Roe deer

9:40 pm, and the light was virtually gone last evening when we came across this roe deer buck grazing in a meadow. Photographed from the car at 1/20th sec f4 at 400 ISO.

Roe deer buck

Roe deer buck

Pied Wagtails

I am indebted to Ed Treverton for finding this cracking little nest of pied wagtails. Its built on the floor amongst a wood pile and I guess vulnerable to rats maybe but quite protected from magpies and cats.
To get the photos I used Ed's remote control on my Nikon and kept the camera well back on a tripod with a flash.
This entailed listening for the young birds begging for food and me pressing the remote as I couldn't see the nest from where I was perched some 15 metres or so away. Success rate was low, maybe about 20% had the adult or bits of it in the frame!
Fortunately the birds were very accommodating and I did get a few acceptable images.

Pied wagtails

Pied wagtails

Pied wagtails

Green woodpeckers leave the nest

This morning the green woodpeckers that I'd been watching finally left the nest. I'm still not too sure how many chicks there were as I saw 3 but more may have left earlier in the day.
I quickly realised that today was a big day in their lives when the adults were continually flying around the nest trees calling like mad but not actually bringing food to the nest.
Eventually the male bird landed below the nest with a beak ful of food and proceeded to tempt the first youngster out of the nest. When it happened the sun had gone in and it was raining which dropped my shutter speed to 1/50th sec. It was a rather unceremonious occasion for the chick as it over-reached and tumbled out with wings flapping and claws flailing for grip.

Green woodpecker chick

Male at the nest

Tempting the chick out with food

An unceremonious exit

Just fledged.

One in and one out.

Grey Wagtail

 I spent 4 hours sat in my hide next to the river this morning hoping to get shots of kingfisher or even otter. Both failed to turn up for a filming audition but they did send along 5 juvenile grey wagtails. One of these posed on my 'kingfisher' perch and it at least gave me something for the hours spent.

Grey Wagtail (juv).

 

Grey Wagtail (juv).

Green woodpeckers nearly ready to fledge

Yesterday saw the great spotted woodpeckers leave the nest. They had been fantastic to watch and the photos were a bonus. I will never know how many chicks were in the tree cavity but they certainly mad a lot of noise.
The green woodpeckers are noisy when an adult lands on the nesting tree but its a much deeper call and not as incessant as its cousins.
Today I saw the young greens for the first time putting their heads out to greet the adults at feeding time. The great spotteds were visiting the nest every 10 minutes or so but the greens fill their crops with food and then regurgitate it to the chicks. I photographed the male at 08:00 this morning and then not again until 10:30 so they can try your patience a bit.

Female green woodpecker at nest

Female green woodpecker at nest

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sand martin and swallows at Walmsley

I grabbed a couple of shots from the tower hide at Walmsley of a sand martin and some swallows that looked rather odd. One has a lot of white in its feathers, the second has a deformed beak and the third appears to be a possible martin/swallow hybrid if such a thing is possible. It was a fair distance away so the quality isn't too good!

Sand martin

Swallow

 

 

Swallow with deformed beak

Possible Martin/ swallow hybrid?

Blue tit fledgling

Heard this newly fledged young blue tit calling for food in the lower branches of a tree in Coronation Park, Wadebridge. Couldn't resist a few shots!

Blue tit fledgling

Blue tit fledgling

Blue tit fledgling