Photo Diary 2024-01-17 (Crows, Sparrows and Gulls)

I struggled with the light today; a persistent and broad cloud base obscured the sun for most of the day. It was also about -1°C (33°F) outside and felt much colder with wind-chill. Fortunately, I have heated gloves; otherwise, the cold would have limited my ability to operate the camera.

Today's walk represented about 3 km (1.9 miles) in about 45 minutes. I probably pushed the pace a little, but there was not much to see and the cold affected my energy levels.

I did find where the Carrion Crows (Corvus corone) like to pick over the fields for tasty morsels. A group of Crows is known as a "Murder" of Crows; this is one of the better-known collective nouns.

^{"A murder of crows in flight over a winter field": Photographer: @richardslater, F-Stop: f/16, Focal Length: 200mm, Exposure: 1/500 sec, ISO: 1250, Camera: Sony α7R V, Lens: Sony 200-600 F5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens, Taken: Wednesday, 17 January 2024 14:41}

As I was heading south, I did manage to spot a light aircraft heading westbound, which likely meant it was heading into Shoreham Airport. As it turns out, I was right; it was a Cessna 152, which took off and landed at Shoreham.

^{"G-BOYL Cesna in the air towards Brighton": Photographer: @richardslater, F-Stop: f/16, Focal Length: 600mm, Exposure: 1/1000 sec, ISO: 1250, Camera: Sony α7R V, Lens: Sony 200-600 F5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens, Taken: Wednesday, 17 January 2024 14:43}

As I rounded a corner, I could hear a lot of tweeting coming from a bush, not the Elon Musk tweeting, though (or X'ing, or whatever). This was instead a colony of House Sparrows (Passer domesticus), presumably with a nest in there - they didn't seem too bothered by my presence, so I stayed a while.

^{"Female House Sparrow sits on a branch against a blue sky": Photographer: @richardslater, F-Stop: f/7.1, Focal Length: 250mm, Exposure: 1/640 sec, ISO: 400, Camera: Sony α7R V, Lens: Sony 200-600 F5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens, Taken: Wednesday, 17 January 2024 14:56}

It seems house sparrows are also adept scavengers who use human discarded scraps to eat and make their nests. Still, according to the RSPB, their numbers have dropped by 77% between 1977 and 2008.

^{"Male House Sparrow sits in a bare bush in winter": Photographer: @richardslater, F-Stop: f/7.1, Focal Length: 600mm, Exposure: 1/1000 sec, ISO: 1250, Camera: Sony α7R V, Lens: Sony 200-600 F5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens, Taken: Wednesday, 17 January 2024 14:56}

My final sighting of the day was what I think is a Great Black-Backed Gull (Larus marinus). It could, however, be its lesser cousin Larus fuscus, I couldn't see the legs or a Herring Gull to compare it to.

^{"Black backed gull sits on a building": Photographer: @richardslater, F-Stop: f/7.1, Focal Length: 600mm, Exposure: 1/1000 sec, ISO: 1000, Camera: Sony α7R V, Lens: Sony 200-600 F5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens, Taken: Wednesday, 17 January 2024 14:58}

As ever, it's a pleasure to be out and about in the Great British countryside. I hope you enjoy the photos as much as I have enjoyed taking them.