Redpoll
 

This is an aspect of wildlife photography that I love , I'm rather embarrassed to say but until I looked this bird up on the internet I had never even heard of a Redpoll before let alone seen one but now I can add it to my ever growing list of firsts .
They were taken at Lackford Nature Reserve near Bury St Edmunds and although I know their not the greatest shots partly due to me pushing my Sigma 18-250 to it's limits ( max zoom and wide open ) I'm really pleased that I captured these beautiful little birds in the wild .

[URL="http://media.digitalcameraworld.com/forum/gallery/files/1/4/1/1/6/5/redpoll_1.jpg"]
[IMG]http://media.digitalcameraworld.com/forum/gallery/files/1/4/1/1/6/5/redpoll_1.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[URL="http://media.digitalcameraworld.com/forum/gallery/files/1/4/1/1/6/5/redpool_2.jpg"][IMG]http://media.digitalcameraworld.com/forum/gallery/files/1/4/1/1/6/5/redpool_2.jpg[/IMG][/URL]


Mark

Wow - they are beautiful birds.
I've never heard of these birds before and I've certainly never seen one. Well done to get the shots. Are they rare??
And is this male and female?

Don't think I've ever seen one of these. Your second shot is especially nice.

Cheers Chris and CR3Snapper ,

Well according to my hand book their not rare at all , they are a resident bird and quite wide spread .

These are the Common Redpoll's and yes I think the one with the red breast is the male and the other the female but how they have stayed hidden from me for so long is a mystery to me , they can fly about in quite large flocks upwards of 50 or more and are often seen mixed in with flocks of Siskin's .

They are stunning little things aren't they .

Mark

[QUOTE=markgozz;87109]Cheers Chris and CR3Snapper ,

Well according to my hand book their not rare at all , they are a resident bird and quite wide spread .

These are the Common Redpoll's and yes I think the one with the red breast is the male and the other the female but how they have stayed hidden from me for so long is a mystery to me , they can fly about in quite large flocks upwards of 50 or more and are often seen mixed in with flocks of Siskin's .

They are stunning little things aren't they .

Mark[/QUOTE]

Like most wildlife, when you come tramping throught the undergrowth, they disappear fast. :eek:

At least the subjects are sharp and clear. :D

[QUOTE=OldBoy;87120]Like most wildlife, when you come tramping throught the undergrowth, they disappear fast. :eek: :D[/QUOTE]


I'll have you know I taught Ray Mears all he knows . :)

OK it was on kitchen fitting but still .

Mark

Hi Red pols are hard to find in many places now they have been trapped in the wild for many years for the way they look by bird fanciers who like to breed them in there aviary's and they do demand big money they are lovley little bird that really struggling against the poachers there are many other birds that were caught in the same way including linetts and blue tits it is a big money crime that We are loosing.

Just you may be interested

Geoff

Thanks for that Geoff I had no idea these little birds were trapped like that , I've never seen or heard of any reports about this .

Mark

Nice capture Mark prefer the male bird as is seems a little sharper than the female

Hi Mark, Yes they are normally caught by these use of the mail bird (being more colorful and the real singer) to attract other birds either to mate with of fight then caught in a trap this is done with a lot of species of the nicer looking birds if you go of to mainland Spain or Greece
it is done there out in the open you will often see a mail bird in a cage hanging in a cage with another open cage with the door on a spring setup waiting for another bird to fly into back over here it is done more secretly as it can lead to big fines and or imprisonment.

Sorry if I have gone on a bit.

Geoff