Paul_Wheeler's photostream  

Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)

As you may notice, I have not been around recently. I thought I would apologise for not visiting you all.

This winter I have really struggled health-wise, and I have just got out of bed to get and drink, and decided to post this. I had my first ever flu jab on the 9th November last year, and since then I reckon I have had about 15-20 days of feeling well, and the last few days have been the worst yet. I just seem to get a flu type illness over and over again, with just a few days of feeling well in between. The illness lasts 3-7 days, and then it takes about a week or so to get my strength back. I then have a few days of normal life before I start to feel poorly again and the cycle seems to start over. I'm hoping that as I have been really poorly over the last few days, my immune system will finally get rid of this virus forever. Doctors just say there are a lot of viruses about, but I will make a visit next week and try to get to bottom of this.

Thanks for listening to me moan. I will catch up soon.

Those who know me, will find this photograph a surprise, but I just had to post this.

I have recently become a very proud and happy Great Uncle, and this is the little chap who brought it about. This is Harry, born 20-1-2012, weighing 6lb 11 oz.

I thought I would have a go at producing a Black and White portrait, which I feel suits new born babies. I took a few shots when he was brought home, and this is one of just a couple where he had his eyes open. He was only one day old, and preferred sleep to everything else.

My congratulations go to my niece, Kerri, and her husband, Ryan, who will make fantastic parents xx

I think you will agree he is a very handsome little boy :)

Constructive critique welcome.

Wishing you all a happy Sunday :)

The Greenshank (Tringa nebularia) is a, not so common, winter visitor to my area of SW Britain, and is normally found in North and West Scotland during the summer, around boggy moorland and peatland pools. The RSPB estimate that only around 700 birds winter in the UK, so I'm obviously thrilled to get these shots.

There is another image below in the comments, and I have a few more to come.

Better viewed in Lightbox... Press "L", and even better larger

Yesterday, I posted a photograph of a man up to his knees in mud, and posed a question as to what you thought he was doing. Several people were on the right track and a few gave me with the correct answer. I have now updated the description under yesterday's photo with the answer.

Thank you for your comments, faves and invites. I truly appreciate your support :)

"Where there's muck, there's brass!" is an old saying here in Britain, which basically means that you can make good money from working in mucky/dirty situations. I am not going to tell you what this guy is doing, or how he makes his living, as I'm interested in hearing your ideas :)

There's another shot below. I will let you all know the answer in a day or two.

Many of you will realise that these shots are very different to my normal stuff, but there is a story to this. This is the man that stopped me from posting some lovely Avocet shots! You see I was all set up, out of sight and a lone Avocet was slowly working it's way up the muddy creek towards me. This guy was slowly working his way from the other direction. I was hoping he wouldn't scare the bird before it got close enough for some nice shots. Sadly, he did scare it off :(
A little later, he nearly had a heart attack as I revealed myself, and spoke to him from the side of the creek. LOL!!

This looks like back-breaking work, and he does this for 5-6 hours a day.

Edit: Well done to those who got the answer. The man is collecting Peeler Shore Crabs to sell as fishing bait. Peelers are crabs who are about to shed their old shell, and are a fantastic bait for many sea fish. Lengths of drainpipe are inserted into the mud near the low water line. Crabs are vulnerable when they shed their shell, so seek out shelter. On these muddy shores the pipes offer perfect shelter (or so they think). The man has hundreds of pipes in the mud, and collects the peeler crabs regularly. He collects hundreds each day and they sell for around 75p each.

Thank you for visiting and I look forward to reading your ideas about what this man does for a living :)

The Marsh Tit (Poecile palustris) is another bird listed as Red Status by the RSPB. Red is the highest conservation priority, with species needing urgent action.

The Marsh Tit and Willow Tit are very similar, and the only way to tell them apart with a high degree of certainty is by their call. There are other subtle differences, and the Marsh Tit usually has a white mark on it's bill, and a glossy black cap.

If Marsh Tits find a good food supply, they may start to hoard seeds, burying and hiding them for a rainy day. Their hippocampus (the part of their brain which specialises in remembering things) is large, and bigger than other Tit's.

Another shot below.

Thank you for all your kind comments, faves, and invites and I hope you all have an enjoyable week :)