Gannets at Bempton

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Last week I undertook what is becoming a near-annual pilgrimage to the cliffs at Bempton to visit the seabird colony there. This year the wind was blowing stiffly off the land and pushing most of the smaller birds far out to sea - so we saw a mere handful of razorbills, guillemots and puffins. But the Gannets were out in force and the light was perfect.

The following is a close crop from one of my favourite shots of the day. I was rather pleased with this one.

Spring is springing

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I can't believe that it is nearly April and I have only posted three entries this year so far! Life is good, but busy for various reasons, and leaving little time to get out with my camera. To make matters worse my local park had a pollution event last year which has killed all the fish in the river and driven away a lot of the wildlife. No kingfishers this year I fear.

But things are looking up and spring has brought return visitors, including a welcome return for the grey wagtails. Low water levels are encouraging them to feed further upstream than normal giving me a great vantage from which to watch them. Hopefully will get some better shots than this soon - but here is one to keep me going.

In other news I have a rather exciting trip planned for later in the year. Watch this space!

Stags in a row

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Another weekend without any photography. So instead here is a shot from a couple of weeks back

This shot of three stags in a row worked better in my head than it did in practice. I thought that the two out of focus stags in the background would make for an interesting effect. As it is I think they are slightly distracting. Wondering now if I should have gone for a wider depth of field. Or picked out the middle one. Thoughts anyone?

After the fox

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This morning I was in two minds as to what to do. Take advantage of the fantastic light and head for the coast? Or have a more conservative outing into my local wildlife reserve? Eventually I decided on the latter - and I'm so glad I did.

The light was stunning, and the weather bracing. Initially there was not much around. Until I turned a corner and spotted two young foxes on the reed-bed. I took a couple of record shots through the trees and then set about stealthily moving to a better position with an uncluttered view.

The nearer of the two foxes saw me and meandered off. The second fox seemed more relaxed. It spotted me as well - but allowed me to get to a better vantage, take a series of shots and then pop a tele-converter onto the lens to take a few more.

Finally it bored of being the centre of attention and it too wandered off - but not before glancing back and giving me the best shot of the series. Probably the best extended wildlife encounter in my local park!

Urban Graffiti III

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Carrying on my series of photos on Urban Graffiti (because I had yet another wildlife walk with no wildlife!) here is one from today.



Okay - the walk wasn't entirely without wildlife. I saw a sparrowhawk in the distance and various small birds. But nothing is being very cooperative at present!