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

 

Spring! What Spring? - 1st to 7th March, 2023

Technically we are in metreological spring now, but with the cold weather and snow we have been getting, it doesn't seem like it at all. We have experienced the coldest March weather that the UK has had since 2010. Sadly, I have not been out as much as would have liked as I have been rather caught-up with household projects, plus sorting out the purchase of a new camera and lens with the associated accessories - hence the rather long gap between my last blog post and this one.

I now have the new camera, which has seen me switch from Nikon to Canon - something that I was disappointed to have to do. My old camera set-up was getting a bit long in the tooth, and I was finding it rather heavy to carry around. I wanted to get something more up-to-date and go mirrorless, while still retaining the same sort of reach as I have with the old set-up. To do that with Nikon was going to cost me over four thousand pounds and leave me with something that was not significantly lighter than my old set-up. To do this with Canon, I have spent around two thousand pounds and ended up with something that is less than half the weight of the old set-up and greatly superior (it would seem). However, the switch of manufacturer means that I am now embarking on a complex learning curve - something that may not come easily at my age!

For those tha might be interested, I have purchased a Canon EOS R7 and a Canon RF 100-400mm lens.

The new camera has only recently been wielded in anger, so all the images in this blog post were taken with my Nikon D7200 with a Sigma 50-500mm lens.

Thursday, 2nd March                    Garden

Although Carrion Crow is a reasonably frequent visitor to the garden they usually only drop to the ground momentarily to pick up a morsel of food. On this day one spent about quarter of an hour wandering around on the ground.

Carrion Crow (Corvus corone) - garden on 2nd March, 2023

Happily for us, we are now seeing Wren in the garden far more frequently, busily probing for insects.

Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) - garden on 2nd March, 2023

Not quite so welcome, was the Sparrowhawk, which now appears to be a young female.

 

Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) (female) - garden on 2nd March, 2023

Totally unwelcome, however, was the Brown Rat which decided to return this day.

Brown Rat (Rattus norvegicus) - garden on 2nd March, 2023

Friday, 3rd March                    Garden

We were, and still are, getting occasional visits by Redpoll. This is one of the two that visited this day.

Lesser Redpoll (Acanthis cabaret) - garden on 3rd March, 2023

That night, the garden trail cams caught our first Hedgehog of the year. I was surprised, and even disappointed, that it poked its head into both our Hedgehog feeding stations but did not stop to eat.

I was even more disappointed that, having seen it put its nose into one of our Hedgehog houses, when I checked that house the following day I found a very flat and dead Hedgehog that had clearly been there for some months.

Sunday, 5th March                    Kelham Bridge ; Sence Valley Forest Park

I spent some time at Kelham Bridge Nature Reserve this day, but very little was happening and I came away again after an unproductive hour and a half. Here are a few shots of some of the things I did see.

Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) - Kelham Bridge NR

Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis) - Kelham Bridge NR

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) - Kelham Bridge NR

Hoping for better luck, I decided to visit Sence Valley Forest Park, entering at the south-west corner. The place was quite busy with people, but there was more to be seen.

Five minutes beside Goss Water was more productive than an hour and a half at Kelham Bridge.

Teal (Anas crecca) (male) - Sence Valley FP

Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) - Sence Valley FP

Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) - Sence Valley FP

I then moved on to Horseshoe Lake where, at one point, there is a ramp that leads down into the water. Here, it would seem, the birds are used to being fed by the public, as I was accosted by Mute Swans and Canada Geese as I approached.

 

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) - Sence Valley FP

I spent a little while here, attempting to photograph gulls. I was quite surprised to find a Common Gull - a species that is far from common in these parts. In fact, I believe that I have only knowingly seen this species in Scotland!

 

Common Gull (Larus canus) - Sence Valley FP

More common than Common Gull is Lesser Black-backed Gull.

 

Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus) - Sence Valley FP

By far the most common gull in these parts is Black-headed Gull. I caught this one just coming in to land on the water.

 

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

I decided that it was time to give up and go home when a stupid woman stood in front of me and encouraged her two dogs to enter the water and confront the two Mute Swans that were close by. One dog decided to have a go. The female swan gently backed-off, but the male stood his ground and looked game for a fight. I was hoping that it would attack the dog or, better still, the dog owner, but the dog soon retreated.

 

Tuesday, 7th March                    Garden

 

For the first time in many weeks we had a garden visit from Long-tailed Tit.  There were two of these delightful little birds, but I only got a shot of one of them.

Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus) - garden on 7th March, 2023

As the above represents the last images taken with my old camera set-up, this seems like an appropriate point to end this blog post, with the next one featuring my first efforts with the new kit. Given the long-range weather forecasts and my commitments, it will probably be at least another week before my next output.

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

2022 Hebridean Adventures, Pt. 3 - 24th to 26th May

Herewith, Pt.3 of my account of our May visit to the Outer Hebrides.

Tuesday, 24th May                   North Uist ; Grimsay ; Benbecula ; Baleshare ; North Uist

The day turned out to be a largely sunny day, but temperatures were still quite cool (max 13°c) and breezy. I had an early start to the day as I had to sort out what the results of the moth trap deployment were. Sadly, as reported in my previous blog post, I  only did marginally better than my zero result from the one deployment last year, with just two moths of two different species being caught. It hadn't helped that, as we went to bed, I saw that there had been a late change to the weather forecast and what was supposed to be a dry calm night was now going to be interrupted by heavy rain. There was no way I was going to get dressed again and bring in the moth trap. So I ended up with a trap full of rain rather than moths!

Dismantling the trap and putting everything away afterwards took some time, with everything being so sodden, so it was after breakfast before I  took a stroll up the lane from the cottage. Part way up the lane, a Short-eared Owl flew up from some long grass carrying prey and departed at speed.

 

Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) - Clachan Sands, North Uist

Several other birds were photographed during this brief walk. The Twite was the most exciting of these for me, and the Skylark the most amusing!

 

Redshank (Tringa totanus) - Clachan Sands

Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) - Clachan Sands

Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) - Clachan Sands

Twite (Linaria flavirostris) - Clachan Sands

Skylark (Alauda arvensis) - Clachan Sands

At the far end of the lane, a rabbit posed on the horizon of the machair.

 

Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) - Clachan Sands

We didn't get out until about 10.00. Shortly after turning into the road south at the end of the lane, I  spotted a Snipe and managed to get some shots through Lindsay's open window. Maybe I should mention that, in my opinion, North Uist seems to have a huge amount of fencing, compared to most of Scotland. This may make it sound unattractive, but fencing needs fence posts, and you will see, from photos on this blog, that these have their advantages!

 

Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) - from B893, North Uist

We stopped for an early lunch at the Namara Cafe on Grimsay, where Lindsay and I shared a simple but delicious seafood platter of langoustine, crab meat, and hot smoked salmon, after which we headed round the corner to their shop, where we bought crab, calamari, and tempura prawns. As we headed away, a Pied Wagtail was beside the road.

Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba yarrellii) (male) - Grimsay

Next on the agenda was a visit to the Puffin Crafts shop on Benbecula, but we came away empty- handed although there were some wonderfully tempting items on show.

Just over half an hour at Griminis, where I was hoping to get some shots at Red-necked Phalarope in sunshine rather than the rain that I  was working with two day earlier, turned up nothing.

Around the corner,  in Stinky Bay, the Surf Scoter seemed to have moved on, but the few photos of a drake Eider that I took there didn't make the grade.

Lindsay wanted to visit the beach on the island of Baleshare, so we headed there next.

 

Lindsay on Baleshare beach

Little was seen on the beach, but a few birds were enjoyed beside the road away from the beach. At first I thought that I'd happened upon a one-legged Redshank, but it soon proved me wrong!

Redshank (Tringa totanus) -Baleshare

Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis) - Baleshare

We had been commenting on how few little birds we were seeing this year,  so I was pleased to see a Stonechat near the start of the Committee Road.

 

Stonechat (Saxicola torquata) (male) - Committee Road, North Uist

After tea,  I spent an hour up the lane, hoping for an owl or two to photograph, but nothing showed, and I gave up at 20.00 when rain and a cold wind took control.

It had been another very enjoyable day, but with no very special sightings.

Wednesday, 25th May                           North Uist ; Berneray ; North Uist

This turned out to be an day without a single owl sighting. This was possibly due to strong winds all day and occasional showers, some very heavy.

We didn't make a very early start, leaving home at about 10.00 in rain. We felt sorry for the group of people waiting at the end of the road for the regular Wednesday fish van. We stopped quite close to them as we spotted a couple of Common Buzzard, one of which dropped onto a post not too far away.

 

Common Buzzard (Buteo buteo) - from B893

A little further on were some Ringed Plover. This is one of them.

Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula) - from B893

Our objective this morning was to investigate Morrison's Fish, which shows as a shop on Google, but for which there seemed little other reference. The attraction was not just the possibility of fresh fish, but that nearby was what I believe to be the Outer Hebrides' only suspension bridge. This is a footbridge that was recently closed on safety grounds, but which the public at large reopened when no authority would accept responsibility for it!

The road to reach the place, which I believe to be named Sponish, turned out to be little better than a mile long rough single track with just two passing places one of which we fortunately reached as a van came from the other direction! The driver of the van was very helpful and informed us that the fish shop had not been there for years, but it was still possible to access the footbridge from there.

At the end of the road, there was some doubt as to where we should be looking. However, a car came away from a building that looked as if it was undergoing restoration, passed us, and then reversed back to ask us if they could help. We had a short conversation and were given permission to park on their property in order to access the footbridge. The path was too hazardous for Lindsay,  but I considered it essential to investigate, and cross the bridge. It was a fine structure and I didn't think that it looked at all dangerous. From the state of the path which accessed it, I also suspect that it is little-used.

Suspension bridge - Sponish, North Uist

I suspect that the view from the bridge in fine weather would be rather special.

 

View from Sponish suspension bridge

After this visit we were off to The Wee Cottage Kitchen  for another simple but excellent lunch.

The afternoon was spent on the island of Berneray. Our first port of call was the delightful gift shop Coral Box. Here we purchased some unusual take-home gifts for family. 

From by Coral Box, I had spotted three distant seals hauled out and resting, so we drove round to the end of the bay to see if we could find somewhere where we could get closer. Having found a convenient car park, we saw that they were still very distant - until Lindsay pointed out that there was one directly in front of us. This one, shown in the second image, causes me some concern as it seems that it might have had a major accident with its left flipper.

 

Common Seal (Phoca vitulina) - Loch a' Bhàigh, Berneray

We then set off for the beach on the east side of Berneray, so that we could enjoy the view and have a short stroll. On previous visits, this beach has been fairly good for birds, with Little Tern usually seen. On this visit there was nothing! The views were excellent and there were only three other people on this long (2km) beach - a couple with a young child.

 

Berneray East Beach

It seems that the wind over the sand had produced some interesting micro-mesa effects.

 

Micro-mesas - Berneray East Beach

After this we headed for the machair beyond Borgh, stopping again at the Seal Viewing Point car park en route, to find that there were now four seals there,  with a fifth cruising up the channel, looking like a submarine, to join them.

 

Common Seal (Phoca vitulina) - Loch a' Bhàigh, Berneray

Little was seen on the machair beyond Borgh, but it was a pleasant run. The previous year, I had seen a number of Rock Doves here. Their numbers seem to have increased somewhat now!

 

Rock Dove (Columba livia) - machair beyond Borgh, Berneray

It was now time to return to base for a seafood tea.

After tea I spent a couple of hours up the lane, hoping for the sighting of an owl, but I guess that it was just too windy. There were, however, other birds around.

Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus) - Clachan Sands

Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) - Clachan Sands

I had a period of amusement when, while sitting in my car, I spotted a Common Gull a couple of hundred metres or so, wandering on foot down the lane towards me. It kept on coming, acting as if it hadn't a care in the world. Eventually it reached a point just in front of my car and appeared to suddenly notice me, raising its wings as if in surprise, before regaining its composure and continuing on its walk! A rubbish photo, shot through the sloping car windscreen, captures the moment.

 

Common Gull (Larus canus) - Clachan Sands

Thursday, 26th May                      North Uist ; Eriskay ; Benbecula ; South Uist ; North Uist

 

This day was forecast to feature the worst weather of our stay, and it was just as bad as expected. It wasn't the rain that was the killer, although we did have a couple of downpours that were so heavy that I felt it necessary to stop the car and wait for it to pass. It was the strong wind that was reckoned to be around 36 miles per hour (49 kph),  gusting to 49 miles per hour (79 kph) that made life difficult. At times, I struggled to open the car door to get out, and Lindsay found it impossible without my help. The consequence was that much of the day was spent driving and very little time was spent wildlife watching as there was little to see, and when there was, identifying and photographing the subject was often impossible.

We set off after breakfast at around 09.00, and headed south from our base at the north end of North Uist via the scenic route which takes in the famed Committee Road. From North Uist we crossed the causeways to Grimsay and Benbecula,  where we made a small diversion the see if the Red-necked Phalaropes were showing - they weren't.

 

Continuing over the causeway onto the island of South Uist, we stopped at the Kildonan Museum for a comfort stop including tea and cake, after which we crossed yet another causeway to land on the small island of Eriskay - the furthest south you can get on the Outer Hebrides by car without resorting to ferry transport. Here we spent time parked on the grass above the small beaches just beyond the cemetery. This was a spot that we'd very much enjoyed in 2021. Lindsay was not able to access the beaches partly due to her knee, but mainly due to her instability in the wind. 

 

The sight of a Ringed Plover, apparently sitting on eggs (although my previous sightings of  this species on eggs were on stony beaches, so maybe it was just hunkering down against the wind), was an immediate caution to be careful where I went.

 

Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula) - Eriskay

While standing beside the car, I took a few shots of Ringed Plover in the grass above the beach.

 

Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula) - Eriskay

I then carefully made my way down onto the small sandy beach and stood absolutely motionless for a while. Eventually, a Ringed Plover made its way towards me, seemingly oblivious to my presence.

 

Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula) - Eriskay

We next headed back to South Uist, stopping for lunch at the Borrodale Hotel. We'd enjoyed a couple of excellent light lunches here in 2021 and were not disappointed on this occasion either. Lindsay had a seafood chowder served with a warm cheese scone, and I had the seafood bechamel wrap which came with all the trimmings that one could wish for!

 

Our next visit was to the Àird a' Mhuile area to the west of Bhornais. As is often the case with this sort of location, the road there was as interesting, or more so, as the destination. On the way there, I photographed Meadow Pipit (with food for young?) and Lapwing.

 

Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis) -near Bhornais, South Uist

Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) -near Bhornais, South Uist

Earlier in the week, I''d been told that South Uist had its own 'stinky beach' to rival that on Benbecula. On arrrival at Àird a' Mhuile, I came to the conclusion that we'd found it! 

 

Beach to the south of Àird a' Mhuile

The area that the above photo was taken from was quite busy with vehicles and people, but the biggest problem was that it was difficult to stand up in the wind, so we did not stop long. I did, however, get a shot of an incoming Oystercatcher.

Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) - Àird a' Mhuile

On the way back, Lindsay noticed four swans by the water at the far side of a field. These turned out to be Whooper Swans. The waves on the surface of this tiny lochan might give you an idea of how windy it was.

 

Whooper Swan (Cygnus cygnus) - Bhornais area, South Uist

We diverted again on Benbecula and the phalaropes were again not seen. The Benbecula Stinky Bay was impossible to observe clearly when out of the car but I did attempt a few shots of a group of waders that I could not see clearly enough to ID at the time, but now realise that they were Sanderling.

 

Sanderling (Calidris alba) - Stinky Bay, Benbecula

We managed to get to the Hebridean Smokehouse shop before it closed to buy the wherewithal for tea for this, and the following, day. With this day's tea being smoked scallops once more.

The day had been another one without an owl sighting but, although disappointed, considering the weather, I  was not surprised. The weather after our evening meal was such that I didn't feel tempted to venture out. 

We had had a very enjoyable day, in spite of the weather, but comparatively little wildlife had been seen, and even less photographed. After approximately seven hours driving I was feeling rather tired,  so an early night was had.

 

 

I'll end this part of my account at this point. Hopefully, I'll be publishing the fourth, and final, part in the not too distant future. I believe that it will be rather more 'birdy' than this one and owls will feature strongly!

 

In the meantime, please take good care of yourselves and Nature.

Thank you for dropping by - - - Richard