I have been taking photos of flowers and long shots of the garden with the little “point and press” camera that I have had for a good few years now. However the telephoto facility on the camera was abysmal, the complete opposite to the macro facility which was excellent for flowers and insects. I have been wanting to take photos of the wildlife in the garden for a long time now and decided reluctantly that the only way to do this was to eventually change the camera.
baby Gt. Tit begging for food.
It was my birthday a while ago and I was very surprised and pleased to find that the family had bought me a new camera with super telephoto lens, while I was still thinking about which camera to choose. These photos are just me trying out the new camera with the birds in the garden as guinea pigs!
Wood Pigeon.
House Sparrow
Male Chaffinch.
Nuthatch
Goldfinch.
Another baby Gt. Tit, or maybe the same one!
Coal Tit.
Female Chaffinch
Adult Gt. Tit.
Another Nuthatch
One of this years baby squirrels trying to get food from the bird table.
Male Gt. Spotted Woodpecker
You can tell that these are males by the patch of red on the back of the head. They have babies, we have seen them feeding their young in the silver birch tree by the feeder, but they hide in the leaves!
Male Bullfinch in his bright breeding colours, the female is a dull brown!
Robin. There is no difference between male and female, even they have problems deciding which is which!
Male Greenfinch, the female is more brown.
Drat, the baby squirrel has learnt how to climb the feeder.
I think it is jumping down from the balcony!
Enjoy it while you can, I’ll be chasing you from now on!
Robin with adult Blue and baby Blues.
Pair of Nuthatches.
Nuthatch and baby Blue on the right, 2 adults and baby Blue on the left.
Nuthatches, Gt. Tit and Blue Tits
Adult blue and 2 baby Blues, one of the babies is inside the feeder!
It was a bit of a squeeze getting out!
Baby Nuthatch.
Adult Gt. Tit on the left with Baby Gt Tit on the right with adult Blue Tit.
Baby Nuthatch hasn’t realised that Nuthatches are supposed to feed upside down.
That’s better!
Thanks baby Blue.
As you can see, we have been inundated with babies, they are costing me a fortune in bird food, but it is wonderful to see them all while we are sitting having our breakfast. I’m still waiting to get a photo of the young Woodpeckers and the Long Tailed Tits haven’t been for a while, so that leaves more for another day. I will keep practising as the days go by, who knows what I will see tomorrow!
Have baby birds taken over your garden yet?
Great success with your new camera. It’s fun to see the bird life around your garden.
Thanks Susie,the wildlife gets more interesting and plentiful year on year.
I could also do with a new camera. Yours seem to work very well.
I’m very happy with it so far Alain, but the little one is still better for close ups of flowers. I think a new macro lens will be on my Christmas list!
Yes, plenty of birdlife here, both young and old – but no bullfinches and I think we have only seen a nuthatch once. Good degree of success with your practising 😊
The more plants we put in our gardens Cathy, the more the birds are happy as they can hide from predators. When we first moved here it was a desert as far as the wildlife was concerned, the increase is amazing!
Great shots Pauline!
Thanks Jessica, I’ve a long way to go till I reach your standard!
Wow! You’re certainly putting your new camera to good use, Pauline – you’ve got some fab photos there. I totally with you on the birdwatching, I get an aerial view of their antics from my second floor flat windows but I’m not as good at identifying them as you.
I must stop and do some gardening Caro, I am spending too much time photographing! I’ve been a member of the RSPB for as long as I can remember and have always loved bird watching since I was a wildlife artist back in the old days.
Beautiful photos and it’s lovely to see the young birds in your garden. I love the bullfinch, too – one of my favourite birds.
The Bullfinch has such wonderful colours Wendy, I just wish it didn’t eat the flower buds on my trees!
A very thoughtful birthday gift which you’ve but to use in such a delightful way. Great shots of your garden babies!
It was a wonderful surprise Peter, but learning new technology isn’t easy at my age!
Lovely pictures Pauline – and congratulations on your new camera! Lots of babies here, but I live in dread that I will find them on the carpet. There was a happy rescue yesterday, thank goodness.
We have to worry about the Sparrow Hawk Cathy, they know where to find a well stocked table, well stocked with little birds!
I love when family or friends for that matter make the decision for us and get us exactly what we want as a gift.
You’ve got the hang of the new camara – those images are wonderful Pauline.
It was a wonderful surprise Angie, I never expected anything like that when I was opening my presents! There is so much still to learn, but at least I have mastered the basics!
I think you have a winner with the new camera! The expression on the goldfinch is hilarious.
Thanks Marian, I’m really enjoying all the birds fluttering around the feeder. The goldfinch looks as though he is looking straight at me, but I don’t think he could see me, I was so far inside the house.
If this is what you call ‘mastering the basics’ I can’t wait to see what the future holds! You’ve done a great job with the telephoto, have fun playing with the new camera.
Funny how those woodpecker babies showed up right after this post 🙂
Let’s be honest Frank, the camera does the focusing and the exposure, I just press the button! There are so many other things that will tweak the photos, but I will leave those for another day!
Baby Woodpecker is now feeding itself from the feeder, it doesn’t wait for Dad any more.
Fabulous photos Pauline. Those squirrels never give up. Have fun with your new toy.
The squirrels are a real pain Anna, it would be different if they were our native red ones, then they would get their own feeder!
These are a great set of photographs Pauline. My husband would be very jealous as he hasn’t managed to get good images with his telescope with the camera attached. Could you tell me what camera it is perhaps I can surprise him.
As to birds in the garden, when we first came there were only a few birds but now there are lots of places from them to hide in shrubs and trees and insects to eat attracted by the flowers the garden is rarely without the sound of the birds singing and calling to each other.
Thank you so much Christina! The Camera is a Canon EOS 700D, the zoom lens was second hand and is Canon EF 70-300 mm.
I’m finding too that we now have 10 times the number of birds as we have so many places for them to roost in, nest build and feel safe when the sparrow hawk comes whizzing by. I was going to dig out a Spirea as it never does very much apart from flower for a short time in the summer, but it has so many tiny, twiggy branches, when the sparrow hawk comes, the little birds are quite safe as it can’t get in to them, whereas it can get into the rose next to it, it has had a reprieve!
Great telephoto shots! I really think a good camera allows one to more thoroughly enjoy nature. I get a lot of joy looking at close-up shots and seeing details my naked eyes missed.
Thanks Deb, it really is amazing what cameras can do these days, there is still so much for me to learn.