All the birds are dead or have flown.

One subject that seems to me to be significant but uncommented is the fluctuation of bird populations during the year. If we start off with a pair of birds in March, and they raise on average say 5 young during the year then come September there are 7 birds – 3.5x the starting population. By the time we get back to March we are back to 2. That seems to me to be one reason why November is often a good month and February is a dull one – there are less than half the number of birds around in February there were in November.

Well that’s my excuse for seeing nothing down the Marsh this morning. A good number of Wrens, 2 Jays, a Reed Bunting, A Goldfinch, a Greenfinch, some long-tailed tits, and a Water Rail calling. Apart from that and a few odds and sods just nothing.

Here’s my first bird picture with the new Canon 100mm-400mm IS lens.

It’s great. Just get the subject in the centre of the viewfinder, half press to get it in focus, then click and it’s in the memory banks. That’s my kind of photography.