25 BIRDS by Anna K. Wood, a New Book of Bird Photographs

Cover image

 

May I introduce a new book, 25 Birds, by Anna K. Wood. The blurb on the back reads as follows:

"In this delightful collection, housebound photographer Anna Wood beautifully captures the diversity of birdlife all around us. Created entirely from photos taken in one North Glasgow garden over the course of one year, this book explores the joy Anna finds in nature as well as the challenges of being a photographer with severe ME. It will appeal to anyone with a love of birds, as well as those who would just like a little more nature in their lives."

I 'met' Anna over the internet a few months ago and realised that we had a few things in common. We both have physical health issues (albeit different ones) that force us to approach life in a particular way. We share a love of birds and a desire to photograph them. Anna has allowed me to include her fantastic feather photo below. She has kindly agreed to answer some questions about her new book.

 

Photo image: © Anna Wood, used with permission

 

1. Anna, what gave you the idea and have you been able to raise some funds via the project?

I've raised over £500 so far and there is more to come from recent sales. I've sold far more than I even thought I would, so delighted to be able to support such a good cause (Action for M.E.) and bring wildlife to people's lives.  I have been taking photos of birds for a couple of years and posting them on social media, and getting lovely comments from family and friends. They encouraged me to do something more with them, so I thought it would be fun to try to put a book together and raise money for charity - I have to admit I was a bit naive about how much effort it would take, but once started I really wanted it to be ready before Christmas.




2. Tell us about the habitat in question ...

So I live in north Glasgow, in a quiet residential street. I have a very small back garden which is below ground level, so there aren't often birds there, but the front has a small area of grass which slopes down to the road next to the drive way. There is a small plum tree in the middle where I hang feeders and recently I had some bushes and flower bed put in at the bottom. That's where I see most of the birds. There's also a lovely cherry tree next door which overhangs the drive, and birds like to sit in there. Although it's quite suburban there is a park about 10min walk away and a golf course 3 min away in the other direction, so lots of habitat for birds nearby.



3. Your favourite bird in or out of the book, and why.

Oh gosh that's so hard! My favourite bird is a stonechat. I saw one for the first time last summer while on holiday. My favourite photo is probably the sparrow with the feather - what I really love about taking photos in my garden is seeing birds that we think we know in a new way. Photographing makes me really pay attention to the detail, how they behave and all the things we easily miss.


4. What about the photography aspect, e.g. are you self-taught? 

I am self-taught. I have learned a lot from reading about how other people take photos of birds, watching YouTube videos, from talking to people online and from trial and error. I have a lot of photos where the bird is blurred or where it has already flown off! 

The book is available from Amazon (livelink here).

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1739139100/

 

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My sincere thanks to Anna for answering my questions about her new book. I was drawn to the concept as soon as I heard about it, and could hardly wait until publication day. The book is indeed ready in time for Christmas: do click the livelink above and take a look.

Common Crossbill on an Autumn Afternoon

We were not far from the car when a birder hailed us, telling us to look up as there was a small flock of Crossbills in a tall pine tree. The Common Crossbill is a bird I have long wanted to see so I cricked my neck and waited for a flicker of movement in the high branches.

It was not long before I spotted a male...  

 

 ...with his burnt-orange feathers.

I particularly wanted to capture the distinctive cross-over bill on my photo, and despite the distance and poor light, you can just about make it out in the photo above. 

The kind birder mentioned that there had been a flock, and while we only saw three in total ourselves, it was not long before I noticed the female with her green plumage. You can see her at the end of the lower arrow in the photo above. I always enjoy seeing a new species, and keep hoping the day will come when I happen to be in the same place as a Hoopoe, but a surprise encounter, like this one with the Crossbills, is always a particular joy. Our friend told us there were also Redpolls about but we failed to see them.

The area in question has mixed swathes of woodland, and in the deciduous areas, there were plenty of chestnuts on the ground ...

... and a good selection of fungi.

Most fronds of bracken have taken on that beautiful bronze hue of autumn.

We noticed one small moth larva on the sandy soil. Autumn is not my favourite season, but I do particularly like the display of red (see below), yellow, brown and orange.

P.S. Apologies if the spacing looks odd on your screen. Since Blogger updated its platform, I have found it hard to use the html option and hard to position pictures evenly within text.

Feed the Birds

Robin in our home patch, with currant blossom and forythia

In these days of fewer social gatherings, watching the birds and trying to keep abreast of the regulars becomes an increasingly important activity. And with birds pairing and beginning to build nests, there is plenty of action in the avian world. Our coconut feeders, with added sunflower seeds, particularly attract Blue tits, Robins, Great tits, Long-tailed tits and Starlings. Blackbirds have been known to head for them, too, but they prefer food sources like earth worms that can be pulled from the ground. 

Blue tit, one of many in the garden

Northern Holiday 2018, Post 1: Spoonbills

I'm afraid I'm running very late with my holiday photos, but never mind! I can still post a selection of highlights.

We heard about RSPB Fairburn Ings on BBC Springwatch a short while before our departure, so were delighted to find that the reserve was not far off our route as we headed north. There was a buzz in the air when we arrived, and we soon discovered that three Spoonbill chicks had hatched and could be viewed from a distance. My zoom is not the best, but the photo below the 'viewing' blackboard shows mother and young doing well. What a remarkable sight.

 

There was a heronry with chicks in close proximity, but I would hazard a guess that during our time at Fairburn Ings, all eyes were focused on the Spoonbills.  

Little Owl

I clicked the shutter for a quick record shot and was about to take another photograph with my zoom lens when I heard voices behind me and noticed a family with a football heading down the road in my direction. Naturally I was not the only one who was disturbed...

You can imagine, then, how pleased I was when I uploaded my pictures later that evening to discover that I had at least taken a photo of half an owl!

Spotting this creature made me realise how little knowledge I have about the species. I know that the Little Owl (otherwise known as Athene noctua) is not a bird native to the UK and that there has been a marked decline in numbers, but I have so much more to learn. This site, UK Little Owl Project, is a brilliant starting point.

Heron on the Roof

We have often seen Grey Herons flying over the rooftops to reach the stream that runs through the Local Nature Reserve just beyond our garden, but this one was a bit closer and was probably after fish in a neighbouring pond. I wonder if it will return...

Kingfisher Watching - A Walk in the Park

I recall the thrill of seeing my first Bittern from the Bittern Hide (where else?) at RSPB Minsmere. It somehow seemed that bit too good to be true. Then we saw Adders on the Minsmere Adder Trail...

Well, last weekend we paid a quick visit to Holywells Park in Ipswich, and there in the watercourse, by a sign illustrated with a Kingfisher was... a Kingfisher! It was a fairly elusive bird, but as you see, we managed to get a few record shots. I hope we can return with more time. My thanks to David for his photo immediately below. 

There were other creatures about, including the Mandarin duck in the next photo. The stark contrast between light and shade reminded us that we are past the equinox, and already in the season of shorter hours of daylight.

Out in the open at the top of the park there was some real warmth in the sunshine. My eyes alighted on this fluffy mass...

I guess it may be a spider nest, or cocoon, perhaps belonging to a species like the Golden Orb Weaver.

If my hunch is correct (and I have yet to test it out on iSpot), the spiderlings will eventaully disperse by the method known as 'ballooning'. 

It was good to see a fair number of bees about on the colourful plants. 

 

This is the recently renovated Orangery...

These reflections are largely green, but it will not be long before the colours turn to those fiery shades of autumn (or those misty, mellow ones if you prefer the description offered by Keats...). 

Three Days in North Norfolk - 3

Sedge warbler in the Cley reedbed

This is really a post for our list of wildlife sightings over the three days - plus a few photos.

All sightings were made in North Norfolk during a short post-Easter break.

The places we visited (and saw wildlife) included:

[1] NWT Cley
[2] NT Morston Quay, Blakeney
[3] NWT Holme Dunes
[4] Snettisham (beach near RSPB reserve)
[5] Hunstanton
[6] Holkham estate
[7] Brancaster staithe
[8] Hawk and Owl Trust Reserve at Sculthorpe Moor
[9] (English Heritage) North Elmham Saxon Cathedral - in the Wensum Valley, where hedgerows removed by the 1980s have now been restored.
[10] (English Heritage) Creake Abbey

We are far from expert birders and sometimes get our identifications wrong. But it is always interesting to record what we have seen... and to enjoy the surprises along the way.

Birds...

[1] Avocet
[2] Bar-tailed Godwit
[3] Bearded tit
[4] Blackbird
[5] Black-backed gull
[6] Black-headed gull
[7] Blue tit
[8] Bullfinch
[9] Buzzard
[10] Carrion crow
[11] Chaffinch
[12] Collared dove
[13] Coot
[14] Cormorant
[15] Curlew
[16] Dunnock
[17] Goldfinch
[18] Greylag
[19] Great tit
[20] Grey Heron
[21] Herring gull
[22] House martin
[23] Kestrel
[24] Knot
[25] Lapwing
[26] Linnet
[27] Little egret
[28] Little Owl
[29] Little ringed plover
[30] Long-tailed tit
[31] Mallard
[32] Marsh harrier
[33] Moorhen
[34] Mute swan
[35] Nuthatch
[36] Oystercatcher
[37] Pheasant
[38] Pied wagtail
[39] Pinkfoot geese
[40] Red-legged partridge
[41] Redshank
[42] Reed bunting
[43] Ringed plover
[44 ] Robin
[45] Sedge warbler
[46] Shelduck
[47] Shoveler
[48] Skylark
[49] Song thrush
[50] Sparrow
[51] Starling
[52] Swallow
[53] Teal
[54] Wood Pigeon 
[55] Wren

Cley - the path to the sea via Arnold's Marsh

Mammals...

[1] Grey squirrel
[2] Hare
[3] Muntjac
[4] Rabbit
[5] Rat and one young
[6] ?Vole
[7] Weasel (seen by David and confirmed by wildlife ranger)


Amphibians...

[1] Tadpoles and frog spawn

Cley windmill and the tower of St Margaret's, Cley

Insects...

[1] Alderfly
[2] Black beetle (not sure which sort...)
[3] Brown-tail moth tents and caterpillars
[4] Eyed ladybird? (awaiting iRecord identification)
[5] Green-veined white butterfly
[6] Harlequin ladybird
[7] Kidney-spot ladybird
[8] Orange-tip butterfly
[9] Peacock butterfly
[10] Woodlouse

NWT Holme Dunes - Brown-tail moth tents and caterpillars

As above - shades of Miss Havisham and her wedding cake, perhaps...

Sea purslane - I think on the mudflats at Morston Quay

Water front at Wells-next-the-Sea

Looking back to St Nicholas church, Blakeney, with its distinctive pair of towers

Herring gull at Blakeney

Remains of St Edmund's Chapel, Hunstanton (Hunston)

North Elmham Chapel/Saxon Cathedral

North Elmham Chapel/Saxon Cathedral from the castle mound

North Elmham. Guess who is happy to have found a sign...

Oystercatcher in evening sunlight

Three Days in North Norfolk - 2

Bearded tit

I mentioned that I would add some more Cley photos in a second post, so here they are. We were thrilled to see Bearded tits in the deep reedbeds with the Sedge Warblers. We stood poised on the path, listening for the ping that often precedes their presence. These beautiful birds are extremely elusive!

But it was not just tits and warblers in among the reeds. It was lovely to see a few butterflies, including this Peacock in a sheltered spot below the raised path to Cley from Morston Quay. 

 

We were just about to enjoy our picnic lunch when I noticed what I took from a distance to be a female Orange Tip, but when I drew near I realised it was actually a Green-veined White, another seasonal first for me. We actually saw several flying about near a patch of dandelions. 

Unlike the Peacock butterfly, this black beetle was strolling along the top of the bank in the sunshine. 

David noticed a streak of red in the brambles at the edge of the raised path, and it turned out to be the chest of a Linnet. I think this is my best view to date of a Linnet's back. What lovely pied markings on the tail.

There are usually quite a few Avocets on the Cley reserve. I was so hoping to take a photo of one in flight, but this will have to wait for another occasion. I see it is the 70th birthday of RSPB Minsmere (down the coast, into Suffolk) this weekend and that there is a new Avocet mug to mark the occasion. 

These Bearded tit pictures below are definitely 'click-and-shoot' shots, but who could resist these magnificent little birds? And it seems to me that the 'beard' is definitely more of a moustache!

There were several ladybirds along the path to the sea at Cley. 

 I am puzzled by this one, though, as it looks very like an Eyed Ladybird, 

but I don't think the habitat is quite right 

as these insects are usually found on pine trees and other conifers. 

Another insect for the UK Ladybird Survey...

I love this landscape of mere, reedbed, sea and sky. Tides and migrant birds come and go, just like the light and the shadows. 

There was just time for a slice of malteaser cake on the terrace at NWT Cley before heading home to Suffolk.

Species list to follow, but do click on the yellow background and take a look at a wonderful post on North Norfolk from fellow blogger, Adam Tilt.