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In a previous blog post I wrote about finally realising a long-awaited desire to see and photograph Northern Carmine Bee Eaters. This was a deeply held personal ambition which took me five years to achieve. This is because it’s one thing to just see them through binoculars, as many people do, but it’s another much more difficult undertaking to get them flying in front of your lens and ultimately getting some decent flight shots.
I have been creating some sequential shots of birds flying lately, the last one being a Hobby (featured in a recent blog post). This sequence was taken at Llangors Lake near where I live, in the Brecon Beacons
By extension I thought I’d create one of a Northern Carmine Bee Eater I photographed in Africa this year.
This process is quite straightforward, you just need suitable images, i.e. a few shots of a bird flying (obviously) and which is ideally against a plain background, but if you prefer you can utilise any background you have naturally photographed or even artificially manufactured - This part is quite simple.
I emphasize and prefer a plain background because it’s then much simpler to draw around a subject in photoshop, this is because the programme recognizes the subject’s outline easier because of the contrast between the two. When your shot selection is chosen, perhaps five or six images, it’s then just a matter of blending them one by one onto the already opened background.
This is an easy procedure in photoshop - after opening up your chosen background, then also open up the first bird image and carefully draw around it, subsequently follow a few simple steps to mask the original background, thereby isolating the bird, then copy and paste the bird image onto the chosen background. You can also arrange the images in any order, alter their size or orientation to suit the final sequential composition.



These creations highlight a bird’s transition in flight much clearer than just looking at individual images one by one.

Some Cattle Egrets have been seen at a local lake over the last week and as these birds are very infrequent visitors to the Brecon Beacons I tried to make an effort to see them. However, I had no luck at all until the day before yesterday. I called in on my way home from Brecon on the off chance and lo and behold there they were, three birds on a spit of land, known locally as ‘The point’.





I quickly set up and took a few shots but I could see two fishermen in a boat coming towards this spit and I knew they would spook these birds because they are very flighty.
I got ready and as I thought the birds were indeed spooked and this allowed me to get a few flight shots – sometimes you can predict how these things will unfold and you have to take advantage.

It’s been an absolute pleasure watching the Hobbies at Llangors Lake this last two weeks. It’s been far from easy though, and this is because of the geography of the area they are operating in. If lucky I got five seconds of usable action on any one day. This is because they appear out of nowhere and disappear equally quickly. In addition, they are so unpredictable in flight there’s virtually no reaction time, you’ve really got to be on the mark.
However, in spite of the above mentioned obstacles;
Here is a sequential composition of one of the birds catching a dragonfly on one of the brighter days.



Another sequence of the Juv bird.



What a bird - born to fly fast.

In addition to Hummingbird hawk-moths and Painted Ladies this summer there have been good numbers of Clouded Yellow butterflies in this area, which is unusual. These butterflies can be seen on grasslands usually and are quite mobile, but today there was one in our garden feeding on the Verbena. What an attraction for insects this plant is and I would recommend anybody who likes insects to plant some.



I managed to capture some images of these beautiful butterflies; they are at their most colourful when in flight.





Gorgeous!

Canon R5 Mk2 + Rf 100-500 using 'Pre capture' for in flight shots.

I’ve made quite a few visits to try and capture a shot of the Hobbies at Llangors Lake and apart from two ten second opportunities I have drawn a blank. They are ensconced in a most awkward position where no one can see them except from distance and they are only really visible when they are flying out over the lake catching dragonflies. To compound the difficulties the observation hide at the lake has been under refurbishment and has taken a lot longer to complete than the original stated end date.
However, this morning I was in there and no sooner had I sat down than a Hobby perched on some dead branches nearby, still not an ideal distance, but better than I have seen for weeks.
I shot it immediately, and it was an adult bird to boot, very satisfying except that I didn’t have my 600mm lens with me, but I made do with the 100-500. It’s the lens you have with you that’s your best lens - always remember that!!

What a beautiful bird they are.

The Hobby is a small falcon which migrates from Africa to Europe, including the UK, each spring and subsequently breeds during the summer months. They are relatively small, with the body size of a Kestrel but with longer and more pointed wings. They are, importantly, extremely dextrous flyers allowing them to catch Swifts, Swallows and Martins in flight. They also feed typically on Dragonflies, catching, dismembering and eating them in flight. Their dashing flight low over a body of water or a damp meadow in pursuit of their prey is a sight to behold.
Yesterday I was walking alongside a local lake, trying without much success to evade the frequent rain showers. In this particular area I had previously seen two of these birds flying out from a tree (where they perch regularly) over the lake catching dragonflies. However, in addition to this I witnessed them flying low over the lake-side reedbeds trying to spook small birds into flight and then attempting to snatch them in the air.
I knew the section of reedbed where they were using this hunting method and conveniently there is a tree adjacent to it which I was able to shelter under from the rain. I waited for some time before I saw one bird briefly fly low over the far side of the reedbed, I could just about see it, but there was no chance of a photograph; I resumed my wait.
A vicious rain shower passed through, thankfully just missing me or I would have been soaked. I resumed my vigil thinking I would wait another hour or until I could see a shower heading directly for me.
Another bird took off from their ‘Perch’ and flew out over the lake; I couldn’t see it but you still have to be totally prepared for anything because these birds are so fast and unpredictable in flight. Suddenly a bird flashed across the reedbed; I just about managed to lock onto it getting a few shots before it disappeared.









The light was really difficult with basically a horrible white sky as the background but also an ambient light that was rising and falling as storm clouds drifted past, these conditions are so awkward to manage as they drastically effect shutter speed and iso.
Again, a bird appeared and I shot it drifting across the reedbed catching a dragonfly and dismembering it in fight.









The bird below is an adult - note the red trousers, it was further away than the juvenile.



I looked up to see a monster storm cloud appearing on the horizon so I decided, reluctantly, to abandon my shoot and quickly walk back to my vehicle, just about getting under cover as all hell broke loose with torrential rain lashing across the lake.

Another time perhaps under more favourable conditions!

Canon R5Mk2 + Canon RF100-500.
500mm / f7.1 / 4000/sec / iso 2000
Handheld.

As this dangerous spell of weather continues even the smallest casually discarded spark now spells disaster. Here in the Brecon Beacons, as I’m sure like everywhere else, the land is parched and tinder dry. I have not cut any grass for two months which is unprecedented for me and the smallest amount of water from a can is barely keeping plants alive.
It’s beyond belief that one current mountain fire in South Wales has been started deliberately, this outrageous behaviour should carry the most severe penalties for the cretins involved.
A particular and intense dislike of mine is portable barbeques; they should have been banned years ago in my opinion; there is no need for them whatsoever!! They are first used and then left smouldering by irresponsible people who shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near the countryside. Police had to extinguish one of these things only last week in some fields near a school in Brecon. The people involved were adults who quite frankly should have known better.
Yesterday Susan and I walked up onto a mountain near us and witnessed a huge grass fire on a moorland across the valley. On the local news it is reported to be as large as 500 football pitches. We watched in horror at the plume of smoke rising up into the sky as firefighters and a water carrying helicopter battled to contain it.



Trying to control these wind driven fires is incredibly difficult, totally exhausting and extremely dangerous, and the fire fighters involved should be commended for the work they are doing.
With no further rain and also high temperatures basically forecasted for the rest of August this situation is so serious. Almost every fire of this nature involves human activity (even a discarded glass bottle a year ago is today acting as a magnifying glass for the sun’s rays) and was left by somebody! Now is the time for extra vigilance from everybody in the countryside, inhabitants and visitors alike.

I didn't expect another opportunity to photograph the same or perhaps another Hummingbird hawk-moth. However, the light was brighter this morning and I was surprised to see one on the same shrub and after a bit of effort I managed to isolate my subject against a pleasing background. These insects wings beat at 80/sec so high shutter speeds are essential.



That's what I was looking for.

A result of these warm southerly winds has brought good numbers of Painted Lady butterflies to my garden, some years their annual migration is more prolific than others, but this summer these air streams must have brought huge numbers over from North Africa to Europe.



A more southerly insect the Hummingbird hawk-moth was also a welcome visitor to my garden yesterday evening - The first one for about ten years. An annual visitor to the UK from Southern Europe these lovely insects are a joy to watch as they feed on pollen rich plants. Standing close has no effect on their behaviour and allows the lucky observer to hear their incredibly fast wingbeats.









If weather trends continue on their present trajectory (as is predicted) many more of these insects will appear in the UK amd hopefully in my garden!

I was up early and out on a local river at seven O’clock this morning. This weather is not good for sleeping anyway, so it’s much nicer to be out. I was sat on my walk stool under one of very old bridges that have spanned the River Usk for two hundred or more years, just watching what came along. A Kingfisher flew back and fore a few times, a characteristic flash of electric blue brightening up the morning, it’s great to see them doing well again and there were also a few Dippers around accompanied with young birds, that was lovely to see.
The reason I was sat under the bridge was to try and photograph some Grey Wagtails that feed on insects that gather on the warm shingle banks there. They also try and catch flying insects, launching into the air from these rocks.
I had a Canon ef600 f4 lens on a tripod and gimbal head, necessary for stability and a Canon R5 Mk2 for image quality and the ‘Pre Capture’ facility. I have downloaded the latest firmware for this camera that enables the user to switch ‘Pre Capture’ on and off with the touch of a designated button – so much more convenient now!
It’s still not easy though, you can photograph these wagtails on the rocks easily enough.




However, to catch them in the air is more difficult;
Having first activated ‘Pre Capture’ You have to try and predict which way the birds are going to take off and compose the scene accordingly, hoping you have chosen correctly.
In order to get any sharp images, I found I needed a shutter speed of 8000/sec and this needed an ISO of 3200. Once they have perched on the rocks it’s a matter of waiting for them to take off while keeping the shutter button half pressed which is continually recording images, and also ensuring focus is maintained by using another button, this is where 'Back Button Focussing' is fundamentally important!
Once they launch into flight then immediately fully depress the shutter, activating 'Pre Capture'.

Taking off.


Without ‘Pre Capture’ it’s almost impossible to catch them in flight, a normal person’s reactions are just not quick enough.









‘Pre Capture’ is a marvellous feature of modern cameras.

A white sky with limited blue interludes prevailed for almost all of the morning and this is the worst scenario for colour - it takes most of the detail of your subject away. However, you can't change it so you have to make the best of the conditions. Add to this intermittent rain showers just for good measure and you have all the makings of a very difficult photographic endeavour.
However, as long as there is a female Cuckoo around there will be males calling and flying, so get near to the area the female is in (far from easy) and you have a chance of a photograph. I could her bubbling call coming from a very overgrown area of Gorse and Bracken, interspersed with a few Hawthorn trees. Under this Bracken was Couch Grass which is the worst plant for walking on because it's so uneven and when you can't see the ground it's even more difficult. Water was also running in places and forming boggy areas which were also invisible until you trod in them, this was very awkward terrain indeed.
I was hiding in amongst one of the hawthorns, which by nature is most uncomfortable and had suffered a number of thorn punctures to my hands, so I was beginning to question what I was doing there.
One of these punctures had later, I think, caused my hand to swell up and become quite painful, which resulted in me having to take anti inflammatory medication for a few days.
To get back; I couldn't see the female Cuckoo but I could see a male on top of a distant tree, not a good shot, too far, but I waited awhile.



After about an hour I gave up any hope of seeing the female and decided to pick my way back out (with great difficulty) of the Bracken and Gorse.
At last I made it back onto even ground, but then suddenly a male Cuckoo appeared over my head making some of the Cuckoo's characteristic croaking and snorting noises. These birds are deceptively quick and agile in flight but I managed to fire off a quick burst as he passed.



I thought that was it but I could still see him and he was coming back towards me and quite close, he was obviously wound up looking for the female. As he zoomed across me, which is a very difficult scenario.







I managed to shoot him, but against the dreaded white sky - better than nothing I suppose.

He disappeared, but two hundred yards further on he reappeared, very briefly this time and I managed to fire off a limited number of shots, fortuitously against one of the very weak patches of the above mentioned blue sky.





I didn't see or hear any more cuckoos as I walked back to my car, and to be truthful I had had enough of Bracken, Gorse and Hawthorn.

Susan and I were out again early yesterday morning up on our favourite area of common land. This was we thought the last chance before the poor weather forecast for this weekend came in, the weather at the moment is not suitable for walking these areas, they are too exposed and you would get wet, and your photographic kit would get wet which is much worse.
Few people visit this area, just locals usually, so it’s free from the masses of people that are drawn to the usual ‘Hot Spots’ of the Beacons. I can’t rationalize the mentality of these people who repeatedly walk up to Pen y Fan e.g. - as if it’s a badge of honour. Presumably It’s to do with their social media exposure, and I really can’t explain how much I detest those platforms. In addition, I don’t want to walk in a queue, and seeing the people on the path leading up there from distance reminds me of a colony of marching ants.

I digress sorry;

A chilly wind blew under a grey sky as we left the car but it wasn’t too bad and as we walked up a slope the cloud cover broke up and blue-sky and sun appeared, transforming the morning. Skylarks now sang from on high, Meadow Pipits and Linnets darted for cover, Willow Warblers sang their descending song and a nice family of Stonechats sat atop a gorse bush.
As we reached the top of the slope, we were greeted by a wide expanse of common, a picturesque panorama bathed in warm sunshine. We walked on to a group of flat stones where we stopped and enjoyed a cup of coffee from my little flask - a Cuckoo called distantly, perfectly complimenting the scene.

Little did we know that wasn’t the only contact with a Cuckoo we would have that morning!

We resumed our walk; a few Painted Lady butterflies were on the wing and good numbers of Small Heath butterflies flitted around our feet and we watched a vocal Tree Pipit singing as it parachuted down to perch on a tree top. It was a most pleasant morning now and as we carried on to the end of the common, we could now hear the Cuckoo much nearer, but he remained frustratingly out of sight.
We had reached the half way point of our walk so we turned around and made our way back, the Cuckoo’s call, almost mockingly, became distant again.
As we approached a block of deciduous woodland, we could now hear another Cuckoo - much nearer this time. Suddenly he appeared being pursued by a string of birds, reminiscent of a child’s kite with streamers trailing behind, this is the life of a Cuckoo that most people don’t see.
Surprisingly I could now see it was coming straight at us and it zoomed right over the top of us. This is what happens sometimes when Cuckoos are being harassed by small birds, ordinarily they won’t go anywhere near people, but they just want to escape their tormentors.
As usual I had my little Canon Rf 100-500 zoom lens slung over my shoulder, and I managed a few shots, it’s not easy when a Cuckoo is flying fast and remarkably close indeed - as little as twenty feet away! He was also up against a now white sky which is not good for exposure, but all you can do is try.







It’s extraordinarily difficult to get these up – close shots with a big prime lens. The field of view is so narrow and to hand hold them is so difficult because of weight and size. This is where these little manoeuvrable zoom lenses really come into their own.
He disappeared into the woodland and I thought that was it, but no, I could now see him flying low along this woodland edge, surprisingly close. This is the ultimate test for a camera and lens because when you have an uneven background behind a subject in flight the camera’s auto focus tracking system can become easily confused and jump around looking for focus.
Having said that the combination of my Canon R5 Mk2 and Canon Rf 100 -500 zoom lens is remarkably adept for these scenarios, and I could lock onto him as he flew quickly and erratically across me. Again, this is far from easy, but I managed a few shots before he disappeared for the last time.





















Canon R5 Mk2 + Canon Rf 100-500 zoom lens - Handheld.
500mm / f7.1 / 2500/sec / ISO 2000

We were both shocked but ultimately very pleased at this encounter as we contentedly made our way back to the car.

A nice walk had been unimaginably enhanced by a charismatic bird.

Susan and I were out walking early this morning trying to avoid the showery weather we have been having lately. It still looked unsettled but we were hoping the showers wouldn’t be too frequent. As we strolled along a track with a conifer plantation on one side and a steep mountain on the other, we could hear a Cuckoo calling in the distance. Cuckoos like to perch up in conifer plantations; they like to call from the tree tops and in addition it’s also a good place to shelter from the weather and roost at night.
As we moved further along the track Spotted Flycatchers flitted around in the low tree branches in front of us, three Song Thrushes looked for food on the track and a Common Redstart sung from the woods. However, a big grey cloud appeared ahead and we had to take cover under a tree while a heavy shower passed through.
The call of the Cuckoo got nearer and I could at last see him perched in a dead tree on the side of the track. Typically, when he saw us, he retreated back up high into the conifer belt. This was from a hundred yards away; these are nervous birds at the best of times.
When we got to the dead tree, we could hear him calling from the top of the plantation but he couldn’t see us from where he was perched. Opposite this dead tree there was another Hawthorn tree in flower on the other side of the track, only about fifteen yards away. Cuckoos are faithful to their favourite perches so I thought I'd give it a go, so Susan then tucked away out of sight under some overhanging branches up against the plantation. My theory was that if after some time he came back out looking for food he might perch in this dead tree and because I was hidden behind the live hawthorn tree when he flew out, he wouldn’t see me below him.
However, out of nowhere another Cuckoo came flying past being pursued by a Meadow Pipit – two Cuckoos, it was getting better! I took a quick record shot as he flew passed.



Advantageously for me Cuckoos don’t like other Cuckoos in their territory and this second bird prompted the first Cuckoo to come flying out of the plantation. It chased the second bird way but then as I hoped came fluttering over to its favourite perch – the dead tree – perfect!!
I had chosen to hide behind the live Hawthorn tree because when I first looked across at the dead tree the top branches were below the sky line, so there would be no silhouetting. If the branches were above the skyline I wouldn’t have had a good shot – it’s important! When you see a Cuckoo slowing down it flutters its wings like a giant butterfly, if this doesn’t happen then you know they are going straight over the tree top.
It landed on the highest branch of the dead tree right in front of me hidden fifteen yards away. I had my little Canon 100-500 lens resting on a branch and I shot him straight away – great feeling.











I shot him in a few poses before he was inevitably mobbed by a Meadow Pipit, causing him to fly away. Very soon another rain shower came in and we were forced to shelter again. After it cleared away, we walked the couple of miles back to the car before more rain came in. It was worth dodging the showers to get some nice views of one of my favourite birds.

Canon R5 Mk2 / Canon RF100-500 / Handheld.

Sombre Tits are similar in looks to our Willow Tit, although with a very sharply defined white triangular cheek patch caused by their black cap extending down into the sides of their head and meeting a large black bib, this feature is very noticeable and therefore diagnostic.



Similarly, they are also cavity nesters, inhabiting typically Juniper, Willow and Poplar, amongst other native trees.
They have a remarkably extensive range and are found from Slovenia and Romania, to as far as Crete, into Turkey and the island of Lesvos. They also inhabit Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Iran, Israel and Lebanon.
Their diet consists of insects, grubs and other larvae, the feed around low tree branches and on the ground.

Sometimes referred to as the Black Capped or Black Crowned Jay, this subspecies of the nominate race – Garrulus glandarius, the Eurasian jay (which we see in the Uk) is seen across Lesvos. Garrulus meaning talkative and glandarius a reference to their principal diet of acorns succinctly describes these birds’ behaviour.
There are many subspecies of the Eurasian Jay, probably in double figures. However, based on geography, birds seen across Lesvos, which is only five miles from the Turkish mainland, are probably the Garrulus glandarius – anatoliae sub species, which inhabit the Anatolian region of Turkey.

Black Storks are quite shy, much more so than their white cousins. They are also more closely tied to water, feeding on fish and other amphibians. White Storks are a much drier habitat bird feeding largely in meadows on beetles, grasshoppers, locusts and other small animals.
Both species are large gentle birds, but the Black Stork prefers quieter situations away from human activity, a world apart from White Storks that nest in the middle of towns and villages across Europe.



They are a very attractive bird on the ground or in flight.

Night Herons are different to other Herons, insomuch as they, as their name indicates, operate between dusk and dawn. Their genus name, derived from the Greek is Nycticorax or Night Raven, this is because of their nocturnal habits and also their barking call like a corvid.
They are very widespread birds and exist on every continent except Antarctica. They possess very good eyesight, especially in low light and they are also very clever and are known to lure fish and other amphibians by baiting the water with light coloured sticks and other material that attract their prey.
Sometimes they can be located roosting in tree tops or alternatively low down in riverside vegetation. They often roost in large numbers, as many as fifty to a hundred birds. Unfortunately, they are usually in cover and as a result obscured from view, but sometimes you can get lucky.



One bird asleep and the other half so.

They are one of my favourite Herons, probably because of this behaviour.

Short Toed Eagles are impressive birds and they can be seen in the skies of Lesvos from time to time. On the odd occasion they can be seen at quite close quarters and that’s always a bonus.



Normally they are at height, often up to five hundred feet, scanning the ground, primarily for snakes and amphibians but also for other small animals.

Nightingales can be frustrating birds to see, they usually sing from dense cover, sometimes from as little as a few feet away, but still remain hidden.
There are always exceptions to the rule they say, and outside our hotel room was an overhead power cable and for some reason, despite a wide choice of suitable habitat to sing from, a nightingale, every afternoon around the same time, appeared on this cable and sang for five minutes.



This oration was as little as fifteen feet from me as a I sat on the patio sipping a cold one. A cold beer and a nightingale serenading me was a most pleasant way to spend time relaxing.

Masked Shrikes are a delicate little bird, the smallest shrike found on the island of Lesvos, favouring semi-open woodland, scrub and particularly olive groves where they can be quite difficult to see. They are much less conspicuous than the other shrikes found on the island. They have a scratchy song which can sometimes be mistaken for an Olive Tree Warbler, a notoriously difficult bird to see which also inhabits olive groves.
These little birds don’t perch as openly as the Woodchat e.g. so when one pops up on a branch it is always a welcome bonus.



Taken handheld from a car while driving past an olive grove.