Topic: Birdies!

[moonbells]

In the space of half an hour this morning, all before 9am, I saw a huge number of birds in the garden. Grabbed the long lens digicam and started snapping through the double glazing, which is why they're all slightly fuzzy and slightly odd contrast.
I am particularly pleased with the Blackcap, which is a summer visitor and I tracked it down by its incredible song.  Pity the long tailed fuzzball is so blurry, but the darn thing wouldn't keep still! Robin was one of a pair  ;D ;D (appropriately the narcissi are Pipit) and Mrs Blackbird was busy collecting some of the moss I tried to rake out of the lawn last night! Blue burglarbird  ;D was snapped through the conservatory window with the bird of paradise leaves in the way, hence the blurred framing! (And the Clematis montana.)

moonbells

[dragonfly]

What lovely photos, moonbells. 

I only get a few birdie visitors in my garden, my puddy tats tend to frighten them  away  :'(  or worse.....  :o  That's one of the downsides of owning cats........

Enjoy your feathered friends.......  :D

[honeybee]

Those are fab pics moonbells, knowing how difficult it is to get good pics of garden birds.
I cant tell you how long ive sat patiently and quietly and then the pic turns out a load of rubbishe as they dart off, so youve done amazingly well.

On a footnote, What is it with the filter on this site?  Already ive come across two regular words that we as gardeners would often say and they get exchanged for something ridiculous, it drives me bonkers  :-X

[Yellow Petals]

I likes these pictures!  You are very lucky indeed with your little blackcap! Whereabouts in the UK are you?  I think long tailed tits are just so cute.  Wish they would come to my garden.  I think it's lovely the way they fly around it little groups, being so shy and all.  I've had wrens, robins, blackbirds, greenfinches, goldfinches, bullfinches, great tits and blue tits but not much else (although I must add I am very happy with the above, being a birdwatcher, they are all lovely to me!)

[moonbells]

I am in the Chilterns, by some decent tracts of woodland. My house isn't on the road either - faces a stand of sycamores (which I've come to loathe the seedlings of).  So we get a lot of quiet and birdsong.  Himself nearly opened up a window yesterday at about 5am to yell at them to keep quiet!

I've got a cat too - but she doesn't have a catflap which means we can choose when  she goes out, and it seems to benefit the birds.

The funny names in my original post were deliberate as I wasn't sure the filter would pass the real names! But Yellow Petals seems to proven that blue tit is allowed!

Forgot to say there was also a song thrush and a wren, but didn't snap either of them. One day I'll get that wren... it's a particularly deafening one!

moonbells

[honeybee]

lol....yes i noticed after reading yellow petals post, and then got more counfused until i had worked out that you did it deliberatley. ;D

Moonbells ive been posting about noisy early morning birds this week too  :)
Now ive resigned to the fact that i shall just have to get up at 5am, so thats now when my day starts until further notice  ;D

[simon404]

Thanks moonbells, love the closeup of the bluetit  :)

[Merlins Mum]

Lovely photos moonbells, you get a nice variety of birds in your garden. we get the usual sparrows and starlings and occasionally bluetits.  we used to have a robin who was always around when I was gardening but haven't seen him for over a year.  have some resident blackbirds who always nest in our trees.  tonight one pair had a go at Merlin, he came rushing in as if the devil himself was after him and I thought mrs blackbird was going to fly into the kitchen to get him.  saves me telling him off  ;D

MM

[MagpieDi]

Moonbells, they are amazing photos !  I'm lucky enough to get the birds, but I wish I had your camera !!  Brilliant focus !  ;D

[GREENWIZARD]

bluetit's my favourite pic too :)
lovely pics m.
hope one day you capture the wren.

[moonbells]

Moonbells, they are amazing photos !  I'm lucky enough to get the birds, but I wish I had your camera !!  Brilliant focus !  ;D

Thanks. I wasn't sure whether to put them up, given the fuzzy nature of some of them (shooting through double glazing on a dull morning does tend to muck up the clarity and the focus) but thought what the heck.  The only reason the blackcap's sharp is that one was taken out the bathroom window and not through glass!

Camera was a big treat to self last year in lieu of a summer holiday.  Very bulky (still use the small digicam most of the time) but worth getting out for occasions.  I do astrophotography too and it means I can get nice shots of sun/moon/comets etc.  I have some great ones of the Venus transit - went to allotment and spent several hours there, occasionally nipping over to camera to take another one! (yes I do have a solar filter...)

moonbells

[Anne Robertson]

I'm lucky enough to have a woodpecker visit nearly every morning at 7.30, I make a point of being at the window to see it, you can never tire of such a pretty site.  :)
Lovely pics, wish I could get some of the woodpecker.

[Marianne]

Beautiful picture Moonbell.  And you have my favourite little bird, the Long Tailed Tit!

Simply gorgeous - thanks  ;D :D

[Heldi]

I think your pics are great and I absolutely love the one of the blue tit.  You are so lucky to have so many types of birds visiting your garden. I have not ever seen a long tailed tit.  I'm pleased to say I'm gradually getting more birds coming into the garden. Today there was a pair of greenfinches. First time ever! I also was visited by something very loud with a red,slightly tufty forehead. Not a goldfinch but having looked in my book think it might have been a redpol. ?Can't find my book to check that spelling.

[dibberxxx]

what gorgeous pics the close up of that blue tit is lovely is so hard to take pics of birds and u have really captured some lovely shots.thanks for sharing

[Dirkdigger]

Moonbells, loved the photo of the blue tit, tried to enhance in photoshop. Hope you like.

[GREENWIZARD]

that's lovely dd. i like your name "burglar bird" i call him zorro :)

[Dirkdigger]

Gw, its not my photo. I liked it so much I tried to enhance a little. All the credit goes to Moonbells

[GREENWIZARD]

i know dd it's m's. :)

[moonbells]

:) Hey DD if you want the original to play with, I'll pop it somewhere.  It had already visited photoshop a bit before I put it up, only to correct for the greyness of shooting through the double glazing.

moonbells

(Blackbird pair back wormhunting again this morning - who says you can't have lots of birds, an organic plot AND a cat!)