Wildlife Blog

Dragons and Damsels I spent a very enjoyable day photographing three species of Damsel and Dragonflies. Blue Tailed Damselfly Common Blue Damselfly Common Darter Dragonfly I am particularly pleased with some of the portraits, and am looking forward to having a go at more Damsels and Dragons in the near future.

These were all taken with my 150mm macro lens, I also used an extension tube on some images which gives a very small depth of field.  All images show the importance of a clean but sympathetic background.
 

I am really pleased that on 11th July, I managed to take some images of Purple hairstreak butterfly at Fermyn Wood in Northamptonshire whilst out looking for more Purple Emperors to photograph.  I have seen Purple Hairstreak several times before, but not managed a photo, therefore I was very pleased to complete stage one of this project.

Stage two is to get a good photo of each species and this is more of a long term project.
But pleased to have completed stage one which is to see, photograph and publish at least one image of each of the 58 British butterfly species.

The 58 British butterfly species British butterfly gallery left Purple Hairstreak above right Black Hairstreak

The Purple Emperor is a large woodland butterfly with a brief flight period during July.  They are not a common butterfly, but they can be relatively easy seen at a small number of woods throughout England.  One of these is Fermyn Wood in Northamptonshire which I visited on both 10th & 11th July to try and get more and better Purple Emperors photograph.

Larger images on Purple Emperor page

The Large Heath is a reasonably common butterfly in suitable boggy heathland of Northern England and Scotland and as such it is easy to see on a visit to suitable habitat during it's flight period.  In 2009, I visited a site in Cumbria to try and view and photograph, but however, I visited the site to late in 2009 and missed the chance to see this species.  At the end of 2009 therefore this was one of a small number of species that I had still to see, so I timed my 2010 visit to Cumbria to ensure I had a better chance of seeing and photographing this species.

Again larger images coming soon on a separate Large Heath page

A visit to Butterfly Conservation reserve at Prees Heath in Shropshire involved a very early start, but it was worth it.  Not only another species photographed, and another step nearer to "the 58", it  was a rare opportunity to see huge quantities of an uncommon butterfly and I managed to get some images that I was really pleased with.

Larger on  Silver Studded Blue

The Chequered Skipper is a small Scottish butterfly which is only found in a very small geographic area in NW Scotland and as such it is one of the harder species to see and photograph for many people for no other reason than the logistics involved.  this is added to by the fact that it has a small flight period during May and June each year.

In order to make the long journey North more worthwhile, sue and I spent a week in Scotland walking, watching wildlife and generally relaxing after seeing and photographing Chequered skippers at Glasdrum woods which is probably the best site in Britain for this species.  Larger images at Chequered Skipper.

More European Woodpeckers

The star British species of my visit to Bulgaria was the Lesser Spot Woddy, a very hard bird to see in Britain, yet alone photograph and I was so pleased to manage several images of both male and female, flight shots, etc.  Very pleasing indeed. As I am trying to photograph all of the European Woodpecker species, I was also very pleased to get Syrian Woodpecker.

European Woodpecker Gallery   updated - to show six species   Syrian Woodpecker Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

Uncle Bulgaria.  Don't tell me you are to young to remember the Wombles……

A visit to Bulgaria to photograph both Mediterranean and British species proved worthwhile with several new species photographed along with much better images of others.  Amongst the colourful target species which were photographed were Bee-eater, Roller, and Hoopoe. I was hoping to photograph Wryneck which was seen and can be easier to both see and take photos of than it is in England, but we had no luck with them. However I was pleased to see and get images of both the Lesser Spot and Syrian Woodpecker. Bulgaria is a great place, great food and great birding and photographic opportunities.  It was very hot with the temperature being in the 30’s most days. Also pleased with Red Backed shrikes, and Crested Larks which both seemed very common in Bulgaria. Other unexpected species included Great Reed warbler, Sousliks (A kind of European squirrel which is not dissimilar in appearance to a Merecat). Another surprise was the Marsh Frog which is a found in a small number of British ponds where it's origin is thought to be "escapee".  But very common and found in huge numbers on our trip.  Marsh Frog images.

Bee-eater Red Backed Shrike Crested Lark Great Reed Warbler Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Hoopoe Souslik Roller

To much time (and to much stress) being spent on DIY and home improvement projects.  Indeed a conservatory, new kitchen along with associated fence, patio and general DIY has meant the camera has not been as active as I would have liked during the past months.

A visit to Aldi resulted in a new shiny PC, very pleased with it.  Images now load and can be processed much quicker.  However it took a while to load some of my stuff, including my web page.

A few updates on the what I have been up to...

40 to 7

 I upgraded to a 7d and have been very pleased with it.  My 40d has gone to a mate who is also a wildlife photographer, so I am pleased it will continue to get some good stuff over the next few years.

 More macro work

As stated I did not manage to get out much at all in either April or may.  But when I did, I managed a few more butterflies, snakes, amphibians, and the use of the macro lens.  Grizzled Skipper was a species that I had previously got some pictures of, but wanted to improve them. So a visit to Tywell Hills and Dales in Northamptonshire produced a image I am happy with along with some Dingy Skippers.

Butterflies have been very regular in my garden for a while now, and I have seen good numbers of quite a few species such as Orange Tip.  But have so far not managed any improvement on my current images.  The same can be true of Duke of Burgundy.

Grizzled Skipper left Grass Snake right

The long hard winter has been good for images of our wildlife in an icy and snowy environment, but has been very harsh for many of our species.  But over the last few weeks there is signs that spring has finally started to arrive.  It can be a good time to see many species as they emerge from a long hibernation in search of the warmth of the sun.

Amongst the species that enjoy this spring sun are our British Reptiles and British Amphibians.  I have never seen Adders and this has been a target species for me for a long time.  Common Lizards are easier to find than Adders and can be seen in many places across Britain, again they are easier to photograph on warm spring days as the warm themselves in the sun.

The Common Toad is relatively easy to see all year, but in spring they can often be found making their way to the various ponds and waterways for breeding.

Common Lizard	Adder	Common Toad

This was aimed at wildlife photographers and used Bats and Burrowing Owls as subjects.

During my recent visit to Norway, we were lucky to see the Northern Lights.  I even managed a few images which are to be found here:

Northern Lights from Norway

I have been busy processing images of a good number of Golden Eagles, and will put a dedicated page with 15 to 20 images online soon.

I also managed to see and photograph another extremely shy species in the wild.  Goshawks are both very shy and as a result we needed to ensure we made no noise or movement what so ever.  Goshawks are even more shy than the Goldies.

We also took the opportunity to take some images of some other woodland species again from photographic hides.  We also spent some time watching Roe Deer and Moose in the snow.

Goshawk	Red Squirrel	Crested Tit
Golden Eagle	Bullfinch	Moose
Jay	Eider	Roe Deer

I only managed to take photos of nine species of wild birds and three species of wild mammals in Norway.

But  Quality  Beats  Quantity

I have put together a page with one image of each species photographed:

Norway Winter Wildlife

I will add a page for each species when time allows.

One of my major projects for 2010 was to add some Golden Eagles to my image collection.  therefore last week I visited one of Europe's cold wintry environments to target Eagles and other "hard to photograph species" in the wild in their natural environment.

I spent 3 days in a purpose built Eagle hide patiently waiting for the opportunities to take some memorable images.  These species are among some of the hardest to get in the wild.  As a result we had to be in place in the hides before sunrise and then not leave the hides until after sunset.
Golden Eagles are very shy and as a result we needed to ensure we made no noise or movement to give away the fact we were in a hide so close.  We needed to choose which lens we were going to use, and then leave the lens in place all day.  We even had to take the images in "single shot" mode, as the use of the motor drive setting to take longer sequences would have made to much noise.

More Golden Eagle images from this great visit will be online very soon.

Larger image and a female Pheasant Image on my Pheasant  page.

Amongst my targets for 2010 is some images of wildlife in the snow.  If I was to be choosy I would have chosen Pheasants, Deer and Foxes for these images.  therefore I was pleased with this image today.  The bonus was no travel, as it was taken in my back garden.

Images in snow are always tricky to expose, I had to dial in between + 2/3 and + 1 1/3 compensation, depending where in the garden the pheasants were.

Part of my longer term winter targets are the Northern winter species in snow, Red Squirrel, Mountain Hare, Ptarmigan, but as I live in Leicestershire, that's a much harder goal.  But perhaps another year.

I never got around to processing some of my Fallow deer images that were taken last October and November in some lovely Autumn colours.

But I have now,  and I have added them to the  Fallow Deer  page.

More images of Whooper Swans

Some of the best scenes of Whooper Swans in the snow are to be found in Japan.  Although I would love to visit Japan, and would love to climb Mt. Fuji.  It is unlikely in the near future and there are several other wildlife locations that are higher on the list from a cost, practical, and a "wish to see other species" point of view.

Therefore I was pleased to get a few images of Whooper Swans  in the snow at the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust Caerlaverock in SW Scotland. 
I also managed a image of a Shoveller in the snow.

Yellowhammer was another species that I managed at Caerlaverock

Planning for the Year

My plans for the spring and summer our slowly taking shape.

Winter opportunities
I am hoping to get a few photos of our birds in winter conditions during January and February.  Exact plans are still taking shape but may include a visit to WWT Caerlaverock in SW Scotland for Geese and a visit to Norway.

Also hoping for more woodpeckers, foxes, and other more local species.

My European Woodpecker and Owls weekend in Belgium, in 2009 was cancelled by the tour company, as a result we have booked a weekend with a different company and hopefully during March we will get a few more images. Possibly including Tengmalms Owl and more Nutcrakers.

Still planning a few days out, but I am trying to sort various days out with Bats, and British Snakes and lizzards.

Peak land opportunities
I would like to find time to visit A visit to Lathkill Dale in the Peaks to try and improve my Dipper photos and also a visit to Cromford to have a go at the Water Voles.

As always May & June are very busy for the wildlife photographer and my plans have been taking shape for this time for many months.  These include a visit to Bulgaria to target some of the med birds such as Hoopoe, Rollers, Bee eaters, followed by a visit to Scotland next June for Chequered Skipper and a bit of mountain walking.

I am also planning the following as days out during the summer:
Mandarin Duck in the Forest of Dean (I did not manage to visit in 2009)
Chough at Anglesey

Butterflies
It will be no surprise to anyone that I am planning to try and get photos of the remaining 4 species of british butterflies to complete my project of taking photos of all 58 British species.  There is Large Heath in The Lakes in early July and I need to find and photograph Silver-Studded Blue.  I have seen several Purple Hairstreaks but no images.  Several other species will be targeted again to try and improve my current images, these include several Butterflies in Northamptonshire.  (Wood White, White Admiral, Purple Emperor, etc.)  Hopefully time will allow another visit to Norfolk to target Swallowtail again.

Longer Term

My thoughts are still to photograph all the woodpeckers and Owls of Europe, but not sure how I will be able to fund the expensive stuff such as Penguins, Tigers, and Polar bears.....