Before the rain arrives

With the pond resting I made the most of another sunny Sunday afternoon for a wander with the camera in a couple of the usual haunts. The local nature reserve was quiet and, like everywhere, turning autumnal. I was too lazy to put the flash bracket on the macro lens so tried shooting pond skaters in the dipping pond without it. depth of field was a problem given the way I was forced to shoot - lying on the board walk trying hard to keep the camera out of the water! I couldn't quite get close enough without overbalancing, so a half frame crop.

Leaving the pit I headed into open country, where a sheltered track between a hedge and a pine coppice (edged with willow and oak) proved to be the favoured spot for a number of green veined whites and speckled woods. Trying to photograph the speckled woods as they worked their way down among the grass was futile without the flash. Too late I attached the flash bracket. This brought better results on some flies feasting on one of the last of the umbellifers.

My last efforts were of a green veined white that remained in situ for longer than they usually do. Had it not been for a blade of grass between me and the butterfly this would have been a better shot. Still one of my better butterfly pics though.

With one more day of dryness predicted I'll make the most of it with the camera before knuckling down to some real world work.

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A quicky

Keen to play with my new toy again I popped out at tea time to chase flutterbies. Unfortunately the bank wasn't sheltering the prime butterfly spots from the strong wind so I had to go off piste. When I did find a common blue, a faded and slightly tatty specimen, I was lucky that it was one which allowed me to get close and faff about removing blades of grass that were in the way. Most unusual for these flighty little creatures.

A slight crop

Full frame

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Butterfly afternoon

There was no sunshine forecast when the sky cleared after lunch.This would be my best chance to try and get some photos of the pied wagtails I had spotted on Friday, and which were still in the same place in numbers this morning. A large group was feeding on a tilled field by the road across the moss. A mixed group of adults and youngsters begging for food and chasing their parents around.

When I drove to the field there wasn't a bird of any sort to be seen, never mind numerous wagtails. I scanned the field away from the road with the big lens on the off-chance they had moved. They'd moved alright!

As I was planning move elsewhere I had also put the smaller lens in the car, so off out to the flatlands for a look around. I left the car on a verge and set off down a farm track bordered on one side by a tall hedge and on the other by a copse. With the sun shining this made it a bit of a suntrap as the hedge provided shelter from the strong wind. Although there is a rapidly silting pond nearby and a few ditches I was surprised to see a dragonfly hawking up and down the track, looking as if it was searching for a perching post. I had the camera with the big lens round my neck and didn't have much hope. I was in the process of switching to manual focus for a flight shot when it settled, I fumbled and missed it. I never saw the thing again. I'm pretty sure it was a female common hawker, which would have made a nice photo perched on a pine tree.

Into the field there were plenty of butterflies around. Gatekeepers and peacocks were abundant, there were a few common blues and one small copper, plus plenty of whites flying around aimlessly. The umbillifers are going over now, but the thistles and ragwort were covered in bees, wasps, hoverflies and other insects.

 Common blue

On my way back  I turned right and along the side of the copse towards the pond. Before raching the pond I had seen more butterflies along the hedgerow plants. Whites, peacocks and a comma. Thirty years or so ago, when I first saw this pond, it was quite open, but silted. Now it is the sort of thing you wouldn't realise was there as it as willows have almost completely encroached on it. In fact it's little more than a large puddle in the middle of a clump of willow extending from the edge of the copse.

Comma

There was a brown hawker patrolling the edge of the trees over the rough, neglected, grass. As usual with hawkers it showed no signs of resting.  As I rounded the corner of the pond and into a sheltered spot there were butterflies everywhere. There was a large group of gatekeepers, an odd battered looking skipper, quite a few whites and well worn meadow browns, plus a lone speckled wood.

 Speckled wood

I also disturbed a common darter from the grass. I hadn't expected that. With a bit of stalking I managed to grab a couple of shots of it in this habitat.

Darter in the grass

Having seen three dragonflies I thought the litter pit might be worth a look. Apart from a few blue-tailed and blue damsels there was a lonely emperor patrolling it's big pond. So I went to the newt ponds. These proved to be similarly dragonless. There were a few damsels, but there were lots of butterflies. The same species as at the flatlands. I suppose I should spend more time in one place, even taking something to sit on near some attractive (to insects) flowers so that the insects will come to me.

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A sunny evening

I wasn't sure where to go looking for stuff, or what to look for, this evening. In the end I hedged my bets and took big and not so big lenses out, which is unusual for me. At the last minute I turned off the main road and down a dusty track to check out a patch of waste ground between the track and two ditches that I thought might hold some interesting insects. With the sun being so bright I left the flash gun in the car. There were a few butterflies around, one of which was visited by a fly while I was attempting to take it's portrait. Hence the soft image.

Gerroff!

Other butterflies around were the usual meadow browns, plus a few red admirals and a peacock or two. I was hoping to see some damselflies or dragonflies, and I did disturb one that I didn't get a good look at. It was quite a dark one and not too big. Possibly a common darter. As I drove back along the track I saw another dragonfly heading up into the willows along the bordering ditch. Those were the only two dragonflies I saw. Maybe the next port of call would be better? I was off to see the barn owl, and with it still being bright I thought there might be some dragonflies near the ditches.

After parking up I set off to the first footbridge. When I crossed it I saw the paths had been mown, revealing the public right of way to the left which I had not taken before. This runs alongside a ditch that had buckler fern lining both banks. I think it's buckler fern, at any rate. As I walked along I could hear corn and reed buntings, but no sign of any until a corn bunting flew out of the fern just a couple of feet in front of me! I slowed my pace and disturbed another bird. Paying more attention I could see there was a group of young reed buntings in the fern on the opposite bank, accompanied by at least one adult male. Then I noticed two young corn buntings on my side of the ditch. I went into stalking mode and slowed up even more. The corn buntings didn't let me get very close, the reed buntings seemed to get used to me, and I got very close indeed.

Corn buntings

An unconcerned young reed bunting

I spent over a quarter of an hour photographing the reed buntings before turning back to go sit on the second bridge and await the owl. It was still very sunny and I thought the owl may appear later than usual. By eight there was no sign of it. Clouds had covered the sun and the air was turning slightly cooler. I went back to the car. Leaning on the gate I kept a vigil for a distant glimpse of pale wing movement. There was none. I went for a wander along the lane hoping the owl would be in the field behind the beeches. When I chanced to look along the lane I was surprised to see the owl working up the verges of the lane towards me.

Hovering in anticipation

As there was no cover for me I headed back to the gate, looking around to check on the owl from time to time. I saw it hedge-hop into the field. As I neared the gate I practised squeaking. I did too good a job. Looking back again the owl came over the bank onto the lane and was heading straight for me. I dropped to my knees and tried to blend into the grass, but too late. I got two dodgy pics as the owl saw me and turned tail.

Sussed!

I hoped, in vain, that the bird would work the field behind the beeches and appear in front of the gate. What it must have done was head out across the field. When I saw it again it was far off in the distance, closer to the main road. That was where it stayed too. I could see it working along a hedgerow a few yards from passing traffic. In the end this was too much for me. Knowing the futility of it, and with the light very poor, I drove round to the main road and pulled up in a gateway that looked back towards my initial parking place.

Now the cloud had rolled away and the low sun was throwing golden light on the landscape. All I needed was a barb owl to fly into a shaft of sunlight within range of my camera. When the owl showed up it was half way back to the spot I'd recently left... It was soon gone, too. I knew I'd blown it with my premature squeaking efforts, so I couldn't complain. The buntings had made the outing worthwhile.

After crossing the moss close to home a bird flew from the hedgerow on the right of the road and landed on the verge on the left. As I got closer I was expecting a thrush or blackbird to fly away as the car approached. To my amazement the bird that took to the air was owl shaped. A little owl. And closer to home than the one I had seen previously, making me wonder how many of them there are in the locality. The more you go around with your eyes open, the more you see.

PS - these aren't the best photos, but the more interesting ones.

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Butterflies and damsels

On Monday I was thwarted by the rain when I went to try and photograph common blue butterflies. With the rain finally passed I had another try. The sun was shining an the air warm, there were small blue fluttering things all over the place. None intent on posing placidly for a portrait. What frustrating little creatures they are! When one would settle and pose nicely there's be grass in front of it. When they perched in plain sight they'd be at a daft angle.

Male common blue

Female common blue - not very blue, is it?

There were other butterflies around; plenty of gatekeepers, a fair few meadow browns, some whites, one or two small tortoise shells and a peacock. Lots of moths too. I struggled manfully for about an hour before leaving for the easier target of damselflies at the Newt Pond after pestering a horde of insects on an umbellifer.

Red soldier beetles - at it as usual!

For some reason I'd been having trouble getting sharp shots while chasing the butterflies. When I got to the newt pond the camera was failing to recognise the flash gun. I traced the fault to the connecting lead and had to make do with the flash directly on the hotshoe.

Something approaching 24hrs of constant rain had raised the level of the pond and the path round it was a bit more squishy than on my previous visits. As I neared the pond an unidentified, dark green-ish looking, dragonfly flew up and high over some trees. There weren't many damsels to be seen, but the first I spotted was an emerald that disappeared from view. There were gatekeepers and whites around, as well as a few skippers. The few damsels were mostly azures and an odd common blue.

By the second pond an emerald damsel played nicely and let me get close enough to stick the Raynox on, but wouldn't move into a position where I could get good depth of field.

Emerald damsel - headshot!

Emerald damselfly

Making my way back to the first pond for a second circuit I disturbed a brown hawker, and two more from almost under my feet when I got back to the pond. A few spots of rain fell so I went back to the car. The rain stopped and I went to the Litter Pit. Again there weren't too many damsels to be seen, and no dragonflies at first. Eventually I noticed blue tailed damsels here and there by the 'bomb holes', and a gathering of gatekeeper butterflies in one corner.

One of the horsetail filled craters was almost connected to a bigger one after the rain. It was along the now water covered path that a red dragonfly approached me, even perching just out of decent camera range.

Common darter

Another rain shower came in, accompanied by greying skies. Time for home to evaluate the photos (pretty poor) and see if the flash lead was repairable (it was - a loose screw).

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You never can tell

I popped out with the sun shining after tea intending to hit the marsh and nail some meadow pipit pics. En route the sun disappeared before I got to the first spot I was going to take a look at. Last time I visited this reserve it was looking for butterflies with the close up gear. This time I was equipped with the big lens. Naturally there was hardly a bird to be seen, but there were butterflies galore. I made a feeble attempt with the 150-500 but it didn't work out. The closest focusing distance is way too long.

Small copper

As the light wasn't top hole I changed direction and headed to the lane where I'd photographed the swallows feeding their young. A corn bunting was in evidence but little else. I was about to leave when a barn owl flew into view a way off across the nearby field. It soon made its way out of sight through a row of beeches. I hung around hoping it might return, dithering as to driving further down the lane in the direction the owl had gone. Eventually that was what I did.

Parking up again I got out of the car, without the camera, and leant on a gate to scan the surrounding fields. There was a blackbird singing in the hawthorn by my side which suddenly got agitated. I couldn't work out why, until the owl came into sight flying up the ditch towards me turning through the beech trees and away. I kicked myself. The owl was close enough for a good shot.

Back to the car for the camera in the vain hope the owl would give me an encore. It took a long time for it to reappear, and when it did I was taken by surprise as it materialised between the beech trunks coming across my line of sight from right to left. I took some photos, which could have been better.

For about an hour I watched the owl hunting over a wide area, mostly far away. At one point it made a kill and I saw it fly off with its prey. But it disappeared from view before I could pinpoint where it was heading. When it reappeared it was from a different direction. Maybe it wasn't the same owl. The light was getting worse so I decided to drive round and see if the owl was visible from the opposite direction, so I could get the setting sun (such as it was) behind me. As I left the light improved...

My route took me past a favourite singing post of a well known, and I think often photographed, corn bunting. There it was singing away. The lane is narrow and a four by four was approaching, I let it pass and pulled over. The bird was undeterred, just looking disdainfully at me through the window as I fired away! The first time I took this bird's picture the results were a little soft despite good light. This time the light wasn't quite so good but the photos were much crisper. I think the time in the lens hospital has improved things.

Corn bunting

Leaving the bunting behind when an approaching car forced me to move I kept an eye out for the barn owl without any luck. I did see a hare, which stopped in the middle of the road and legged it back where it had come from as I approached it. A small dark shape scurrying at the edge of the tarmac a couple of hundred yards further on turned out to be a weasel. With no sign at all of the barn owl I was now heading away from its territory.

I'd seen a photo posted on the web of a little owl perched on a tall street light where the road I was taking crosses a dual carriage way. I've looked for it a few times with no joy and as I waited for traffic to pass I glanced up again and looked away. It was double take time. There was a small dark blob at the top of the lamp post! As soon as I was across the central reservation I pulled over and got out - with my camera. Two or three shots over the car roof, and then move closer behind a road sign. The light was quite poor by now and the lamp very high. Still, it was another species photographed. I tried one step more but the owl, that had clocked me straight away, was having none of it. I hadn't planned an owl hunt, but things turned out quite interesting in the end.

Little owl

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The newt pond

The afternoon was free, so with the sun shining I set off for the newt pond, stopping off close by to investigate a farm track that I thought might have butterflies along it. Parking up I saw a buzzard swirling low over a field, but by the time I had the camera ready and got out of the car it had gone. Typical. There were a couple of small tortoiseshells on the path but nothing much else.. When I got back to the car the sun had disappeared like the buzzard. It was threatening rain too.

At the gate to the newt pond I chose to head the other way and have a look over the railway line into territory unknown. Although the public footpaths were obviously used there was hardly any signs of civilisation to be seen. It was like entering another world of little valleys and almost rolling hills. Unusual for this flat part of the county.

Another world

There was little in the way of wildlife at first glance, although I'm sure spending more time there would reveal it. There was an ex-hedgehog lying in a field of maize, flies of many sorts busy laying eggs upon it.

Recycling

Turning back I set off for the pond, which I knew would be sheltered and maybe there'd be a damselfly or two around. There were biting flies if nothing else. Although it was cloudy the air was muggy and I was sweating, my bare arms being a magnet for the blood suckers. The first insects I disturbed were meadow brown butterflies which proved as flighty as always. Flitting away as soon as I would make a move towards them from yards away. The gatekeepers were more obliging. Some settled with their wings spread, but always at awkward angles or behind leaves, making photographs a bit naff. One eventually settled, wings closed, long enough for me to sneak up on it and get a decent shot.

Gatekeeper

Making my way along the flattened path round the lake, avoiding the various droppings along it, I put up some damsels. Mostly they were blue-tailed, but some looked like azures. One, which I almost got a shot off but didn't, looked a little larger and decidedly less blue. That'll have to wait for a positive ID. I wasn't too bothered about photographing  the blue-tailed damsels but the azures I put some effort into. I got a couple of half decent shots, but the one I liked best was spoiled by a blurred blade of grass or something. It was interesting to watch one perched, arching its abdomen to, apparently,  brush its wings.

Azure damselfly

After spending some time inspecting deer droppings and looking for their tracks and paths around the pond, wondering if I might be able to hide up some time and photograph them, the rain arrived. Only a light, refreshing, drizzle. Quite welcome but not beneficial to camera equipment. Having nothing to protect the camera and flash with I hurried back to the car.

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