Dawlish Warren 24th February: long-tailed tits plus a bonus

[alanhill]

Walking near the boundary fence between the nature reserve and the golf course, I spotted a pair of long-tailed tits building their nest in the middle of a large and very spiky gorse branch. I ended up almost inside a hawthorn bush, watching one bird perching while its mate was out of sight, working on the nest.
The books say they use spiders' webs, feathers and lichen - but this looks like wool to me.

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A quiet moment

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Some lichen for the outer layer

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Posing

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The bonus was a pair of common toads heading across the turf towards the pool, in full daylight.

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D300 with 500mm f/4 & TC1.4 for the birds and 105mm f/2.8 macro for the toads.

Alan

 

[eddiefast]

Very nice.

Ed

 

[alanhill]

Thank you. Long-tailed tits are common birds in the UK, but so small and fidgety that I have never had decent shots before.

Alan

 

[Baxter]

What a beautiful bird. The shots have almost a story book quality. Really lovely work.

 

[alanhill]

What a beautiful bird. The shots have almost a story book quality. Really lovely work.

They are really lovely birds :smile:

Alan

 

[sla12]

Cute bird to capture. Like the toad shot.

 

[Louis Champan]

Beautiful shots, excellent detail in those bird shots.