Little Grassbird – Birds as Poetry —— Just because I WANDER doesn't mean I'm LOST

Lens update: No return date yet specified.
Weather update: Cold, likelyhood of a week of rain and poor light.

Now it’s not that I don’t have other lenses to go out with. But, I can’t do much about the weather.

Fortunately, we don’ t have any birds on nest at present, so they don’t have to put up with keeping the eggs/young dry as well as survive.

Nature Photographer, Laurie Campbell, in the book, “Guide to Bird and Nature Photography”, published by the RSBP (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) published in 1990—Yep, back in the days of pre-digital!, has a chapter entitled, —Coping with Adverse Weather Conditions

Laurie works in Scotland, and in some of the most difficult weather. Some of his work is from hides, and he’ll use a carcass to bring in a subject. His most recent work is here
There is a photo of a Golden Eagle on a carcass in the pouring rain. The recent work is a compilation slide set, so you’ll have to click few a few times to find the eagle, or go to it from the thumbnails. 4 Rows down on the rhs of the set.

His Guide book features a lot of photos taken, all on filum, using a lens I mentioned last week, the incomparable Nikkor 600mm f/5.6 manual focus. Now before you jump to conclusions, I had the lens, before I purchased the book.

I was, I must admit, tempted to buy a Benro Tripod as used in the book, but already had more than a fair share of camera supports.

The couple of pages he devotes to dealing with Adverse Weather includes info on snow and sleet.
Days, I put down to ‘Doona Days’, and stay home.
“Yet, by using a little imagination , and taking the trouble to solve the practical difficulites, even the worst conditions can usually be put to good use, ” say Laurie.
I guess I don’t have that much imagination 🙂

While I don’t have to deal with snow, strong windy conditions, either in hot, normal or cold conditions is my number one challenge. And particularly on the wide unprotected ponds at the Western Treatment Plant.
Getting the door opened or closed in IamGrey is always a challenge, and a number of times, a hand or foot has been jammed as a door wildly swings closed.

Just recently it seemed to work to our advantage, at a pond colloquially called, “The Crake Pond”, the wind seemed to have allowed the birds to wander out into the open spaces without worry.
Among the many that were feeding in quite close as we sat quietly, were several Little Grassbirds.
Normally only heard among the reeds, or glimpsed as they dash across and open area, in the wlindy conditions they were out in the open.

And I didn’t need the old 600mm f/5.6
Enjoy

In my new Downwardly Mobile role, we stayed around the Crake Pond area at WTP for the rest of the morning.
Not only were the Crakes out and about but also quite a number of other usual suspects.

Highlight was some Black-tailed Native-hens. Another bird that I rarely see and the first time ever a this location.

I also spent some time with several large flocks of Whiskered Terns, hoping, perhaps a bit too much that there might be some White-winged Blacks among them. But not this day. Means another trip should be on the cards.

Here is a few of the morning’s finds.

Enjoy