After yet another successful year on the Odds & Sods thread, initially started I think by Hazy, it might be wise to kickstart the 2023 thread off.
Thank you to those who have contributed to last years thread, and there has been very interesting odds and sods in "Odds & Sods 2022" that aren't enough to place into a dedicated thread, which you can look back on the following link:
https://community.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/f/all-creatures/278729/odds-sods-2022/1417300?pifragment-4285=76#pifragment-4285=1
What better for me, and as yet, I've not ventured far, ewe know what I mean, with this lassie on Baddesley Clinton estate yesterday....
Mike
Flickr: Peak Rambler
Ah ... Gorgeous ....
I caught another visitor to the garden last light. I knew there were mice in the garden. but it's the first time I've seen one at the food I leave out for the hedgehogs. As long as they stay in the garden, I've no problem with mice.
Alas, the only hedgehog to visit our garden did so for two months and then disappeared - after I'd built a hog house/feeder and stocked up on hog food. Sigh.
Anyway, took myself down to reserves to see how restoration was progressing - nothing, Cemex and Inert may have stopped for breeding season. All was not lost, spotted this Greylag goose on some banking around reed beds.
Rude thing was spitting!
Then took up a truly heroic stance.
I was photographing a pair of Gadwalls when I realised the goose was taking off. Frantic swinging of camera to find goose and click like crazy.
As the goose sank lower to try gain airspeed, my camera began to lose it against the background clutter
Oh dear. Camera is having real problems. Biggest issue is that I had single spot centre focus when photographing the Gadwalls - they were relatively small and distant compared to the Greylag goose. What I really needed was nine spot area focus. I'm not sure what the camera decided to focus on, and it didn't either.
Sigh, a dramatic shot and camera was very confused. Nothing seems in focus.
Ta da, retribution. Camera and I worked as one.
The goose had about a 6' (2m) drop to gain airspeed.
90% luck, 5% field craft, 5% camera skills.
I went out to the car today and a couple of crows were collecting nesting material from the grass.Seeing the large mouthfuls of moss they both had, I hope they keep picking it from the grass to save me having to remove it this summer.
Could do with training some of my crows to do that. I could do with some moss removing ...
A few mad March hares from my local valley.
Hares at sunrise yesterday. Too far off for a better photo sadly but they did stand out with the sun hitting them. I did try to get closer by skirting some woods.... no idea why I thought I could outsmart a hare and their ears.
Blending in to a freshly-ish cut Maize field.
Not so much blending in when it snowed a couple of weeks ago.
Pottering about. Great to watch these three chasing each other about.