Nuthatch coming into land

Before I was properly up this morning I spotted two jays looking for food as they perched on the rhus tree where many of the bird feeders are hanging. I took a couple of quick pictures but they didn't hang around. The jays are shy and we rarely see them in public, and it might be six months since I last spotted them in the garden.

Since then the sun has been out in bursts and I have kept a look out in the garden. I went outside to fill up some of the sunflowers feeders and another with suet. I brought my camera while I was making a second cup of coffee and I sat out in the relatively warm air to enjoy the fresh air again.

This nuthatch kept appearing and I was pleased I managed to get some shots of its flight. I am keen to improve my recording of birds in flight and it will help when the light is brighter. The high ISO doesn't help matters. I also need to try to get closer and not rely on cropping heavily as I have had to do here. Still it is good to see a nuthatch reasonably close up.

I'm off to the Stroud Preservation Trust trustee meeting this evening and then I have a busy few days with council projects that are reaching critical stages. I expect to be 'blip and running' again for a while more, as I seem to have been doing for some weeks now.