Stock dove, Columba oenas, single bird on ground, Warwickshire, July 2018. Olympus Em1 Mk2. 300mm lens. 1/6400th at f4. 800 iso. Taken from a lie down hide at a spot I have been baiting for about a month. Other species have been coming in too, but I concentrated on the Stock doves trying to get them in flight as they took off. I have a few successful images, but they are still being edited. It takes a while at 60 fps.
I spent a few days in Wales, but on the way pulled my calf muscle. Never would believe how incapacitating such a thing could be. I was not able to get more than a few yards from the car and spent my time either sitting on a stool or lying on the floor. Walking was impossible. Lying on the floor does allow the wildlife to come so much closer and this female wheatear took little notice of me. To her I guess I was no more a threat than a fallen log.
Northern wheatear, Oenanthe oenanthe, single female on grass, Wales, May 2018. Olympus Em1. 300mm plus 1.4 extender. 1/800th at f8. 400 iso.
Red-legged partridge, Alectoris rufa, single bird on post, Warwickshire, May 2018. Olympus Em1 Mk2. 300mm f4 plus 1.4 extender. 1/400th at F5.6. 1600 iso.
When Red-legged partridges start to call they do not open their bills at all. The throat feathers vibrate a little, which is the only sign they are calling, but after a few minutes they become more intense and the bill does open as the volume of the calls increases. Right at the end they stretch their necks and the whole body vibrates with the effort.