** 20% OFF ALL ACRYLIC PRINTS UNTIL MARCH 31ST **

Linnets spotted in the garden

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

Siskin photos from the Garden and a few others

I noticed the pair of Siskins on a Nyger Seed Feeder on Sunday morning, so I grabbed my D810 and 500mm F/4 and thought I’d try and get close enough not to scare them away. I was surprised at how close they were willing to let me get to them at around 10 metres. Even with the 500mm, I couldn’t get close enough for frame filling shots, but close enough to get some shots. Maybe I should of grabbed a Teleconverter too.

This first shot is the Male followed by the Female and then as both were on the feeder together, I took a shot so that you can see the difference between Male and Female.

{Click image for a higher resolution, click Flickr Link in caption to view photo on Flickr}
Male Siskin - D810, AF-S 500mm f/4 @ 500mm, f/8, ISO1100, 1/500sec - {Flickr Link}
Female Siskin - D810, AF-S 500mm f/4 @ 500mm, f/8, ISO1000, 1/500sec - {Flickr Link}
Pair of Siskins (Female left, Male right) - D810, AF-S 500mm f/4 @ 500mm, f/8, ISO560, 1/500sec - {Flickr Link}

Below are a few more shots that I took on Saturday afternoon in the late afternoon sunlight. The last photo of a Starling had me thinking and I learnt something new. I couldn’t help noticing how bright it’s yellow beak was and remember that the last time I took a photo of a Starling, it’s beak was black. Starling’s beaks (and even legs) change colour in spring (yellow) and autumn (black).

Goldfinch - D810, AF-S 300mm f/2.8 @ 300mm, f/9, ISO200, 1/400sec - {Flickr Link}
Dunnock - D810, AF-S 300mm f/2.8 @ 300mm, f/9, ISO160, 1/500sec - {Flickr Link}
Starling with it's 'Breeding Beak' - D810, AF-S 300mm f/2.8 @ 300mm, f/9, ISO200, 1/500sec - {Flickr Link}

Not the Siskin shot I was after, but it was still good to be close up.

The light was great this afternoon, so I put up my popup hide close to one of the feeding areas I have in the garden in the hope that the pair of Siskins would visit. I saw them this morning at another feeding area I have.

The male did turn up, but very briefly and he flew straight to the Nyger Seed Feeder rather than going via one of the many perches I have setup.

I don’t normally take photos of birds on a feeder, but couldn’t resit this one.

{Click image for a higher resolution, click Flickr Link in caption to view photo on Flickr}
Siskin on the Nyger Seed Feeder - D810, AF-S 300mm f/2.8 @ 300mm, f/8, ISO500, 1/500sec - {Flickr Link}

Continue reading >>

The Goldfinches are having to share their Nyger seed!

WARNING! Terrible quality photo, look away if you are offended!

This afternoon, I was running a cleaning procedure on my pond pumps which is about 4 metres from one of the bird feeding stations in the garden when I heard a bird call I didn’t recognise.

I look up and there is a pair (Male and Female) of Siskins looking to come down to the Nyger Feeder. It required a bit of a top up, so I grabbed some seed and topped it up. Of course, by now they had flown away, so I went back to the kitchen and waited.

Soon enough they came back to feed. It was raining at the time and as the kitchen window is around 25 metres away from the feeders I grabbed my D7100 (crop sensor for extra reach) and put my 500mm f/4 and 2x Teleconverter on to try and at least get a record shot.

Actually, it’s a terrible photo, but considering it’s a crop sensor at ISO4000 handheld at 1/125second through a window with it raining outside and with a 2x converter, I didn’t expect it to be this good!

Once the weather clears over the next few days, I’ll get out there in the hide and hopefully get a few snaps.

It’s the first time I’ve seen Siskins in the garden so pretty happy that more and more birds are visiting.

Pair of Siskins
Pair of Siskins

Nuthatch in the Golden Hour

This morning the light mist was creating a nice golden glow just after sunrise.

There was a lot of activity with Sparrows and Blackbirds building nests. I also saw a Mistle Thrush in a neighbouring field so I’ll be keeping an eye out for them again (Story from last year).

A pair of Nuthatches were going up and down one of our Oak Trees, always amazes me how they can descend head-first down a tree.

Here’s a photo I managed to get of one of them.

{Click image for a higher resolution, click Flickr Link in caption to view photo on Flickr}
Nuthatch - D810, AF-S 300mm f/2.8 @ 300mm, f/8, ISO220, 1/320sec - {Flickr Link}

Video Footage of a Goldfinch on the Nyger Feeder

Goldfinch
Goldfinch
There are a lot of Goldfinches visiting the garden at the moment, probably due to the 2 Nyger Feeders we have.

So today, I set up the Bushnell Natureview with the 60cm closeup lens attached and positioned it on a tripod 60cm from one of the Nyger Feeders. I was hoping for a Goldfinch on each perch, but of course, that happened on the other feeder! However, I still got some close up footage of a Goldfinch cracking open the Nyger seeds.

{Remember to watch in HD if possible}

0
    0
    Your Cart
    Your cart is emptyReturn to Shop