England

Walks

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Birds Photographed Here

Avocet

Very luck to get a reasonably sharp photo of this Avocet – the bird on RSPB’s logo – from a hide from quite a bit of a distance….

Bar-Tailed Godwit

The Bar-tailed Godwit is a very rare bird – never had a photograph of it, and in fact we haven’t seen it before. Hence sharing this slightly blurrier…

Barn Swallow

We had a nice beach outing in Margate, Kent, with some limited success bird‑wise. While we saw swallows flying in the evening, not a single photo of these…

Black Headed Gull

Black Swan

Today’s outing was to Virginia Water, and by sheer luck I managed to capture a photo of this magnificent Black Swan. A few clearly local people were also taking…

Black-Headed Gull

This Black-Headed Gull was snapped at eye level from a raised section of bank in Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve.

Black-Tailed Godwit

A bit of a far-reaching photo today from our RSPB Pulborough Brooks outing a few weeks ago. There were quite a few Black-Tailed Godwits around, but unfortunately all of them…

Blackbird

The weather forecast a few days ago for Sunday looked very promising for photography: 14°C and lots of sun. Reality once again let us down somewhat. But even…

Blackcap

Further into the past we go – I’ve discovered quite a few unpublished summer photos. This Blackcap next…

Blue Tit

Decided to give this one a wide crop as the tree was so beautiful. But I would urge everyone to zoom the photo a bit to see that…

Canada Goose

This family of Canada Geese was working as golf course grass trimmers in Leeds Castle.

Carrion Crow

Carrion Crow in the most summery photo of the year so far…

Chaffinch

Today’s bird is a Chaffinch.

Chiffchaff

Today's bird is a Chiffchaff at RHS Wisley, Surrey.

Coal Tit

I didn’t know that Coal Tits eat pine nuts…

Collared Dove

As some might have noticed, I love snapping birds on hawthorns. Both in winter and in summer these red berries make photos so much more interesting. Here a Collared…

Common Buzzard

Another photo from that hill where I was trying to get eye-level shots of birds of prey. This time it’s a Buzzard, though I caught it slightly higher…

Common Ringed Plover

Large parts of RSPB Pagham Harbour were closed off to give ground-nesting birds some privacy to build their nests and raise their chicks. Quite a few species roost…

Coot

A seemingly peaceful scene of a Coot family was actually captured in the hustle and bustle of the Italian Gardens in Hyde Park, Central London, on a hot…

Cormorant

Canonical photo of a Cormorant: drying off in full wingspan.

Curlew

Another photo I am quite proud of – this time of my camera – is of this Curlew in flight. It’s pretty rare for me to get such…

Dipper

Finally had a walk that went more or less as planned — and it ended with some great results. We were walking along the banks of the River…

Dunlin

Another rare bird which I don’t think I’ve published in this newsletter yet: Dunlin. I noticed this group from quite afar, because they were very close to the…

Dunnock

Sorry for the tight crop, but I wanted everyone to notice the beautiful eye of this nice little Dunnock.

Egyptian Goose

Today’s bird is an Egyptian Goose at WWT London, London.

Feral Pigeon

Last photo from the Hogsmill Local Nature Reserve. A small scene from the everyday life of Feral Pigeons…

Fieldfare

Today’s bird is a Fieldfare in RSPB Rainham Marshes, Essex, England.

Gadwall

Reasonably common duck in the UK – but I think I caught it at an interesting moment. Shame the shutter speed I used was too slow, and the…

Gannet

Continuing with the coastal bird theme with this lovely Gannet. These are pretty big birds, with a wingspan of up to 180 cm. They typically fly low over…

Goldcrest

A very tough outing today to RSPB Farnham Heath. The weather forecast was looking promising, but the amount of sun was greatly exaggerated and the amount of rain…

Goldfinch

Finally a day without intensive rain, which meant a proper outing into an RSPB reserve. We had a few candidates, but the one with the “best weather” —…

Great Crested Grebe

First time managed to snap a Great Crested Grebe from such a short distance. It was diving right next to the shore in one of the bodies of…

Great Egret

A somewhat unusual catch for Arundel: a Great Egret. We were sitting in a hide overlooking the site’s main body of water and watched it walk slowly towards…

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Another case of having only a short time for a photo outing. This time it was Cannizaro Park, very close to Wimbledon Common. I have a few interesting…

RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch

RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch today — the annual event when people all over the country count birds in a chosen patch of land for one hour over the…

Greater Whitethroat

Today’s visit to Nonsuch Park was a lot less fruitful than the previous one in March. I blame the scorching heat – fewer birds were around, and the…

Green Woodpecker

A close encounter with a Green Woodpecker revealed a detail I’m sure I had seen before but never really noticed: the cheeks of this bird are as red as its…

Greenfinch

Some lovely autumn colours with this Greenfinch. This bush was right next to a feeder, and we hung around for about 10–15 minutes and managed to see the full…

Greenshank

Another properly wild bird today: the Greenshank. This shot was taken just a few minutes after yesterday’s, at a slightly closer distance. Greenshanks are reasonably rare, so I…

Grey Heron

Apologies for the delay today. A calm and composed Grey Heron from RHS Wisley to round things off.

Grey Plover

The next very rare bird we encountered – in fact, I have never seen it before – is this Grey Plover. Name-wise it does not sound rare, but…

Grey Wagtail (juvenile)

This lovely juvenile Grey Wagtail was photographed in the Peak District on the banks of the River Wye. There were a few small mossy islands in the stream,…

Greylag Goose

Herring Gull

This Herring Gull stands on the harbour arm with Margate Seafront in the background on the other side of it. Even though it was quite late – the…

Hooded Merganser

Now let’s blend in some ducks: a male Hooded Merganser. I didn’t manage a good shot with the head feathers up this time — will improve on the next…

House Sparrow

Another good outing to an RSPB reserve with a speaking name: Rainham Marshes. The rain took a temporary break and we had bright sun and blue sky —…

Jackdaw

First proper outing back at home and with this magnificent light and colours even a seemingly dull bird like a Jackdaw shines in some new colours. I have…

Jay

Wondering what food there is in the beak of this Jay?

Kestrel

A pretty rare photo of a Kestrel: full wingspan lit up by sunlight.

Kingfisher

Typically, to see – or rather to have a chance of seeing – a Kingfisher, we travel to WWT Arundel, which is a 1 h 40 m drive…

Lapwing

And back to waterfowl with this Lapwing.

Linnet

A reminder of summer colours with this juvenile Linnet.

Little Egret

Little Egret on a hunt…

Little Grebe

Today we have an adult Little Grebe in spring plumage — moulting into its breeding colours.

Little Ringed Plover

Finally had a proper outing to an RSPB reserve, so for the next few days I will be shuffling in some wilder birds.Today’s specimen is a Little Ringed…

Little Tern

As some might have guessed — today’s bird is the Little Tern, with its yellow beak and black tip. It’s actually physically smaller than the Sandwich Tern, which…

Long-tailed Tit

A rare peaceful snap of a little busy-bee bird like a Long-tailed Tit.

Magpie

Today’s bird is a Magpie at Wimbledon Common, Surrey.

Mallard

Another one for the “Stare at the Photographer” series, or rather: “Sneakily Peek at the Photographer”. I was actually trying to snap this Mallard sleeping, but because I…

Mandarin Duck

This pair of Mandarin Ducks ventured out on an expedition amongst dozens of groups of people having picnics in Isabella Plantation in Richmond Park.

Meadow Pipit

Another notable bird on the same walk was the Meadow Pipit. It was living up to its name – we saw quite a few above beach level in…

Moorhen

Mute Swan

A slightly older photo from the May heatwave, captured in Hyde Park at the Long Water corner nearest the Italian Gardens. The parent swan was diving for fresh…

Nightingale

An excellent outing to RSPB Pulborough Brooks yielded quite a few nice photos to share. The star of the show was the Nightingale — plenty could be heard…

Pintail

A few months ago I shared a photo of a Pintail from an angle that did not make it obvious where the name comes from. I promised back then to…

Nuthatch

Cannot say with 100% certainty, but most probably this Nuthatch’s lunch is a butterfly or moth cocoon.

Peregrine Falcon

As mentioned a few days ago, on the outing to WWT Arundel we saw lots of birds of prey. First one was a Red Kite. Second in line,…

Pheasant

I love this bird. Pheasants look good in pretty much any background: grass, bramble, hedge, or bushes.

Pied Wagtail

This Pied Wagtail joined us during our lunch break and was busy looking for a lunch of its own. It started with a small worm found in the…

Red Kite

A shortish outing with some really good light produced this snap of a Red Kite. I haven’t chosen the sharpest photo from the set, but the one with…

Red-Crested Pochard

Some more ducks are in order, I think, since WWT London is full of them. This Red-Crested Pochard is a regular visitor to the UK.

Red-Eyed Damselfly

Strictly speaking, not a bird — but hopefully still an interesting photo. This pair of Red-eyed Damselflies were laying eggs in one of the ponds at the Italian…

Red-Legged Partridge

First ever sighting of a partridge for us, even though these birds are supposedly meant to be abundant. We didn’t even notice them in the grassland until they…

Redpoll

A new bird for us — and for this newsletter — the Common Redpoll. I snapped a few dozen photos before realising that I didn’t recognise this bird at…

Redshank

Today’s bird is a Redshank at RSPB Pagham Harbour, West Sussex.

Redwing

I still have plenty of photos from Rainham Marshes, but let’s move on to another outing so as not to bore anyone. Farthing Downs is a good candidate…

Reed Bunting

Today’s bird is a Reed Bunting.

Reed Warbler

Running a bit low on high-quality photos in my back catalogue, I made a mid-week evening outing. The usual go-to place is Morden Hall Park – only about…

Ring Necked Parakeet

I know we had a Ring Necked Parakeet recently, but this one was very interactive and I thought I’d share what I managed to capture. It landed on this tree…

Ring-Necked Parakeet

This parakeet was spotted in Richmond Park looking out curiously from its nest to the utter delight of the public.

Robin

Today’s bird is a Robin at Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve, Kent.

Rock Dove

Not exactly a wild bird in a reserve, but this fully white Rock Dove was snapped in the canteen of RSPB Pulborough Brooks.

Rook

A scene from life of the Rooks. Photographed from a bit of a distance with some directional sunset-ish light.

Rooster

Not exactly a wild bird, but this fierce-looking Rooster was contrasting so nicely with the background…

Rose Necked Parakeet

Today’s bird is a Rose Necked Parakeet at WWT London, London.

Sandwich Tern

Weather was much better this morning in Chichester, so we headed out for an outing at RSPB Pagham Harbour, which is one of my all-time favourite reserves. As…

Sedge Warbler

Thursday is the day of the improved shot, and I think this one is a solid candidate. The previous version was already quite nice with a great backdrop, but it…

Shelduck

Shoveler

Apologies for the delay in sending yesterday’s edition: it’s a Shoveler at WWT London.

Skylark

Today’s bird is a Skylark in RSPB Pagham Harbour, West Sussex, England.

Snipe

Today’s bird is a Snipe.

Song Thrush

Speckled Wood

Not quite a bird, but still a beautiful creature — this was the first Speckled Wood butterfly I have seen this year. Definitely not the ideal angle, but…

Starling

Starlings, if photographed or seen from the right angle and in the right light, are actually stunning birds with very intricate colours. They are usually very active, though,…

Stock Dove

Stonechat

A very nice setting for this Stonechat on the shore of the lower pond in Petworth Deer Park.

Swift

A few years ago, when I had just started bird photography, we visited RSPB Rainham Marshes, which has a large Swift population. With so many flying chaotically around…

Teal

Treecreeper

A Treecreeper is another bird that uses its tail feathers for holding on to the tree — regardless of which side is up…

Tufted Duck

Tufted Duck is a rather common bird and can be seen in many mid-sized to large bodies of water. At the same time, if one is caught at…

Turnstone

This little bird is called a Turnstone — the name speaks for itself. It uses its beak to turn stones and seaweed near the shore, eating whatever prey it finds…

Variable Damselfly

Woodpigeon

Today’s bird is a Woodpigeon at RHS Wisley, Surrey.

Wren

As some might have noticed, I am alternating woodland birds and waterfowl. Continuing the woodland theme with this lovely little Wren.

Yellowhammer

I have a few more good sea bird shots from RSPB Pagham Harbour to share, but will now start blending in some meadow and heathland birds too —…

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