There was barely a bird to be seen as I ran through the Grange Road fields, and the hundreds of starling occupying the trees like Christmas decorations by Hawton church were clearly paying their devotions as well.
A sharp shower did very little to enliven my mood, especially when I decided to hide my camera case under my gilet to make me resemble a pregnant Elephant Man. Luckily the rain didn't last for long, and when I reached the fieldfare field along the Hawton-Farndon road, I was delighted to be able to 1) get my camera out and 2) realise the batteries weren't flat.
Sadly the fieldfares were rather far away, and my shots are thus not great but I'm still glad to have captured the bird for the first time.. Interestingly, there seemed to be a few starling mixed in with them, trundling around feeding off the land.
As I watched, a huge flock of pigeons swept by above, joining hundreds more in the stand of trees where I've seen starling gather before. They then flapped down to the arable field on the other side of the stand, to wreak havoc on the farmers young crop.
The run ended up being a strong 8 miles, but it wasn't good birding weather I think. Still, I'm glad to have snapped my first fieldfares.
Even if they are only "record shots".
Si
All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 27.01.16
Lovely to see some fieldfares - always a pain when the weather plays up though! - Tasha
ReplyDeleteOne of my favourite birds, the fieldfares turn up on the farm one bitterly cold day and go through the hedges, removing the berries until every one is gone. Then they leave and we rarely see them again that winter.
ReplyDeleteFieldfares are lovely birds - always feel uplifted when I see a flock :) Pleased you managed to get your first shots.
ReplyDeleteWe have 2 regular Fieldfares, which is odd as I thought they were usually in bigger groups
ReplyDeleteThe harsh winter three years ago brought them into town in numbers. I followed them on a housing estate, as they devoured every berry on the ornamental trees, leaving a huge mess on the ground. Vandals! About 200 of them crammed into dinky shrubs along the road.
ReplyDeleteGreat to have captured a flock of Fieldfares, never mind that it's a bit blurry as you say they were far away-you could try sharpening the image with an editing tool-if you have the time and patience. I use Picasa and it's very good, quick and easy to use.
ReplyDeleteHi Suzie, I've been using pixlr, and actually had washed those shots through a couple of rounds of sharpening. Too far away, and too windy.
ReplyDelete