This is the kind of weekend that assures me I'll never see more than around 210 species in a year. With relative ease I could have picked up all those easy yearticks I've yet to get, things like siskin and redpolls, twitched some winter gulls, or a maybe even some dodgy american ducks. But I didn't. Life got in the way, as it tends to.
As we either spent Saturday working indoors or stuck in a queue in a multi-storey in Romford behind some low-functioning 4x4 driving dickhead who forgot his ticket and thus blocked up the entire carpark, we opted to ignore the weather and go out somewhere on Sunday. In the end we went for a lunch-time pint and an hour or so walking around Thorndon before the weather really got it's act together became more unpleasant than we were willing to bear. Before that happened though we had a distant calling lesser-spot and managed to chase a group of bramblings about for a bit. Nice little birds. I don't see them often enough. Here's a photo.
As we either spent Saturday working indoors or stuck in a queue in a multi-storey in Romford behind some low-functioning 4x4 driving dickhead who forgot his ticket and thus blocked up the entire carpark, we opted to ignore the weather and go out somewhere on Sunday. In the end we went for a lunch-time pint and an hour or so walking around Thorndon before the weather really got it's act together became more unpleasant than we were willing to bear. Before that happened though we had a distant calling lesser-spot and managed to chase a group of bramblings about for a bit. Nice little birds. I don't see them often enough. Here's a photo.
The excuse for this picture's awfulness, along with the low light and heavy rain, is that I was using the old lens, a cheap 75-300mm. I've sent the 400mm off for repair, as the focussing problem over the last few weeks has turned out not to be the camera body, bad weather, or even my photographic ineptitude. Last weekend I was out with the old lens getting results as good as it had ever produced. The 400mm, in similar conditions yesterday morning, sucked. I guess it's a return to merely "god-awful" record shots on the blog for a while then, after a few weeks of vastly improved "almost-not-vomit-enducing" record shots. And, the problem being the lens, it means I can't justify shelling out on a nice new camera.
Oh well. Some photos from the old lens of totally wild birds that just happened to be at Whipsnade last weekend.
Totally wild. Especially that owl.
If you're one of those people that takes the view that "ooh, zoos are immoral and rubbish and I can't possibly support such a thing", don't be, because you're wrong. And if you're one of those people who thinks that groups like Born Free or CAPS make good points, don't be. You're also wrong. I can thoroughly recommend Whipsnade as a good day out. Just so you know.
Especially if you know someone who knows someone who knows someone and can get to go play with the rhinos up close and personal.
Which is awesome.
Until they sneeze on you.
Especially if you know someone who knows someone who knows someone and can get to go play with the rhinos up close and personal.
Which is awesome.
Until they sneeze on you.
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| Jabba The Hutt. |
1 comments:
More zoo posts please. There is a gap in the blogosphere for sneezing exotic animals.
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