bird Archives - Page 11 of 13 - Craig Rogers Photography

European Bee Eaters Nest Building (Video)

23rd April 20179th October 2017Craig Rogers

Yesterday morning I managed to get to the “hole” where the Abelharucos (Portuguese for Bee Eaters) have been building their tunnels and place a Bushnell NatureView Camera to capture any more visits.

I woke up this morning and stepped outside to drink my (required) morning Coffee to a loud reception of Bee Eater chatter. They were all gathered on trees surrounding the “hole”.

This evening I managed to swap the memory card in the camera and couldn’t believe how much footage was recorded from the 2 days.

I have used a small selection to create this short film of them busy building. As you can see it seems that the whole colony is building tunnels, which is normal behaviour.

European Bee Eaters make tunnels around 1 meter long with a chamber at the end where the female will lay between 5 and 8 eggs. It’s obvious from the film that it takes a longtime to complete, around 20 days.

The clips are a selection from the 2 days, towards the end, the light levels improve as the bank is South West facing so keep watching to really appreciate the stunning colours of these birds.

{Remember to watch in HD if possible}

The Bee Eaters have started to make a nest, but not so sure they are staying

21st April 20179th October 2017Craig Rogers

Early this afternoon, the Bee Eaters (Abelharucos in Portuguese) were absent from around the house so I decided to take a quick look at their handy work and also quickly erect a pop-up hide.

I sat in the hide for a short while and a breeding pair turned up. They seemed a little nervous around the area, possibly with the hide there, but did visit a few times.

Only once did the male (I think it’s the male) go to the hole that they have started but then the pair flew away. It takes up to 20 days to build the nest so hopefully they will return to complete it. I have also left the hide in place for them to get used to it being there.

You can just about work out the start of the hole on the live view on the camera;

I did manage to get this shot of one sitting in a nearby tree.

Crested Tit

21st December 20169th October 2017Craig Rogers

I was wandering around our land this morning to figure out some locations for hides when I saw a pair of Crested Tits in an Oak Tree.

Back in UK they only usually appear in the North of Scotland, I’ve never seen one before.

Luckily, as I was scouting for hide locations, I had the camera with me so snapped this shot.

Ok, it’s not a great shot due to the messy background, but worth a share. I think this is a male as the crest is large and it has brown feathers on the underside.

{Click image for a higher resolution, click Flickr Link in caption to view photo on Flickr}

Crested Tit - D810, AF-S 500mm f/4, f/6.3, ISO800, 1/1250sec - {Flickr Link}

Rush Hour at the Feeders

7th June 20169th October 2017Craig Rogers

Just as an experiment, I pointed the camera at one our feed areas in the garden and set it to take a photo every 5 seconds. I left the camera for about an hour. Then I selected 60 shots and merged them to create this single shot. The sun was a bit too strong and still high in the sky, so the photo is a bit washed out, but not bad for an experiment.

It just goes to show how busy the feeders are!

{Click image for a higher resolution, click Flickr Link in caption to view photo on Flickr}

Rush Hour at the Buffet - D810, AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8E @ 70mm, f/8, ISO400, Shutter speed varied from shot to shot - {Flickr Link}

Linnets spotted in the garden

14th May 20169th October 2017Craig Rogers

Over the last week I’ve spotted a pair of Linnets in the garden. Our back garden is mainly surrounded by Hawthorn seperating us from farmland so the perfect habitat for many birds including Linnets.

Today I spotted just the male frequenting the electric cable that feeds our house. As the sun was setting I decided to stick the camera out of an upstairs window to get a shot of him. As a complete fluke, he hopped on top of the Hawthorn right in my line of sight and a perfect angle to the setting sun.

I had a 1.4x teleconverter attached to my 500mm f/4 so expected a small amount of sharpness drop-off but still a shot I’m happy with.

There is no sign of the female, but it’s only the female that sits on the nest, so hopefully he’s just keeping lookout and bringing her food.

{Click image for a higher resolution, click Flickr Link in caption to view photo on Flickr}

Male Linnet - D810, AF-S 500mm f/4 with TC-14III @ 700mm, f/8, ISO900, 1/800sec - {Flickr Link}

Buzzards Soaring

20th April 20169th October 2017Craig Rogers

It was an amazing clear sky early evening so I thought I’d try my luck at capturing the House Martins, my luck was out!

I did see this group of six Buzzards circling on the thermals though. We have a lot of Buzzards where I live, but I have never seen such a large group together.

This shot was taken into the low sun, so converting to Black and White was the plan from the start to get a nice silhouette effect.

{Click image for a higher resolution, click Flickr Link in caption to view photo on Flickr}