Naturally camouflaged

I joined Helena halfway through her hour long RSPB Garden Birdwatching Survey this morning. She had seen the usual suspects, but some of our slightly rarer visitors didn't appear such as Woodpeckers of any sort, Nuthatches or Blackcaps. Helena said it was only a garden bird survey, so the Buzzard I saw in the distance floating down the valley won't do. Boo-hoo.

I brought down her new camera, which I'd given to her for Christmas, a Nikon Coolpix S570, to show her that it's zoom potential was far better than my basic kit zoom lens. We sat in the dining-room looking out over the patio to feeding station No. 1 after I attached it to my tripod, which has a fluid head (unlike my own today), to ensure stability and then played around using its auto settings. Results were not too bad, but the back lit grey light didn't help the illumination.

After we finished the counting, I went handheld with the camera to the cabin to get nearer the birds, so that I could check the Coolpix's potential with minimal zoom. Sadly the cats had woken up and were prowling and there were few birds at all.

Just as I was about to return to my desk to work, I spotted this Thrush. What a delight. We have seen it around for some weeks, but it isn't usually there when my camera is.

So here is a handheld shot on automatic pilot, looking over our neighbours hand-built bower towards Butterow and the perched houses on the other side of the valley. I have slightly cropped the image. Sadly the Thrush didn't make it onto the survey, as Helena had already submitted the results online.

ps
Thanks to all who offered support for the subject of yesterday's March - protecting the nation's essential services, and services in particular. We appear to have heathens making decisions, who think it won't matter to a society which should be looking to the fulfilment of the potential of all of its population. Britain seemd to be at the forefront of innovations which created so much that is good in the modern world, and now, it seems that we are happy to lose everything but the mundane and cheapest as soon as possible. I fear for the diminishing inheritance of the children of the current Government's ludicrous Big Society.

pps
BREAKING NEWS
Daily Keith has just sent me this link, where you can hear the issues.
Video of the Stroud march against the Cuts 29 th January 2011