As it says in the title, I’ve been out with the birds, our feathered friends. This wasn’t supposed to take hold of me the way that it has, but I’m hooked. What more can I say? Not only am I hooked, but it costs me money to be able to do it properly. I’m not on about the SBL (stupid big lens); I would have gotten around to buying that anyway. No, it’s what it costs me in nuts and seeds for the birds; they eat better than I do.
I don’t mind paying them to pose for me; it’s the seed in the coat pocket that does my head in. I very nearly inhaled a nut when I pulled a handkerchief out of my pocket to blow my nose the other day. I can live with the looks off the missus when the seed falls on the floor from my coat pocket, or she finds some in the washing machine that inadvertently got caught in my jeans. It’s the glare from her that could curdle milk at fifty paces, the one that bores a fist-sized hole in the back of your skull.
I only tried nature photography for a change because you all know that a change is as good as a rest, or so they say. When I started, I knew what a few of the birds were; the rest, I wouldn’t know if they came up to me with signs around their necks. However, as the days have passed into weeks, I’ve learned to identify them easier, I’m no expert and never will be but I’m getting better.
I still get a thrill when I see a flash of blue in the distance, Is that a kingfisher on the wing, or is it an empty Pepsi can afloat on the water? I know that my eyesight is not very good without my glasses, but I should be able to tell the difference between a bird flying and an empty can.
I left it late to go out today and never got to Forest Farm until roughly 15:30, so I was taking a gamble that there would be something around. Armed with just my camera, spare batteries, a bag of nuts, and a bag of seeds, I made my way to the first hide. Quietly, I entered as quietly as a big 6’2″ 20 stone hairy arsed bloke with size 11 boots can do. I needn’t have bothered being quiet; there was bugger all there, except for a moorhen who had seen it all before. Making my way to the second hide, I stopped at the gate to photograph the birds that were hanging around waiting to be fed.
I was really quiet entering the second hide, as this is the one that seems to get most of the birds. There were a few photographers there, along with two egrets. I got busy taking photos of the egret closest to me, I’ve just counted through my egret shot sand on the 51st shot, it took to the air leaving a trail of water behind it. I knew I had caught it but didn’t know if I had got it all in frame.
As you can see from the photo, I needn’t have worried, I had my shot, which was good as the next one, which was a pair of legs in mid-air. I left the hide to take a walk to the canal, pausing at the gate to watch the blue tits, great tits, coal tits, and the other birds that had gathered there. After taking some photos, I moved on to the canal. Taking a slow walk along the canal, I paused at the old forest lock to lay some seeds and nuts so that I could hopefully get some photos, but sadly, the birds weren’t playing ball today.
carried on walking along the canal bank towards what once would have been known as ‘middle lock’ but which is now the end of the canal. The birds were much more obliging at this end, happily eating the nuts that I laid out for them. I was able to get plenty of shots before turning back towards the hides before going home.
I skipped the first hide instead, opting to go straight to the second one. I was rewarded with a flash of blue coming into view from my left side, within seconds of entering the hide. Luck was on my side, the kingfisher I had spotted landed in the reeds directly opposite me and perched there for what seemed an age. This allowed me to run off several shots before he flew off in the direction of the canal.
I was happy that I had a sighting of a kingfisher and finished off the trip by capturing shots of chaffinch and robins before going home to empty the nuts from my coat pocket.
