Which camera do I want (budget, less than £100 but needs to be small enough for the framebag )

I suspect this is probably moon-on-a-stick territory. Ideally, you want fast start up from switched off (£££), excellent optical zoom (£££, and tends to involve a larger lens assembly), high resolution (bigger sensor, £££).

psling wrote: ↑Fri Mar 26, 2021 12:30 pm That'll be a lesser spotted wotsit Shaf [Latin name: d'youthinkesaurus]

Landslide wrote: ↑Fri Mar 26, 2021 12:42 pm

Which camera do I want (budget, less than £100 but needs to be small enough for the framebag )

I suspect this is probably moon-on-a-stick territory. Ideally, you want fast start up from switched off (£££), excellent optical zoom (£££, and tends to involve a larger lens assembly), high resolution (bigger sensor, £££).

Yeah... you're probably right. Shall have to stick to the Smasung phone and try and get better at tip toeing and being discreet...

A lovely day here in northern England, even ont' darker side o t'Pennines. So I went for a nice steady road ride and had one wildlife incident: a cock pheasant (stupid creatures, the only things on the planet with lower intelligence are their predators) that took off in front of me on a descent and proceeded to sit (fly?) about a metre in front of my face for a few seconds!

I've just watched the first swallows of the year return ... always a good day

Over the last 3 days... a Buzzard (i think) that rode across the road... What must've been a finch with zebra looking colours, but I bet its called summat else. Then last night on the drive back after work, somewhere along the south-west, what looked to be an owl swooping across the main road in the dead of night.

Didn't picture any of them but I did see lots of still trees ... They're always happy to pose for a pic.

Last night we witnessed a Basking shark breaking surface 5 metres from us in Brixham harbour

Dave Barter wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 10:06 am Last night we witnessed a Basking shark breaking surface 5 metres from us in Brixham harbour

That is very cool

Picked up a fresh pheasant roadkill for dinner. Had a few double-takes riding through town with it dangling off the bars.

Bearbonesnorm wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 8:52 am I've just watched the first swallows of the year return ... always a good day

Snap! Ours arrived Tuesday evening. Hope they brought coats with them, it was minus 3 here this morning.

benp1 wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 10:27 am

Dave Barter wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 10:06 am Last night we witnessed a Basking shark breaking surface 5 metres from us in Brixham harbour

That is very cool

Very cool. Have never seen one.

I have lots of tadpoles in my mini garden pond. Seems a bit insignificant to mention, compared to a basking shark.

First curlew of the year up on the moors today.

woodsmith wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 12:40 pm Picked up a fresh pheasant roadkill for dinner. Had a few double-takes riding through town with it dangling off the bars.

I'm not sure that counts as wildlife.

redefined_cycles wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 9:03 am Over the last 3 days... a Buzzard (i think) that rode across the road...

Be interested in the pics of that Shaf - a bird on a bicycle!

(How did no one else pick that one up?)

slarge wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 5:09 pm

redefined_cycles wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 9:03 am Over the last 3 days... a Buzzard (i think) that rode across the road...

Be interested in the pics of that Shaf - a bird on a bicycle!

(How did no one else pick that one up?)

Lol... Yeah, come to think of it, it flew across the path and must've been eyeing summat in the yard across the road

I haven't seen it yet but I've got a Tawny owl in my owl box. I can hear it every now and again during the day.

Glad it's in a box Hux and not down the chimney like the one I had last year

Bearbonesnorm wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 8:10 pm Glad it's in a box Hux and not down the chimney like the one I had last year

Was it still alive or was it dead like the mallard I had to fetch out with a hazmat suit and a clothes peg on my nose?

HUX wrote: ↑Thu Apr 15, 2021 7:17 pm I haven't seen it yet but I've got a Tawny owl in my owl box. I can hear it every now and again during the day.

Hux... how long did you wait for that? How'd I put one up and any specific orientation I need to have it facing pls

Today I rode through the woods and placed myself in a banking that Rambo 1st Blood would have been proud of. Was determined to get a pic of some nice wildlife. The birds were tweetTwooing all over the place but none wanted to come out for a pose. So i took a pic of Egen and moved on after having sat patiently for some time.



In the end and after/before having taken some epic pics of the mountains I settled for this humble bumblebee... hornet or was it wasp. Maybe a honeybee... I dunno.. At least it didn't get shy and run off...



Here's the hills that didn't keep moving and I managed to spot em from various angles. Shirley there's loadsa wildlife in there them hills... Even spotted some days old lambs too earlier.


After finishing the ride and being told my car wasn't ready I rode home. Enroute near to mine I saw these beauties...

Nicely camo'd

Quite a good haul today.

Three buzzards while I was walling over at my brother's. Not sure why three, maybe one's a juvenile from last year and still hanging around.

On the way home I saw a couple of hares, one was just a small leverette. Then a barn owl flew up by the road.

I see groups of between 3 and 5 buzzards round here regularly, have never found out if it’s last years with parents.

Envious of your hares, a rarity round here these days. And your barn owl.

Highlight here is gold crest visiting feeders last few days. Saw first swallows (Shropshire) 10 days ago, just the three and just seen them the once. Earlier than usual. Always a special day.

Was it still alive or was it dead

She was very much alive. It's not unusual to hear them calling here but this one seemed very loud (when I was sat indoors). Climbed on the roof the following morning to find her happily sat on a ledge down the chimney. Thought I'd give her a few hours (they often find their own way out) before offering her a helping hand with a brush. By evening she'd gone, so I briskly fitted a cowl

I'll just leave this here for a while.