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Visiteur régulier de notre jardin, assez peu farouche.
Geai des chênes,
Eurasian Jay
Garrulus glandarius
Cia, Rock Bunting (Emberiza cia)
Obrigado a quem comentou ou marcou a foto como favorita, foi sinceramente apreciado.
Thank you to anyone who commented or favorited the photo, it was sincerely appreciated.
Gracias a todos los que comentaron o marcaron la foto como favorita, fue sinceramente apreciado.
Merci à tous ceux qui ont commenté ou mis en favori la photo, c'était sincèrement apprécié.
THIS WAS A NICE SURPRISE
The February edition of Birdwatch arrived yesterday and I immediately recognised the image of a pair of wild Tawny Owls as one of mine.
This was the culmination of a project that started several months before.
I set up a trail camera to record the activities of a fox which was going to be my next project. When I checked the camera in the morning, I was surprised to see it had captured a Tawny Owl on a post where I photograph Buzzards.
The fox project was put on hold and the Tawny Owl project began.
Over the coming weeks, I built up a number of images, including some dramatic flight shots. Two good friends and top photographers, Paul Snellgrove and Andy Bertram, would often join me. They also got some great shots.
One night in the Autumn, a male called from right above my hide. Almost immediately, a female replied. I had a pair of Tawny Owls.
Driving home in the dark, I was already planning the next shot. The next morning, I removed the perch and replaced it with one that I hoped both birds would land on.
The night when it all came together was very special. The female (on the left), arrived silently in the dark. Almost immediately, the male called from a few feet above me. The female answered and the male took off and flew past her. He called again and I could see her head following him. I don't know how many times he flew past the viewfinder calling to her but it seemed to go on forever.
I felt certain he would call her off and if I hadn't already got plenty of shots, my nerve would have cracked and I would have hit the button and got a shot of the female.
Suddenly she looked up and the male floated down in the darkness like a huge moth on silent wings. They looked at each other - I gave a tiny squeak between my teeth and saw the heads turn. I took a shot, the flashes fired and it was all over.
Technically, it was one of the easiest shots I took of these fantastic birds. What made it special was all the planning it took to achieve it. It is still one of my all time favourite shots.