Frustrated, bored, sick to the back teeth of a bunch of nodding donkeys led by an arrogant liar that masquerade as a Government and whose only quality I can recognise is one of ineptness, I now find myself as good as under a benign form of house arrest.
To while away the time I have decided to indulge myself and post a review of some of my favourite photographs taken over the preceding ten years, which is when I first acquired a camera. I should add that I regard myself as primarily a birder and any attempt at photography comes very much secondary to that. As such, some of my photos would not pass muster but I like them, especially the idiosynchratic ones, and do hope you will too.
My blog site arose from something entirely different, where I began to write up various twitches I had been on and the camera provided a useful resource to illustrate each tale. The trips were recorded as Word documents and it was only a casual conversation with my good friend Badger that prompted me to start a blog in February 2011.
Badger patiently guided me through the process which has resulted in the blog as it is today. I only ever intended it to be an illustrated personal diary of my thoughts and various experiences with birds both local, more distant and overseas. As with any diary the great personal pleasure is to be able to look back on various trips I have written about and in the process almost relive them. In doing so it is also remarkable to discover how one's memory can deceive, as on looking back I find what I always considered to be the facts very often transpire to be entirely different.
Even more surprising, humbling and gratifying, is that as the years have passed since commencing my blog, so many people have taken to reading it. I never considered this but am delighted if it can bring pleasure to those who do. Never comfortable with the limelight I try not to overtly publicise my blog but prefer the way it has grown, by word of mouth. Having worked in commerce and run my own company I know that word of mouth is the highest recommendation one can receive.
I am sure I could amass a larger number of followers if I put my mind to it but that is not my wish and so I will leave it there but not before thanking each and every one of you that read my blog and continue to do so.
Hopefully we will all finally come out of this awful current situation and life will slowly get back to be more bearable. We can but hope.
My best wishes to you all for the coming year and I hope you enjoy the images below..
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| Baird's Sandpiper Cuckmere East Sussex September 2017 |
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| Red necked Phalarope Farmoor Reservoir Oxfordshire September 2017 |
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| Parrot Crossbill Wishmoor Bottom Berkshire November 2017 |
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| Black Guillemot Eastbourne East Sussex December 2017 |
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| Barred Warbler Titchfield Haven Hampshire December 2017 |
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| Hume's Leaf Warbler Waxham Norfolk January 2018 |
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| Hawfinch Forest of Dean Gloucestershire January 2018 |
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| Hawfinch Romsey Hampshire February 2018 |
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| Black Redstart Leighton Buzzard Bedfordshire February 2018 |
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| Fieldfare Kingham Oxfordshire March 2018 |
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| Ross's Gull Weymouth Dorset February 2018 |
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| Water Rail Farmoor Reservoir Oxfordshire March 2019 |
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| Black Grouse Berwyn Mountains Wales April 2018 |
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| Eastern Crowned Warbler Bempton Yorkshire October 2016 |
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| Razorbill Isle of May Scotland May 2017 |
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| Puffins Farne Islands Northumberland June 2019 |
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| Sanderlings Farmoor Reservoir Oxfordshire August 2018 |
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| Wilson's Warbler Lewis Outer Hebrides Scotland October 2015 |
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| Harlequin Duck Bridge of Don Aberdeen January 2015 |
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| Spotted Crake Gibralter Point Lincolnshire August 2018 |
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| Common Snipe Slimbridge Gloucestershire August 2018 |
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| Bittern Calvert Buckinghamshire March 2017 |
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| Sooty Shearwater Isles of Scilly Cornwall August 2018 |
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| Great Shearwater Isles of Scilly Cornwall August 2018 |
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| Wryneck Bempton Yorkshire September 2018 |
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| Grey Phalarope Charlecote Park Warwickshire September 2018 |
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| Isabelline Shrike Thurlestone Devon October 2018 |
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| Water Rail Farmoor Reservoir Oxfordshire November 2018 |
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| Great Northern Diver Pangbourne Berkshire December 2017 |
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| Common Crossbill Forest of Dean Gloucestershire January 2017 |
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| Snow Bunting Littlehampton West Sussex January 2019 |
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| Kingfisher Farmoor Reservoir Oxfordshire March 2019 |
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| Northern Shoveler Weymouth Dorset March 2019 |
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| Lesser Yellowlegs Weymouth Dorset February 2019 |
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| Long tailed Duck Lerwick Shetland February 2019 |
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| Iceland Gull Lerwick Shetland February 2019 |
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| Mediterranean Gull Hayling Island Hampshire March 2020 |
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| Ring necked Duck Weymouth Dorset March 2019 |
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| Eurasian Teal Weymouth Dorset March 2019 |
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| Red spotted Bluethroat Unst Shetland October 2017 |
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| Great Northern Diver Isle of Arran Scotland May 2019 |
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| Gannet Hermaness Unst Shetland July 2019 |
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| Great Skua Lerwick Shetland July 2019 |
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| Sandwich Tern Ferrybridge Dorset July 2019 |
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| Kingfishers Farmoor Reservoir Oxfordshire August 2019 |
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| Little Stint Farmoor Reservoir Oxfordshire September 2019 |
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| Yellow browed Warbler Unst Shetland October 2019 |
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| Kingfisher Farmoor Reservoir Oxfordshire October 2019 |
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| Spotted Crake Isles of Scilly Cornwall October 2019 |
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| Blue winged Teal Isles of Scilly Cornwall October 2019 |
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| Hermit Thrush Isles of Scilly Cornwall November 2019 |
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| Arctic Redpoll Aldeburgh Suffolk December 2012 |
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| Crested Tit Loch Garten Scotland March 2015 |
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| Black throated Thrush Whipsnade Bedfordshire January 2020 |
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| Ivory Gull Patrington Haven Yorkshire December 2013 |
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| Eastern Black Redstart Skinningrove Cleveland March 2017 |
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| Grey Phalarope Charlecote Park Warwickshire October 2018 |
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| European Swallow Farmoor Reservoir May 2013 |
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| Common Goldeneye Farmoor Reservoir Oxfordshire January 2020 |
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| Eastern Black-eared Wheatear Pilling Lancashire September 2019 |
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| Rufous tailed Rock Thrush Brecon Beacons Wales October 2017 |
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| Red breasted Merganser Isle of Arran Scotland December 2019 |
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| Little Bunting Cardiff Wales February 2015 |
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| Knot Farmoor Reservoir Oxfordshire August 2018 |
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| Wilson's Warbler Lewis Outer Hebrides Scotland October 2015 |
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| Common Redstart Thursley Common Surrey June 2018 |
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| Lapwing Slimbridge Gloucestershire August 2018 |
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| Black necked Grebe Farmoor Reservoir May 2018 |
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| Parrot Crossbill Lerwick Shetland October 2017 |
Wow, some absolutely stunning photos in that selection Ewan. Hope you're well and look forward to catching up sometime
ReplyDeleteHi Sladey
DeleteAll good so far.Yes it would be nice to catch up when this covid nightmare is over.
Hope you and the family are well and safe
Lovely photos Ewan. You were a stone's throw away from us in December 2017.
ReplyDeleteHow nice to hear from you Erica.Its been so many years since we left Ditchling but I still miss it and all our friends there.I do hope Malcolm is well and my very best wishes to you both.Take care and stay safe
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