Martyn Pitt

As the lads have said, it is a Buzzard ... getting decent shots is just getting the basics right, and years of practice. Best advice to anyone taking a photograph of almost anything is to make sure the sun is behind you, ideally with the light coming over one shoulder onto the subject.

A couple of big birds from yesterday

I might have to show you mine now Steve

I think that is a Chaffinch Chalky . Male & female Bullfinch would have a black tail, and the eyes would be in it's black cap

Cheers Alan

Great nighters ... proper tunes. As I am having a senior moment can someone remind me the of the record that starts up at 2:52 please

A couple of shots of one of the many Heron at Belvide

Spent a fair bit of time trying to get a shot of our resident Cetti's Warbler out in the open, they are notoriously difficult to get a decent shot of as they tend to skulk about in the cover of the reed bed or undergrowth, and dart around like Speedy Gonzales. I missed focus on the little devil when it landed on an old fence for a nano second, but I did manage a couple of it, the second one shows how they like to stay in cover well hidden from the paparazzi

Well our Common Sandpiper is still with us, it shouldn't be but obviously enjoys the company at Belvide

Ahhh the old machine gun approach ... single shot myself, comes from that distant memory of 36 shot rolls of film when I was learning the art of photography, that and something called buffer overload The other lads take the piss up at the reserve ... they call me one shot , it's like the Valentines Day Massacre every time they photograph something

I know about as much as you Steve ... but I see where you are coming from it does look like one, the juveniles can be tricky.

Steve .... loving the shot of the bittern, ours seems happy playing hide and seek. 😀

Cheers Chris, we have a good number of them at Belvide, as you say a timid bird that you usually only catch a fleeting glimpse of as it dashes from one piece of cover to another.

It was grey and wet this morning Steve, the Water Rail was doing a song and dance in front of the hide, but the light was pants. I got lucky around mid day with a break in the weather for a short spell, and I managed to get these shots, but it soon resorted to grey and pants. I had been in the hide for around an hour, I was beginning to think that the little devil would not show it's face again, when out it came for a swim I am also thinking that is a corvid in that shot, but unsure as to which.

Common Buzzards are a wide variety of colours and shades in the UK, it can be difficult to ID a rare one Had a Water Rail on show right in front of the hide, even swimming around, which was nice

It looks like a female Siskin to me as well Dave, especially with what it is feeding on

An outdoor pool in Nottingham ... might get a bit nippy

Bill nice to know the images are appreciated, that is actually the corner post of a Tern raft that has been pushed in close to the shore in front of one of the hides by strong winds, one for us to tidy up and tow back out into the reservoir in the spring. One of the waxwing visiting my house was ringed, have been informed it was ringed at Westhill Aberdeenshire on the 4th December 2016.

I have a couple of migrating Jays visiting the garden at the moment, easily spooked, love peanuts.

Looks like a cross between a magpie and a starling

Hi Dave, not aware of any Nutcrackers in this part of the world

A couple of shots of Waxwing, a scarce visitor to our shores from northern Europe and Scandinavia, some years we get good numbers other years they are few and far between, this year has been quite good for them. Birdwatchers travel miles to see them ... I took these shots from my bedroom window , saved going out in the rain and sleet.

You should get lucky Steve, they appear to be moving south ... I had 30 of them on my roof a few years back, unfortunately the tree they were feeding on does not have many berries on this year, still stick at it Steve it will be well worth it when you get them, especially if you have some decent light. I managed to get a nemesis of mine yesterday, they seem to have a sixth sense that I am trying to get an image of them, he was too occupied in stripping the seeds off this stem to worry about me.

Russell ... London have been on the phone ... what are you doing on the 31st December this year Anyway my first effort for 2017 a Pied Wagtail

Thought I would say farewell to 2016 with an unassuming Robin ... hope you all have a happy new year