Wintering Thrushes

Fieldfares and Redwings are here in numbers now and finally they are starting to settle down. When they first come in they are so spooky, they just fly around in a flock hardly settling before they are off again and are very unapproachable. It's no good chasing them around because you cannot get near them, experience has taught me to wait until they establish a pattern of feeding and then stay in your car or hide and wait for them to come to their favourite berry tree. They nearly always go for the Rowan first and then later Hawthorn, sometimes they will favour Holly berries and this is the best situation for the photographer.
For me personally the background of a photograph and the ambient light is far more important than the subject itself. If you have a nice background and the light is mellow then the subject will take care of itself. On that basis Hawthorn is the least preferable tree because of its branches sticking out at all angles often in tangles that give an image what I call a spaghetti background. This often obscures part of your subject and can reflect light badly to create shadows and highlights.
With Rowan the berries often hang down away from its branches and when a subject perches to get at the berries you can get a cleaner shot and you can line up the background easier before you start shooting.
My favourite is the Holly because it is so dense and evergreen its branches are rarely totally exposed and it always provides a nice background to a bird like a Redwing.
I have taken a few shots of these birds lately while there are still berries on the trees, before long they will become difficult to find as the berries disappear.
I am praying that the berries will last for some Waxwings to come to the Brecon area, they are in Cardiff and Mid Wales and most other places but not here yet.
Please see Latest Images, Wintering Thrushes.