A post for the #Inglorious12th, featuring the right kind of bird shooting – that done with a camera.
INTRODUCTION
Today is August 12th, which is for well-heeled British hooligans the start of the grouse shooting season, known to them as “The Glorious 12th”. For folk like me, who view those who derive pleasure from taking pot shots at birds with utter contempt it is therefore the #Inglorious12th.
SHOOTING BIRDS THOMAS STYLE
I choose to mark today by posting pictures of birds shot the only acceptable way – with a camera. Most of these are from this morning, but I am also including some older pics.
The Little Egret that featured a couple of weeks back.A magpie on the path alongside the Great OuseI was at the racecourse before my colleague arrived with a key, and this wagtail caught my eye while I was waiting.
The first of the new pictures – this and the final cormorant pic are in their correct positions, but some of the rest of the cormorant series are out of order.
I finish with this Jay – two live photographs and the relevant page from my bird book.The close-up shot.
An account of a walk that was dominated by sightings of birds.
INTRODUCTION
I have been out walking again today. The temperature has risen sufficiently of late that I was able to do so without donning a coat (until a few weeks ago, one’s thickest coat was absolutely mandatory for venturing outside).
PART 1: HOME TO HARDINGS PITS
I set off as so often by following the Purfleet to the Great Ouse. The Lower Purfleet provided me with the first ducklings of 2016…
The river was at fairly low tide, so plenty of mud was exposed, which is clearly what attracted this bird (bear in mind that I was shooting across the Great Ouse, as I was walking along the east bank of the river while the bird was prospecting the mud on the west side)…
The long bill tells me that this one digs for foodMy second effort.
Leaving the river bank to skirt round old Boal Quay I bagged a couple of long range shots of a cormorant with wings extended and a closer up shot of a magpie…
It was just before leaving the river that I bagged my second new species of the day (not dissimilar in size and shape to the first, but different colouring and a different type of bill)…
As with my first new species I was capturing these from the opposite side of the Great Ouse.
My last shots of this section feature some Caspian gulls, and a couple of non-avian pics…
PART TWO: HARDINGS PITS TO
GAYWOOD & THE ROOKERY
This was, as expected the least notable part of the walk, but I did get some photographs…
PART THREE: GAYWOOD & THE ROOKERY
Just a few photographs of this little patch of woodland for you…
HOMEWARD BOUND
I headed back the way I had not come, and was rewarded by my third new species of the day…
Three shots starting with this one.A better effortMy best effort. I felt that the feature image should be one of the newbies and chose this.
During the last few moments of the walk I bagged a few more shots of some older acquaintances…
aspiblog 