meanwhile, back to the birds

...it was another bright and beautiful morning as we set off back to Arne in my ongoing quest to find and get better at photographing birds. But, just like yesterday, there was a disappointing lack of birds in the woods or on the heath. I get the feeling that we are in that quiet transitional period between summer and winter.

I discovered that the reason for the high water level in the channels is due to there being only a small difference between high and low tide height at the moment. Nonetheless, there was something of an air of excitement in the bird hide, which turned out to be caused by the arrival of a pair of ruddy shelducks. Apparently, there is considerable disagreement among birders about whether or not to treat these as wild birds. The argument against being that they are either feral or captive escapees. The argument in favour is that they are free flying and have arrived under their own steam. As far as I could tell, the jury is still out.

Anyway, they were still too far away, even for my 500mm lens, but one of the chaps I was chatting to in the hide showed me the difference that his 1.4 x converter made (effective focal length 700mm). I have to admit I am impressed and more than a little tempted.

Just as we were walking back to the visitor centre, I spotted this pair of long-tailed tits, Aegithalos caudatus land on a gorse bush that was heavily backlit. In my haste to choose which one to focus on, I chose the wrong one, but I am happy with the composition as a whole, especially with the spider webs providing additional interest...