Tag: bird

Caring for River Wildlife

It is an honour and a great pleasure to contribute four photographs to the 2022 Calendar for the River Nairn Swans & Waterfowl Trust that cares for our local river wildlife.

The river meets the sea here and we are blessed with the regular company of our resident swan family, mallard ducks, mandarin duck, goosander, oystercatcher, herring gull, heron and occasional visits by redshank, cormorant, wigeon and seals hunting for salmon.

Joe Telfer from the River Nairn Swans & Waterfowl Trust cares for injured birds and orphaned ducklings until they are ready to be released back into the wild and provides extra food when it is needed.

Our local wildlife is a great inspiration to me and I’m delighted to be able to give something back.

Copies of the 2022 Calendar are available from River Nairn Swans & Waterfowl Trust, Nairn Bookshop and Strachans.

A special thank you to Iona Gibson for putting this beautiful calendar together.

Wishing you all a wonderful Wednesday,

with love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Lens-Artists Weekly Photo Challenge #160: Your Inspiration

CFFC: It’s a Small World

Silent Sunday: Light on their Wings

close up of a swan feeding on plants in the pond
a pair of canada geese flying above the river

Wishing you all a blessed Sunday and a peaceful week ahead,

with love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Settings: f/1.8 – 1/4000 s – ISO 140, f/1.8 – 1/4000 s – ISO 160 and f/7.1 – 1/2000 s – ISO 400.

Silent Sunday

Lens-Artists Weekly Photo Challenge #144: Taking Flight

Silent Sunday: Snow Scenes from the Sea Shore

a cairn on a snow-covered hill overlooking the Moray Firth
oystercatchers feeding on tidal sands with snow on the beach in the foreground

Wishing you all a blessed Sunday and a peaceful week ahead,

with love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Camera: Canon Powershot SX60 HS, Settings: f/4 – 1/400 s – ISO 100, f/4.5 – 1/400 s – ISO 100 and f/5.6 – 1/250 s – ISO 320.

I am deeply honoured and delighted to be interviewed by the lovely Bella from ThoughtsnLivesBlog about my photography and poetry for her Let’s Get Inspired Series. Part 1 of the interview was published yesterday and if you missed it you can read it here.

Silent Sunday

Lens-Artists Weekly Photo Challenge #136: Subjects Starting with the Letter ‘S’

Wordless Wednesday: Sea Foam and Silver Wings

a herring gull leaning forward on a snow-covered rock
close up of a herring gull standing on a rocky outcrop

Wishing you all a wonderful Wednesday,

with love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Camera: Canon Powershot SX60 HS, Settings: f/5.6 – 1/250 s – ISO 100, f/5.6 – 1/250 s – ISO 320 and f/6.3 – 1/320 s – ISO 400.

Wordless Wednesday

Dutch Goes the Photo Tuesday Photo Challenge: Stack

Wordless Wednesday: A Dash of Dazzle

a goldfinch munching on lavender seed heads in Winter
a goldfinch eating lavender seed heads in Winter

Lavender has a lovely scent and it provides food for bees and other insects from Spring to late Summer. We leave the lavender stems after flowering so that Goldfinches can feed on the seed heads in Winter. It’s a delight to see these lovely birds in the garden at this time of year.

Wishing you all a wonderful Wednesday,

with love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Camera: Canon Powershot SX60 HS, Settings: f/6.3 – 1/60 s – ISO 800, f/6.5 – 1/80 s – ISO 1000 and f/6.5 – 1/50 s – ISO 800.

Wordless Wednesday

Word of the Day Challenge: Dazzling

Silent Sunday: Six Months Old

a pen with one of her cygnets and some ducks on the river
a cob followed by two of his cygnets on the river

Wishing you all a blessed Sunday and a peaceful week ahead,

with love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Camera: Canon Powershot SX60 HS, Settings: f/5.6 – 1/80 s – ISO 100 and f/5 – 1/100 s – ISO 100.

Silent Sunday

Jez Braithwaite’s Water Water Everywhere #55

Bird Weekly: Birds in or near the Water or Snow

Wordless Wednesday: Truly Tranquil

a female mallard duck on an overhanging branch above the water
a woodland pond surrounded by leafless trees

We are honoured and delighted that two new haiku in Dutch as well as a Dutch interpretation of Little Blue Flower have been included in the anthology Aan het Woord 2020 – de geur van geluid, edited by Ferre Denis, Maria de Bie and Nol Hovens, published by Haiku Kring Nederland and Haiku-centrum Vlaanderen. A big thank you to the editors for including my poems and creating this beautiful anthology.

Wishing you all a wonderful Wednesday and Happy Thanksgiving to our friends across the water,

with love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Camera: Canon Powershot SX60 HS, Settings: f/5.6 – 1/160 s – ISO 800, f/5.6 – 1/125 s – ISO 800 and f/4 – 1/160 s – ISO 200.

Wordless Wednesday

Jez Braithwaite’s Water Water Everywhere #85

Your Daily Word Prompt: Tranquil

Silent Sunday: A Real Treat

close up of a wood pigeon feeding from a hand
close up of a head shot of wood pigeon feeding from a hand

This wood pigeon had been blown from its nest during a gale and was rescued and hand-reared by a local man until he was ready to be released back into the wild.

Seven years on, the wood pigeon still greets the man on his daily walk and stops for a chat and a treat.

Wishing you all a blessed Sunday and a peaceful week ahead,

with love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Camera: Canon Powershot SX60 HS, Settings: f/5.6 – 1/640 s – ISO 400, f/5.6 – 1/500 s – ISO 400 and f/6.3 – 1/250 s – ISO 200.

Silent Sunday

Lens-Artists Weekly Photo Challenge #120: What A Treat!

Tanka: Morning Glory

a herring gull chick stretches one leg and wing

morning glory
a seagull chick stretches
one leg , one wing
on the unlit rooftop
where she will learn to fly

© Xenia Tran

a herring gull chick on a rooftop tilting her head at the camera

Wishing you all a blessed Sunday and a peaceful week ahead,

with love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Camera: Canon Powershot SX60 HS, Settings: f/5.6 – 1/160 s – ISO 100, f/5.6 – 1/400 s – ISO 200 and f/5.6 – 1/500 s – ISO 200.

Frank J Tassone’s Weekly Haikai Challenge #153: Morning Glory

Bird Weekly Photo Challenge #12: Seagulls

Rag Tag Daily Prompt: Posture

Haiku: A Small Fish

a grey heron stalking fish in a tidal lagoon

disappearing
in the heron’s mouth
a small fish

© Xenia Tran

a grey heron with a freshly caught fish in his mouth while wading through a tidal lagoon

It is a treat to see how patient herons are when using these trusted old methods to catch a new meal every day.

At the same I felt for the small fish and said a few prayers for him and his family.

Wishing you all a blessed Sunday and a peaceful week ahead,

with love from Xenia xxx

Photographs by Xenia Tran, edited in lr.

Camera: Panasonic Lumix FZ200, Settings: f/3.2 – 1/2000 s – ISO 100.

Lens-Artists Weekly Photo Challenge #99: Old and New

Rag Tag Daily Prompt: For Our Good