tdgraves 8th big year 2021

[TonyQ]

A great start, and a beautiful Heron.

Am I right in remembering that it is very unusual to see a Green Woodpecker where you live? Well done anyway!

[Tdgraves]

Not really @TonyQ just difficult to get close/get a good shot, which is why I uploaded this, as it was sunny! They often fly over the garden, but very rarely land in it.

[Tdgraves]

Now this one is not my best work (against the sun and not great surroundings) however, I was quite excited last year to see my first UK cattle egrets at Welney, so imagine my surprise to find that they had been spotted in my own village. Well, of course I had to check it out. I was sceptical as I could not see the cows, but when I stopped at the white birds in the field, I could then see that the cattle were all laying down next to the feeder.

 

My village! Cambridgeshire, 3/1/21

 

Canon 5D Mark IV, 100-400 Mark II, ISO 1250, f7.1, 1/2500

 

7T4A7179 by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

10) Cattle egret

[Tdgraves]

A short walk at lunctime today (didn't bother yesterday as it was so grey)

 

Paxton pits, Cambridgeshire, 6/1/21

 

Canon 5D Mark IV, 100-400 Mark II, ISO 1250, f7.1, 1/2000

 

7T4A7187 by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

11) Common moorhen

[Tdgraves]

Paxton pits, Cambridgeshire, 6/1/21

 

Canon 5D Mark IV, 100-400 Mark II, ISO 1600, f5.6, 1/800

 

7T4A7202 by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

12) Winter wren

[Tdgraves]

Paxton pits, Cambridgeshire, 6/1/21

 

Canon 5D Mark IV, 100-400 Mark II, ISO 1600, f5.6, 1/5000

 

7T4A7208 by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

13) Tufted duck

[Tdgraves]

The sun did come out (briefly) but this give you a good idea about the windchill....

 

Paxton pits, Cambridgeshire, 6/1/21

 

Canon 5D Mark IV, 100-400 Mark II, ISO 640, f7.1, 1/2000

 

7T4A7209 by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

14) Common woodpigeon

[Galana]

5 hours ago, Tdgraves said:

bird watching on safari tends to conjure good mammal sightings....

Shhhh! We know that but keep it to yourself.

 

Some lovely sightings for you. Well done.

Edited January 6, 2021 by Galana

[elefromoz]

@Tdgravesis the "winter Wren" the same as what I would simply call a "Wren" ( I mean in the UK)? 

[Tdgraves]

3 hours ago, elefromoz said:

@Tdgravesis the "winter Wren" the same as what I would simply call a "Wren" ( I mean in the UK)? 

we call them wrens too, but that is their official name.

[Galana]

Call em Wrens. We hunt them on Boxing Day.

https://www.culturevannin.im/manxfolklore/hunt-the-wren-469497/

[Dave Williams]

The Heron shot is indeed a stunner. It's hard work scrolling down the images though or am I alone thinking they'd look better if they were a tad smaller and you could see the whole shot on the screen?

[Tdgraves]

@Dave WilliamsThanks. They are 2048 on the max side, which is what I thought was the preferred ST size. They do not appear overly large on chrome or on my iPad. How are you viewing them?

Edited January 8, 2021 by Tdgraves

[Dave Williams]

2 hours ago, Tdgraves said:

@Dave WilliamsThanks. They are 2048 on the max side, which is what I thought was the preferred ST size. They do not appear overly large on chrome or on my iPad. How are you viewing them?

On my iMac, you get about 66% ( top to bottom) of the shot on screen when it's in landscape, less in portrait. Strangely on my iPhone I can see both shots when the phone is in portrait but even less than I see on the Mac when I turn the phone sideways. Try turning your iPad on it's side and you might see what I'm seeing.

[Tdgraves]

@Dave Williams very weird - fine in both orientations on both iPad and iPhone for me, perhaps @Game Warden or @bgarciacan help?

Edited January 8, 2021 by Tdgraves

[Galana]

37 minutes ago, Dave Williams said:

on screen when it's in landscape, less in portrait.

Whenever I get this problem I just lie down on my side. When I wake up I find the problem has gone away.

 

Actually I find downsizing to 1000 makes little difference.

[Game Warden]

@TdgravesCan you post that photo question here with an example image? And tag @JohnR I'm not seeing your problem on my laptop running chrome.

 

Once done, I'll tidy up this topic. Thanks, Matt

[Peter Connan]

Magnificent photo of the heron, and great progress already!

[Tdgraves]

Thanks @Peter Connan

[JohnR]

@Game Warden, @Tdgraves   Sorry for the delay, I needed to rod a blocked sewer and discovered my rubber plunger had perished so my attention was elsewhere.

 

I can't see any problem. The beautiful image looks fine on my systems.

 

[Galana]

23 minutes ago, JohnR said:

and discovered my rubber plunger had perished

I have that problem too.

[Tdgraves]

The sun was out this morning, so I dragged the OH for a walk down the road where I had seen the cattle egret. Of course, the sun didn't last for long. However, he got to see the cattle egret in the UK for the first time and in the field before, this was also a UK first for him, very exciting!

 

My village, Cambridgeshire, 10/1/21

 

Canon 5D Mark IV, 100-400 Mark II, ISO 1600, f6.3, 1/1000

 

7T4A7248 by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

No sooner had we moved on then it did too...

 

Canon 5D Mark IV, 100-400 Mark II, ISO 1600, f6.3, 1/8000

 

7T4A7251 by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

15) Glossy ibis

[Tdgraves]

We saw several other species, but photo not great, so I am happy to wait. We will be repeating the walk I feel. Another rarity as we were leaving...a melanistic grey squirrel

 

7T4A7282 by tdgraves, on Flickr

[PeterHG]

Cattle Egret and Glossy Ibis on a single walk near the village! Not bad, not bad at all!

[Tdgraves]

The brambling was back in the garden yesterday, so hopefully will be able to catch it soon. The sun appeared today and Fen Drayton had dried out enough for me to do a circular walk without having to turn around, albeit it was a bit muddy. This was my first sighting and I need help/reassurance with the ID. When I was with it, I felt that I hadn't seen one before and when I hit the books/internet, my conclusion is a rare one, hence the plea for help.

 

Also sized to 1080 to see if @Dave Williams can see them better...

 

RSPB Fen Drayton, Cambridgeshire, 12/1/21

 

Canon 5D Mark IV, 100-400 Mark II, ISO 4000, f5.6, 1/800

 

7T4A7345 by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

7T4A7347 by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

7T4A7351 by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

16) Siberian chiffchaff