Ring Ouzel 02

Ring ouzel   Turdus torquatus

A wary upland "blackbird" under threat.  Over the years as a climber I occasionally saw these birds on and around some of the gritstone edges of Derbyshire.  It was a trip down memory lane to return in May 2009 with Pete Hardy, a fellow climber and photographer.  We were lucky to find a pair with chicks that had fledged (disturbing them at a nest is not good - note there are no worms in these birds beaks).  They were moving towards more open moorland, but the male appeared to be keeping his eye on us, sometimes coming very close.  All the photographs are slightly cropped except the last one which is full frame as the bird landed right next to me (I was sitting motionless just hoping the birds would come closer as chasing them would have been futile), and I needed to wait until it moved away for my lens to be able to focus on him!

Ring Ouzel 06 female

Ring Ouzel 01

Ring Ouzel 03

A male enjoying the sunshine and strong winds on top of a gritstone cliff.

Ring Ouzel 09

Blackbird 16 snow

Blackbird 35 snow

Blackbird

Fieldfare 02

Fieldfare

Thrush Song 15

Song thrush

Mistle Thrush feeding Chick 01 (S)

Mistle thrush

Redwing 1 (S)

Redwing

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