An obliging Siskin...

This male Siskin posed well amongst the branches in a spot of bright sunshine at the weekend at North Cave Wetlands.  Sticking with the green theme, it was good to see some Greenfinches too on the feeders.  They used to be regulars in my garden but have clearly been hit by trichomonosis.

Sunny January day in East Park

Pochard


It was such a sunny day today, more like April than January, that I thought I would head to East Park hoping for Goosanders.  I saw 17 in total though up to 30 have been seen recently.  They are shy though and won't come very close to have their photo taken.  Great light today which you really need to light up dark headed ducks.  Even our everyday Mallard looks very smart in the sunshine. The Coots were leaping out of the water in an almost Dolphin like fashion to snatch bread from a chap's hand.

Mallard



Coot



Goosander

Happy Festivities to one and all!

Bullfinch berry bonanza...

Four Bullfinches have spent most of today feeding on these squishy red berries on a tree outside our bedroom window.  The only bright red male didn't come within effective camera range unfortunately.  If only some Waxwings would drop in too!

Trumpets or Pixies??

We found this odd little forest of lichen on a damp log pile by South Marsh at Tophill Low during Tuesday afternoon's class.  They look more like something out of the film Avatar than something you would expect to find in East Yorkshire.  The jury is out, either Trumpet Lichen (Cladonia Fimbriata) or Pixie Cup (Cladonia Pyxidata), so if you know which.............

Dewdrops on Spider Webs

Some photos from the back garden at the weekend.  I have made them totally mono though they were naturally almost mono.  In the Tuesday class we have been talking about the need to manually compensate for both dark and light backgrounds to avoid over and under exposure which is a technique I have put into practice here.

Latest Introduction to Wildlife Photography Course starts 8th November

The latest Introduction to Wildlife Photography course starts at Tophill Low Nature Reserve on Tuesday 8th November from 1pm to 4pm and will run over four weeks. Places are still available. The cost is £90 and full details can be found here.  We are running this course over four weeks with three hour sessions on Tuesday each week.  For info give me a call on 07866 316577 or e-mail me at: info@mauricephotos.co.uk