I was told in a lecture about some botanical gardens just next to the uni- they’re just a collection of glass houses really but they looked from the photos to have some interesting plants inside.
So today i decided to explore them. I set out with camera, sketch book and a variety of pencils and pens; only to find them closed!! Not to be discouraged, i tried to find another way in, and came across a nature reserve, with a little stream and plenty of woodland.
I found lots and lots of birds, not all of which i could see- but the trees were filled with birdsong. It really made me realise how crap human hearing is at pinpointing sounds! I was trying to photograph a blackbird which was exhibiting somewhat unusual behaviour- it was stood on the ground and launching itself into a pile of leaves every few seconds. It was too far away to see whether it was after grubs or nest material, but i zoomed my camera to the max and got a couple of shots. Then it disappeared because some noisy humans were coming up the footpath, one of whom asked me what i was photographing and gave me some bread with which to feed a woodpecker he’d seen further up!
I followed his advice, but couldn’t find the woodpecker, i found a jay instead and had to run to catch it long enough to take its photo.
I also found some obliging great tits and took their photograph as well. Below are some of the pictures i took.
