Winter wagtail

In winter the pied wagtail has, to an extent, adapted to the disappearance of the rocky, often stream-side environment they like. During my lifetime I have seen these attractive black and white birds repeatedly using locations that must provide the food that they require, places such as school playgrounds, tennis courts, car parks and roofs of all descriptions. In recent winters I have found pied wagtails searching the crannies of wood shingles on the roof of the Forestry England visitor centre at Beechenhurst in the Forest of Dean. The photograph shows one of two birds that were carefully scrutinising the roof during a recent visit.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon P950

Pied wagtail and backgrounds

There are, it seems to me, two classic bird photograph backgrounds. One shows the habitat of the bird in the image while the other deeply blurs the background to focus the viewer's attention solely on the bird. Both approaches have their advantages but the second is the easiest to achieve by far. I photographed this pied wagtail as it searched the outdoor cafe area, where we were sitting, for crumbs. In the shot it is perched at the corner of a wooden table and beyond is paving.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2