Interesting effect in the reduced sizing for my blog – definite halo it seems – over processed, I guess.
—Stephen G. Hipperson—
Skein
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Category Archives: Wildlife Photography
Little Egret
This Little Egret was taking advantage of the fish stranded by the recent flooding of the River Wharfe near Wetherby. A few years back these birds would have attracted a small crowd of ‘twitchers’, but they seem to be quite well established in the UK now.
—Stephen G. Hipperson—
Goosanders
Making the best of a poor image technically, I couldn’t make my mind up whether I prefered colour or black and white so I made both. IS0 1600 is well over the top of my usual threshold for taking photos with my Canon 80D – but better that than no image! There is an argument for not bothering….. but it’s all part of the learning process – and I liked the sort of regal nature of these Goosanders.
—Stephen G. Hipperson
Garden Birds in the Gloom
Thick cloud here today. A couple of strangers visited our garden feeders today – a Blackcap and two female Chaffinches. Blackcaps tend to be summer migrants but during most winters we get to see a least one pass through. And Chaffinches, although by no means uncommon in the UK, rarely if ever visit our garden nowadays – must be several months since the last.
Male Blackap (puffed up against the cold).
Female Chaffinch
Starling
—Stephen G. Hipperson—
Blue Tit
I’ve not posted for a fair time, life has a habit of getting in the way – so I thought I’d post a picture of a Blue Tit to kick things off again. Of course, WordPress have redesigned the editing software interface since I was last here – still, like life, technology is there to be overcome!
—Stephen G. Hipperson
Madeiran Wall Lizard
Seen on Sao Miguel – a naturalised immigrant from the Madeiran Islands.
—Stephen—
Sperm Whale (Just)
The primary reason for our visit to the Azores was for the opportunity to see a whale – not dolphins, porpoises or the like, but a genuine whale. The first few days we were there the sea was too rough for the sightseeing boats to go out. A calmer day was forecast so we booked to go – with the chance to see a Sperm whale. Off we set in a double-decker boat. On the journey out they gave us a talk on what we might see – setting our expectations. A whale was spotted so we headed for it.
A Sperm whale has its blow hole on the front of its head which made the sight of it a little unexpected. We watched the whale for about 15 minutes as it hyperventilated before its next dive. The whale took a last breath and then upended, tail in the air, and disappeared below the surface.
Footnote: I little confession here – I was lucky to get any pictures at all, indeed it took a great deal of mental fortitude on my part. Just prior to us spotting the whale I had an attack of the landlubbers nightmare – fortunately the boat was equipped with an ample supply of ‘just the right size’ plastic bags. From what I saw, several others had similar problems. I was fine until the boat stopped and again when the boat resumed it’s forward motion back to port. I wasn’t swell in the swell!
—Stephen—
Slate-throated Redstart
Myioborus miniatus – shame I didn’t get the end of the tail.
—Stephen—
Green-crowned Brilliant
—Stephen—
Red-eyed Stream Frog
This portrait was taken at night using torchlight/flashlight. Whilst I believe it is a Red-eyed Stream Frog, I’m happy to be corrected on this. There seem to be alternative Latin names – Duellmanohyla uranochroa or Duellmanohyla rufioculis – maybe they are different animals?
—Stephen—
Stephen G Hipperson 