© Jimmy Maxwell

This Goldfinch was photographed from a hide at Baron's Haugh RSPB Reserve, Motherwell. The Marsh Hide - one of 4, overlooks a large expanse of water fringed by marsh plants and reed beds where in winter one can watch a whole variety of wildfowl, herons, and often, Icelandic Whooper Swans. Just outside the hide windows grow several large Teasels which are a special attraction for Goldfinches because of their unique ability to extract the deep seeds of that plant. My aim was to show off the main features of the bird - the luminous red face and yellow wing-bar - but also to frame it in a pleasing pattern of the plant structure itself.

I used a Fuji Finepix 5500 digital camera in conjunction with a x30 telescope. (commonly called "digiscoping"). The lenshood of the camera is merely held over the telescope eyepiece avoiding the usual practice of fixing a dedicated adaptor. The simplicity of this arrangement has the great advantage of operational speed when one is trying to capture images of such fleeting targets.

Baron's Haugh Reserve is a favourite venue for wildlife photographers and dog-walkers alike and is bordered along the River Clyde by the Clyde Walkway. For other information about the Reserve and twice-weekly updating of wildlife sightings there, log on to my website at www.baronshaugh.uk