More Tits

Well I've been itching to get out with the camera all week, but unfortunately a combination of work commitments and truly awful light conditions have laid to rest any plans I may have had to get out there and satisfy my desire.

                                                                                                                                       

 

I'm pleased to report that all as not been lost though and I've spent the last couple of evenings processing some photographs which have remained overlooked for the last few years.

I've actually got an archive of unprocessed shots running into the tens of thousands and its actually been a pleasure looking and sorting through some of those.

 

Today I'm going to carry on from where I left off at the last post and present you with some portraits of a few different varieties of Tit.

All these images were taken in the Derbyshire Peak District on a lovely late winters day in March 2010...

 

 

 

                                                                         Blue Tit

 

 

Coal Tit

 

 

Great Tit

Up Close & Personal...

As a general rule, I tend to like to include a bit of my subjects environment in my wildlife pictures, but every now and again I can't resist zooming in and capturing the finer details, especially with the smaller subjects.

Here's a couple of images that emphasize this point...

                                                                    Nuthatch

                                                          
                                                                     Blue Tit

Blue Tit Portrait

I was just looking through some old shots, that I took a couple of years ago and thought I'd share an image of one of Britain's more common garden birds, the Blue Tit.

These charismatic and busy little birds are a firm favourite of mine and I expect many others...

Butterflies and Moody Skies.

Early yesterday evening, I had a quick walk down the Vale and after quite a warm day there was very little activity on the Mill Ponds, so I decided to have a walk around to see if I could spot anything of interest.

Highlight of the evening was a beautiful Peacock Butterfly that was doing it's very best to evade me for 5 or so minutes.

I'm by no means an expert on Butterflies or insects in general for that matter, but I do love to see them and if the chance arises, I will always do my best to get a shot of them...Even if it does mean trying to capture it with a 500mm lens like in this instance!

Eventually the beauty landed on some very 'scrubby' grass by the edge of the river which made getting a clean shot almost impossible and this was my best effort...

Away from the river and on the edge of the woods, there seemed to be a little bit of house-hunting going on with a pair of Blue Tits taking turns to survey a potential new property...

Finally, I had a walk to a different stretch of the river behind the railway viaduct and noticed a dark cloud was just about to pass over the sun, so I quickly grabbed my spare camera complete with wide lens and captured the moment.

BBC Walk On The Wild Side

A brief television appearance tonight, as one of my Blue Tit images was featured on BBC Television's North West Tonight feature 'A Walk On The Wild Side'.

The shot was actually displayed on 2 separate occasions by presenters Gordon Burns & Dianne Oxberry who were joined in the studio by wildlife photographer Ben Hall.

Best Laid Plans...

It's been a pretty miserable week weather wise and because of that I've not been out with the camera, instead I spent the week planning my itinerary for today.

The plan was to explore Bleaklow and Higher Shelf Moor high in the Peak District and hopefully capture some of the wildlife there which includes Mountain Hare, Red Grouse, Golden Plover and Curlew.

Unfortunately this part of the Dark Peak is as bleak as it comes and the weather can change at the drop of a hat and today proved no exception!

It was still dark as I left home and the plan was to arrive at the bottom of Bleaklow just before first light.

Although it was raining lightly I was determined to get some shots after a week of inactivity and was optimistic of doing so.

However as the steep drive along the Snake Pass progressed, I had all but given up hope of setting foot on the moors because like so often in this part of the world a thick fog had descended.

On arrival I spent a few minutes weighing up the options and although disappointed, I thought it would be foolhardy to attempt the trek...Not just because of the fog but because of the ice and snow also.

Luckily I know this area of the Peaks very well and I knew that all was not lost for the day...

I decided to drive further down the Snake and on to Derwent Valley which always offers some decent wildlife opportunities.

It was still very cold in the valley, with light rain and a very dark sky.

Knowing I'd be pretty limited to where I could venture because of the light, I decided to visit a favourite spot on the edge of some woodland beside the Ladybower Reservoir and was treated to some close views of some common but none the less beautiful little birds...