Out and about last weekend I came across a small number of Linnets in a mixed flock with Reed Buntings and Goldfinches.
With over half a million pairs in the United Kingdom they are considered common but nervous birds and difficult to approach thus surprisingly difficult to see and photograph. I doubt that I would have got these fairly close quarter images if I had not been in a hide.
They make a handsome couple though.
Male
Female
One way or another barbed wire seems to have featured in a number of my recent posts purely by chance.
This Cock Linnet posed very nicely for me in good light, one of a small flock in the vicinity.
In my opinion the texture and colours of the fence post really add to the composition and presentation of the image very nicely.
In the '' old '' days Linnets were frequently kept as domestic caged birds, thank goodness that society in the United Kingdom at least has advanced and ( generally speaking ) wild birds are no longer kept for the gratification of human beings ...... that was real progress .... now all we have to do is address the other abuses to birdlife in this country, Hen Harriers immediately come to mind !.
This little watched reed bed is associated with nearby Wicken Fen ( National Trust ) and on its day can hold quite a variety of birds.
It has an '' open plan '' hide that can be a bit like a wind tunnel when the wind is from the east. The scrape comes within ten feet of the hide and a nearby barbed wire fence provides good perching opportunities, a very photographer friendly site.
This linnet is one of many that visit from the surrounding peat based agricultural land, this male is a classic representation of the species.
I have spent many a happy hours here watching Hobby's hawking and visiting Marsh Harriers floating over the reeds..
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