THE FINCH FAMILY.

Thought I would add another Post today, and feature a part of the Finch family,A lot of people here think we do not have bird's which look exotic as in other countries.

But I think you will agree these come pretty close, first image on the left is the Goldfinch, and on the right is a female Greenfinch.

Second on the left is a male Bullfinch, and image four is a Chaffinch.

There are quite a few more species of finch in the UK, and hope to feature some more at a later date.

KENNAL VALE NATURE RESERVE.

Well here we are at another weekend, and as usual the weather is not up to much. Its pretty rotten outside,rain, misty and around six deg c. So have to rely on the old library for the post again. Today its a few more images from a favourite place of mine Kennal Vale Nature Reserve, which is featured in a previous Post.For me this place holds magical qualities with its high wooded valley, and a stream tumbling over a boulder laden floor, and all the ruins of the gunpowder works along one side of the valley. So I am not using any text notes for the images today, and hope they speak for themselves.

OLD FRIENDS

This pair of Blackbird's I consider old friends when I am working in the garden.

The male on the left is quite used to me and will come to within two feet of where I'm working cock his head on to one side and looks at me as if to say (Come on throw me a worm or two).

The Female is not so confiding and stays on the garden wall watching from a safe distance. It's really pleasing when with a little patience and understanding wildlife will put their trust in you.

27/01/09 POST INFORMATION

Hey no pics tonight as I am Going out shortly, but received this E:Mail from Simon Taylor the warden at Stithians Res and as it give's some extra information on last nights Post thought I would share it with you. So many thanks Simon. Monty - The skipper of the working boat "Abigail Rose" is a bloke called Norman Bowers. Norman used to work in the docks as a tug deck-hand but has now retired. I worked alongside him for many years both in the yard and on the tugs. Great to see his boat on your blog Simon

FAL WORKNG BOATS

For tonight's subjects I have chosen The River Fal working boats, these boats fish the Oyster Beds which are located along the Fal.

Fal Oysters are very popular and well known, being exported to many countries.

When they are not working the boats and their crews relax at evenings and weekends during the summer month's, taking part in working boat races at the various Regatta's around the Fal. I think you will agree they make a splendid sight in beautiful surroundings.

I do not know the name of sail 54, but sail 32 is The Abigail Rose.

PS Greetings to Ann in Virginia USA, many thanks for the nice remarks, and glad you enjoy the blog.

Also welcome to Ian in Redruth thanks for the interest and following the proceedings. For anyone interested in some great Cornish views, look at Ian's web pages at Ian Lewis Photography on Flickr.

PENDULINE TIT

As Promised on yesterday's posting here are some images of the Penduline Tit, which we saw at a place called Clennon Valley in Torquay Devon.

I must say I was not so happy with the quality, but given the circumstance's it was the best I could get and other people seemed to have the same problem.

For The Techno's ISO was set at 800 which put some digital noise onto the images, have taken most of this off during processing.

Aperture was wide open f5.6 on 400mm lens, but due to available light I was only getting between 1/125s to 1/250s Shutter Speed. it was supported on my Monopod (Should have taken a Tripod). This is one occasion when a 500mm or 600mm f4 Lens would have been appreciated.

I shoot all my images in RAW format, these are flat images which I process on the PC later.

TWITCHER'S AWAY DAY

So it was an early start this morning up AT 5am and left home a 6am to go with my two birding friends, up to the next County Devon to try and find a new species for me.The bird we were looking for was a Penduline Tit a Rare visitor to this area. So after a 1 1/2 hr drive we arrived in the Torbay area where the bird had been seen. After a short muddy walk to the small lake in the area one of my friends spotted it almost right away.

So we spent two hours watching it from a distance, I must have taken 500 photo's even though it was quite small in the lens.

I have not processed these yet, If I get any good pic's I will post them tomorrow. So here are two images I took this morning, the left shot is a male Pochard which I think is a really nice bird.

The right image is of a Moorhen and I am pleased as I have been trying to get a really good shot for some time.

TINTAGEL & TRURO CATHEDRAL

Today's images are of two very contrasting buildings, on the left is the Post Office at Tintagel in North Cornwall. This is a fine example of old Cornish buildings in the 15th & 16th centuries.Tintagel is also claimed to be the home of King Arthur and the Knights of The Round Table.

The second image is of Truro Cathedral which is set in the heart of of the city centre. By comparisons Truro is a small city, but is still a very busy place where there is a good selection of shops,and also some fine pubs and restaurants catering for all tastes.

MASTER'S OF DISGUISE.

Tonight I would like to show you two surprises I found in my moth trap last year. I almost discarded these as an old leaf and a broken twig and you can see why, in their environment they are almost impossible to find and photograph.

On the left is the Scorched Wing Moth, whilst on the right is the Buff Tip Moth which resembles a piece of Silver Birch.

It never fails to impress me how most things in nature can blend in with their surroundings for protection.

THE LIZARD & KYNANCE COVE

Today's photo offerings are of warmer times,and hope it makes everyone in the Northern Hemisphere forget the winter days,for everyone in the Southern Hemisphere sorry I don't have any snow shots to cool you down. The two photos are of the Lizard area the most southerly point in the UK. Shot 1 on the left shows Lizard Point and the Lighthouse, it was taken from across the bay at Bass Point, and the stretch of water is Housel Bay.

The right shot is around the headland from Lizard Point and shows the Kynance Cliffs Leading to Kynance Cove a very popular beauty spot.

The area is also famous for the early radio experiments carried out by Marconi ,and just along the coast at Poldu Cove is the spot where the first radio transmission across the Atlantic took place to Cabot Tower in St Johns Newfoundland

WOW WHAT A DAY!

Well it's Sunday Morning and this should have been Saturday's Post so here's the rundown.

The morning was bright and sunny with no sign of the predicted southerly storm, so drove down to Carbis Bay near St Ives (Pics above) and joined two friends for a mornings birding.Not many birds in the bay so we decided to head for Marazion on the south coast in the hope that with the coming storm a certain bird may come inshore.

Arriving after a short drive and about one hour before high tide, there was a good surf running. It was down onto the beach with camera's at the ready. So did we find one of the birds we were looking for NO! to our surprise we found SIX, along the beach a group of birders were looking at one in particular that was really close in.

Joining them this one was really obliging and coming to within 1 metre and flying around our legs.

So after 1 1/2 hours of great watching and being thrilled by its ability and 400+ shots later we called it a day as the wind was picking up and storm clouds gathering.

Well your all asking what was this bird, well it's all in the next item and I have given it a name in brackets I thought of whilst watching it.

So folks may I please introduce you to................

GREY PHALAROPE (THE SURF DANCER)

END OF A GREAT MORNING.

So that's the end of a great morning,finishing at about 10.45 am with the wind increasing up to 35mph. Here is one final pic of St Micheals Mount just to show that the sun's not shining here all the time.

PS Welcome to Mark50d, I looked at your thumbnail Mark and saw XH558 Serial No of the AVRO VULCAN so jumped onto your Flickr site and must say some great photo's there. Used to do the airshow circuit's a few years ago myself,aircraft folder is around 1,00o.

So anyone wanting to look at a varied selection of great images,log onto Marks site.

PPS So Saturday was spent trying to edit 400+pics, then had a problem with my internet connection,and finally on saturday night about to update the blog with 70-80 mph winds outside had a big thunderstorm

so shut everything down and went to bed. (End of a pretty eventfull day).

ALE & HEARTY

Well its the weekend and this is the time for a lot of people to forget the daily toil, and enjoy a couple of days relaxation.

So tonight I thought it would be nice to show a couple of typical Cornish Ale houses, or Pubs as their known. The first pic is of the Wheel Inn at Tresillian on the main road between the City of Truro and St Austell. It was very difficult to photograph because of the busy main road, but made up for it with a nice Pint and Pub Lunch.

Picture two shows the Fox & Hounds at Comford on the main road between Redruth & Falmouth and about 1/2 km from my home.

Again very good ale with an excellent Restaurant voted Cornish pub of the year 2008.

RESKAJEAGE & KENNAL VALE

Well midway through another week, and time seems to fly by.So after a hurried update on Monday, and yes we had a great meal will try to get back to normal,and no bird shots for the rest of the week.

First image tonight was taken at Reskejeage Downs on the North cliffs, walking across a field and saw this scene and guessed it would make a great black & white shot. I do love B&W images.

Image on the right was taken at Kennal Vale Nature Reserve near Ponsanooth, and shows one of the water shoots that drove a waterwheel.

Up until the 1950,s Kennal Vale used to be a gunpowder works, and the whole valley is full of derelict buildings and water shoots and is a magical place, so will get back to take some more pics for the blog.

P.S Hello to OZ and thanks for the nice remarks , will talk soon.

BIRD OF THE DAY AGAIN!!! BARN OWL

So have just got in from work, quick cuppa and check on the Blog, as My wife and myself are going out for a friends birthday meal tonight. As you can imagine when I saw that I had 55 visitors to the site yesterday I felt I had to upload something special in the way of saying THANK YOU to Everyone who has taken the time to visit my Blog. These photo,s are special to me, because if there is a more enchanting face in the bird world than that of a Barn Owl someone please tell me. This little guy spent a few weeks on the Stithians Reservoir last Autumn and turned out to be a right little poser as you can see. So please enjoy and again thanks for looking.

BIRD OF THE DAY .THE BUZZARD

After a couple of mornings out birding, I did not get any new images worth putting on the blog.Everything was to far away and mostly dull weather, so I have reverted to a couple of pics from my photo bank.

this is The Common Buzzard and its the largest native Bird of Prey in our county,and can be found in most environments. The Left Picture was taken two weeks ago at a place called Towednack near St Ives.

The right picture was taken at Goonhilly Downs last summer when we went to see a rare visitor the Honey Buzzard.

I spent this morning in the Towednack area doing a 2km walk up over a muddy Moor looking for a rare Snowy Owl which has been there for about three weeks as I wanted to add it to my year list. but due to very high winds it was probably keeping low or had decided to move on.

But I saw it twice before Christmas and as it was the first one in the county since 1948 I consider myself very lucky.

FALMOUTH

This is the port of Falmouth on the south coast , about 6 miles from my home. I make regular visits here as there are always plenty of photo opportunities . Falmouth is the third largest natural harbour in the world. The first shot shows a view accross the harbour towards the Carrick Roads, to the right of the large Green cargo ship is Falmouth Ship Repair, where repairs and refits are carried out in the three dry docks.

Picture two shows the cargo ship Safmarine Europe about to leave No 3 dry dock after her refit.

The final picture is of Coombe Creek on the river Fal at 5am one summers morning. Believe me there is nothing more peaceful or beautiful than to be here in the early morning and see the sun come up.

BIRDS OF THE DAY

Here are my two latest offerings for birds of the day,Both were taken early in 2008 at St Gothian Sands Reserve at Godrevy. The left shot is of a Black Headed Gull which is very common. The Right shot is of a Little Gull which stayed at the reserve for a short time, and is the smallest Gull to be found in the uk.