Lesvos revisited: Black-headed bunting

Due to the covid-19 lockdown, I have plenty of time on my hand without the day-to-day distractions of my commercial photography work. I am using the time to revist old images taken on trips way back when. I’ve just been going through my old images from a trip I made to the Greek island of Lesvos back in 2007. The first thing that strikes me is the much poorer quality of the RAW files compared with today’s cameras, but at least Lightroom and Photoshop have improved considerably meaning I can re-edit some of the images and nab myself some new keepers. This is an image of a black-headed bunting on a mourning thistle taken during the last couple of days of the trip. These arrive on the isalnd during the second week of April and it was incredible to witness. We noticed a single bird on the island during our day in the field and, by the next day, they were everywhere. These colourful birds would sing from any prominent perch in an attempt to establish their new territory and attract a female. Here’s one I’ve processed from a RAW file that I had not previously edited. It’s amazing how looking at a bunch of images long after they were taken, results in new images standing out as being a great shot!

black-headed bunting, Lesvos. By Yorkshire wildlife photographer John Gardner
Black-headed bunting on mouring thistle, Lesvos
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Spring migrants – the northern wheatear

We are past the 21st March so we are now officially in psring and at the moment, a current band of high pressure is giving us clear skies and sunny conditions so the spring migrants will be well on their way. I’ve already heard increasing numbers of chiffchaff in the local countryside, but one of the more colourful ealry migrants, the northern wheatear, will soon be heading our way too. Wheatears do not breed locally to me but are regulalry seen on passage as they head north up into the dales and moors of Yorkshire where they breed under rocks and in holes in the ground. Here’s one I photographed last year on passage on the NE coast around South Gare.

northern wheatear by Yorkshire wildlife photographer John Gardner
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Tawny mining bee emerging

It’s a cold blowy March morning but this male tawny mining bee seemed keen to emerge and brave the elements. I noticed him just as I’d finished mowing the lawn and thought I’d get the camera. I used a 50mm extension tube and an old MF 50mm f/1.8 Nikkor to get the images.

Tawny mining bee emerging by Yorkshire wildlife photographer John Gardner
Tawny mining bee emerging by Yorkshire wildlife photographer John Gardner
Tawny mining bee by Yorkshire wildlife photographer John Gardner
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Red Grouse surveys his kingdom

Sometimes, red grouse can be the most confiding of birds and this male on the moors above Pateley Bridge was one such bird. He allowed a very close approach and I was able to photograph him from the car from a very close range using a variety of lenses for different effects. I really like this image of him surveying his kingdom stretching out before him in the last half hour of daylight.

red grouse at sunset on the North York Moors
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Rock hopping redshank

Just a simple image from today of a redshank hopping over rocks along the edge of the Humber at low tide. I was high on the Humber bank looking down which is not ideal, but I like the shot, I was testing the 200-500mm Nikon zoom with my old 1.7x converter that I have dug out and, I have to say, it worked fine. The 200-500mm works well with the 1.4x also but not at all with a 2x converter.

redshank by Yorkshire wildlife photographer John gardner
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