The red, red robin

There were plenty of little birds enjoying the sunshine and, with few leaves on the trees, it was a good time to spot them. Harlow Carr must be bird paradise... there are nest boxes and areas that are carefully managed for wildlife so there must be abundant food - and no cats, at least as far as I have seen.

I was trying out my new lens. (Hooray, finally treated myself!) I have been feeling for some time that I needed a bit more 'reach' than my old 18-55mm lens had. After much deliberation I have bought an 18-200mm. I realised that I wasn't going to be bothered a) to carry more than one lens and b) to start swapping lenses over whilst I am out and about. Getting one that covered the same ground plus a bit more seemed sensible. It's a bit heavier but not unreasonably so. I am on a learning curve now, particularly in terms of getting the depth of field right. It does mean I stand more chance of getting photos of wildlife, though it's not something I am very practised at so far. At least robins sit there obligingly and don't freak out too much when a person turns a camera on them!