Mediterranean Gull ~ Southend Pier, Essex - 26.01.13

Wednesday 30 January 2013

A few Med Gull images from Southend Pier, Essex on 26.01.13

Lovely bright day allowing the F stop to rise and still have shutter speed ..

Well over 30+ birds with 4 colour ringed 

Mediterranean Gull













Always looking for unusual flight pose's, twist 'n' turn's etc didn't manage any today ... 

Mediterrnaean Gull - Green RO8V ~ Southend Pier, Essex - 26.01.13

Monday 28 January 2013

It's been a while since I last saw this Green ringed Med Gull.

On Southend Pier, Essex ~ 26.01.13

Mediterranean Gull



Green Ring / White Code ~ RO8V

Ringed as >3cy bird ~ 19.05.2005

Mardyck, Arcelor, Nord, France


17/01/2010    R08V Southend Pier, Essex, GB  ~  Cracknell, Martin
     25/10/2010         R08V Trunvel, Tréogat, Finistère, FRANCE  ~  Debel, Ronan
     09/01/2011         R08V Southend Pier, Essex, GB  ~  Southcott, Michael
     26/01/2013         R08V Southend Pier, Essex, GB  ~  Southcott, Michael  

Slavonian Grebe ~ Littlebrook Lake, Dartford, Kent - 21.01.13

Wednesday 23 January 2013

With news that the Grebe was on the smallest lake, near Littlebrook Power Station we tried to locate it on our way home Saturday, but was looking at the wrong lake.

So Sunday morning the right lake and the bird was still there !!

Both Me & Richard had a great day with the bird and the constant snow falling, a few others also came for a look.

Not happy with any of the images, the lot went straight in the bin !!
Snow V Auto-focus
Snow won ...

Now i've got a problem, the weather is meant to get colder. The lake will freeze and the bird will move on ..
So it was either work or Grebe !!

I had a plan get all my gear on and take the camera, if the bird's there stay and get trigger happy !!
If not go to work ...

One end of the lake was frozen over but the best end, where it was possible to get down to water level was free from ice. 
For the next 3 hrs, I had the privilege of having this superb bird all to myself and what a little stunner it was !!

Manual Exp
 speeds of 1/500 - 1/1000
iso 400 ~ F4 - F5.6

Some with fill-flash 580exII with Better-Beamer
on High Speed Sync at - 2 1/3

Back Button Focus - wink wink Jono ..

Slavonian Grebe









It tried to get to the trees twice, where it had rested the day before but the ice formed a barrier which it couldn't work out how to cross and both times charged back down the lake !!




















It then went in to this alert type posture 
Upright and  head shape changed









Amazing encounter with a rare Grebe.

Which moved lakes the next day.

A few more on my Website !!

Glaucous Gull - 3rd. W ~ Dungeness, Kent - 19.01.13

Monday 21 January 2013

Still to be found near the fishing boats at Dungeness, Kent and looking marginally less scruffy now is the 3rd. winter Glaucous Gull, which looks better in flight than when resting ...

In-flight the brown-tinged lesser, greater coverts and tail show well.
Yellow iris is quite striking.

Hoping it sticks around for the partial moult, nice to see what it will look like  replacing the head and body feathers ..

Glaucous Gull ~ 3rd. W

  








Note:   Must of cut it's foot as there is blood on the tail.