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20-MAY-2006 Gary Martin

Pied wagtail

Rhandirmwyn

Motacilla alba
AKA: White wagtail
A delightful small, long-tailed and rather sprightly black and white bird. When not standing and frantically wagging its tail up and down it can be seen dashing about over lawns or car parks in search of food. It frequently calls when in its undulating flight and often gathers at dusk to form large roosts in city centres.

Canon EOS 20D ,Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM
1/250s f/4.0 at 200.0mm iso200 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time20-May-2006 15:53:10
MakeCanon
ModelCanon EOS 20D
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length200 mm
Exposure Time1/250 sec
Aperturef/4
ISO Equivalent200
Exposure Bias0.33
White Balance (-1)
Metering Modematrix (5)
JPEG Quality (6)
Exposure Programmanual (4)
Focus Distance

other sizes: small medium original auto
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Thiara 12-Jul-2014 20:59
I love these small birds ,they are in the Netherlands aswell. i last saw a nest from it with 4 babies from less than 7 daysold and the parents feed them fly's. But is it right that they nest near water? The nest was in a swimming pool just above the water at a rocky wall.
joyce 23-May-2014 17:02
In Pontypridd car park I spent a wonderful 30 minutes watching a pied wagtail jumping from the wing mirror of the car next to me and try to 'attack' the image of itself in the cars window - it was wonderful and humorous to see, but alas I had to go and settle my business in the town - anyway it took me over an hour and when I went back to the car - the same bird had obviously been doing the same thing to the other side of the same car but was now trying to do it to the car on the other side of my car - but he/she didn't like my vehicle - but never mind I didn't have a pile of droppings all over my wing mirrors! But I still found it enchanting!
mia 08-Jan-2013 23:02
I think i see this bird everywhere and Im seriously thinking whether this bird is my guardian angel because it's saved my life on many occasions ! I literally see it everywhere and i really want to know if this is the bird because Im hopefully having it tattooed on me soon. Does it come around the swansea area and is it really small ?
heather 02-Jul-2012 18:29
can anyone tell me the nesting habits of the pied wagtail, we have some nesting at work on the floor in the bottle bin shed,.is this normal ?thanks x
Guest 10-Mar-2012 09:26
bev, that could be a pied flycatcher
Bev 21-Oct-2011 08:21
Hi i wonder if you can help me ,i had a dream about small birds that look like the pied wagtail but the tail is a little smaller .They look like the small birds i see in late september to october .Thankyou .
Dr.G.Perry 04-Nov-2009 11:15
Hallo Gary,
Found your excellent orno.photography and was really impressed !!
As ex-pat. taffy living in foreign parts still have cherished memories of the variety of bird/wildlife in my homeland. Find your work a valuable contribution to awareness promotion and evidence of your patient work. Keep it up !!
Gerald