"Odds & Sods" (old version) - please add to the new thread 2020 instead !

THIS THREAD IS NOW DISCONTINUED,   please add to the new 2020 thread HERE

Often we don't have enough photos to create a full thread so thought I'd start an Odds & Sods thread where you may want to add a pic or two when you don't have enough for their own thread .    Feel free to add your rogues gallery here ! 

I only had a couple of pics today, one a Treecreeper and the other a very hacked off looking Great Egret huddled against the reeds trying to keep warm !

  • Although we went out to Connah's Quay and the Wirral today, it was rather quiet on the birding front and not many photo opportunites;  it was rather sad looking at the pic when I realised the Grey Heron I had been photographing on the marshes had just snatched a chick from it's nest possibly a Coot chick looking at the shape and red head, etc.,    bit of a miserable day all round I'd say :(

    was a distant pic and hard to make out the detail.     Not sure if the long "stick" looking thing is part of the twig nesting.     Poor little chick :(

  • Thanks Hazel, it’s not often I come across a nest but being able to get a shot of the nest and young even if it only the rear end you see :)

    Thank you W.E, and hanging about sometimes pay dividends you got some nice pictures of the Whitethroat.

    @ Alan, thank you and the parents are doing a good job the day before we saw them go for a hawk possibly a Kestrel but they chased it off away from the nest area.

    Thank you Mike, another Job I have to do is to clean out the garden pond you can only just see the water.

  • Thank you Tony, I will be calling round again just to keep an eye on them the nest is only a five minutes walk from my mates house.

    Shame to see the young Coot being snatched from its nest or there about's Hazel :(

  • Yay! Got a decent shot, if not perfect, at last. It's getting settled. Grabbed nearest camera - would it focus? SWMBO scrambled off to grab something else and just snatched these shots.

  • James G said:

    Thank you Mike, another Job I have to do is to clean out the garden pond you can only just see the water.

    [tongue in cheek]      You're welcome James  ;)
    Joking aside, I'm not sure how I would go about cleaning our pond these days, considering kneeling among many other activities have been severely challenged since my accident.
    The last time the pond was cleaned out, and I mean cleaned out, plants removed and disposed of, pump and filter thoroughly cleaned and the pond liner cleaned, was early 2009 when the fish we had then died rather suddenly after having them just over a year. The pond was then left devoid of fish for a year before the current fish were introduced.
    Luckily it's not a job that needs doing apart from clearing the excess weed, which Mrs PR or my father-in-law does for me.
  • Unknown said:

    Yay! Got a decent shot, if not perfect, at last. It's getting settled. Grabbed nearest camera - would it focus? SWMBO scrambled off to grab something else and just snatched these shots.

    Beautiful photos Ian.

  • Unknown said:

    @Mike, sorry you've been a bit poorly. A gurgling pond fountain and apple blossom is good therapy.

    Thank you TJ, and as you say, there's nothing like sitting beside a pond with gurgling water, or even a stream, but I'll happy to make do with the pond. It's even nicer to be able to sit and watch the fish swimming, especially when they've been fed.
    As well as the fish, we are lucky with a lot of bird and insect life that frequents the garden, and I love getting a chair out on a nice day (along with camera, and I should use the camcorder more) and watching nature go about its business.
  • Thank you Alan, Hazel and Tony!

    @Jim, I was glad I did hang around, the more I visit, the better the views I start getting of that Whitethroat. I just love how energetic the Warblers are. I was watching the Sedgy sing the other day and the length of the song was just insane, its body was shivering from singing so loudly.

    @Mike, I'm glad that you can find therapy in nature, it really is relaxing watching wildlife go about its business. Growing up, I always enjoyed watching nature on telly, but it was only the past 2-3 years where I intentionally went about looking for and at wildlife, and that was when I started noticing many different types of birds such warblers, which I would have thought at a glance were Dunnocks due to their size and colour. But once you stop, hang around and look closely outside the window, at reserves or local parks, you can see that they all have their intricate patterns and colours which I would not have noticed if I walked past or at a fast pace. It makes me appreciate the things around you and what nature can offer, if you are willing to pause a little, slow down and look.  

    @Hazel, aw that poor Coot chick, hopefully the other members of that family of Coot stayed out of harms way.

    @Ian, lovely close-ups of the male Bullfinich. I often find them shy and not very approachable.

  • This isn't a traditional Chaffinch shot, but I like the way it's sitting in a little patch of sun completely surrounded by the green of new leaves.

  • Wildlife Endeavours said:

    lovely close-ups of the male Bullfinich. I often find them shy and not very approachable.

    We've noticed the finches take a while to build up confidence with the feeders. Fairly sure this bullfinch has been sniffing around for the last month. It has briefly settled on the feeder before but more often hopped around close by. This time it looked quite settled and was there for 30 seconds to a minute.
    Unfortunately, the Canon Sureshot I first picked up was on a general focus setting and took far too much interest in the lovely hedge behind rather than some dull old bird. It's about the third time it has been on the feeder, but the first time it genuinely looked relaxed, so hopeful it will return regularly now.