Sunday Post Shrewsbury and Sandwell Valley RSPB

Sunday night and I have got round to starting. I have found it hard to get out and take pics over the last week or so. The weather has not been great and the need to be at work has meant I am stuck inside most of the time. The nights are drawing in so by the time I finish it is dark and although in theory I could get up very early before dawn and well there are children to get up and as I have an hours drive to work, I have limited options. As a have said before the drive to work has its compensations with the colours and the landscapes that I can see as I head west. I have managed to get out at Dinner time on a couple of occasions and am slowly exploring Shrewsbury especially around the Abbey. I will even take my camera.

I did manage to get out one afternoon last week when the light was good, I had a wander around the car park and found a couple of things to have a look at.

The leaves on the trees have been turning various shades through yellow red and brown for quite some time now and I saw these leaves and liked the yellow. I think this is the best one I may have to look at these later and see if my opinion changes.

I also took an number of pictures of my old standby at this time of year, the assorted red berry. I should know enough botany by now to be sure of the species, but as yet I have not got around to looking them up and I have several of these going back over the last few years. OK before you rush out an email lamenting my tardiness. I have had a quick look on google images and think it is a Rowan or Mountain Ash. Anyway I like the red of the berries against the green and especially the aged look of both leaves and berries. It is now the second week in November and part of me thinks that they should both be long gone.

Today is Sunday and I managed to get out for about half an hour this afternoon, the children were watching telly and had finished their homework. I had cleaned out the Rabbit and the Guinea Pig well someone had to do it and the children were watching telly. I remember my father demanding we all go out and go for a walk. I used to hate it and now I am inflicting it on my two. Well it is just too much effort to prise them away from the telly and the sun was dropping like a stone towards the horizon. So I let them get on with it. Fortunately I do have a reasonably tolerant wife who humours me on these occasions.

It was quite late when I got out, I headed over to sandwell valley and the RSPB reserve there. As I arrived the only cloud in that half of the sky slid over the sun. Although there was not much of a breeze there was enough to keep it moving so that as I walked down the path to the lake the sun came out. This was my favourite picture I think it is a phragmities flower head. I like the way the elements have been picked out by the light. There is the golden quality of the evening sun that colours the picture.

Looking across the lake the sun was slowly going down behind the trees and I managed to take this picture. It is quite close to the image I had in my head as I framed it up. I like the sort of inverse dark Halo effect of the trees in front of the sun. Given that I had no special filters on the lens and have not touched it up in photoshop. I don't see it winning any prizes but I like it.

I have for a long time tried to take pictures of birds in flight with varying degrees of success, mainly no success at all. I remember the week after getting my 1st camera trying to catch swifts as they sped past at chasewater near Brownhills. To say I was not successful is an understatement. Anyway I have improved, have a look at the picture of a pair of geese I took a couple of weeks ago, I can do smallish flocks quite well, (I am pleased with the results, but I still don't feel I can to flocks justice.

So for example I took this of a flock of geese at Martin Mere a couple of weeks ago and it is OK. This and quite a few others like it. They just don't do anything for me . The reason for this bit of wittering is that while I was by the lake for some reason almost all the smaller birds took to air at one point. The ducks and geese were fairly laid back but there were good numbers of gulls of varying hue and a flock of Lapwings flew up.

So could I get a good picture of them as the circled the lake before coming back to land. well this was about the best.

They are coming around looking to land bake in the same place. I am not over the moon with it. I am sure there is much more I could do with it.

If you do have any advice .....

Anyway time draws on and I need to go to bed. Until next time.