I am always surprised how many good pictures of Fieldfares and Redwings feeding on red berries I see posted on the web when they first arrive in the U.K. I always find them nervous and unapproachable in the early winter. Only when food gets in short supply can I get close to them. Hence I have never photographed them on Sloe berries, which are a firm favourite at this time of year. If I put a hide up where they are feeding they simply move down the hedge to the next berries.
This bird came in after a 2 hour wait in a canvas hide, but did not drop down onto the berries. The light was wonderful however and the sky blue.
While waiting I did see a Green woodpecker drink from a hollow in a large horizontal branch. The next day I put up a ladder, cleaned out the leaf filled hollow, topped it up with clean water and spent 5 hours in the hide waiting for a repeat performance. Nothing doing. I need to leave a trap camera there to see how often it drinks.
Both pictures taken from a hide with a Canon EOS 1dx and the 800mm f5.6 lens. F7.1 and 800 iso.
Comments