Stodmarsh NNR morning 20.1.2020

This mornings trip proved to be a success, spent some quality time in the David Feast hide.

Although the Canon 5DSR does not perform well in low light / hi iso conditions I am looking forward to using it this year, to me it suffers with unacceptable amounts of noise above iso800 if conditions are a bit grim I use the trusty Canon 5dmk4 which is far more capable at higher iso's.

Firstly a Cormorant having a drying session.

Canon 5DSR 1/500th F9 iso400 @ 700mm Canon 500mm f4 L mk2 + 1.4x mk3 extender

I was hoping that a Kingfisher would make an appearance but whilst waiting a little Jenny Wren dropped down right in front of the hide.

 Canon 5DSR 1/500th F7.1 iso400 @ 700mm Canon 500mm f4 L mk2 + 1.4x mk3 extender

Finally the Kinfisher turned up !! such a fantastic little bird.

Canon 5DSR 1/320th F9+1/3 iso250 @ 700mm Canon 500mm f4 L mk2 + 1.4x mk3 extender

Canon 5DSR 1/320th F9+1/3 iso250 @ 700mm Canon 500mm f4 L mk2 + 1.4x mk3 extender

Canon 5DSR 1/500th F9+1/3 iso400 @ 700mm Canon 500mm f4 L mk2 + 1.4x mk3 extender

Canon 5DSR 1/500th F8 iso640 @ 700mm Canon 500mm f4 L mk2 + 1.4x mk3 extender

As allways these pictures can be viewed at a higher resolution on my flikr feed here:

Layzesod's flikr feed 

Hopefully this year will carry on like this and get better as we move into the spring migration period.

First Trip Out Of This Year 10.1.2020

Mother nature at her best promised a lovely sunny morning but failed to deliver !
I spent a couple of hours in the David Feast hide hoping for a glimpse of the Bittern that had been reported recently, but to no avail and to be honest the light was so bad it wouldnt have been a good time to get some shots, even the Kingfisher was a no show.
Bitter north westerly was blowing straight in the front of the hide.

Stodmarsh NNR

Stodmarsh NNR is one of my favourite haunts, its about 20 to 30 mins drive depending on which end of the reserve I go.
The variety of habitats varies a lot at the Stodmarsh end there is woodland, reedbeds and some really good walks between the various hides.
With this variety in habitat you can target particular species set yourself a goal for the day to spot and photograph that species.
If your lucky you will get what you want, within reason  you will always find something of interest and in some cases rarities do turn up in the most unexpected places.

There is a flikr page dedicated to Stodmarsh NNR you can find it here :

Stodmarsh NNR Flikr Feed 

Its worth checking the page to see what has been spotted recently.

From the Stodmarsh end you have the most variable habitat there is wooded areas where you find Tree creepers, Woodpeckers, within minutes you can be in reed beds where you could see Bittern, Bearded Tits, Marsh Harrier.

The nearest hide would be the Reed Bed Hide it is disabled friendly and maybe 600m walk from the car park.
There are also toilet facilities in the car park.

Looking North across the open waters you might be lucky and get a Kingfisher land on the perch in front of the hide, there is normally plenty of other activity, just sit quite and wait for the magic to happen.

A walk through the wooded tracks can take you out along the Lampen Wall towards the Tower Hide, which is a good place to spot Bitterns, (although I have never seen one from there myself ).

Tower Hide as the name suggests has 2 flights of stairs to negotiate to gain access, looking west across one of the main lake areas and east across reed beds.

Or you can head off towards the Marsh Hide which is situated more or less in the middle of the reserve and is accessible from both  Stodmarsh and Grove car parks via a fairly long walk, on route if you keep your eyes open you can see Little Owl, Barn Owl, Bearded Tits, Reed Bunting, Hobby to name but a few.

It is a great place to go to lose a few hours out in the fresh air just too see what rocks up.

5DSR @ Stodmarsh NNR 22.10.19

Took the 5DSR out for a trip to Stodmarsh NNR, reports of Kingfishers showing well at the David Feast Hide so that was where I headed for.
Arrived early to early really as no sunlight gets onto the Kingfisher perch in front of the hide until about 10am this time of year as the perch is shaded by the trees and bushes on the south side of the hide.
But its always nice to sit quietly and sup on a nice hot cup of coffee whilst waiting for things to happen.
Which in due course it did this female Kingfisher came along sat on the perch dived and popped back up onto the perch with her catch, a nice juicy bug.

Canon 5DSR 1/100 F5.6 iso 1600 @ 500mm f4 mk2 + 1.4x mk3 

A Little Grebe was also feeding in front of the hide

Canon 5DSR 1/800 F5.6 iso 1600 @ 500mm f4 mk2 + 1.4x mk3

The Kingfisher came and went I caught her looking at the hide for this second shot I was able to increase my aperture to f11 to improve the Depth Of Field over the previous shot

Canon 5DSR 1/80 F11 iso 1600 @ 500mm f4 mk2 + 1.4x mk3

Then the highlight of the day for me came as I was walking back to the car from the hide I had heard some bearded Tits pinging when I was in the hide but they were too distant as I walked up the track I could hear pinging but it was a lot closer, so I slowed my pace and tried to locate exactly where they were.

They were off to my left which meant that the light would be behind me, spot on there was not much wind either another plus, then I saw movement in the reeds up ahead, I slowed even more making as little movement as possible, this is what I managed to capture there was a small flock maybe 10-15 birds.

Canon 5DSR 1/800 F5.6 iso 400 @ 500mm f4 mk2 + 1.4x mk3

 Canon 5DSR 1/640 F5.6 iso 1600 @ 500mm f4 mk2 + 1.4x mk3

 

 Canon 5DSR 1/100 F5.6 iso 1600 @ 500mm f4 mk2 + 1.4x mk3

Cracking little birds beautiful colours a great end to the mornings trip.

All the above shots can be seen in greater detail on my flikr feed here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/92090785@N03/

Canon 7dmk2 to Canon 5DSR Upgrade

I wanted a second back up camera incase my main camera was up the creek for any reason and plumped for a Canoon 7dmk2.
I got it mainly for the crop factor effect (1.6) giving me extra reach etc, but to be honest I never really hit it off with the 7d2.
Its one of those things, I loved the frame rate thought it would be a good camera to take on holiday, but try as I might I just didnt get on with it.

I have seen people using this body and they get beautiful pin sharp shots, but me nah maybe one keeper here and there so I stopped using it.
Then I saw an add for a Canon 5DSR and thought at that price its a no brainer, so I chopped the 7d2 in (whoever buys that will get a great camera) put a bit of cash too it and bought a 5DSR.

I know 2 guys who use this body and get incredible results from its massive 50Mp sensor.

My first trip out with it yielded a couple of reasonable shots:

 The detail on the shot of this Mute Swan is right on the money 

5DSR 1/800 f11 iso400 700mm -67ev

To see it in all its glory https://www.flickr.com/photos/92090785@N03/48756632946/in/dateposted/

and zoom in its worth it to see all the droplets of water and the feather detail.

Next up is a Grey Heron coming in to land, nothing special but it was quite a distance away and the level of detail after a heavy crop is pretty good.

5DSR 1/1600 f11 iso640 700mm

Finally everyones favourite 

5DSR 1/125 f11 iso640 700mm

All the above shots can be found on my flikr feed here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/92090785@N03/with/48756632946/

I am looking forward to getting out with this new camera in the near future to give it a work out.

Raptor Cliffs

I am fortunate to live in East Kent where we have amazing variations in habitat from marshlands to cliff's the only thing we don't have in abundance is woodland.

I went for a walk along my local beach which is bordered by chalk cliff, no more than a hundred metre's into my walk there up on the cliff on a branch of a tree hanging out over the cliff a Peregrine Falcon, the fastest bird on the planet.

 Canon 7D Mk2 1/2000 +1ev f5.6 iso 400 500mm 

The effective focal length being 800mm when the 7dmk2 crop factor is added into the equation.

Sat there quite unperturbed by my presence, it then decided to go off on a hunt and disappeared into the blue yonder.

Canon 7D Mk2 1/1250 +1.67ev f5.6 iso 400 500mm

In no time at all it returned clutching a Starling it landed up on a small ledge and proceeded to eat its unfortunate catch.

Canon 7D Mk2 1/640  f5.6 iso 400 500mm

After sitting there for a few minutes something spooked the Peregrine, it took of and landed a little further up the cliff in a more sheltered position and again settled down to eat.

Canon 7D Mk2 1/2500  f4.0 iso 400 500mm

If you look closely in the above you can see the feathers that have just been plucked from the kill.

Its sad that a Starling had to die in order for this Peregrine to live but that is nature, and I am sure the Starlings end was a quick one.

A couple of days later I went back the Peregrine was still about but I was on the hunt for a different bird of prey, on my walk along the base of the cliff's I happened to look up as you do and spotted this beauty perched on the top of a dead tree.

Canon 5D Mk4 1/400  f7.1 iso 100 700mm

A juvenile Cuckoo, I quickly fired off some shots, this was a first for me, I have seen Cuckoos before but this is the first one I have managed a half decent shot of. 

I continued my walk for maybe another kilometre and found what I was looking for !!

Canon 5D Mk4 1/1600  +.67ev f5.6 iso 400 700mm

 Kestrel patrolling along the cliff catching the up draft effortlessly winging its way along the cliff

 Canon 5D Mk4 1/1600  +.67ev f5.6 iso 250 700mm

 Canon 5D Mk4 1/1600  +.67ev f5.6 iso 250 700mm

Canon 5D Mk4 1/320  f7.1 iso 100 700mm

After hovering on the look out for a meal it came back empty handed and perched in a small bush on top of the cliff. 

Oare Marshes 26.2.19

Was a beautiful calm morning I arrived around 0700 just after sunrise, the tide had turned and was on the way out.
I had come to hopefully get some Bearded Tit pictures, as these are one of the many birds on my to get list.
I have seen them before but never managed to get what I term to be a good shot let the hunt begin.

I took my usual route from the car park up onto the seawall and headed off into the sun towards the hide, very quiet not a lot going on at all.

 

500mm 1/1600th @ f4.5 +1ev iso 400

Greylag Goose heading out to find some grazing.

I walked up along the creek wall towards the sluice gate absolutely nothing of note, I initially headed up the creek but saw nothing of interest except this beauty, not my normal subject but such a majestic beast.

500mm 1/320th @ f7 -1/3ev iso 100 

I then sat and had a coffee and then wandered back towards the road where I came across a couple of Blue Tits feeding on Bull rushes the light was spot on.

 

 500mm 1/250th @ f7.1 iso 100

 

500mm 1/320th @ f7.1 iso 100

 

 Not the tits I was after but a nice find, I reversed my route and started to head back towards the car park and spotted a Reed Bunting doing exactly what their name suggests feeding on the reeds.

500mm 1/200th @ f7.1 iso 100

 500mm 1/200th -1/3ev @ f7.1 iso 100

 

500mm 1/160th @ f8 iso 125

 

All in all a very quiet morning but a very pleasant morning to be out on a wander.