Picture This!

If the truth be known there are as many birders who take excellent photographs and who visit Birds2blog as there birders who don't take photographs at all, these photographers are always pleased to find a decent pic or two on here whilst I share their brilliant work with everyone. So we have an all winners situation here and that's really good and just what I like the blog to be, a show-ground, an advertising tool....Oh, and I also get out birding on occasion's and can then pass on my records.

So here are four of the most recent photographs I have found on the various websites, plus one sent to me by a birder who often helps me out of some of the holes I find myself in from time to time....it ain't what you know, its who you know! 

    Bee-Eater Antonio Puigg  

Some birds display some truly amazing colours and the Bee-Eater must be one of the most colourful to be found in the UK on occasion's, I have seen multi reports of them today including two in East Yorkshire.

Knot Brian Rafferty

Our own Knot changes from its less colourful winter plumage into the red summer coat as shown in this excellent image which includes the very smart Grey Plover also in its summer breeding plumage.

Red Kite Phillip Tomkinson  

The Red Kite is one of a few magnificent birds of prey resident in this country and has been the subject of a successful reintroduction scheme in recent times as opposed to other species of raptor some of which are staring extinction in the face....just for being birds of prey.

Slavonion Grebe David Cookson

In its subdued winter plumage the Slavonion Grebe becomes a little black and white job, but the grebes are all delightful birds.

And finally....

Common Rosefinch. Copy Permitted.

Here's another one of the Common Rosefinch featured a couple of times in recent posts on Birds2blog.

Following on....

....from yesterdays post which started with the interesting wagtail sp found some years ago in our area at Aldcliffe. An enquiry as to whether there was more images of this bird - to which the answer is unfortunately a no - you may be interested in THIS which you will need to translate, unless you are conversant with the language of the Dutch.

I'll take this opportunity to apologise for an error on Birds2blog, made in the post 'New Post....Old Pics' where I inadvertently in a lapse of concentration to those who believe in me - or mis-identified to those who don't believe in me - posted a photograph of a.... 

Lesser Redpoll. John Leedal.

Lesser Redpoll claiming it to be one of a Common Rosefinch. However, this is in fact a bright male with white underparts and wing-bars and is a good example of what many birders - not including me - would call a Mealy Redpoll. The black face and the streaked flanks are good features to eliminate Common Rosefinch.  

Common Rosefinch. John Leedal.

This is the one I should have posted, this photograph clearly shows the birds red rump.

White Stork Isidro Ortiz

Isidro has been in touch with me from Spain and has kindly offered his photographs for me to use on Birds2blog. You may need to be patient if you're after an image like this one as the White Stork flies past the view of the moon....Excellent, please take a look at his website.

New Post....Old Pics!

I've recently had to do a serious 'sort out' and had to be ruthless in the process, meaning I had to dispose of many images passed on to me by JL over the years, not counted but certainly in excess of 450 prints. However, there were many of these images it was impossible for me to bring myself to 'trash' and I've chosen the following to share on the blog in the hope they might generate some interest. 

In fairness to John Leedal I should point out that these photographs are not of professional quality, for starters he didn't use modern technology, had no computer to edit his work, and I've had to photograph them to gain copies for Birds2blog. By the way....neither of us are from the Victorian era you understand!!

Honey Buzzard.John Leedal. 

JL and I spent many excellent birding hours staked out to see the Honey Buzzards (HB) in the Rusland Valley in Cumbria in the early 2000's, having a good number of sightings over these visits, on one day of good fortune I was able to achieve quite a good recording of a bird calling reminiscent of Golden Plover. 

Although the photograph above is a bit fuzzy it clearly illustrates the kind of views these birds could give you even though it required many hours of emptiness in between. This bird shows its outstretched Cuckoo like head, and the tail - especially when folded in - takes on a 'paddle' like shape, and there are some underpart markings to be seen here too.  

Bee-Eater. John Leedal. 

It was in June 2002 whilst on one of our HB days in Rusland, that I received news of Bee Eaters which had been found just about a half mile away from where we were 'waiting' for the HB's to hopefully show....hows that for good fortune. We had excellent views of up to five birds if my memory serves me well, including one bird feeding an insect to another....amazing stuff. In typical style JL wrote on the back of this photograph he gave me....'A thing of beauty is a joy forever'....Keats

Common Rosefinch. John Leedal.  

This Common Rosefinch was present for us at Giggleswick near Settle in North Yorkshire also in June 2002, obviously a good year for us. I recall this bird immediately giving itself away the instant I opened the car door on arrival at the location to hear it singing its head off....more amazing stuff.

Spotted Flycatcher. John Leedal. 

And finally....Nothing unusual about this photograph of the young Spotted Flycatcher, other than for two exceptions, for starters it was found at Aldcliffe in the sheep pens by the old railway crossing - obviously bred there....hadn't it - and it was found at the end of August 2002 much later than I would have expected to see such a young Spotted Flycatcher.