Every morning (unless I’m out photographing) I take Wally for his morning walk, we usually head down to the river to look for anything interesting and then play in an open area. Now that spring is most definitely under way, I’ve decided to take a camera. It’s difficult to juggle the attentions of a mad dog and carry a camera, therefore, I use my crop camera (Nikon D7100) fitted with the Nikon AF-S 80-400 VRII for size and weight. The idea of the photos is not great quality, but just to report back on sightings in the area.
Today was a pleasant surprise all happening within 500 meters of the house! European Bee Eaters, Short Toed Eagles and I could also hear a Golden Oriole (unless it was a Starling which has been mimicking one all winter!)
First up, the European Bee Eaters. The local colony returned yesterday and are now busy flying around catching food, they will be selecting a nesting site soon and I am monitoring their movements closely. Expect many Bee Eater posts this summer.
However, as much as I adore the Bee Eaters, something else caught my attention and although fairly common, sighting these birds is always a thrill. 2 Short Toed Eagles out hunting. Unfortunately, both too far away for any great shots. I couldn’t work out what Eagle the one in the sky was until it started hovering like a Kestrel, this is a give away for a Short Toed Eagle. Then when I looked at the photo in Lightroom and increased the shadow light, I could clearly see that it’s almost completely white underneath. It amazes me that these birds can hover so high and still see snakes on the ground.
Out walking in the morning is a great way of scouting the area for places to then return with more intent.