Tag: Black-headed Gulls

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Cee's B & W Photo Challenge

Black and White Birds

When I read the prompt for Cee’s Black and White Photo Challenge: Birds I considered giving this challenge a miss.

Having had bird photos published everywhere from field guides to calendars over the years there has been a few times when I was embarrassed having my name on the photo credit. Each time was when an editor/publisher converted a colour original into monochrome.

Then I thought about going with a small selection of black and/or white birds. Meaning mostly black and/or white plumage.

 

Cee's Black and White Photo Challenge: Birds

Snow Geese on autumn migration in Saskatchewan, Canada.

 

Cee's Black and White Photo Challenge: Birds

A Turkey Vulture making sure that the photographer is alive as it glides along the Lake Huron shoreline in Southampton, Ontario, Canada.

 

Cee's Black and White Photo Challenge: Birds

A section of a winter Gull roost takes flight over Hurleston Reservoir near Nantwich, Cheshire, England.

 

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Tuesday Photo Challenge

Tuesday Photo Challenge – Scale

When I read the prompt for the Tuesday Photo Challenge – Scale I had several ideas for a post.

Landscapes taken with a telephoto where it’s difficult to get a sense of scale, extreme close-ups where you can’t tell what you’re looking at.

So, typically for me recently, I went in a completely different direction after thinking of a particular photo.

 

Tuesday Photo Challenge - Scale

This is the photo I thought of, a Great Crested Grebe looking lost amongst gulls in a winter roost on Hurleston Reservoir near Nantwich, Cheshire. These are mostly Black-headed Gulls, there’s one Common Gull close to the edge of the frame at about 1 o’clock.

 

Tuesday Photo Challenge - Scale

This may explain why the Great Crested Grebe is looking lost. A section of a winter gull roost on Hurleston Reservoir. Again, mostly Black-headed Gulls with a few Common Gulls, one Lesser Black-backed Gull and one Herring Gull.

 

Tuesday Photo Challenge - Scale

If the second photo didn’t give a sense of scale to the Great Crested Grebe looking lost this one may. This is most of a fairly typical winter gull roost in the 1990s. Anywhere between 12,000 and 15,000 gulls was a normal count. If you look closely there’s a Great Crested Grebe just swimming into the frame on the left hand side of the photo.

 

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Weekly Prompts

Weekly Prompts Photo Challenge: The Tree

This is my contribution to the Weekly Prompts Photo Challenge: The Tree.

Having decided to ignore the obvious theme, the Christmas tree, I had a couple of ideas for the challenge before remembering the remains of a tree in a reservoir in south Cheshire.

It only became visible when the water level dropped but when it appeared it was popular with the birds.

A pair of Mallard hanging out on the remains.

Weekly Prompts Photo Challenge: The Tree

 

A Common Coot standing on it.

Weekly Prompts Photo Challenge: The Tree

 

A Canada Goose doing Tai Chi on it.

A Canada Goose having a stretch.

 

A juvenile Grey Heron on it. The bird is watching something closely.

Is that food?

 

Some winter plumage Black-headed Gulls on and around it.

Winter plumage Black-headed Gulls.

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Cee's Fun Foto Challenge

CFFC: One Great Crested Grebe

This is my contribution to Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: 1 Item or the Number One.

One shot immediately came to mind and I decided not to over think the challenge and to go with that photo.

A solitary Great Crested Grebe in a Black-headed Gull roost.

A solitary Great Crested Grebe.

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Weekly Prompts

Weekly Prompts Photo Challenge: White

My contribution to the Weekly Prompts Photo Challenge: White.

Now I will admit that my first thought was snow but after a winter that dragged on for what seemed like 6 months I didn’t want to think about snow.

So I decided to go with a selection of photos of bird species that are mostly white, the first two have white in their common English name.

White-breasted Nuthatch, Saskatchewan, Canada.

White-breasted Nuthatch

American White Pelican, Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Breeding adult American White Pelican

Caspian Tern with fish on the Lake Huron shoreline in Southampton, Ontario, Canada.

Caspian Tern with catch.

Black-headed Gulls in winter, Cheshire, England.

Winter plumage Black-headed Gulls.

Snow Geese on autumn migration, Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area, Saskatchewan, Canada.

A gathering of Snow Geese.

Whooper Swan portrait, Lancashire, England.

Portrait of a Whooper Swan.

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A Photo a Week Challenge

Endings

My contribution to the A Photo a Week Challenge: Endings.

I had a few ideas for the challenge before deciding to go with a selection of photos taken at the end of the day.

Old barn and long shadows at the end of the day, Ontario, Canada.

Old barn at sunset.

Male Common Pochard at the end of the day, Lancashire, England.

Being watched at sunset.

Black-headed Gulls in winter roost at the end of the day, Cheshire, England.

Black-headed Gull winter roost.

White-tailedDeer at the end of the day, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Winter White-tailed Deer at dusk.

Canada Geese flying to roost at end of the day, Lake Huron, Ontario, Canada.

Chantry Island at sunset.

St James’ Church, Audlem, Cheshire, England in silhouette at the end of the day.

Church at sunset.

Lines of ice on Lake Huron, Ontario, Canada at the end of the day.

Blue ice, orange water.

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Weekly Prompts

Wings over water

The new Weekly Prompts Photo Challenge is Wings.

I thought about swarms of insects but decided that while you can see the insects you can’t see their wings while they’re flying in the swarm.

Then I thought about some of the photos from when I was a member of a small group of birders surveying and recording a winter roost of Gull species on an inland reservoir in south Cheshire, England.

A photo of Black-headed Gulls in winter roosting on Hurleston Reservoir at night. If something disturbs the birds on an edge of the roost they will fly to another side of the roost which is what they’re doing in the photo.

Black-headed Gull winter roost.