A blackbird's lunch

A busy day for me today, which has included my contribution to a working group of the Town Council, on a regeneration project for part of the town centre. I learnt a lot about some unique street furniture which we have here, and my photo of an example of it nearly became my blip. But because I can always go and re-shoot the subject, I have to present a probably unrepeatable image.

I walked up the hill out of the town centre along the old highway to London. I heard some sweet bird song from a garden close by and stood trying to locate the birds. A man walked past me, stopped and asked me what I was doing. When I explained, he listened too before saying as he left that the best part of his day was hearing the dawn chorus on his way to work this morning.

I then spotted this Blackbird in a garden tree, behind a wall next to our newsagent. The bird hopped about from branch to branch for several minutes and I took some pictures, until it suddenly bent right down and selected obviously the most attractive berry it could reach, stopped for a couple fo seconds to allow me to blip and then dropped down behind the wall out of my sight to have a good meal, I hope. I have seen these berries all through winter, as they stand out proudly on the branches, but still have no idea what they are. Has the blackbird run out of all other meals, or was it saving the best till last?

Using Aperture3.1, I've zoomed in by about 10 times, and am pleased that the detail has held up. This isn't Black and White, but the grey skies seemed to pull any colour out of the day. I love this 50mm lens. (Thanks again for the tip, Sarah H.)


ps
Thanks also go to those who commented yesterday and kindly expressed concern for Helena's sister and her family in Bahrain. Here is a small extract from an email she sent to all the family last night. There are both amusing and very worrying observations:

'Well, firstly, we are all fine and things are very quiet at home, but it has been an interesting and saddening day.  Up till last night, the protest at the Pearl ROUNDABOUT seemed quite a cheerful affair; they were camping out in true Bahraini style with popcorn machines, shisha, giant TV projected onto the 'stalks' of the Pearl at night and laptops in carpeted tents.  They had even set up a 'Media Centre'! 

But at 3am this morning things took a turn for the worse when the Riot Police moved in in force, and many are saying that a number of those police were in fact Saudi police kitted out in Bahrain Police uniforms and with Bahrain number plates on their vehicles.  It seems possible in view of what I've heard today........'