BLACKHEADS. (20/06/14)

It’s a much better day today. We are still getting the odd shower but there is blue sky in between. Grand it is, a bit breezy but much better. Musna grumble.

I’ve been bird taming, they are still rather unruly but I’m persevering and hopefully before I leave I’ll have them queuing in an orderly manner.   Blackheaded Gull. These are hooligans.

  Herring Gull. These are fine.

   Common Gull, there are two of these and they will take food from my hand. They have very sharp beaks but after last year when I got a nasty cut on the finger next to my little finger I now wear a welders glove that I found. I knew it would come in Handy.

I set the camera up on the tripod, I used a 24mm lens and locked focus at nine feet, on this lens it is just shy of infinite. Then I hold my hand out with wholemeal bread on and fire the remote shutter cable with my other hand. It’s a bit hit and miss. It also makes them look far away but I do get more of them to fit in the frame.

  Very hit and miss, not a bit but in this respect it differs little from the norm when it comes to my birding.

  It is a bit windy and the bread kept blowing off my hand when I wasn’t ready to click so I thought a bit then threw a bit and watched where it landed and focussed on that bit. Got down to four feet focus.

   It’s not really the stunning effect I was after. I was going to try the 50mm lens but I had to stop as the lady in the camper twenty yards away said I was encouraging them to attack people, she said I was being irresponsible and as I could hear her over the racket the Gulls were making, decided to agree.

I hope she decides on a BBQ. I’ll creep up on her blindside and chuck a handful of bread onto her camper roof. Then pop round to suggest BBQs are anti-social. I love such trivial triumphs. She’s going tomorrow so I’ll have another go, I’ll try and find an assistant to throw the bread. I have one in mind. She is the lanky lass from the pub who can jump up and down in time to music crossing and uncrossing her ankles. I bet she would be a wonderful Gull feeder. I saw her in the shop this morning and she asked if I was going to turn up with my whistle.

Oh, the innocence of youth. I suspect she is a bit of a minx, as my mother used to say on the odd occasion when I took anything half fit home to tea. She has been to Scalloway and Stirling University to study swimming things. She has a degree in marine…things. I’ll guess fish but it could be crawly things like crabs or lobsters. I’d ask but would hate to see her fall over whilst dancing. I forget ladies can multitask. I’l start off tomorrow night with an Irish Jig then halfway I’ll switch to Mull of Kintyre. I bet she can’t stop airborne to that. I bet I’ll get a slap.

The Gulls do get close to me but they never misjudge it and hit me with their wings or feet. I enjoy them being so close, it’s great feeling the draft from their wings. They are good at flying, they never seem to bang into each other and they are not daft.

This morning I took the tripod down to the beach for some long exposures of the sea. They followed the tripod at a respectful distance. The sea wasn’t rough enough for the smoke on the water effect. It will be. I noticed a pair of Pipets that were different. They were bigger with black legs. I’ll have a look for them this afternoon. If they aren’t Sea Eagles then I bet a pound to a penny they are the elusive Rock Pipits.

Have a wonderful weekend. It is good fun here.