Male linnet in breeding plumage 9 May When I first found linnet on the Gower coast in May the colours were stunning: gorse a deep gold and the male linnet resplendent in breeding plumage. Years later, I began to find linnet on Scout Scar in summer, infrequently. Now I know their habitat, I know the gorse and juniper scrub they favour, I’ve learnt their song and their habit. For some time I’ve been hearing lesser redpoll in this same habitat, but until late April I wasn’t able to confirm this with images. It’s easy to confuse the two, unless there’s strong light and a good sighting.
Beautiful weather in early May, so I’ve taken lots of pictures. None of my earlier linnet images compares with today’s. Strong light showed the male’s breeding plumage in intense colour. And the bird turned this way and that, so my images show the colour of its tiny bill and its forked tail. And the distribution of crimson across its breast. It's a startling beauty.
After the dawn chorus, I head for the patch where I know I'll find linnet and redpoll singing and displaying. Early morning is magic. There is nothing but birdsong. Where juniper and gorse grows thick the scrub is alive with breeding birds. Adders breed here too, and as temperatures soar this week conditions will suit them. A warm wind is the sensation of the morning, that and linnet. The cuckoo is calling and I find him in a distant tree.
After the dawn chorus, I head for the patch where I know I'll find linnet and redpoll singing and displaying. Early morning is magic. There is nothing but birdsong. Where juniper and gorse grows thick the scrub is alive with breeding birds. Adders breed here too, and as temperatures soar this week conditions will suit them. A warm wind is the sensation of the morning, that and linnet. The cuckoo is calling and I find him in a distant tree.
The previous day was hazy, so my images of lesser redpoll are less distinct. The bird sat on a branch for long enough for me to take several photographs, but it did not move until a passing runner disturbed it and it flew: a sequence of images in a single posture. Male linnet and lesser redpoll both have red on the forehead, only visible on my linnet image.
I knew I’d photographed lesser redpoll but wanted the ID confirmed. So I emailed an image to a Natural England friend who consulted a birder expert. As always, their ID comes with a focus on specifics. It’s an exactitude I like well. My thanks to them.
I knew I’d photographed lesser redpoll but wanted the ID confirmed. So I emailed an image to a Natural England friend who consulted a birder expert. As always, their ID comes with a focus on specifics. It’s an exactitude I like well. My thanks to them.
Lesser redpoll above a haze of deep gold flowers of gorse.
I listened to radio 4 book of the week, Chris Packham's memoir Fingers in a Sparkle Jar. He reads his memoir with Eileen Atkins as his psycho-therapist. It's compelling. Last night, he was a guest on BBC 1 celebrating Sir David Attenborough's 90th birthday. Sir David hands him a mystery object. A gastrolith, says Packham. A polished stone found in the gut of a fossilised dinosaur. Collectors both of them.
My collection is my photo archive. It’s a way of seeing. I’ve already spent hours contemplating that lesser redpoll, studying the bird, intent on returning to improve the image. The quest for the perfect photograph will go on.
For me, it's about the experience. The sensational morning is so much more than any single image. And it's cumulative, this intimate acquaintance with the ecology of the place.
My collection is my photo archive. It’s a way of seeing. I’ve already spent hours contemplating that lesser redpoll, studying the bird, intent on returning to improve the image. The quest for the perfect photograph will go on.
For me, it's about the experience. The sensational morning is so much more than any single image. And it's cumulative, this intimate acquaintance with the ecology of the place.
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