An Osprey just outside Hakodate a couple of days ago................
It's been a grey old week, cool enough for a light dusting of snow on the hills but not cold enough for any of it to fall in town yet. The skies have been grey all week.............
This Grey Heron looked a bit odd perched on top of a house just around the corner from my flat.
I messed up the Osprey shot, my settings were all wrong as I had forgotten to change them from the week before (it was set up for BIFs on a sunny day basically).
Lots of birds on the move now. Large numbers of Dusky Thrush especially as well as lots of common ducks at various locales. Nearer home today there were lots of small birds in the thinning vegetation alongside the river including Red Flanked Bluetail and Japanese White-eye, it was too dark for any decent shots though.
In the same place were Coal, Varied and Great Tit, Daurian Redstart, Bullheaded Shrike, Rustic and Blackfaced Buntings, Hawfinch, Japanese Bush Warbler, Grey Starling and Dusky Thrush.
I also saw a rather lost looking Salmon splashing around in the tiny river............
Looking forward to the Ashes, this blog started just under 4 years ago when England were getting hammered 5-0, hope it is a totally different outcome this time. In the footy I've given up on Liverpool and England for a while, caring about them and their results after the previous 12 months showings has brought nothing but misery. So hopefully the cricket will bring some cheer..........
I missed that BBC show about Lee Evans and other famous twitchers, BBC's iplayer doesn't work outside the UK (dunno why, I'd even pay for it if I could) and birding documentaries don't seem so popular on torrent sites either.........
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Wow I've never got close to an Osprey like that before! The claws are impressive.
ReplyDeleteSome beautiful photos considering poor light. I went out today but sunlight lasted only an hour before I got caught in drizzle and gloom. I'm looking forward to the ashes too but think oz will get hammered.
ReplyDeleteGreat Osprey shots Stu, despite the grey days which seem to be everywhere but at least we haven't had snow - yet. Dont worry about the LE show, it was like watching paint dry only worse. It was so exciting I fell asleep during it - and I reckon to be a birder!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments.
ReplyDeleteUntravel, yup it was as close as I've ever been to one as well, it is cropped but not by so much.
Russell, I doubt very much Australia will get hammered at home in a test series any time soon, at least not by England. It should be a close series though.
Hi Phil, my father is going to try and catch a repeat of it and record it. Judging by the reactions on some birding forums I'm just curious to see what all the bruhaha is about...........
I'm hoping, but only HOPING the Ashes will be something to smile about !
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