Stock Shot

You'll have picked up from my previous Blips that I do a bit of birding. As well as setting myself a challenge for 2011 of 200 species, I'm also trying to get acceptable photographs of every different type of bird I see. So far I have 69 out of a total of 103 Year Ticks. They are posted on my Flickr photostream.

After a raptor afternoon at "the hide", where we had cracking views of Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Red Kite and Buzzard, I went up to the Top Lake at Roundhay Park, to see if the male Goosanders had returned. Sadly they hadn't but I did spot a solitary Stock Dove on the feeding platform. I hadn't got a shot of this species, so I got as close as I dared and you can see the result HERE. After the bird flew off as I tried to get even closer, I concentrated on a Coot that was wrestling with a particularly worrysome bit of weed.

Something caught my attention to my side and on turning I found the Stock Dove back. It seemed to be saying to me, "Here, have another go". So I did. And here it is.