This is Wood Carving!

Today I was very priileged to have private access to The Carved Room, at Petworth House. The carvings were mainly done by Grinling Gibbons (1648-1724), regarded by many as the Master of Limewood Carving. The scale of the carvings really has to be seen to be believed.

Gotcha!

I finally managed to get a closer picture of a Red Kite. These birds are so difficult to get close to and the moment you point a camera in their direction, they're off! On the Kite's shoulder is a yellow tag, which is used to track the birds. I couldn't see the other wing, so I couldn't tell what age this bird is. Have a look at the Chilterns AONB Kite Information.

Wired for Sound!

I was watching this Goldfinch singing away for several minutes. I was told years ago, that Canary breeders used to put a Goldfinch with their young Canaries, as they have such a wonderful song. This one was very close, so I thought it would be a great opportunity to get a picture of one of these beautiful birds.

Have you ever noticed how camera shy birds are? They seem to wait just long enough for the auto-focus to work, and then as you try and compose the shot, off they go! It took five attempts to finally get this.