28th June - 4th July 2019
I needed a new body!
No, not for me personally although I've strained my back badly some weeks ago and it's not getting better - probably because I keep lifting things I shouldn't! No, I mean a new camera body: much as I like the Canon 5Dsr for fine focus detail it's hopeless at tracking birds in flight unless they're in front of its nose. Not enough focus points or cross hairs or something. The plan was to buy a 7D mark III when it came out but it now appears it never will as Canon is going in for mirrorless cameras more and more and has cancelled the 7D series altogether. So when I saw an extremely tempting offer on the 7D mark II, one day only, from Park Cameras I bought one. I shall still use the 5Dsr but all the photos on this blog are taken with the 7D using a mix of 100mm macro, 100-400mm zoom and the 500mm with 1.4 extender. As you're probably bored out of your wits already I shan't bother saying which are which lens-wise.
So, then, we'll begin at Blacktoft on June 28th...
Spotted redshanks, mute swans and marsh harriers [not got the focussing settings right yet...] and a wren.
Teasel too, backlit.
June 29th: messing with camera settings in the garden.
Didn't expect this!
On a neighbour's roof - carrion crowing.
June 30th - highlight of the day was a female beautiful demoiselle found by Sheila in our lounge resting on a wall. I managed to get a record photo with my phone and put it outside where, after a short flight, it landed on a hosta. I got the 7D out and took a load of [identical!] photos with different settings. Here's a nice one.
July 3rd: Bolton Abbey walk. I'd left it late in the season and, worse still, too late in the day for this adventure. No sign of pied flycatcher, wood warbler or redstart. Too many dogs, school groups and too much foliage. The 100-400 zoom is nice and light for a walk like this.
Common sandpiper, including a distant shot of a very young bird - parents were very close by- spotted flycatcher on nest in hollow tree, squirrels, fungi, common spotted orchid, goosander -the best of what I saw...
Before leaving I passed a site by Barden Tower where trees had been cleared. The whole area was covered in literally thousands of foxgloves - an amazing sight.
July 4th: Saltholme for a white-winged black tern. From just outside the visitor centre.
