Feels like Autumn

There's a real feel of Autumn in the air, trees in the garden are starting to colour up and it's getting colder, and even more birds are coming to my feeders
I've been working on my posing perches for  bird photography and setting up a water feature, a sort of avian infinity pool is what I'm aiming for.
I  haven't got that quite right yet and I need to work out a way of stopping the Blue Tits from wrecking the moss edge in their search for spiders.
Birds also eat a lot more than they drink so I inevitably get distracted by something like a Chiff Chaff in the conifer just as a Dunnock decides to bathe.
After a foggy start it rained, that doesn't put me off sitting in my hide, I just put my plastic mac on the camera lens, up the ISO and carry on.
Here are some of the photogtraphs I took today, and a couple of sunshine ones from yesterday.

 Blue Tit on the water feature

Chaffinch reflected

Great Tit in the rain

Chiffchaff looks for spiders, dark legs help the ID (thanks Alison)

Dunnock, perhaps not as exciting as some but one of my favourite birds

Greenfinch, they always seem to have a messy beak.

Great Spotted Woodpecker, this is a young male still showing some of his red cap but getting the red patch on the back of the neck. Doesn't seem bothered at all by the pouring rain.

Garden set up, the red nut holder on the fence has to go and in the winter months the fence gets covered with a camo tarpaulin.

The pole has a nut holder out of sight and it's on a matal stake so the rat can't climb it.

The log on top of a log has a groove for Meal worms.

As the winter season progresses the number of feeders and posing sticks will increase, I also have feeders away from this hub for the shy birds who don't want to be film stars :)

03 02 11

Trying a new lens that arrived today - so far I love it, such a smooth, quiet lens.

It was extremely windy today and my camo tarp on the fence was flapping like a sail, so the birds were understandably jumpy.

Blue tit posed quite nicely although it didn't seem to like the wind ruffling it's feathers and soon took off for a more sheltered spot.

I tried a 1.4 TC with the lens and that also worked a treat although the depth of field suffers considerably, so I shall have to practise with that and get to know the limitations.

Two photographs of Walltown to finish with, I love frosty days, it's not so bad you can't get out and about but it gives the familiar landscape a very different look.

Photograph on the crags at Walltown, positioned so that Hadrian's Wall and not William's barn dominates the view!

I wonder if we're finished with the cold frosty weather for this year?

In the past I've struggled to find a viewpoint that showed off Mucklebank Crag but I think this one does it justice especially with some figues to give the picture scale.

A double click on the pictures will show you a larger image.

All photographs copyright of Joan Thirlaway.