Wrapping up 2016

And so 2016, my first conscious period as a budding bird photographer comes to an end with firm anticipation to carry on into 2017.

What have I learned?

That there are lots of wonderful birds within a very short radius of "home". Each quite unique and beautiful in their own way; a myriad of voices; an array of colour that I had never been aware of; clever and effective camouflage that demands patience and awareness and a sense of pleasure when a "new" bird is spotted, photographed and identified. And then, you see the same species again in a different habitat or from a different perspective and the "discovery" begins anew.

Here are a final couple taken late one afternoon in the yard of some friends ... let the close of the day represent the close of one period (2016) anticipating the beginning of the next (2017).

A pair of figbirds

A posing wonga pigeon