I tried to pick my top 10 of my photos of 2011 but ended up with a few more than 10! Back in January and February I spent many mornings in a Lidl car park hoping the sun would come out and the waxwings would pose before I had to get to work before 9.…
DetailsWhen at thursley common back in June I tried some pond dipping off one of the board walks. When filling the tray with water before using the ent I scooped up a water spider, which is rather excellent considering Ive only ever seen 2 before. I caught quite a few in the end, they seeme…
DetailsBack In July, on the same day as I took the photos in the last post, I photographed this pyramidal orchid in Wat Tyler Country Park. I got some close ups. And tried a top down shot. On the reed bed walk was this sedge warbler. In the trees opposite this pair of crows were…
DetailsBack in July I was in one of the reed bed bird hides looking for the nest I had been told about. There were at least 2, perhaps 3 pairs of adults taking food to their young. After watching the adults and moving up to the upper floor and looking down I spotted the nest.…
DetailsSome more from the pond photography session. I found for the first time the larva of a giant horsefly (Tabanus sp.). It had a weird habit of retracting its head!
DetailsI’ve been catching up with some editing including some pond creatures and I came across probably my best diving beetle images. I photographed 2 species that day, the black belly diving beetle Dytiscus semisulcatus. And the wasp diving beetle Dytiscus curcumflexus, named after the striped underside.
DetailsYesterday in the poor weather there was little about in Wat Tyler CP apart from a couple of crows. So I camped out at the bird feeders and got probably my best shots of goldfinches (though that says more about the low quality of the photos I’ve taken before). I had to shoot at ISO800…
DetailsSome more photos from Wales now, with photos of a green hairstreak butterfly I found at Dinas Head. I had only seen one green hairstreak before and this male was quite a poser and didn’t fly far when it did take off. So I tried a few shots of it showing the bracken it was…
DetailsSome ponds pics today, taken back in July, of a water scorpion nymph. This one is yet to develop its long ‘tail,’ which is actually a breathing tube that acts rather like a snorkel, allowing it to breathe air while the rest of its body is submerged. Here is a close up of the head.
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