Another very pleasant day to round off the weekend. We should all aspire to the level of relaxation evident in these gulls, even if the ‘lake’ they are on is an old gravel pit, or something (now a nature reserve in Heysham, Lancashire).
This swan ain’t having anyone mess with its brood of cygnets this year. The coot high-tails it out of there under the frosty stare of the big white mother with the orange beak. Well, I probably would too.
This is full-on urban nature — taken in the centre of London, Hyde Park specifically.
This old guy walks down our street at pretty much the same time every day and I know is the one who leaves these crusts out on the wall for the birds every day. And most days the bounty is accepted (see this shot for example). Maybe the crows, rooks, jackdaws, whatever they are, see him as some kind of divine benefactor.
I’ve given up trying to reliably identify whether the birds in any given shot are crows, jackdaws, rooks, whatever. Either way, they were swooping over the roof of my house in a rather sinister manner this morning. The superstitious might like to note there are 13 of them in shot…
“Pssst. Do you think the humans know that we have seen through their devious ruse?”
“I don’t know. If we keep looking nervous, perhaps neither they nor the evil ducks will notice how we’ve reoccupied this strategic vantage point.”
“Why the frig anyone thought a plastic owl would scare us during the daytime, I’ve no…”
“Ssssh!”
Back home, and from one of the world’s major historical waterways (the Tagus) to another (the Hebden Water) that is maybe not as significant, but still as photogenic in its own way. We could have done with better weather though — as has been true for two months — which may explain the expressions here.
When are there enough geese for a gaggle? Will four do? When does a gaggle become a flock? Pictured on the canal at Hebden Bridge station this afternoon.
MediaCityUK is something like the biggest TV production facility in the UK, or is it Europe, and the biggest property development in the North-West of England, or is it the whole of the UK. Either way, during my visit there today I decided the best photo I got was this one of the local wildlife.
I feel I’ve recently been in a bit of a low point on this blog, creativity-wise. And I’m also spending most of the time at the moment sat at home. Tried to make an effort with this one, and bearing in mind that all this is being done on cheap and standard gear, this is probably as good an effort at this shot as I could manage. Let’s see the flare as a deliberate creative shot, but it’s a shame the sun ends up blurred. The high valley walls mean it disappears at least an hour before the scheduled sunset time; waiting for the moment of its transition gave me something to do this afternoon that wasn’t work, at least. The contrail and birds were freebies.
Being 42 