So That's The Way To Do It!! - March, 2024

This post is a bit technical and, if it is not of interest, you might just want to scroll down to the pictures - I will not be in the least offended!

It is almost exactly a year since I bought my current camera set-up. My kit was getting worn out, and in need of service, but it was also getting a little too heavy for me to carry about over long distances, so I looked into going mirrorless. Having been an avid Nikon user for about twenty years, that is where I first looked. I had been using a Nikon D7200 body with a Sigma 50-500 lens. I found that if I wanted to go down the Nikon route it would cost me a small fortune, and save me virtually nothing in weight. This caused me to look at Canon. I found that there was a suitable alternative from Canon in the form of their EOS R7 with their RF 100-400 lens. This came in at about a third of the price of the current Nikon offering! Yes, the lens was not quite as versatile as was the 50-500, but the set up came in at half the weight of my exisitng Nikon set-up. Furthermore, the 32.5 megapixel cropped sensor of the R7 versus the 24.2 megapixel cropped sensor of the Nikon, made up, somewhat, for the loss of reach of the lens.

Although I was immediately impressed by what I had bought, it took me quite some time to get used to the switch between Nikon and Canon. I now feel that I'm fairly well accustomed to it.

If there is a downside to the set-up it is that the largest aperture available with the RF 100-400 is F5.6 at 100 mm (F8 at 400 mm), meaning it's a little more difficult to use at low light levels, although the lack of noise at high ISOs is rather good, and compensates for this to some extent.

One of the features of the Canon R7 is the AI driven focus facility. This can be set to recognise animals (including birds) and focus on the eyes. In servo focus mode, once the focus has been achieved, the focus will track the item, no matter where it moves to in the frame. I found this to be very useful, but I was having difficulty in achieving that initial focus, especially when the subject was a fast-flying small bird at a distance.

We now come forward to 4th March this year. I was aware of the facility to set up the R7 with three separate custom settings (C1, C2, C3), easily accessible from the dial on the top of the body. I had briefly played with this in the early days of owning the camera, but kept putting of actually using this facility. On this day, I decided that it was time to do something about it.

I frequently take photos of birds, etc. that are in confusing backgrounds or have intervening foliage in front of them. I therefore have my camera set for 'spot focus' for most of the time. It was only when reading up about the facilities of the camera that I found a recommendation that for moving subjects in an open background (sky, for example), the thing to do is to use 'whole area' focus. The AI looks for the nearest object in frame that conforms to the target focus (animals) and locks onto it.

I then set up C3 to incorporate this focus facility together with servo focus, which takes changing distance into account.

So that I can quickly get back to my static subject in a confusing background, I set up C1 accordingly.

C2 is not yet set up but I am reserving that to potentially use in the dragonfly season with settings more suited to photographing dragonflies in flight with confusing backgrounds.

The very next day, I went out specifiacally to put the C3 custom setting to the test. This is what I found.

Tuesday, 5th March          Sence Valley Forest Park

I set off in the ealy afternoon with Sence Valley Forest Park being only ten minutes from our home. Having parked my car, I entered the site, stopping to photograph a pair of Canada Geese beside the path by Goss Water. Here's one of them.

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) - Sence Valley FP

Out on the water, but fairly close in, were some Black-headed Gulls. This one was transitioning into summer plumage

Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) - Sence Valley FP

The tern rafts, installed by the excellent Leicestershire and Rutland Ornithological Society (LROS) were occupied by Cormorants. I love the punk 'hairstyle' of a Cormorant in 'courtship' plumage.

Cormorant (Phalacrocorax Carbo) - Sence Valley FP

As  I approached the northern end of Goss Water, I saw some gulls in the air in the distance. I quickly flipped the dial on my camera round to C3 and sharted shooting. To say that I was impressed by the results is an understatement. If only I had used this setting before. Here is a heavily cropped shot - not the best in the world but it will illustrate the situation.

Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) - Sence Valley FP

- and here is the image that it was cropped from. The camera has found the subject and followed it  until it was way off centre.

Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) - Sence Valley FP

Here are a couple more shots from that short session. The first is in winter plumage and the second in full summer plumage.

Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) - Sence Valley FP

I made a short diversion up to Usbourne Pool, seeing nothing of interest, and then retraced my steps a while and wandered on to the ramp that leads down to the water's edge of Horseshoe Lake. A Mute Swan was here, hoping to be fed.

 

Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) - Sence Valley FP

Although the majority of gulls present were Black-headed Gulls, I am relatively positive that these two, sitting on posts out in the water, were Common Gulls - but I'm not very good at gulls! Common Gulls are not a species that I'm used to seeing in these parts.

 

Common Gull (Larus canus) - Sence Valley FP

Here's another shot of a Black-headed Gull, part-way through its transition to summer plumage.

 

Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) - Sence Valley FP

I then headed to Stonebridge Pool and made a circuit of the pool, stopping in at the hide on the way, but seeing little of interest. The only thing I photographed was a Tufted Duck at the northern end of the pool.

Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula) (male) - Sence Valley FP

I was on my way back to my car when I heard the distinct call of a Common Buzzard somewhere. One of the problems of wearing the sort of hearing aids that I do is that I have no sense of direction of what it is that I'm hearing. However, I soon located the Buzzard as it emerged from behind trees and made some circuits high above Horseshoe Lake. I quickly turned the dial on my camera to C3 and was back in business again!

Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) - Sence Valley FP

Switching back to C1, I took a few more shots as I passed Goss Pool once more.

 

Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) - Sence Valley FP

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) - Sence Valley FP

I was, of course, highly delighted with this newly-found facility on the camera - my only regret being that it took me a year to find it! I suspect that there are people out there that are astounded by my ineptitude - I'll use my age, and the many distractions I have had over the past twelve months as my excuse!

My next blog post might feature another local visit - one that did not give me the ability to exercise those new settings. Or it might not!

In the meantime, please take good care of yourselves and Nature. Thank you for dropping by - - - Richard

 

The Last Ten Days of January, 2024

Much of my time so far this year, as in the latter part of 2023, has been spent on domestic duties, having to take on much of Lindsay's share, due to her relative incapacity. Towards the end of the month, I started to feel that I needed to get out more, if only for short spells, in order to regain some of my sanity. This resulted in me visting four local locations on three separate days. At no time was I away from home for more than two hours.

The first part of this period resulted in sightings of very common species. However, things warmed up a little in the last few days of January.

Monday, 22nd January          Garden

Although we had the pleasure of Siskin and Blackcap females visiting this day, the only photos I took were of a Blackbird. Although a common species, we have seen a worrying decline over the past couple of years in the numbers of this bird visiting our garden. This female is on the edge of our birdbath, before taking a drink.

Blackbird (Turdus merula) (female) - our garden

Friday, 26th January          Garden  :  Saltersford Valley Country Park  :  Oakthorpe

The Siskin and Blackcap were still with us but, again, no photos. I did, however, manage to grab a few shots of a Wren from my study window. As you can see, it had been a while since I last tidied up the garden!

Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) - our garden

That afternoon, I took some time out, heading to Saltersford Valley Country Park. On my previous visit, I had found the boardwalk section of the area closed off, due to flooding. I was disappointed to find this area was still closed off - with no reason visible. I did take a walk round the remainder of the area that was open and saw very little of interest, only photographing a confiding Robin, and a distant Coot.

Robin (Erithacus rubecula) - Saltersford Valley CP

Coot (Fulica atra) - Saltersford Valley CP

Being a little dischuffed with my visit to Saltersford Valley, and having only been out for a short while, I set off to visit the nearby location, by Oakthorp, where I'd recently seen the Yellow-browed Warbler and more recently photographed Fieldfare, in the hope of getting better Fieldfare images. I only saw one Fieldfare in the distance, which fled when a couple with a dog passed by it. I did, however, spot a Goldcrest, and spent about half an hour trying to photograph it, but failing miserably. The best that I could do was get a couple of record shots of it in flight.

 

Goldcrest (Regulus regulus) - near Oakthorpe

It was then time to head back to Lindsay, only 10 minutes away.

 

Saturday 27th January          Donisthorpe Woodland

The following day I paid a short visit to Donisthorpe Woodland, just down the road from home. Part of this area is alongside a now isolated section of the old Ashby Canal. I passed alongside the canal for a while, only spotting a Mallard on the far side of the canal and a Great Tit in the edge of the woodland, opposite the canal.

Great Tit (Parus major) - Donisthorpe Woodland

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) (male)

I then took a circuitous route which took me along the edge of the Moira Furnace site, and then back to my car. I saw disappointingly little during my walk, only stopping to photograph some teazels, a Blackbird, and another Great Tit, which I shan't bother you with here.

 

Teasels are the dead flowerheads of plants of the genus Dipsacus. They are still used by some people for carding wool but, for me, they are an architecturally atractive plant

Teasel (Dipsacus sp.) - Donisthorpe Woodland

Blackbird (Turdus merula) (male) -Donisithorpe Woodland

Sunday, 28th January          Garden  :  Longmoor Lake

This was a good day for visits by birds to our garden, with 18 species setting a foot down. These included 8 Long-tailed Tits - always fun to watch.

 

Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus) - our garden

Most exciting, however, was the appearance of a Reed Bunting. We last saw this species in the garden in February 2023, when a female visited. These shots were taken from my studty window.

 

Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus) (male) - our garden

That afternoon, I made a quick visit to Longmoor Lake. This lake is situated in the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Wood, which is close to our home. In the early days of this wood, when the trees were mere saplings, the area was good for birds, including Barn Owl and Tawny Owl.  However, the trees have grown rapidly, and are so densely placed that it seems to have made it unattractive to the birds. I saw virtually nothing until I reached the lake, some one and a half kilometres from the car park.

I spent a few minutes in the hide and saw that Canada Geese and Greylag  Geese were there in good numbers, as were Wigeon. I took some photos from the hide but didn't stop long as my time was limited.

 

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) - Longmoor Lake

Greylag Goose (Ansa ansa) - Longmoor Lake

I then walked to the far end of the lake, taking a few more photos as I went.

Wigeon (Anas penelope) (male + female) - Longmoor Lake

I went a little beyond the far end of the lake, before turning back. Immediately I did so, some Long-tailed Tits moved through the hedge beside me. The light was poor, but I did manage a shot that is just about useable. 

Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus) -by Longmoor Lake

On the way back, dusk was beginning to fall. I photographed an immature Mute Swan that looked as if it was hoping that I'd feed it, but it soon gave up.

Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) (immature) - Longmoor Lake

It was that time of the afternoon when the geese decide that it is time to return to their night roosts. There is plenty of warning when this is going to happen as their calls build up to a very noisy crescendo before they take off in groups.

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) - Longmoor Lake

I took a shorter route back to my car, arriving home at the expected time.

Tuesday, 30th January          Staunton Harold

It was only two days before I managed another brief trip out, prompted by a report of a Cattle Egret in a pasture with sheep, opposite the hall at Staunton Harold, and less than ten minutes from our home.

 

Having parked my car, I walked up the road past the sheep pasture, and a little further, before turning back without seeing the egret. Arriving at the public footpath that leaves the road and goes uo the hill through the pasture, I decided to give it a try in case the bird was skulking over the brow of the hill - it wasn't.

As I descended on this footpath, I scanned over the nearby lake, looking at the swans and gulls that were on the grass on the far side of the lake - and there, to my surprise, was the egret, at the water's edge, in a position where it would be clearly visible from the road that leads to the hall.

As I crossed the causeway between the two lakes, I took a shot of a Coot.

Coot (Fulica atra) - Staunton Harold

A little further on, the road takes a curve to the right that brings it closer to the lake, and the egret was clearly visible from there. I got in quite a few shots before it decided to return to where it had originally been seen - the sheep pasture. You may be able to detect that this bird is showing a hint of colour on the forehead - the start of breeding plumage.

Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) - Staunton Harold

Given more time, I would have walked up the road to take some photos of it in the sheep pasture, but I needed to get back to base to check that all was OK with Lindsay.

 

No photography was attempted on the last day of the month, although we had a good number of birds visiting the garden.

Currently, I have no idea when my next blog post will be as we have a plethora of medical visits coming up in the next fortnight, culminating, if all goes to plan, with Lindsay having a second replacement knee on 12th February. I can see that I'm going to be rather busy for a while!

In the meantime, please take good care of yourselves and Nature. Thank you for dropping by - - - Richard

The First Half of November, 2023

This post, covering the first half of the Month of November will bring me as far up-to-date as I am ever likely to get - unless I start mending my ways! It covers three short trips out, and garden observations - a few of which were cause for excitement.

Friday, 3rd November          Garden  :  Saltersford Valley Country Park  :  Thortit Lake

A Small Tortoiseshell butterfly graced us with a visit this day - not a rare butterfly, but a rather late one. It seemed to be in fine condition.

Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) - our garden

After lunch, I had a short trip out to Saltersford Valley, in the hope of finding some late dragonflies or damselflies. I had no such luck as, after the heavy rains, the boardwalk was closed due to it being under water. Other parts of the area were only just passable too without the benefit of wellington boots. The only photos I took were of a Coot, and a Black-headed Gull with Tufted Duck and Moorhen in the background.

Coot (Fulica atra) - Saltersford Valley CP

Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) - Saltersford Valley CP

Being somewhat disgruntled by the lack of wildlife on show at Saltersford Valley, I called in at Thortit Lake on my way home. Here again, I was thwarted by flooded paths, the only bird even vaguely photographable being a distant and noisy Great Spotted Woodpecker.

Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) (male) - by Thortit Lake

Sunday, 5th November          Garden  :  Old Parks Farm

The weather was relatively dry this day and, having finished lunch (always taken in the conservatory), I photographed a few of the birds in the garden. These ranged from the very common Great Tit, the slightly less common Greenfinch, and the extremely infrequent, and delightful, visitors in the form of Long-tailed Tits.

Great Tit (Parus major) - our garden

Greenfinch (Chloris chloris) (female) - our garden

Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus) - our garden

I had seen a report of a Short-eared Owl being seen from the Ashby de la Zouch bypass the previous day and, as the weather was reasonably favourable this day, I determined to go and look for it in the area that it had disappeared into. I spent about an hour and a half until dusk approached and saw nothing more interesting than some brown sheep, which I found amusing, and some fungi, the identity of which I have no idea.

Sheep - Old Parks Farm, Ashby de la Zouch

Fungi - Old Parks Farm, Ashby de la Zouch

Monday, 6th November          Garden

Carrion Crow are now daily visitors to the garden, frequently coming as a pair. This was one of our better weather days.

Carrion Crow (Corvus corone) - our Garden

Tuesday, 7th November          Garden

Our male Robin is getting to be rather territorial. We are quite used to seeing Robin getting aggressive towards Dunnock and other Robins, but lately he has been seeing off Chaffinches and House Sparrows too.

Robin (Erithacus rubecula) - our garden

Wednesday, 8th November          Garden

The Long-tailed Tits were back again on this day.

Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus) - our garden

Friday, 10th November          Longmoor Lake, Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Woodland

It had been a long while since I last visited this place, which is only about ten minutes by car from our home.

I was a little surprised as to how much the trees had grown since I last visited, and a little disappointed at how few birds were in the area whan I visited in the late afternoon. 

A visit to the shelter, not far from the entrance, showed a lack of pellets on the floor, indicating that birds of prey, especially Barn Owl, were probably not roosting there .

Little was seen on my way down to the lake, and I only spotted common fare on the lake. Most obvious were the Canada Geese.

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) - Longmoor Lake

Mute Swan were there - as always.

Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) (immature) - Longmoor Lake

There were plenty of Black-headed Gulls on the water at the far side of the lake and, occasionally, one would take to the air and fly by.

Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) - Longmoor Lake

I spent most time, however, trying for shots of Wigeon. These are quite nervous birds and, even at a respectable distance, tend to swim away from any moving person. Here are some of the results.

Wigeon (Mareca penelope) (male) - Longmoor Lake

Wigeon (Mareca penelope) (male + female) - Longmoor Lake

I had been hoping to see an owl, but no such luck came my way.

Sunday, 12th November          Garden

This was an exciting day in the garden as we saw our first visit by a Pied Wagtail since February - a very smart male bird.

Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba yarrellii) (male) - our garden

Almost as exciting was the return of a Bullfinch for the first time since early September, when a juvenile had visited us.

Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) (male) - our garden

Tuesday, 14th November          Garden

A visit from a Blackcap this day was our first observed since mid-March. It was a dull day, and photography was difficult.

Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) (female) - our garden

Wednesday, 15th November          Garden

The Sparrowhawk was, and still is, making things difficult for the other birds visitng our garden. Here it is on one of its visits this day.

Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) (male) - our garden

Carrion Crow is not bothered by the Sparrowhawk, and affords some protection to the smaller birds. I think its intelligence shines through in this shot.

Carrion Crow (Corvus corone) - our garden

I expect that my next post, in about a week's time will cover the second half of November, and will feature some more recent visitors to the garden as well as some old friends, and maybe a visit out.

In the meantime, please take good care of yourselves and Nature. Thank you for dropping by - - - Richard