birblog – Rons life through the lens

Always Be Prepared For The Unexpected

sitting having my coffee in the Deer Hide i thought it would be a good idea to put some seed out for the little birds, i focused in on the feeder and was trying to get the birds before they landed. Using a high shutter speed of 1/5000 of a sec. It was very hit and miss wjen i was about to call it a day.

Ilooked up to see a big pair of eyes looking at me behind the lens, the Buzzard had come in as i was chewcking my camera and sat on a Log i had placed for the birds before they land. I could not believe my eyes and fired some shots off before it got scared of the shutter sounding.

You just have to love nature it comes to those who wait, ejoy the moment like i did.

Song Thrush

The beautiful singing Song Thrush came to feed on my feeder with Sunflower on, its something i have not witnessed before as i see them feeding on worms on the ground. Anyway this is a lovely image of it looking up at the feeder above. The long legs and beautiful markings on the breast together with a huge amazing eye just makes it so special and sits in my top 10 list for its song it produces every morning and evening singing for an hour or more at a time, springis here.

River Carving

Just waiting for any Bird to make an appearance so I carved a Silver Birch knife.

Day 7 Early 5am Dawn

Up made a cuppa and set off yo the Deer Hide, this is the one I built 5 years ago. The sites are amazing when they happen I nearly have 360 degrees to view. Built from Telegraph poles and using the old tree as an anchor it makes a great place to sit.

You don’t always see anything but sitting listening to the birds chorus is so peaceful.

Like anything you don’t put the hours in then don’t expect a fantastic image of anything. The saying The Right Time The Right Place is Wildlife Photography.

6.30 Sun just coming up

No sightings yet just the Male Pheasant and a Nuthatch calling. It’s still quiet for this time of year, then just as I was about to leave the most beautiful bird landed on the Hide window looked at me and started to fall the female.

The Redstart Male sat a foot away for 5 secs sang his song then flew off. That was so amazing I love the Redstart they turn up late April early May.

The Moors Sunday Evening

Took Al my mate up to the moors just outside Bentham, the light was not that good but what we saw made up for it. I took him to a spot where I know the Short Eared Owl hunts and you see Grouse, Curlew, Lapwing and Skylark, plus the Brown Hare.

We arrive and spotted 2 Curlew over a wall but they reacted to fast flying off. Then we walked down to another wall, then up in the sky I said look Al a Buzzard being chased by a Lapwing, followed by anther big bird. Only a Short Eared Owl.

Al’s face was a picture grinning and looking at his LCD on the A9ll, look Blackie he said Owl you were right. Up on the hill top breaking the natural hill stood a Grouse that I brought Al’s attention to.

With the light fading we headed back to where I thought the SEO would be and as we came across the hill a Barn Owl was hunting in a small valley running from left to right. It could not have got any better when I told Al that the Barn Owl won’t go that area as the SEO and BO don’t get on.

Anyway the BO went across the horizon with a vole and headed to my mates Barn that has a BO nest box in it, I sighted 4 years ago. I said to Al it will be out in less than 5 min and to my word it did.

It went to the place the SEO was and it happened the SEO came out from nowhere and attacked the BO but only both to go in different directions. The BO came back our way and disappeared over towards the barn.

What an hour up on the moors, such great times for Al who is learning all the time but more importantly time spent going something so wonderful with my mate.

Delete To Continue

Having written 695 blogs since August 2020 I feel the need to delete posts that I consider not important to my blog, in the early posts I would just write and post images just trying to keep or get more followers but what I did write did have some relevance to either my life stories, the Army or my love for Photography.

Looking back through my posts is interesting and how my grammar and expression has his improved over 8 months. So deleting them was the only way of continuing my blog and after a week at looking at other offers from Wix, Godaddy, Squarespace, and other sites it became apparent that I would have to start from scratch again.

Not knowing if my early blogs from last year will be read iwas hesitant to delete them but but to keep the wheels turning and continue with wordpress I felt it the only way ahead. Yes I could spend another £200 on a Buisness Package just doing the same thing.

I could just stop but by writing everyday helps me with my illness that hides in my body and appears when I least expect it. So by telling my stories through my camera lens helps me so much and brings happiness and maybe a smile to some people.

So I will continue my blog and won’t give up after putting so many blogs together.

Had a bad day yesterday so loaded my best stic images that I had not edited of my Wonderful Friend the Barn Owl. Looking at her sitting feet away from me gives me so much pleasure. I want to thank her and hold her but I can’t.

Memories By the Photographer and Carver.

Having been gifted to take photographs of Owls and then to turn the image into a memory is so satisfying.

When the passion is so strong and your dedication and love for a bird is total commitment,there is no better way than to make a memory live on

This Owl gave me so many beautiful moments while I sat in my hide that it had to go into 2 Wood Frames I made 3 years ago.

Maybe it was meant to be that her grace still brings beautiful memories of our short time in each others company.

Hand made frames for the Barn Owl that gave me so much joy.

Estuary Seafront

How lucky I am to have countryside, the West Coast and a lovey Estuary where the species of birds are amazing.

Together with a large lake something different to film is always on hand.

When the tide comes in we get Teal,Widgeon, Redshank, Curlew, Lapwing and many other birds. The Egret is a popular visitor. Getting close is still difficult but when you have such a great camera it gives you more flexibility to get the image.

Feb Day 12 Photo Challenge

Aim today is using the Sony 100-400mm film in video of the Owl on the new stump

Winds High so may not happen but I am here ready.

I am a day behind, call it age if you must. But after a day of accidents yesterday including falling into my hide and ripping all the ground supports out. Then loosing my phone getting a tree stump for the Barn Owl to land on. Then putting the stump in the ground I sliced my figure open and while doing it the Owl spotted me. I put it down to one of those days

Anyway I am back the hide is still standing and in strong winds so its getting a good test.

My observations of the Barn Owl are very interesting in that I was always told that the weather hinders her hunting skills. Rain wets her feathers so they stay from getting wet. Wind affects her hearing so its much harder to hear movement in the grass

Hunting through the day is a bad sign as it means their hungry. But saying that I see her catch voles in 40 mins at 2pm and still come out for more.

Then yesterday I sat here and I really thought of packing up and going home, but as the wind picked up and there was no way she would fly in this.

As I packed my gear she came out and tried her hardest to catch something but without success.

Being Ex army you get a feel for the ground and the natural environment. To my left of the hide is a banking about 25 feet tall. It has a ditch at the bottom of it and as you crouch down the wind is not strong at all.

So she comes along the field and heads for the ditch witch runs about 200 metres and she flys low towards my hide . Diving every so often for her kill.

I think its a Male but yesterday I spotted brown speckles on the breast which would suggest its a female.

The Carving From My Image

I feel very happy to be able to photograph the Barn Owl then turn the image into a wood carving from Silver Birch.

How Beautiful is this

Angel Delight

How can you not admire this Owl in flight hunting in Total Slence, reason being is the wings.

Some Owls have a comb like leading edge, this enables the to fly silent. Other birds don’t have this feather formation and thats why they make a whooshing noise.

Yesterday I witnessed the Barn Owl beating its wings to pin point its pray. But I was amazed how still and how many different wing formations she did. Looking through my images the Sony A7r4 200-600 focused on the Owl and never lost focus.

They talk about the Sony A911 being the best in the business for tracking. But when your tracking is like this what more do you want. And a facility to crop from 61mp.

Here are some more images of many I got of her on 2 occasions when she came in to hunt.

There not all the same.