A break from Coursework

Last week I went to my local bird club to have a break from coursework. It was a good few hours out, and I had a great view of a Common Snipe.

Grey Heron:



Grey Squirrel:



Common Snipe:

Blacktoft Sands breeding season

About 2 weeks back I went to Blacktoft Sands RSPB reserve, and it was a fantastic day out, with a few rare birds (Garganey and Spotted Redshank) and great photographing opportunities. A lot of the birds were in breeding plumage and there were a lot of courtship displays.

Black Headed Gull:

Garganey:

Spotted Redshank:

Avocets:

Oil Spill

A recent news report has claimed that the previous report of 20-30 tonnes of oil that leaked onto Australias coastline was wrong, in fact it was 230 tonnes. The spill is 10x worse the previously thought, the oil is said to be "carcinogenic" and is threatening a lot of wildlife. There has been a big clean up operation over the weekend, but there is still a lot more work to do.
To view more recent headlines visit this link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7943392.stm

Australia oil spill

An oil spill stretching across 40 miles of Queensland, Australia is causing a lot of worry for the wildlife. The ship which was holding 30 tonnes of oil was hit by severe weather conditions and all the oil was pushed by high winds to Morton Island off Brisbane. Straight away volunteers and environmental officers got to work to rescue as much wildlife in the area as possible, turtle eggs and pelicans were two of these. There is a big worry at the moment for a pod of dolphins which feed at Tangalooma beach on Moreton Island every night. It's not yet known how and if they are affected.

A video can be found on the BBC website: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7941489.stm

Waxwing Influx

I went and photographed a flock of approx. 25 Waxwings in a village near me about a week and a half ago. I went again on Saturday and Sunday, yet this time a further increase of 20, bringing the total to 45. I have seen Waxwings before, but never in such high numbers, and such a short distance away.