Drinking Pool

I have set up this drinking pool many times and always enjoy it. It is a fibre glass tray that no longer holds water so I have had to line it with a rubber sheet. Two pallets on end support the weight and hold a wooden board onto which I place the tray. The two white bits of wood are to prevent the birds landing on the sides of the tray. I want them on the rear edge. I poured resin over the back edge and sprinkled fine dirt on it which looked quite good. Green vegetation was added, but some bare dirt was left as the birds land here to reach the water.

Food is placed at the rear of the tray to get the birds in the right area, but they photograph best when they drink. All pictures taken with the Olympus EM1 Mk2 and the 40-150mm lens with a 1.4 extender. The birds are very close to the hide and without the silent shutter the birds would have jumped as each picture was taken.

Goldfinch

Blue tit

Great tit

Lesser redpoll

Robin

Goldfinch

Coal tit

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There has been the usual autumn visits to the Midlands reservoirs of Grey phalaropes and as ever they are very approachable.  This one was a Napton Reservoir and had the advantage that getting low down to the water was easy. I did take a lot of picture lying on the floor, but this one is from a sitting height. They are not great poses and this was about the only time it stopped feeding and held its head up.

Grey Phalarope, Phalaropus fulicarius, single bird in winter plumage, Warwickshire, September 2018. Olympus Em1 Mk2. 300mm lens plus 1.4 extender. 1/6400th at f5.6. 800 iso.

Common snipe

Common snipe, Gallinago gallinago, Single bird with leech in water, Hungary, September 2018. Olympus Em1 Mk2. 300mm lens plus 1.4 extender. 400 iso. 1250th at f5.6

This is my favourite image from Hungary. The snipe pulled up a leech and then walked with it a few metres into the open where he suddenly stretched upwards as a Marsh harrier flew overhead.