What birds (are you/have you been) watching? What birds have been watching you?

[Richard Tarleton]

Respect

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Hmm. I have to admit that I am not that opposed to culling when it comes to anthropogenically modified wolves.

Are they the sort that need silver bullets?

[Bryn]

Are they the sort that need silver bullets?

No, just a somewhat miffed Larus argentatus.

[Richard Tarleton]

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

[gradus]

Driving along a quiet Suffolk lane I came across a kestrel perched in the middle of the road. About 20 feet away it took off but there was no sign of prey, perhaps borne aloft but I didn't see anything dangling. I've only ever seen kestrels perched on telephone poles etc in the past. I looked up and there was another one doing just that. Very kestrel-y near Debenham.

[Richard Tarleton]

Driving along a quiet Suffolk lane I came across a kestrel perched in the middle of the road. About 20 feet away it took off but there was no sign of prey, perhaps borne aloft but I didn't see anything dangling. I've only ever seen kestrels perched on telephone poles etc in the past. I looked up and there was another one doing just that. Very kestrel-y near Debenham.

Just a guess, of course, but at this time of year could they have been a couple of young trainee kestrel siblings? As well as small mammals they also take large beetles, that sort of thing....a likely explanation is that one had seen something moving on the road, missed it, sat there looking perplexed and then flew up when you came along - would that fit?

[gradus]

Just a guess, of course, but at this time of year could they have been a couple of young trainee kestrel siblings? As well as small mammals they also take large beetles, that sort of thing....a likely explanation is that one had seen something moving on the road, missed it, sat there looking perplexed and then flew up when you came along - would that fit?

Certainly would.

[HighlandDougie]

On returning to the Scottish but 'n ben delighted to see that an old swallow's nest outside the house under the eaves has been "repurposed" (forgive the modern cliché) by a pair of Spotted Flycatchers, currently feeding young. There has almost always been a pair somewhere near the house every summer in the twenty five years I have lived here.

[Padraig]

If you have not already seen this item on bird photography ...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-49187301/audubon-photography-awards-is-this-the-perfect-wildlife-picture

[LezLee]

On returning to the Scottish but 'n ben delighted to see that an old swallow's nest outside the house under the eaves has been "repurposed" (forgive the modern cliché) by a pair of Spotted Flycatchers, currently feeding young. There has almost always been a pair somewhere near the house every summer in the twenty five years I have lived here.

I've been birdwatching for over 50 years but have never seen a spotted flycatcher! I have however been lucky enough to see a corncrake - a baby one at that!

[Vox Humana]

If you have not already seen this item on bird photography ...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-...ldlife-picture

Fabulous photos. I particularly loved the Red-winged Blackbird with the condensation issuing from its mouth.

[Richard Tarleton]

Though....wildlife photography of this sort is (IMV) becoming increasingly removed from the exerience of observing wildlife...great fieldcraft, but more of an art form....a lot of setting up, filters, post-production, editing, some fakery.... What happened in the eagle/rabbit/fox story? Did the fox give up, or was the combined weight of the rabbit and the fox, hanging on grimly, too much for the eagle? As it stands it's an illustration of the food chain, or a metaphor, or a moral fable, or something....while I'm sure it's genuine, it reminded me uncontrollably of the eagle/baby film we looked at recently.

Last weekend I took over 100 pictures over 90 minutes of a (wild) young male goshawk killing and eating a rook in my garden - none of the images would win any prizes, no single one sums up the event (a life or death struggle, the rook took nearly 15 minutes to die)...some of the shots were through a closed (fortunately clean) window....he ate the lot....But a lot of good luck, with no preparation, just a record of an event.

[Vox Humana]

I think it all depends on why you press the shutter button. I enjoy taking snaps of the birds I see too, but they are just that: snaps, no more. Enjoyable memories of good days out, interesting visitors to the garden, or good for the (very) occasional boast (though I've never had the fortune of snapping a Goshawk - love your shot!) I once agreed to act as a guide for a day to a birder from Singapore who was visiting the UK. Before he came I asked him by email whether he had a telescope or wanted to borrow one of mine. He didn't seem to understand the question and, eventually, I found out why. In the far east birders rarely seem to use binoculars, and telescopes even less. To them birding is synonymous with bird photography - or, rather, snapping. Bird photography is indeed more about art, as is all 'proper' photography. It's neither superior nor inferior to, say, fieldwork for a bird atlas. Like twitching, it's just a different way of enjoying birds. An FRPS who used to be a bit of a birder once said to me, action shots are always the most interesting ones. Perhaps one day I'll take his advice - if I can ever bring myself to knuckle down and do all the requisite planning and field work to ensure I get the shots I will have spent at least an equal amount of time envisaging!

[LezLee]

Though....wildlife photography of this sort is (IMV) becoming increasingly removed from the exerience of observing wildlife...great fieldcraft, but more of an art form....a lot of setting up, filters, post-production, editing, some fakery.... What happened in the eagle/rabbit/fox story? Did the fox give up, or was the combined weight of the rabbit and the fox, hanging on grimly, too much for the eagle? As it stands it's an illustration of the food chain, or a metaphor, or a moral fable, or something....while I'm sure it's genuine, it reminded me uncontrollably of the eagle/baby film we looked at recently.

Last weekend I took over 100 pictures over 90 minutes of a (wild) young male goshawk killing and eating a rook in my garden - none of the images would win any prizes, no single one sums up the event (a life or death struggle, the rook took nearly 15 minutes to die)...some of the shots were through a closed (fortunately clean) window....he ate the lot....But a lot of good luck, with no preparation, just a record of an event.

Wow! I'd be absolutely thrilled to see a goshawk, never mind photograph one! I did manage a photo of the aforementioned
corncrake but it's not exactly clear. My husband was luckier to get a great one of a greenfinch feeding a cuckoo. However we only ever took transparencies so would have to get them printed to show to people.