Stork at Baie de Somme, Marqueterre, France. Seven or eight pairs of storks breed at the Somme Estuary. Click photos to view detail.
A willow warbler, which winters in Africa and returns to France the first week in April.
Yellow-billed whooper swans are also year-round residents at the estuary. All photos by David Holmes.
The Greylag goose.
Avocets, which are spoon-billed waders, are the official bird of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in Great Britain. The birds had been virtually eliminated until a breeding program was established in Suffolk in the '50s and '60s. Now the birds are again plentiful.
Ed. note: Today's post is brought to you courtesy of my husband, the bird-watcher. I have had a busy day of preparations for guests arriving tomorrow, in between filing numerous copyright infringement notices. I found one website using nearly 100 of my photos without permission! Luckily, the site host promptly responded and removed the images without quibbling. But it seems vigilance is necessary.
lovely photos, Tara! :)
i love birds, they dominate my drawings right now.
the willow warbler is very interesting. such calm and serene!
Posted by: gracey | 20 April 2009 at 14:33
thse photos are simply fabulous! I bird watch quite a bit and have just returned from a trip in outback Australia...
fantastic Tara!!
Posted by: Simon | 20 April 2009 at 07:55
Gorgeous photos, its an interesting angle on the willow warbler, it looks darker than normal there. I've not seen (or heard) one this year yet
Posted by: Crafty Green Poet | 19 April 2009 at 14:07
Such pretty bird photos. Thank you hubby!! We have seen the Robin's out here in full force. My friends have a green heron and a great blue heron which we have not yet seen. Should be any day now, though.
Posted by: My Melange | 19 April 2009 at 04:25
(those bastads)
Tara, I love these delightful photos! I'm a birder and I'm going to forward these to my partner because we always love to bird in different areas and hope to get to Europe next year. How pretty that little warbler is, yes?
Posted by: Chris | 17 April 2009 at 20:45
I can't wait to show my seven year old daughter this post. We are certainly not "real" birdwatchers, but she has aspirations. She was given a see through window-mounted bird feeder for Christmas. Since then, she's been thrilled with all the birds she has discovered. I wish you could see her little notebook recording all the kinds of birds she's seen right outside her bedroom window. Thanks for sharing this.
Posted by: Relyn | 17 April 2009 at 18:15
Tara, how are you finding your images out there? These birds images make me yearn for spring...sitting here watching rain turn to snow...
Posted by: stephanie | 17 April 2009 at 16:56
These pictures are wonderful! There is a cardinal that has been sitting on my outside window ledge. We have a big beautiful owl that hoots through the nights in our yard also.We live on a parkway so it gets interesting. I was thinking of getting a book on bird watching. I think it would make a great class for the kids.
Love ya!
Posted by: Christina | 17 April 2009 at 13:43
Avid birder, here, too...what a treat that photo of the stork is! Love every photo--great work!
That is horrendous about your work being used without permission. Sorry that you had to spend time on rectifying the situation. These infringements are getting worse all the time. Copying work, infringing on copyright, and blatant theft are cowardly excuses for lack of originality and creativity. MOST ANNOYING.
Posted by: Helen | 17 April 2009 at 12:54
Sorry to hear this photo copying is on going, what a pain.
My son has 8 crows nests in a tree at the bottom of his garden which are making their lives a misery, twigs and crap all over the garden and the back of the house. They are protected (the crows not my sons and his family) and the tree, belonging to his neighbour, has a preservation order on it. I think it is a health risk to the kids but the authorities have said there's nothing they can do. The worst is that his house is up for sale and this problem would put any prospective buyer off.
Posted by: Di Overton | 17 April 2009 at 09:10
The stork & swan are lovely. My compliments to the birder! Does he have his own blog?
Posted by: Stacy Hurt | 17 April 2009 at 08:58
Sweet you know who! Someone took your images?
Your watermarking of late has proven a smart move. Why should we have to take these measures?
Ridiculous.
As for the bird photos, sublime. I'm loving them! That stork photo is so perfect.
I'm commenting! I'm on J's computer. Yay~
xox
Posted by: Gillian daSilva | 17 April 2009 at 06:23
Tara: How wonderful that David is a birder!!! Something we must do together should I return to Paris!! These are great photos! So nice to see the stork in flight! It was a thrill to see them when I visited France!
I have experienced having my own photos used elswhere..so now I am forced to copyright them.
Tara someone used 100 of yours!!!! argh!!!
Posted by: naturegirl | 17 April 2009 at 04:33
Fabulous photos!! Your husband apparently rocks too!!
As for the photo thief, my initial reaction is to send them bad energy... but I will pray they come to their senses instead and that someone does something really, really nice for them so they see what a skank they are and amend their ways. I am reading "The Soul's Code, In Search of Character and Calling." I haven't gotten to the "bad seed" section yet, that part scares me. I fear there are simply bad seeds out there that cannot be reprimanded!
Posted by: MiddleAgedWomanBlogging | 17 April 2009 at 04:14
Lovely photos, Tara - please pass on my kudos to your guest photographer ;)
Sorry to hear about the photo swiping - hope your discovery puts an end to it!
xox
Posted by: tinker | 17 April 2009 at 01:16
GORGEOUS photography!!!
Posted by: Fifi Flowers | 17 April 2009 at 01:05
Noel, thanks so much! I'll pass your message along. Can't wait to see that swan! xo
Posted by: Tara Bradford | 16 April 2009 at 23:32
The warbler is very sweet. I found the offending sites through Technorati and Google.
Posted by: Tara Bradford | 16 April 2009 at 23:31
holy crap, how did you find those sites? googling or do you have a service?
oops, i got so distracted by that whole thing that i forgot about the birds...i like the warbler best. :-)
Posted by: julochka | 16 April 2009 at 23:15
Oh my gosh Tara~
How sweet that tiny little willow warbler flys that distance. I love the swan too. I am working on a life size plaser one right now. All these pictures made me smile. Thank your husband too!
xo - Noel
Posted by: Noel Solomon | 16 April 2009 at 23:11