While the vast majority of the UK is in lockdown, I am still working. As my company provides essential support to medical, telecoms and transport we have to continue operating. This has made the short drive into work absolute bliss as the roads are virtually empty.
The big drawback though is I cannot participate in any of the online birding from home threads appearing in social media-many people are discovering that there are an awful lot of interesting things flying over and visiting their gardens and from their balconies. There are still some people taking day trips but generally most are accepting that non-essential travel means that they cannot get out. No twitching for the foreseeable future and trying to get a big year list has gone out of the window.
As I can only really get out for walks on the weekends, I realistically only have two venues now, Fairlands Valley and the Aston End area, though I could conceivably get to Norton Green after work.
I won't be taking my camera out now, largely because I broke it. Basically I was out in the garden last Sunday and had a bad fall, the Panasonic GX8 hit my chest, and, I think the 100-400 lens my upper arm. Not really sure what happened as one minute I was taking a step forward and the next my face hit the deck and there was a massive blow to the chest. My glasses are busted too, so I am having to get by with an old pair. Spoke to the insurance, and hopefully everything will be ok, but with the opticians now shut I can't take the glasses in for evaluation, and hopefully I can post the camera and lens to Panasonic. However from what I know on forums, the lens certainly cannot be repaired.
Obviously this was a bit of a blow. I had for some time now been considering options, whether to eventually upgrade the micro four thirds system with one of the newer Olympus bodies and perhaps the 300mm f4 lens, a combination that a lot of the pro wildlife photographers seem to be moving towards, or alternatively a new full frame high resolution Nikon primarily for landscape and garden still life work. The idea was basically have a very portable and light four thirds gear for travelling and wildlife, and have a second system for everything else, which has been essentially what I have been doing using the (very heavy) D3s where there has been a need to use a full frame camera.
Since I have a lot of Nikon F mount lenses, including the manual 500mm f4, and the 300mm f2.8, the decision was made for me, and rather than the D850, I have got the more or less mirrorless equivalent Z7 with a 24-70f4 and an adaptor for the F mount lenses. Only done a few brief tests so far, but I like the lens, and the 300mm lens works very well with the adaptor. I will put up some images soon, but for the time being photography will strictly garden plants and insects.
This morning I had stroll around Fairlands Lakes. There wasn't a great deal to report with four singing Chiffchaffs-plus another in the woods on the way back, one Mistle Thrush around the old farm buildings and two Son Thrushes. There were only a few gulls present, two adult Black Heads, four Lesser Black Backs and a Herring. Wildfowl consisted of a lot of wild and domestic Mallards, a couple of Canada geese, a pair of Coot, two pairs of Moorhen and a Great Crested Grebe. In Ashtree Woods on the way back there was a drumming Great Spotted Woodpecker and a singing Nuthatch.
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