Tag Archives: birds

Birds of Prey

This is the first of a series of posts that shall crop up in the coming weeks that are from a trip to the UK. Both my parents had significant birthdays this year and parties for both of them were to top and tail a trip back for us. It has been a long time since we were back and it was nice to see a lot of people while we were there.

We arrived in Heathrow early in the morning and picked up the rental car. We didn’t have anyone to see that day and our hotel wouldn’t be free until later in the day so we had a mission to keep ourselves busy and to stay awake. Consequently, we headed down to the New Forest in search of a bird of prey sanctuary.

We had found this place online so didn’t know much more about it than the website. The GPS got us there without any trouble. I had bought the Europe maps for our Garmin because, despite years of getting around the UK without having heard of GPS, now I guess I am dependent! The place was not huge but it had a very large collection of birds including lots of species of owl. We wandered around looking at the various birds before a small flying demonstration took place on their flying field. Apparently some of the bigger birds would be flying at the second show but we were content with what they had earlier on. We didn’t want to spend all day there.

At the end of the flying, they brought out a couple of baby barn owls. They were just in the stage of fledging but were still very fluffy and we were encouraged to stroke them to see just how soft they were. Very soft and very cute. It’s almost like I am back in my cute baby animal posts!

Some Bay Birds

Leave a Reply

Shooting down by the Bay in San Francisco always provides lots of bird activity. This time there was plenty going on including one flock that decided to fly around in front of me just as something interesting was taking off. However, they also provide a chance to shoot something different while waiting for the planes to move. I have done this on many occasions including here.

This time there was one bird that looked particularly interesting to me. I have tried looking it up and my book of birds suggests it might be a Western Grebe. I am not an ornithologist so don’t take this as a fact but it certainly looks like that. However, some bird species look identical to a non-expert like me so I can’t say for sure.

We also had a flock of shore birds swooping around. They were a mix of different types and I will make no effort to identify them. However, the business of the group is what attracted my attention. There were also gulls, of course, but they provide good practice for tracking!

Bay Area Birds

Leave a Reply

A while back I was in in the Bay Area and was near SFO. While the area is a good one for getting shots of the airliner traffic heading into the airport there, it is also a great spot for seeing some birds. The tidal flats are a popular spot for a bunch of shoreline birds. There are also some large birds like egrets that hang out there.

Pelicans are another type that show up pretty frequently. Coyote Point is a good spot for the pelicans since they like to soar along the ridge formed by the point and come right past you. I wasn’t there to specifically take pictures but I did manage to grab some of them as they came by. Hummingbirds also hang out on the point but I didn’t get any shots of them this time. However, there is always another chance!

Spring Shows Up!

Leave a Reply

The Chicago weather has been pretty cool and damp so far and spring was not showing much sign of appearing. I often forget that we are quite far north here and the spring does not become apparent until a little later than I was used to. However, we had a day the other day that broke the mold. After lots of dull days, it was sunny and in the high 80s. What the hell is that all about?

A nice day and lots of light – time to go wandering in the park. Lincoln Park is always worth a visit on a nice day – and I was obviously not alone in this conclusion! There is the zoo but the ponds in the park also have a fair amount of wildlife so there is always something to take a look at.

The bird life is always active so I got a lot of shots of ducks and geese. At this time of year, romance is in the air so the birds seem to spend half the time fighting with each other! There were also a few turtles basking in the sun so they were fun to take a look at. I did walk through the zoo and got a few shots there but mainly it was stuff in the rest of the park. Here are a few samples. Need to get some more practice in given how many shots were not as intended but that is the point I guess…