Surf's Up - on a frosty day

Photos from various places taken on 28th and 30th November, mostly while trialling a teleconverter, which unfortunately I didn't have for the distant surfer. I might try and make a Gif from another sequence later.

Not so much a Gif, 30 photos in a sequence converted into a video, click here to play  the sequence is repeated three times, not bad for 900 metres away!

Scurdie Ness Lighthouse from the Bamse Statue at Glaxo

Part of a sequence of a surfer who was 900 metres from the Splash facility at Montrose Beach and 700 metres from a safe landing on the nearest beach

I surfed the same waves when I was a kayaker, but never solo and usually in summer. Wetsuits in my day weren't like today's, mine were handmade from a pattern by me from neoprene and glue!

You can just see his head in this one

Late afternoon shots from the Curlie at Montrose (while waiting on a woman)

Mallard drake

Oystercatcher feeding on Mid Links, Montrose. One of the few areas not frozen solid

A distant female Kingfisher in the ditch north of the Wigeon Hide

It came close but landed in the shade under the hide and in a bush.....

Two of the same Reed Bunting at slightly different angles to the sun, also near the Wigeon Hide. Both photos are resized versions of the originals without cropping

Moving on, this Cormorant was at Arbroath Harbour, in front of the sewage pump station at Inchcape Park

Jackdaw at Keptie Pond

Very serious looking, probably another dog about

Arbroath Lifeboat, the Inchcape which had just launched down the slipway, unfortunately even from Inchape Park it wouldn't fit in the frame. This is at the harbour mouth. I'm sure that there was a previous Inchcape when I was still at primary school, and no it was powered by sail, oars or steam!

I think this is a hybrid Mallard/Tufted at Keptie Pond

Another Rock Pipit, because they pose

Scoters - far out man!

Hopefully the last of the photos from the gloom, as the sun's trying to stay out and the tide is favourable. Today's plan is to refind the Great Egret and wait till it poses for a close up, I may be gone for sometime..........

Grey Heron from the Bank of Scotland Hide, Montrose Basin, click here   filmed in very poor conditions, but worked with a little edit!

Not a sensible plan, I went to Lunan Bay hoping to see the Black Scoter, but mainly to see what kind of results I'd get using a two times converter. The Scoters were around half a mile offshore, it was cold, windy and very dull. Despite the conditions I did get an understanding into using the converter and its limits. No Black Scoter but many were mobile and a large group were towards Corbie, still large numbers of female and 1st winter Common Scoters, no Velvets seen and only a few Long-tailed Ducks, around twenty Red-throated Divers, Red-breasted Mergansers, Shags and Cormorants.

The only bird seen on the salt pans from the Bank of Scotland Hide

No, this wasn't taken in monochrome, it was just very dark. It's a Redshank

Bar-tailed Godwits flying aong the edge of the basin, from the Bank of Scotland Hide

Cock Pheasant photographed through the fence as you can see in the lower part of the photo

Arbroath in heavy cloud and rain

From this blog one year ago this week.

"Another period of gloomy, wet, windy and cold weather. If it gets any worse I'll need to take a torch with me"!

Groundhog Day! 

Meanwhile, another test of high ISO photography while I make up my mind about new glass!!

Difficult to say if this Redshank was actually missing a leg or just adept at hopping along the beach on one

Oystercatcher with a Turnstone in the background

Turnstone

Jackdaw, in immaculate plumage

Herring Gull at Victoria Park watching a car, waiting for food to be thrown out

4th winter Great Black-backed, apparently the world's largest gull, and not to be messed with. In the pool in front of the Old Brewhouse

Tufted drake at Keptie Pond. I went thinking something unusual may have dropped in and the weather might have stopped the steady trail of dog walkers. None of the above happened

Jay Fest and Bank Vole

Although it was a dull afternoon, especially in the shaded area where I sat in a hide, the modern DSLR made photos possible with the capability to handle high ISO values. The lowest ISO was 720, the highest 10,000, most were around 2000-2800. Close proximity to the targets did help, even for the very wary Jays.

One of the very wary Jays, it took a lot of work and patience before they made very short forays into the open where I could get a photo

I like this one, simply because it was a difficult photo to get through a gap in the undergrowth

Bank Vole, spoiled by the faint green of some grass in the foreground. I'll snip some of it away if I go back and may trim the plants impinging on the path to prevent ticks, if the are still active

An aaawwhh photo for some (Claire)

Likely the same Dunnock in different light

This wee fella spent a lot of time hopping about my feet inside the hide

One of the few places where a Wren will dwell in the open

I was too busy with the Jays to try for a Blue Tit on something more natural looking than a feeder

I think this is the 10,000 ISO photo, it's a male Chaffinch

It makes me wonder just how many Coal Tits are visiting the hide, I mean how many peanuts can a wee bird eat, and they seem to be all of the time

Great Tit

Buzzard at Balgavies where the Willows in front of the hide have been cut to ground level. The feeders were empty which may have been why there were few birds. A male Sparrowhawk passed through three times in 20 minutes, surely that and the Buzzard having an affect on the birds

Nae Scoters, loadsa Dolphins

Tuesday and another attempt to get good Black Scoter photos and/or video. Failed due to a very flat sea and all of the scoters were dispersed across Lunan Bay, mobile and distant. High tide on Thursday is around 0900, and more motion from the strong wind may bring the birds back within reach of a scope, if not a camera.

Twenty Bottlenose Dolphins gave me someting to do while waiting for the uncompliant Scoters.

I think this is an adult with a calf given the apparent size

The best photo I could get of unpredictable and often distant animals

Not that far out and the water can't be that deep. One breached just behind the surf line, I would guess they were hunting flounders. The closer they come the less likely it is to get the photo when they're mobile

The only birds that ever came close in during an hour of watching, 4 Long-tailed drakes with one duck

If you stand still and the beach isn't busy, why would it be at one degree centigrade! a Red-throated Diver will come inshore for a look

I could only stand the cold at Lunan Bay so long but it wasn't much warmer at the Lurgies where 2 Little Egrets and about a dozen Little Grebes were the only things of interest. I like the light on this Grebe and it's as it looked to the eye, the whole basin had an unusual dim glow, if that makes sense

Near the end of the day and far too late for photography I had a quick look at Arbroath Harbour and despite it being busy with returning lobster boats there were a few birds of interest. This female Long-tailed Duck didn't want the leave the harbour and although it stayed central the late sun helped to get a photo

Happy looking species

I took this photo to show the Shag's diving techique not knowing it had a darvic ring, looks like green, FBB but could be FPB, FPP, FBP. I'll check today and try to get it sitting on the slipway as they often do

Metal ring on the left leg

Rock Pipit in the last bit of light, it looks used to people in the working harbour, and was hanging around an angler perhaps hoping for some crumbs from his tea

The Herring Gulls are happy to pose on the boats, this was close enough that this was all I could get in the frame. I feel another look when the day is brighter for some flight shots and Great Black-backed Gull photos