Photographs for week ending 22 February

Here are my photographs for this week. Although I only published on six days this week there are twenty-two images.

On Monday I used this first photograph as a preview, tempter of some of the images I'd taken of Henri squirrel.

Here are four more examples of the photographs I took Monday of Henri squirrel, on the first known visit to the new feed tray on the conifer tree.


Although the focus is slightly out; I've included the picture with the nut in his/her mouth as I find it a comical. In the image of a him/her upright holding onto the tree, with a wistful look in the eyes, I can seen a slight resemblance, ignoring the big bushy tail, of a Koala Bear pose.

Greenfinch.

You may recall that on 9 February I showed you scenes of the hide that I have installed in my garden. The published photographs above of our squirrel, Henri, were taken from the hide. I will be posting images of a Blue Tit including some when it was on the same tray, as per the example here. I thought you might be interested to see how close they were to my hide viewing window. The distance to the feeder (an unwanted shower soap tray) is just under one metre – actually it's 95.4 centimetres.

View from the hide viewing window.

I'm looking forward to more close encounters with these regulars and other, new visitors. I'll keep you updated.

On Friday I picked some oranges from our tree in the garden to have some freshly squeezed juice. The thought came to me as I drank a glass of the organic, velvet nectar for the title of a still-life photograph: Tree to Glass in Seconds. Here are two of my attempts to portray the theme.

Blue Tit photographs taken during last two weeks.

A juvenile Buzzard possibly practising for take off.

Check to see if flight-path clear; look right, look left, look behind, stretch wing to check it's working and feathers are OK.

You can see one of the feathers is damaged

It didn't fly off but decided to sit for some time. I couldn't stay any longer so missed my chance to photograph its eventual launch.

If you want to see a larger image of any photograph just left-click on it.

© Elloit Sampford

My Photographs for fortnight ending 15 February 2015

I only published photographs on social media on two days during week ending 8 February I decided to make this posting cover two weeks. However, there are 19 images for you to view.

Our squirrel vandal with his ill-gotten gains on the morning of the 5 February.

An unexpected visitor to our garden on the morning of the 8 February: its visit was brief. It is a Black-headed Gull in its 1st-winter plumage.

You will possibly think I have gone mad – perhaps I have.

 

I've recycled, an old, unused, little shed that sat in a corner of the garden by converting it into a photographer's hide. I've moved it into the shrubbery bed; positioning it close to the crab-apple tree in which the bird feeders are hung. A little bit of camouflage on the roof to help it to blend in, and I will let the japonica and neighbouring shrubs grow a little higher. I've also put a couple of off-cut branches into the ground in front of the viewing window. In the summer these will remain leaf free giving the opportunity for clear views of resting birds – that's the theory.

I hope to be able to show you some better, clearer photographs of my garden visitors in the future.

My first published photograph from my new hide was on the 9 February and was the first that I've shown of a Dunnock. He was on one of the new perches I mentioned I put up. Satisfaction when an idea works out.

A Blue Tit also photographed on the 9 February.

I know a Robin is a clichéd subject for a wildlife photograph but I took it and I like the result.

Peeping from the Forsythia.

I think they (two Blue Tits, a Long-tailed Tit and a House Sparrow) thought I could not see them.

Goldfinches photographed between the 10 and 13 February.

A handsome Blackbird.

Sometimes possibly an arrogant one.

I hope you enjoyed the images.

© Elliot Sampford.

My Photographs for week ending 1 February 2015

A second week of only publishing photographs on six days but there are ten images.

A Canada Goose and a Greylag Goose.

I thought I would show you this photograph not because of its technical quality – it was taken straight after a snow shower and the windows were wet – but because I do not think it is usual to see two Robins happy to be this close together; unless linked to a nest site. I had not seen it before so I just grabbed my camera and took the shot, on whatever setting it was on, just in time before one hopped away. I will keep a look out to try and get a better image if two meet up again. Perhaps they were out on a date as the time of year for mating is getting nearer.

It looks like the Blackbird is starting to build a snowman!

Eating while it was snowing on the 29 January. I couldn't decide which one to show you so here are both – the second has some falling snowflake smudges.

A light-hearted, but planned, duo of photographs taken on the 30 January. The moon at 15:37 hrs …

and then, as near as matters, four hours later at 19:34 hrs

 You can see that as it has arched through the sky it has rotated clockwise approximately 15 degrees.

A Moorhen traveling by water…

and by land. They were shot (photographically) four days apart this week.

I thought I would show you a photograph of a Magpie. However, then I remembered the rhyme – one for sorrow, two for mirth – and as some of you may be superstitious here are two.

As an aside you may notice I've used the first two lines of a version of the rhyme attributed to Lincolnshire in 1780 – well that is the location of these images.