the pictures of the two Robins, if I remember correctly the most popular bird in the UK.