The wren cracks me up, how it dips in and out my flower pot. But kinda hard to take a snap of it.
#wren #onmybalcony @[email protected]

I'm trying to challenge myself to take good birding pictures of birds in my nook of suburbia. This guy is napping in his favorite tree, getting a little sun.

Posted as much because I liked the decaying log as the magpie!

And I have no idea where the peanut came from - I didn't think there were any feeders in the park.

Prospect Park, Reading, UK

Canon R5 MkII, RF200-800mm lens

I shot this with my phone. The kestrel was calmly sitting next to a a few pigeons, until they realized it wasn't one of them (took them a while) and they flew away.

Prospect Part, Reading, UK

Canon R5 MkII + RF 800mm

1/1250s speed, which might have benefitted from being a little faster!

Osprey on a wet shingle roof tears into a fish with its beak. Looks so cool, so cool, so enviably cool.

A Great Blue Heron in breeding plumage standing in Pickleweed

Tiritiri Matangi, Aotearoa/New Zealand - February 2025

Under Construction

Grey heron (Ardea cinerea)
Olympus OM-1, Panasonic 100-300 II
300mm, f/7.1, 1/1250s, ISO 640

#bird #BirdPhotography #birds #darktable #heron #herons #photo #photography #UrbanWildlife #wildlife @birding
https://zaktakespictures.com/under-construction/

More fishing practice!

#gull #seagull #picton #bird #aotearoa #NewZealand

A Snowy Egret steps into a patch of sunlight as it stalks its prey in a patch of Cord grass

Not quite enough sunlight for the full irridescence, but I liked this.

Prospect Park, Reading, UK Canon R5 MkII + RF200-800mm

Prospect Park, Reading, UK Canon R5 MkII + RF200-800mm

Pursuit

Greylag geese (Anser anser)
Olympus OM-1, Panasonic 100-300 II
150mm, f/4.5, 1/1250s, ISO 1250

#AnserAnser #BirdPhotography #darktable #geese #goose #photo #photography #UrbanWildlife #wildlife @birding

https://zaktakespictures.com/persuit/

Here are some of the amazing tools available:

• Live migration maps (Doppler radar data): https://birdcast.info/migration-tools/live-migration-maps/
• Migration forecast maps: https://birdcast.info/migration-tools/migration-forecast-maps/
• Nocturnal migration dashboard (input your county or state): https://dashboard.birdcast.info/
• Local migration alerts: https://birdcast.info/migration-tools/local-migration-alerts/

A shore bird wades through a shallow water pool in front of a stand of grass.

I've seen people with chickens in outside in winter and was wondering whether that's a good idea. Don't they also need some kind of heating or warmth? My expectation was for their livable temperatures to be from 10-35C or something.

Pair of Goldfinches on a park tree with some long out of date Christmas decorations.

Prospect Park, Reading, UK Canon R5 Mk II RF200-800mm lens

A close up of a long billed shore bird walking through salt marsh vegetation.

They so kindly posed in the sun for me for a few minutes, I can but post their photo here.

Prospect Park, Reading, UK

Canon R5 MkII + RF200-800mm lens, ISO800, 1/1250s, F9

This girl was screaming the whole way as she came in for landing, and she gave me a beautiful reflection as she did!

Zealandia, Wellington, Aotearoa/New Zealand - February 2025

#bird #gull #KelpGull #Zealandia #reflection #Aotearoa #NewZealand #Larus #LarusDominicanus

I promise the camera was the right way up when I took this.