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.

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.

Maulden Woods

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

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.