Jackdaw visitor

Now, none of your Victorian superstitions, but this beautiful Jackdaw came down the chimney this afternoon and into the sitting room. It was surprisingly relaxed, so I grabbed a couple of shots before (in the nicest possible way) showing it the door.

Reflections on the nature of aggression

Blue Tits are seemingly birds of very little brain. They are pairing up to reproduce at this time of the year and become aggressive beyond their diminutive size. One regularly comes to the feeder outside my office and then attacks its reflection in the window. Yesterday it did the same to its reflection in the driver's side wing mirror on the car as I pulled into the drive. Here's a shot from one of this morning's assaults...

Canon 1Ds MkIII, Canon 24-70mm IS L lens, 1/640th sec, f/7.1, ISO 640, focal length: 30mm, remote control shutter

Common Toads

A pair of Common Toads photographed on this morning's dog walk. Toads are among my favourite subjects – they tend to freeze when approached, which makes capturing shots of them much easier, and their skin is full of character and detail the camera loves.  

Canon 1Ds Mk III, Canon 100mm fixed macro lens, 1/200th sec, f/5.6, ISO 640

Canon 1Ds Mk III, Canon 100mm fixed macro lens, 1/500th sec, f/6.3, ISO 640

Canon 1Ds Mk III, Canon 100mm fixed macro lens, 1/500th sec, f/9, ISO 640

Little Owl

Another (captive) Little Owl from a series taken on the farm.

Canon 1Ds Mk III, Canon 100-400mm IS L lens, 1/60th sec, f/8, ISO 400, focal length: 400mm