One thing I've noticed about creating a blog around bird photography is that you need half decent light in order to stand any chance of getting a half-decent shot. With the weather being largely terrible for the past couple of weeks, I've had less and less opportunities to get out. And once' I'm out the light has generally been so poor I've been forced to use higher iso levels that I'd typically be happy with.
Still I did manage to get one new bird in the past two weeks of general pain and suffering, so let's take a look at it.
Dartford Warbler
I've had so many near misses with this elusive little bird. Every time I've been to Arne, I've heard them, but never been quick enough to get a photo of them. A quick tail flash is all I've normally seen, and I was giving up hope of getting a half decent shot as the weather turn.
Still a visit to Arne on Saturday saw my luck was in and the distinctive churring alerted me to the nearby warbler. I was able to get a good 20 feet towards him (or her) and it showed no signs of being scared. In fact it hung around for a good 3 minutes and only flew off when a young family came close.
This gorgeous bird is only found in a few locations in the UK and Dorset is one of its hotspots. Noted for its long tail, buff breast and red eye markings, it's a very distinctive warbler that has a distinctive churring call. It's very rare due to its limited habitat and there's thought to be just over 3,000 breeding pairs.
This is the closest I could get, around 20 feet away, which shows just how small it is!
And here's a crop of the little fellow.
So that's it for birds this week. I'm now up to 120 photographed birds with another 152 left to find.
Spotted what I suspect is a Meadow Pipit.
A fuzzy Long-Tailed Tit in flight.
A Mistle Thrush. As noted earlier, the day was overcast for the most part :(
A selection of geese and waders at Middlebere.
I also went to Stanpit late Sunday afternoon, but the light was even worse, which made for some pretty disappointing shots.
A group of Brent Geese.
Another that refused to pose for me :)
A group of Lapwings.
Lapwings in flight.
The back of a Redshank.
And a Cormorant.
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