28 August, 2008

Backyard Nature...

...red in tooth and claw.

This Sparrowhawk spent ninety minutes plucking and devouring a Starling on the lawn this morning.





Over at Dunstable STW two Spotted Flycatcher were doing what they do best from some dead elms.



21 August, 2008

New Camera meets Reed Warbler

I received my new camera a few days ago - a Canon 40D. Overall, this camera scores highly, especially in the 'bang-for-buck' category. So now all that's needed is a sunny, windless day !

Reed Warbler at DSTW. This adult was still taking food to a nearby reed bed for the kids.



15 August, 2008

Maulden Woods

A distant pair of "cronking" Raven circled up over the woods.

12 August, 2008

Extremadura, Spain, May 2008 - Part 4

A Woodchat Shrike.



A male Golden Oriole - virtually impossible to stalk !




Spanish Imperial Eagle - less than four hundred individuals of this large Aquila exist in Spain and a few in Portugal, but numbers have increased over the last two decades. This appears to be an adult showing white shoulder blazes and pale nape.



After a bit of experimentation, it was possible to capture a digiscoped image of European Eagle Owl. I used the 50mm Canon kit lens on the 350D DSLR and took the shot through my ageing Kowa 'scope - hand held ! The image shows two well grown chicks, still with downy plumage.