long tailed tit

[annie]

still taken with my new hobby of bird snapping

i keep saying that i have never seen one of these or one of those but it has dawned on me today that i have probably seen flipping loads of them, just had my eyes closed up till now....i did not know what this little chap was until i looked him up...hope i have identified him correctly....

[JohnP]

Well done annie... they are my favourite small bird, they are almost always in a small flock so look out for them. They are always busy so you did well to capture this one.

[Black Pearl]

Magic!

We've started to get a pair of blue tits in the back garden so I might set up the bird feeders a little closer to the conservatory (wash the windows) and have a bash.

All your excellent shots are a bit of an inspiration.

[annie]

thank you both....i am keeping my feeding area's very clean and nicely topped up. i am also learning how to sit still and quiet, even go for ages without the need for a ciggie as i am so engrossed in the birds...can't be bad!

[Terry]

Nice detail Annie, cracking shot

[annie]

and don't they get in a state getting to the food....!

[NannyFerret]

You are doing brilliantly, Annie. I am really loving your bird shots.

[annie]

bless you nanny....thanks xxx

[FUJI]

QUOTE: I am also learning how to sit still and quiet. QUOTE ENDS:

WHAT YOU????........WOW!......;-)

Annie, joking aside, you are developing into a proper bird photographer.........your focus is spot on and you are beginning to relax into your new role, this means that you should begin to improve even further.

The next steps are ......1: Not to click the shutter until your chosen subject is doing something interesting or unusual.....otherwise you end up with hundreds of what are commonly known as......BOS.....or....Bird On a Stick....pics that can get a bit boring unless your viewer is keen on counting feathers....

2: To up your shutter speed so that you freeze attempted landings or take-offs, or any other very fast movement.....included in this may be to try....BURST shooting mode.

Could I suggest also, that you set the scene a little by adding natural looking perches or even a neutral soft green background.........Such Fun!

I would love to try this but would feel a bit of a Prat sitting in our front garden just yards from a very busy road, to shoot through the windows is impossible because of bubbly and uneven Victorian window glass.

I have recently acquired a wireless trigger set for my camera, but if I placed it outside at the front of the house it might get nicked.....but one day, when I feel right I will have a go at triggering the shutter from inside the house but out of view of the birds on the feeders.

Why not the back garden you may ask......not many birds venture there because it is extremely tiny, and with Big Ollie, Tinke and three neighboring moggies birds tend to keep their distance, but no cat woud survive long if it ventured to the front of our terraced house too often.

Brilliant work.....please keep it up........the weather will be warming up soon.

FUJI

[annie]

thanks fuji for you advice and praise..

take offs and landings....you would laugh if you saw some of my attempts at snapping these, i manage to make the birds look deformed, but i am trying lol! i do keep the camera on burst in the hope that one day it will happen.

i have been thinking about the scene like you suggest, for my own garden, brian said he will help me build a new bird table, the one i cobbled together last year is so ugly. these pics of the long tailed tit were taken in cambridge yesterday. i spotted the birds in someones garden and took advantage by sticking the camera over their fence, a bit naughty, but the camera was pointing away from the house.

i would love to pluck up the courage and go and sit in one of the hides up in the woods, but i am dead scared in case one of the big boy photographers turn up.

i had thought of setting the camera up outside and feeding my cable release through the window, but i am actually enjoying sitting out there and listening to all the different bird sounds, i actually know when the robins are here now by their song,

blackwolf or johnp i will never be, but i am enjoying my little venture into the world of bird photography...

[Guest]

Good stuff, they are the most adorable little bird.