Ring Ouzels again.
18th June 2024
Another early morning hike today up onto the high Beacons to see if there was any evidence of Ring Ouzel breeding. In a previous blog I photographed a male bird singing from a prominent position so I was hoping that breeding would take place there. I settled down in the heather with a cold wind blowing over the top of me. You have to try to keep low and find some shelter because exposure to these cold winds can really chill you when you are keeping still.
I had been there about ten minutes sipping small cups of coffee to try and stay warm when I noticed a female Ouzel about 50 yds away landing on a rock and then disappearing into what was obviously a nest – great news!!
You have to keep your distance from these shy birds and allow them to go about the business of rearing their young. It’s vital that their numbers increase and hopefully reverse their worrying decline as a breeding bird in the UK.
I decided to move on but as I was putting my flask away I saw a male bird perched on an isolated post in a grassy area with food in his beak, and then fly over to the nest and deliver food, obviously to the young. There must be young there if both the male and female are back and fore the nest.
I assembled my camera and lens on the off chance and stayed low waiting to see if the male bird would go back into the grassy area where he was obviously looking for food for the young. I couldn’t see him return to the area and I didn’t want to disturb him by rising up and looking over. I waited, and then yes there he was again on the post with more food, I looked through some wispy grass and shot him, he looked at me briefly and then just flew over to the nest site, so not bothered – great!
I walked on down the track away from the grassy area to allow him to return, which he inevitably would in time. It’s not acceptable to try and get more shots of a bird in this situation and risk disturbance! I descended down the mountain with just my single image of the male bird, but more than happy in the knowledge that successful breeding is taken place.
Lovely Bird!
Canon R5 / Canon Rf 100-500 / Canon 1.4 teleconverter
500/sec / f10 / 1120mm / ISO 1000
Some people may baulk at an f10 aperture but using an aperture of this small size creates a deep 'Depth of Field' resulting in a sharp image right across the subject from the beak to the tip of the tail.
These cameras also handle high ISO numbers very well.
With its light weight, easy handling, small size and super sharp image quality the above set-up is a first rate combination for the photographer on the move.
I had been there about ten minutes sipping small cups of coffee to try and stay warm when I noticed a female Ouzel about 50 yds away landing on a rock and then disappearing into what was obviously a nest – great news!!
You have to keep your distance from these shy birds and allow them to go about the business of rearing their young. It’s vital that their numbers increase and hopefully reverse their worrying decline as a breeding bird in the UK.
I decided to move on but as I was putting my flask away I saw a male bird perched on an isolated post in a grassy area with food in his beak, and then fly over to the nest and deliver food, obviously to the young. There must be young there if both the male and female are back and fore the nest.
I assembled my camera and lens on the off chance and stayed low waiting to see if the male bird would go back into the grassy area where he was obviously looking for food for the young. I couldn’t see him return to the area and I didn’t want to disturb him by rising up and looking over. I waited, and then yes there he was again on the post with more food, I looked through some wispy grass and shot him, he looked at me briefly and then just flew over to the nest site, so not bothered – great!
I walked on down the track away from the grassy area to allow him to return, which he inevitably would in time. It’s not acceptable to try and get more shots of a bird in this situation and risk disturbance! I descended down the mountain with just my single image of the male bird, but more than happy in the knowledge that successful breeding is taken place.
Lovely Bird!
Canon R5 / Canon Rf 100-500 / Canon 1.4 teleconverter
500/sec / f10 / 1120mm / ISO 1000
Some people may baulk at an f10 aperture but using an aperture of this small size creates a deep 'Depth of Field' resulting in a sharp image right across the subject from the beak to the tip of the tail.
These cameras also handle high ISO numbers very well.
With its light weight, easy handling, small size and super sharp image quality the above set-up is a first rate combination for the photographer on the move.