Show Us Your Great Photos (2018)

[Steve S 60]

Taken from a kayak......

[Amsterdam Russ]

OK, first time for doing this. Thought it would be a nice to highlight the great pics people have posted across the month and in particular those that have attracted the most "up votes". So, for the month of January, the best liked photos/posts are...

On 13/01/2018 at 18:05, martyn pitt said:

Well it was nice to get out in the fresh air for a change, unfortunately the light was pants (sorry for resorting to technical terms), and there were not many birds about.

Anyway this Goldcrest was scurrying about in the trees behind the hide

 

On 20/01/2018 at 15:25, Winsford Soul said:

Goldfinch. On Tweezle seed head

Steve

 

On 21/01/2018 at 11:47, Johnny Jones said:

A few from dog walking over the last few weeks

Fantastic work @martyn pitt, @Winsford Soul (Steve), and @Johnny Jones. Congratulations!!!

[Martyn Pitt]

A winter visitor to our shores, the Brambling, which can be a scarce one to see ... for the last 16 days I have been getting at least two in my garden, with as many as five a few days ago. Please excuse the quality but these were all taken through my kitchen window and the feeder is a fair distance away.

I wanted to post them just to show what it is possible to get in an urban garden

Note how defensive of the feeder the Greenfinch is

Edited February 3, 2018 by martyn pitt

[Winsford Soul]

Always nice to see them Martyn especially as you say in your garden.  My dad used to get them and siskins in the garden at Bishops Castle. 

Steve  

[Martyn Pitt]

I had a bit of a mad 15 minutes Steve, I was getting Brambling, Siskin and my resident Blackcap showed up as well. I had been working, only went down to make a cup of tea, ran back upstairs and got the camera.

My resident Blackcap

Edited February 9, 2018 by martyn pitt

[Mal C]

Inside the palace of Carlos V, within the Al Hambra, Granada...  

[Mal C]

View from the Alcazaba, within the Alhambra...looking out to snow tipped Sierra Nevada mountains 

[Mal C]

El Rata! There is some great graffiti here in Spain...

Edited February 3, 2018 by Mal C

[Mal C]

We will be there!!! In Arboleas 

[Martyn Pitt]

A nice comparison in size between the Greenfinch and the Siskin on the right.

It should be noted I had cleaned that feeder on Wednesday, those Greenfinch have awful table manners 

[Steve S 60]

3 hours ago, Mal C said:

View from the Alcazaba, within the Alhambra...looking out to snow tipped Sierra Nevada mountains 

I'm on the outside looking in......

[Johnny Jones]

A few from this morning

[Mal C]

5 hours ago, Steve S 60 said:

I'm on the outside looking in......

Oh Wow... very especial place ...

[Venus]

6 hours ago, Steve S 60 said:

I'm on the outside looking in......

Didn't Little Anthony & The Imperials sing that? :-P :-) 

[Steve S 60]

5 minutes ago, Venus said:

Didn't Little Anthony & The Imperials sing that? :-P :-) 

.....and Smokey covered it a few years later.

[Venus]

4 minutes ago, Steve S 60 said:

.....and Smokey covered it a few years later.

yep but Anthony came to mind first LOl great pictures by you and the others in this thread...only wish I could take some close up and interesting....only ever have mobile at hand....Asked my brother -in- law to turn car around as saw an owl on the fence....he did but said couldn't get close to take pics clear as it took off then back on fence? hmmm whatever LOL....just didn't want us to wait for some excitement I suppose from the OWL?? 

[Steve S 60]

4 minutes ago, Venus said:

yep but Anthony came to mind first LOl great pictures by you and the others in this thread...only wish I could take some close up and interesting....only ever have mobile at hand....Asked my brother -in- law to turn car around as saw an owl on the fence....he did but said couldn't get close to take pics clear as it took off then back on fence? hmmm whatever LOL....just didn't want us to wait for some excitement I suppose from the OWL?? 

Thanks Venus.  Keep up the good work with your video clips.  You've uncovered some great stuff.

[Steve S 60]

Sunset on Marathon Key.......

[Venus]

12 minutes ago, Steve S 60 said:

Thanks Venus.  Keep up the good work with your video clips.  You've uncovered some great stuff.

Thankyou...Really is greatly appreciated....Wigans Chosen Few clip? I was going to disable comments but it appears those in the video not bothered by negatives? Too many good out way the bad? :-) Enjoy the remainder of your weekend....

[Winsford Soul]

Lapwing. flying straight towards me 

Steve

[Twoshoes]

With Steve's ok a poem I wrote inspired by his photograph,

 

Mariner

Some seek adventure from a safe distance, from

the warm comfort of their living room,

they travel a square world, images flicker before their eyes,

they don ‘t feel the heat, the cold,

jet lag does not phase them, an armchair for an airplane,

they see but don’t smell  the foods of the world,

without touching feet on foreign soil they marvel

at the Eiffel Tower, the shell of a distant opera house,

they scale mountains, ford rivers, their feet dry,

outside the world passes

 

This man sits at a sea shore, camera by his side,

his photo taken,

he looks to a distant horizon, he’s a man of the sea,

he knows its ways, feels it’s ebb and flow,

it’s more than sea, it’s his second home,

a life once lived, he’s seen a thousand suns go down,

marvelled at red skies , stood with brothers in arms and thought of home,

he sits here now, envies the tree that each night dips its toes,

through misty eyes  by  the jetty he sees a ship of old, cold battleship grey

waiting with open arms to swallow him whole, it’s ensign hangs limp,

there’s no breeze ,it’s voyages stilled by time, forgotten faces

lean on deck rails beckoning him to join them one last time,

the young men of his youth, old men, men who taught him comradeship,

 men who helped shape the man of today,

he doesn’t feel the winter chill falling about him,

a blanket of warm memories fold around his shoulders,

terra firma holds him now, though he can still dream adventure,

sat alone with his thoughts by his beloved sea,

gazing up at the moon,

lost in a sea of tranquillity.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 5, 2018 by Twoshoes

[Shinehead]

On ‎03‎/‎02‎/‎2018 at 15:05, martyn pitt said:

I had a bit of a mad 15 minutes Steve, I was getting Brambling, Siskin and my resident Blackcap showed up as well. I had been working, only went down to make a cup of tea, rang back upstairs and got the camera.

My resident Blackcap

Seen one of those in my garden today , first time I've seen one anywhere in my 60 years  .

 It did not use my feeders but I will keep watching, the one in your picture I would assume is the female the one I saw was the male.  

Edited February 6, 2018 by shinehead

[Peter99]

Dont have a picture but worthy of note..............

I have a sparrow hawk back checking out my garden - it looks like a young male. Whilst they are a top predator and are an indication of a healthy bird population I am in two minds. I had a female hawk about six years ago - obviously nesting nearby with chicks. However over a four week period she picked off everyone of my tame Collared Doves - 7 of them who had become so tame I could feed then by hand and shout them down from the trees. They were each rendered to a neat pile of feathers on the lawn.

GGRRRRR!

Pete

[Winsford Soul]

1 hour ago, shinehead said:

Seen one of those in my garden today , first time I've seen one anywhere in my 60 years  .

 It did not use my feeders but I will keep watching, the one in your picture I would assume is the female the one I saw was the male.  

Graham  . You assume right my friend.  Male has a black  cap.

Steve 

[Shinehead]

20 minutes ago, Winsford Soul said:

Graham  . You assume right my friend.  Male has a black  cap.

Steve 

Cheers Steve

Seeing a bird I've not seen before especially in my own garden gives me as much thrill as hearing a top tune for the first time

[Martyn Pitt]

Graham, Steve is correct the one in my image is the female, juveniles also can have a brown cap, I think they are a smart looking bird, always neatly turned out. 

[Steve S 60]

A couple taken on the barrier islands of Florida......

[Steve S 60]

Paddling down the Wekiwa River......

[Mark S]

 Close encounter with a jackdaw in Buxton today 

[Mark S]

Sluice gate wheel in Belper .

Anchor chain in Falmouth just shows that nature finds a way .

Both pics taken late last year .

[Peter99]

2 hours ago, Mark S said:

 Close encounter with a jackdaw in Buxton today 

Nice photograph Mark. I used to have one or two Jackdaws visit my garden to feed. Last year they must have had a really succesful time breeding - there might have been two pairs or one pair had two clutches of eggs which fledged well. One chick in particular sqwauked non stop, so loudly, we could hardly sleep for weeks. I now have as many as 14 Jackdaws visit every day in a group - they’re a fairly big bird comparatively, and they eat me out of house and home. I’ve never seen so many - in a group they look quite intimidating. They’re a handsome bird and I suspect that they might keep the recently arrived Sparrow Hawk in check. 

ATB

Pete

Edited February 8, 2018 by Peter99

[Tattoodave]

9 hours ago, Peter99 said:

Nice photograph Mark. I used to have one or two Jackdaws visit my garden to feed. Last year they must have had a really succesful time breeding - there might have been two pairs or one pair had two clutches of eggs which fledged well. One chick in particular sqwauked non stop, so loudly, we could hardly sleep for weeks. I now have as many as 14 Jackdaws visit every day in a group - they’re a fairly big bird comparatively, and they eat me out of house and home. I’ve never seen so many - in a group they look quite intimidating. They’re a handsome bird and I suspect that they might keep the recently arrived Sparrow Hawk in check. 

ATB

Pete

I had my father bring one back that was a bit poorly and I stuck him in one of his aviaries to feed up, he ate and ate and ate, I spent hours digging up bugs and pretty much hand feeding him.  He was quite docile but noisy.  When it came to releasing him he bit me to say thanks, but at least he was fit enough to fly off.

[Mark S]

A small funghi and a small fun guy 

[Mark S]

Perigrine falcon such a shame this one is in captivity because of a lung problem its unable to fly . Taken at Paradise park in Hayle 

[Steve S 60]

On 09/02/2018 at 08:21, TattooDave said:

I had my father bring one back that was a bit poorly and I stuck him in one of his aviaries to feed up, he ate and ate and ate, I spent hours digging up bugs and pretty much hand feeding him.  He was quite docile but noisy.  When it came to releasing him he bit me to say thanks, but at least he was fit enough to fly off.

Oh shut up Tattoo Dave, said that jackdaw with a grin

You knew damn well I was a crow before you took me in.

[Crazylegs]

Been down to the beach for a walk with Clyde, gorgeous day...............

x

Edited February 15, 2018 by crazylegs

[Winsford Soul]

6 minutes ago, crazylegs said:

Been down to the beach for a walk with Clyde, gorgeous day...............

x

Looking good Sharon 

Steve.  X

[Martyn Pitt]

A Female Sparrowhawk in this mornings gloom

[Winsford Soul]

Sunset this evening from my back garden 

Steve 

[Winsford Soul]

Grandson Thomas latest picture with his Dad. Thomas 

Steve 

[Martyn Pitt]

2 hours ago, Winsford Soul said:

Sunset this evening from my back garden 

Steve 

 

Steve ... and anyone else reading ...  a top tip for sunset photographs, set the White Balance to "Shade" it really warms up the image, and gives them a deep fiery glow 

 

[Winsford Soul]

5 minutes ago, martyn pitt said:

Steve ... and anyone else reading ...  a top tip for sunset photographs, set the White Balance to "Shade" it really warms up the image, and gives them a deep fiery glow 

 

Thanks Martyn. Always open to advice mate. But it was taken on my phone.

Steve

[Twoshoes]

13 hours ago, martyn pitt said:

Steve ... and anyone else reading ...  a top tip for sunset photographs, set the White Balance to "Shade" it really warms up the image, and gives them a deep fiery glow

Thanks for the tip Martyn, I get some fabulous sunsets opposite my house but never seem to get it right, I  must have taken hundreds over the years as the sun dips down behind the hill , there are windmills on the hills opposite to the sunset which have an pink hue to them as the sun goes down, looking forward to trying your tip. To all you guys and gals  on here who post great photographs many thanks, top thread. 

Edited February 21, 2018 by Twoshoes

[Winsford Soul]

Fantastic picture Billy. Keep them coming 

Steve 

[Peter99]

1 hour ago, Twoshoes said:

Thanks for the tip Martyn, I get some fabulous sunsets opposite my house but never seem to get it right, I  must have taken hundreds over the years as the sun dips down behind the hill , there are windmills on the hills opposite to the sunset which have an pink hue to them as the sun goes down, looking forward to trying your tip. To all you guys and gals  on here who post great photographs many thanks, top thread. 

Great pic mate.

Fire in the Sky

[Peter99]

Finally got my brilliant picture of Bobby Hutton, which I bought from America last year, in a lovely frame.

 

 

Edited February 22, 2018 by Peter99

[Winsford Soul]

24 minutes ago, Peter99 said:

Finally got my brilliant picture of Bobby Hutton, which I bought from America last year, in a lovely frame.

 

 

He obviously going to Lend a hand to someone.  Hat, coat , door. 

That's a fantastic picture my friend 

Steve 

[Peter99]

1 hour ago, Winsford Soul said:

He obviously going to Lend a hand to someone.  Hat, coat , door. 

That's a fantastic picture my friend 

Steve 

Hi Steve. Yes a real piece of history. Not the Bobby Hutton soul man, but the sixteen year old, first treasurer of the Black Panthers American rights movement. Surrendered to the police after a shoot out, hands in the air, yet shot dead, in a hail of twenty police rounds. No change for our black brothers and sisters there then. 

Ive a real passion for social justice and Im massively interested in the continued, African American struggle for equal rights. Bobby Womack, Gil Scot Heron, Sam Dees............

They our brothers and sisters, and whilst a Change is Gonna Come, it ain’t here yet bro. 

Hope you well brother.

Pete

Edited February 22, 2018 by Peter99

[Winsford Soul]

Sunset over Leighton Moss

Steve

[Winsford Soul]

Snipe

Steve