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Date: 21 Feb 2012
View: D45_20120115_1613_184_FB1 Chaffinch male standing on fir cone (crop 2).jpg
Description: Not a trace of blue on the male chaffinch beaks, but it won't be
long before they start changing to breeding colour.
View: D45_20120121_1604_124_FB1 Bluetit standing on fir cone (crop).jpg
Description: Just a little delight.
Date: 20 Feb 2012
View: DF1_20120115_1235_052 Robin in Viburnum (crop).jpg
Description: We seem surrounded by immaculate robins getting in the
mood for breeding.
View: DF1_20120115_1236_055 Robin in Viburnum with flowers.jpg
Description: We seem surrounded by immaculate robins getting in the
mood for breeding.
View: D45_20120119_1702_012_FB1 Robin pair (crop).jpg
Description: 2 Robins not fighting in late Winter or Spring indicates a pair!
We have seen these two several times, and they come down together
as we 'bait' the site.
Date: 19 Feb 2012
View: D45_20120122_2121_182_FB1 2 Fieldmice.jpg
Description: A couple of Fieldmice several hours after sunset, picking up the
remaining fragments of food
Date: 18 Feb 2012
View: DF1_20120121_1501_023-025 Mallard Duck male in flight 1-3 of 3 (arb montage).jpg
Description: Successive shots of this male mallard duck flying overhead taken
at about 5fps, but much closer together than they should be in
this montage.
Date: 17 Feb 2012
View: DF1_20120124_1520_016 Snowdrops 2012 Seq after rain (crop).jpg
Description: The little sprouts of snowdrops we showed you a couple of
weeks ago are now 'all grown up'
View: P10_20120123_1322_945 Violets in orchard bed (crop 1).jpg
Description: The violets are emerging in sheltered but sunny corners. This
patch grows among logs and posts. The more we watch wildlife on
our patch the more we think 'untidy is best' for them.
Date: 16 Feb 2012
View: D5C_20120124_0805_061_FB2 Pheasant female with water droplets on back.jpg
Description: There are at least 2 female pheasant about, but they don't often
visit the photo sites.
View: D5C_20120125_0854_112+0856_113_FB2 Pheasant male right and left sides (montage).jpg
Description: The dominant male pheasant photographed himself a couple of
minutes apart with his body facing in opposite directions. The
way his head is pointed at the camera suggest the caption
"which profile is my best?"
Date: 15 Feb 2012
View: D45_20120112_1638_027_FB1 3 Fieldmice with robin standing by one (crop).jpg
Description: After years of seeing Robins always chasing away any mice, suddenly
this robin just ignores the mice in several frames.
View: D45_20120113_2012_103+2106_108+2214_114_FB1 2 Fieldmice frolicking over 2 hours (montage).jpg
Description: View this as 3 vertical slices of 2 Fieldmice over 2 hours
Date: 14 Feb 2012
View: D5C_20120113_1617_039_FB2 Grey Squirrel carrying chestnut.jpg
Description: A batch of Supermarket chestnuts turned out to be stale, so
out they go, uncooked this time, for the Grey Squirrel to
take them off and bury them!
View: D5C_20120114_1546_104_FB2 Grey Squirrel selecting hazelnut.jpg
Description: The Grey Squirrel selects one of several Hazelnuts for 'afters'.
And then the rest of course!
Date: 13 Feb 2012
View: DF1_20120112_1308_024 Contrails of various types.jpg
Description: An unusual pair of horizontal aircraft contrails we didn't see
created. Presumably different heights and thus different air
streams.
View: DF1_20120113_1607_303 Evening sun with orange glow (crop).jpg
Description: Lots of colour to sunrise and (here) sunsets at the moment
View: P34_20120117_0945_603 Sundog in streaked clouds (sun to right) (crop).jpg
Description: A fragmented Sundog (sun to the right) with an airliner Contrail
Date: 12 Feb 2012
View: DF1_20120113_1240_052-055 Heron juvenile flyby 1-4 of 7 (arb montage).jpg
Description: This juvenile heron seems to have taken a 'shine' to our patch,
and hunts in the meadow and 'Duck' pond for hours on end. It
doesn't land if we are out but makes a leisurely exit as here.
Taken at about 5 fps but spaced too close in this montage so you
can enjoy the bird.
Date: 11 Feb 2012
View: DF1_20120113_1256_208-210 Goldfinch feeding on Silver Birch seeds 4-6 of 6 (montage).jpg
Description: We are being 'charmed' by the goldfinches feeding on the various
tree seeds. Here this one bird was picking out and eating seeds
on a Silver Birch tree.
Date: 10 Feb 2012
View: DF1_20120115_0907_006-009 Collared Dove flying from chimney cowl 1-4 of 7 (acc montage).jpg
Description: We have a soft spot for collared doves. One of them likes
perching on the chimney cowl. The 3 in flight are accurately
positioned at 7 fps.
Date: 09 Feb 2012
View: DF1_20120116_1543_162 Primrose (first of Spring).jpg
Description: Low on the ground
the first primrose we have spotted this year, hiding in a little
sheltered patch.
View: DF1_20120117_0958_242 2 Little Egrets in Tree to west (crop).jpg
Description: High in the distant trees our first sighting
this year of a Little Egret, and what looks like a 'pair' at that.
Date: 08 Feb 2012
View: D3B_20120117_0827_034_FB3 Great Spotted Woodpecker and Starling male squabbling (crop 1).jpg
Description: Plenty for both the female Great Spotted Woodpecker and the male Starling,
but they each want it ALL!
View: D3B_20120118_1241_071_FB3 Starling female on peanut feeder perch with 2 males waiting behind (adjusted crop).jpg
Description: Judging from the beak colours, a female actually feeding (tongue
out with nut fragments) being eyed over by a couple of the 'boys'.
Date: 07 Feb 2012
View: D45_20120116_1602_006_FB1 Grey Squirrel with fir cones (crop).jpg
Description: We know Grey Squirrels are 'Flea ridden tree-rats with good PR'
but often they look lovely, as here in our hedge bottom.
Date: 06 Feb 2012
View: D45_20120111_1549_121_FB1 Great Tit with corn grain in tip of beak.jpg
Description: This Great Tit has found a dark seed of some kind amongst the
corn we put out for the wildlife.
Date: 05 Feb 2012
View: D45_20120109_1516_009_FB1 Bluetit with red apple.jpg
Description: A splash of colour on a dull Winter afternoon - a Bluetit by a
small red apple.
View: D45_20120110_1718_097_FB1 Bank vole and red apple.jpg
Description: A quiet moment for the vole on it's evening forage.
Date: 04 Feb 2012
View: D3B_20120110_1358_034_FB3 Sparrowhawk (crop).jpg
Description: We haven't seen a kestrel for some weeks, but a Sparrowhawk is
seen a few times a week. Here it is landing at the peanut feeder
(not for the peanuts of course) - we presume it missed whatever
it was trying to grab.
Todays image (view it Here)
Date: 03 Feb 2012
View: D3B_20120109_1335_016+1340_017_FB3 Chaffinch male and Great Tit squabbling by peanut feeder 1+2 of 2 (montage 5 mins apart).jpg
Description: Repeated harassing of one bird by another is quite common. Here
successive frames suggested this little montage of a Great Tit
and Chaffinch disputing access to the peanut feeder, top then
bottom 5 minutes apart.
Image Archive arch 2012 feb.htm (view it Here)
Date: 02 Feb 2012
View: D45_20120106_1649_103_FB1 3 fieldmice frolicking.jpg
Description: These 3 Fieldmice were just messing about rather than fleeing -
they were still there 1 minute later.
Date: 01 Feb 2012
View: D45_20120108_1631_202_FB1 Robin chasing away fieldmouse (crop).jpg
Description: Recently we have seen far more interactions between birds and
rodents than we are used to, most often between a late
visiting Robin and an early fieldmouse.
Image Archive arch 2012 jan.htm (view it Here)
Date: 31 Jan 2012
View: DC1_20111223_1240_031 Mallard male guarding 2 females feeding (crop).jpg
Description: For a couple of days the main pond was visited by just this one
male Mallard Duck with 2 females. While the females are building
themselves up the male 'guards' them - i.e. tries to keep them
for himself come Spring!
Date: 30 Jan 2012
View: DF1_20120102_1501_098 Silver birch in evening sunlight against blue sky (crop).jpg
Description: Looking UP we see the characteristic bare
branches of Winter against a still blue sky. The lowering sun lit
up the bare silver birches. But birch bark only goes white after a
few years so you get this lovely brown shading near the top of the tree.
View: DF1_20120102_1324_069 Snowdrops 2012 Seq (crop).jpg
Description: Looking DOWN we see the first signs of Spring.
Snowdrops are making an appearance in a shaded but sheltered
corner of the main pond bank. If you look at the tallest spike
you can see the cross-over of two as yet unfurled petals.
Date: 29 Jan 2012
View: D45_20120101_1624_142_FB1 Fieldmouse eating corn grain from paws (crop).jpg
Description: Corn grain eaten like we would tackle of whole corn cob.
View: D45_20120101_1702_155_FB1 Fieldmouse eating corn grain from paws (crop).jpg
Date: 28 Jan 2012
View: D45_20120102_1755_051_FB1 2 Fieldmice nuzzling.jpg
Description: In the dark, two fieldmice mingle their whiskers in the hollow
gouged under the end of the stone by numerous denizens looking
for food.
View: D45_20120103_1634_086_FB1 Bank Vole against red apple.jpg
Description: A bank vole looking under the side of the stone to see what the
mice might have missed.
Date: 27 Jan 2012
View: D45_20111226_1614_049_FB1 Dunnock diving to ground (crop).jpg
Description: A Plunging Dunnock caught crisply in focus for once.
View: D45_20111226_1622_054_FB1 Fieldmouse nibbling squashed wild plum.jpg
Description: Only 6 minutes after the last recorded bird visit the evening gloom
attracts out the first fieldmice.
Date: 26 Jan 2012
View: D45_20111227_1733_113_FB1 2 Fieldmice looking at each other (crop).jpg
Description: A little romance in the offing, like the balcony scene from Romeo & Juliet?
View: D45_20111227_1631_095_FB1 2 Fieldmice mingling whiskers (crop 1).jpg
Description: A little whisker mingling at the top!
Date: 25 Jan 2012
View: D45_20111229_0106_173_FB1 Fieldmouse standing on apple.jpg
Description: What a sweetie - a young fieldmouse poised on a small red crab apple.
Date: 24 Jan 2012
View: D5C_20111227_0352_032_FB2 Fieldmouse eating corn grain on log.jpg
Description: 3 creatures selecting their favourites from the menu.
A favourite food of the Fieldmice: Corn grains
View: D5C_20111227_1519_051_FB2 Grey Squirrel with Hazelnut.jpg
Description: A favourite food of the Grey Squirrel: Hazelnuts
View: D5C_20111228_0752_081_FB2 Magpie with small potato.jpg
Description: A favourite food of the Magpie: cooked food waste - here a small potato
(when there isn't a tasty mouse available)
Date: 23 Jan 2012
View: DF1_20111227_1035_130+133 Bluetit feeding on Birch tree seeds 5+6 of 7 (montage).jpg
Description: Up in the branches this Bluetit is wheedling seeds from the Birches
Date: 22 Jan 2012
View: D3B_20111215_0846_003+004_FB3 Pheasant male landing on peanut feeder perch 1+2 of 2 (montage).jpg
Description: This male Pheasant makes an unexpectedly elegant landing on the
kitchen window perch. These 2 frames taken within the same
minute.
Date: 21 Jan 2012
View: D3B_20111217_1231_095_FB3 Greenfinch chasing off Dunnock (below out of crop) (crop).jpg
Description: During cold weather birds can get very aggressive around the feeders.
View: D3B_20111218_0900_112_FB3 Robin in flight threatening Bluetit on perch (crop).jpg
Date: 20 Jan 2012
View: D3B_20111216_1420_072-1422_075_FB3 Chaffinch female 4 flybys by Great Spotted Woodpecker male in 3 mins 1-4 of 4 (montage).jpg
Description: 4 Successive frames saw this chaffinch flying fairly close by the
male Great Spotted Woodpecker within just 3 minutes. We are sure
it was trying harass it away.
Date: 19 Jan 2012
View: D45_20111217_1502_141_FB1 2 Rooks (crop 1).jpg
Description: Its no good - we think the powerful Rook on the left looks 'sweet'.
We must be spending too much time looking at birds!
View: D45_20111217_1502_141_FB1 2 Rooks (crop 2).jpg
Date: 18 Jan 2012
View: D01_20111208_0944_145+152 Heron waiting & catching ground insect in long grass (selected) 4+11 of 20 (montage).jpg
Description: This juvenile heron took about 7 minutes to catch this insect (no
idea what it is). It stood still for about 5 minutes in relaxed
pose (sometimes on one leg) and then suddenly took an interest,
speared something in the long grass, and tossed it back into the
gape (very poor image not included)
Date: 17 Jan 2012
View: D3B_20111210_2132_151_FB3 Tawny Owl landing on Perch (crop 1).jpg
Description: This Tawny owl made this nice landing on the perch (which we saw
on CCTV as well) but stayed for only a few seconds before flying off.
The time stamp for this image is a few minutes fast.
View: D01_20111210_2126_200 Tawny Owl on meadow post by light of full moon (crop).jpg
Description: A minute or two later it (or another - we have in the past seen 2
Tawny owls at once here) Tawny Owl landed on the Meadow post and
we got a few portraits by the light of the full moon (the same
day that it was finishing being eclipsed as it rose). The
exposure was at 6400 ISO for 'a few' seconds.
Date: 16 Jan 2012
View: D45_20111209_1525_065_FB1 Pheasant male (crop).jpg
Description: Just run your eye over the variety of brown black and white feather patterns!
Date: 15 Jan 2012
View: D5C_20111209_0239_032_FB2 Young Fox (crop 1).jpg
Description: We see foxes every night on the end of orchard IR stealth cam,
but this is the first sighting for weeks at a high quality site,
and what a lovely youngster.
Date: 14 Jan 2012
View: DF1_20111209_1205_017 Buzzard in unexpected thermal over our plot on cold still sunny midday.jpg
Description: A cold but sunny and still middle of day unexpectedly had this
buzzard flying right over us in the characteristic circle and
climb indicating it had found a 'thermal'. Of course it is a
local temperature difference that creates the thermal, rather
than warmth.
View: D3B_20111214_1549_069_FB3 Sparrowhawk attacking Great Spotted Woodpecker (crop 2).jpg
Description: A few days later another raptor, a Sparrowhawk with a more
smash-and-grab technique, triggered the camera at a peanut
feeder. We have no idea of the outcome - the Great Spotted
Woodpecker is banking hard with head at the left and already
wings folded so probably had enough speed to escape.
Date: 13 Jan 2012
View: D45_20111213_1522_089_FB1 Chaffinch male attacking Great Tit during snow shower (crop).jpg
Description: During a short snow shower (try saying that a few times!) the camera
caught this moment as this bad tempered chaffinch male told the
Great Tit it "wasn't welcome".
Date: 12 Jan 2012
View: D3B_20111206_1305_094_FB3 Greenfinch Threatening Great Tit (crop).jpg
Description: Greenfinches reappeared after a summer and autumn absence, and
are really aggressive towards each other and any other creature
that gets in their way. Here a Great Tit flees the wrath of the
Greenfinch.
Date: 11 Jan 2012
View: D5C_20111205_1504_014_FB2 Grey Squirrel with chestnut in muddy paws.jpg
Description: Destructive though they are, Grey Squirrels really are a delight
to the eye. Here one has picked up a rather stale half-chestnut
to give it benefit of the teeth.
Date: 10 Jan 2012
View: D45_20111204_1409_189_FB1 Great Tit chasing off another (crop to avoid 2nd bird).jpg
Description: The original frame shows a skirmish between two Great tits, but
this crop is more satisfying by omitting the very blurred second
bird also in flight.
Date: 09 Jan 2012
View: d45_20111203_1551_123_fb1 chaffinch chasing off bluetit (crop).jpg
Description: Many small birds chase away members of their own or other species
to get access to food. Here a Chaffinch is chasing off a Bluetit.
Date: 08 Jan 2012
View: DF1_20111201_1204_093+099 Fieldfare drinking at back of main pond filling beak & tilting head backwards 1+2 of 2 (montage).jpg
Description: Several Fieldfares spent some time drinking at the back of the
main pond. This is the same bird over a couple of seconds . Most
birds, like this one, drink by submerging the beak, closing it,
and then tipping the water back into the throat.
Date: 07 Jan 2012
View: P34_20111205_1218_423 Intense sundog (orig).jpg
Description: This is an original frame of a Sundog that lasted about 1 minute
as this little patch of cloud moved through the right position.
It started as an abnormally bright white cloud, moved through the
static sky positions for the colour bands, and then reverted to a
normal looking hazy cloud.
View: P34_20111210_1620_451 End of total eclipse of moon at moonrise (crop).jpg
Description: There was a total eclipse of the moon on Saturday 10th 2011 but by the
time the moon rose in the UK it was almost over. Here are a
couple of images taken at dusk (4.20 p.m.) using a hand-held
camera as the moon appeared above the haze at the horizon. The
first image gives the impression including the dark landscape.
View: P34_20111210_1622_472 End of total eclipse of moon at moonrise (crop).jpg
Description: The image shows more how the moon appeared to the eye which can
adapt to the huge contrast far better than a camera. The earth's
shadow was creeping off at the top right.
Date: 06 Jan 2012
View: D5C_20111129_1510_033_FB2 Grey Squirrel with 2 (q) peanut butter smeared hazelnuts in mouth.jpg
Description: The Grey squirrels are stuffing themselves with nuts and other goodies.
View: D5C_20111130_1454_064_FB2 Grey Squirrel leaping away with hazelnut (crop).jpg
Description: What the Grey squirrels don't want to eat now, they take away
and hide.
Date: 05 Jan 2012
View: DF1_20111130_0959_087 Goldfinch on Teasel head (crop).jpg
Description: Goldfinches seem to be many peoples favourite small birds,
and are certainly high on our list. This bird (and a few of his
friends nearby) wheedle seeds out of teasel heads for many months.
View: DF1_20111130_0959_115 Goldfinch on Teasel head (crop).jpg
Date: 04 Jan 2012
View: D01_20111125_1318_018 Fieldfare picking and swallowing Hawthorn Berry 05 of 10 (crop).jpg
Description: The various members of the Thrush family have profitably feasted
on the hawthorn berries (haws) in hedges and trees. Here is a
Fieldfare part way through swallowing a Haw.
View: DF1_20111130_1233_160+163 Blackbird female swallowing Hawthorn Berry 2+5 of 7 (montage).jpg
Description: This is the female blackbird that 'owns' the back garden
manoeuvring a Hawthorn berry (Haw) down with her tongue.
Date: 03 Jan 2012
View: D01_20111130_1251_197+204+_1252_219 Heron catching & swallowing live fieldmouse 28+35+50 of 64 (mixed scale montage).jpg
Description: Although this heron has been mostly catching worms in the meadow,
here it has caught a fieldmouse incautiously out in daylight. It
caught it at the edge of long grass along with a lot of dead
grass, shook it about obviously still very much alive, turned it
round (last frame we show), then crushed it in the beak and
swallowed it. The last few images might upset some of you, so we
have stopped before it becomes more graphic. They are available
on request as usual.
Date: 02 Jan 2012
View: D01_20111130_1245_073+074 Heron tossing earthworm from tip of beak into open gape 2+3 of 3 (montage).jpg
Description: This juvenile Heron that regularly visited our meadow area mostly
took earthworms from in and around fresh mole-hills. It could catch
one every few minutes when it puts it's mind to it. It picks them
up in the beak tip, and then throws them back into the gape.
These two images are about 0.2 seconds apart, and in the next one
(another 0.2 seconds on, not shown) the beak was closed again.
This explains why its hard to see what's happening using only the eye.
Date: 01 Jan 2012
View: D35_20111120_1906_074_FB4 Tawny Owl landing on tree stump (crop).jpg
Description: More Owls as a New-Year treat.
We hear tawny owls calling less than kilometre to our south, and
at least one is making regular visits to either the Kitchen
window perch or the tree stump. Here a bird landed to make a
lovely portrait.
View: D3B_20111117_1931_047_FB3 Tawny Owl on Peanut feeder (crop).jpg
Description: This is one of many taken through the kitchen window to maneuvering
the normally static camera about by guesswork in the dark.
It has landed on top of a large peanut feeder which is just a
convenient perch for the owl, rather than a souce of food.
Image Archive arch 2011 dec.htm (view it Here)
Date: 31 Dec 2011
View: D5C_20111122_0313_023_FB2 Fieldmouse stepping on leopard slug (crop 1).jpg
Description: At around 3 a.m. this fieldmouse really can't be doing anything but
having a lick of the (we are told) sweet and protein rich slime
of the Leopard slug.
Date: 30 Dec 2011
View: D45_20111123_1550_146_FB1 Chaffinch male in flight over female (q) below (crop 2).jpg
Description: Down in the hedge bottom this male chaffinch is twisting
exquisitely as it flies over a female or juvenile another frame
height below.
Date: 29 Dec 2011
View: D01_20111123_0902_057+0904_064 Heron on meadow path on frosty morning poised & then neck folded (crop and insert montage).jpg
Description: This young heron came to check out the meadow while there was
still frost on the grass. This is the third visit (at various
times) we have spotted him hunting in the rank grass so it must
be worthwhile for him. The large image is the bird reasonably
alert, but a couple of minutes later the neck had folded into the
relaxed position oblivious to the camera perhaps 25 metres away
looking through a window.
(Techie: First image 600mm + 1.4
Teleconverter, second with converter removed and the scales left
unchanged.)
Date: 28 Dec 2011
View: DC1_20111116_1133_038 2 Tree Sparrow at Nest box on elm post interfered with by Great Tit (crop).jpg
Description: After a several months absence the Tree Sparrows have returned.
First seen on a feeder they now seem to have commandeered this
Great Tit box. We can see here that a Great Tit isn't pleased but
didn't manage to shoo them away. At the moment the birds are only
'prospecting' and looking for winter shelter, but we often get 2
pairs breeding here in Great Tit nestboxes, sometimes including
this one. They are rare birds (RSPB Red status) so especially welcome
View: DC1_20111116_1134_063 2 Tree Sparrow at Nest box on elm post with one leaving box (crop).jpg
Description: A later view with one of the Tree Sparrows exiting the box while the other
continues preening.
Date: 27 Dec 2011
View: DC1_20111115_1217_018 Wren on Iris frond at waters edge (crop).jpg
Description: From the house across the main pond, we spotted this tiny wren
having an unusually long stay at the water's edge. Normally you
see a wren for barely more than a few seconds before it rushes
off elsewhere.
Date: 26 Dec 2011
View: D45_20111116_1547_143_FB1 Robin seeing off Bluetit in flight (crop).jpg
Description: Perhaps 30 minutes after putting out the bait at this site, the
majority was gone and this robin seems determined that his beak
was going to be the last to get the easy food.
Date: 25 Dec 2011
View: D35_20111112_0202_084_FB4 Tawny Owl on tree stump facing away (crop).jpg
Description: A Christmas day treat for Owl lovers - who isn't?
This tawny owl made several visits to the tree stump over a few days,
obviously not the least bothered by the flash.
Don't be shy!
View: D35_20111113_2156_114_FB4 Tawny Owl on tree stump side view (crop 1).jpg
Description: 44 Hours later, a nice portrait in profile.
The yellow-green colour around the beak is real.
View: d35_20111115_0046_013_fb4 tawny owl landing on tree stump with claw on leopard slug (crop).jpg
Description: Another day on we see a landing from straight ahead, and maybe
discover one of the attractions of this tree-stump - one claw has
trapped one of the Leopard slugs - a nice easy meal for the owl?
The next image was 4 hours later so we will never know!
Date: 24 Dec 2011
View: D01_20111117_0855_013 heron juvenile in meadow near Duck pond (crop).jpg
Description: This juvenile heron spent some 20 minutes avidly hunting in the
meadow, including about 5 minutes mostly hidden in the tall
weeds, stock still and focussed on something it eventually lunged
at, but we never saw what it was.
Date: 23 Dec 2011
View: D35_20111031_2341_051+2342_052+2347_053+20111101_0001_054_FB4 2 Leopard slugs circling each other 1-4 of 4 (montage).jpg
Description: This is a montage of two leopard slugs on the side of the
tree-stump over about 30 minutes around midnight. We are assured
that this behaviour is definitely the prelude to mating. The
initial frame looks like the initial nip the slug finding the
invitational slime trail gives to the slug it finds.
The mating itself is an amazing sight - you can see a Video
of it from a BBC documentary we remember seeing 'off air' at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtgPAQTJLQs
View: D5C_20111111_2319_067_FB2 2 Leopard slugs in same position on log top.jpg
Description: A couple of weeks later we caught just this one frame of
2 leopard slugs 'formation slithering'.
Date: 22 Dec 2011
View: D45_20111104_1719_084_FB1 2 Fieldmice face to face.jpg
Description: No teeth or claws being presented, so we assume this is
a 'friendly' encounter between these 2 fieldmice
View: D45_20111106_2020_218_FB1 2 Fieldmice fighting (crop).jpg
Description: Most definitely NOT a friendly encounter between these 2 fieldmice.
Date: 21 Dec 2011
View: D01_20111106_1354_056 Kestrel hunting from mains wire (crop).jpg
Description: There are a male and female kestrels about in the area now, but
the female stays mainly to the north & never gets close enough
for good portraits. The male uses posts and wires around the
house and the fields to the south for hunting, as here on
our mains electricity supply wire
Date: 20 Dec 2011
View: D5C_20111107_1528_011_FB2 Grey Squirrel in rain with hazelnut in mouth (crop 2).jpg
Description: The grey squirrels beat us to most of the hazelnuts while
they are unripe on the trees, so we buy them at the local supermarket
like everybody else! A few of these go down a treat with our population
of 'tree rats'
View: D5C_20111108_1520_068_FB2 Grey Squirrel gnawing hazelnut.jpg
Date: 19 Dec 2011
View: D45_20111107_1720_054_FB1 3 Fieldmice head to tail (crop).jpg
Description: This is a single frame of 3 fieldmice 'playing' follow my leader
over the stone. The middle one seems likely to have lost grip on
the stone, and we would love to have had another frame half a
second later!
Date: 18 Dec 2011
View: D01_20111109_1317_096 4 (of 5) pheasant males + 1 female (crop).jpg
Description: There were 5 male pheasant wandering about on the path across the
'meadow', but the camera was set up such that we couldn't get all
5 at once. At the top is one female, and then 4 of the males
resplendent in the milky sun showing vibrant down to absent white
neck rings.
View: DF1_20111109_1509_067 9 Grey Partridges by hedge to East.jpg
Description: Along the hedge of the sprouting crop in an adjacent field 9 grey
partridges saw us (before we saw them as always!) and scurried
together, like the books say they do and then wandered into the
bottom of what is left of the hedge.
Date: 17 Dec 2011
View: D01_20111103_1244_002 Kestrel male (q) hunting from mains wire (crop).jpg
Description: This Kestrel, probably a mature male with atypical lightly barred
tail, was at this time a daily visitor. Apart from occasionally
hovering, he likes to hunt from various posts and treetops, and
as here from the mains wires which sway in the wind. He is
totally intolerant of humans - we can only get images through
windows from inside the house as a 'hide'.
3 minutes of HD video on the same camera (far too big for our web
site) showed us that the bird does the same 'keep the head still'
scheme as when it is hovering while focussed on the ground, but
the moment he looks up the head just sways about with the rest of
the body. All of the positional correction comes from the neck -
the legs are locked in place.
View: DF1_20111102_1327_151+171+177 Kestrel Hovering in strong wind 08+20+24 of 31 (vertical montage).jpg
Description: The previous day he had obliged with a bit of hovering. This is a
selection of 3 images from 31 as he spotted something and dived
out of camera frame and then out of sight.
Date: 16 Dec 2011
View: D35_20111031_1404_017_FB4 Grey Squirrel carrying whole apple.jpg
Description: This is whole spoilt apple - Grey Squirrels are strong little beasts.
View: D35_20111101_1605_071_FB4 Grey Squirrel backlit by setting sun (crop 1).jpg
Description: Sunset over Grey Squirrel
We have a closer crops showing all the edge lit whiskers etc.,
but it just doesn't capture the moment.
View: D35_20111101_1643_074_FB4 Grey squirrel with front leg pointing sideways.jpg
Description: "The house is over there"
Date: 15 Dec 2011
View: D5C_20111031_1803_017_FB2 Rabbit eating fruit with fieldmouse on log (crop).jpg
Description: Fieldmice normally run from anything larger than themselves, so this
is an unusual paring of a Fieldmouse actively moving towards the
rabbit. Other images and poor grooming of the rabbit suggests that
it was very static and in the early stages of Myxomatosis (many rabbits
here catch it, some recover)
Date: 14 Dec 2011
View: D45_20111030_1728_160_FB1 4 Fieldmice feeding around the stone (single frame).jpg
Description: A quiet gathering of fieldmice in a single moment. The 3 on the right
are all tucking into corn grains missed by the birds.
View: D5C_20111101_1721_065_FB2 2 fieldmice leaping vertically aligned (crop).jpg
Description: Practice for the Mouse Olympics - nicely judged synchronised leaping.
View: D5C_20111101_1726_066_FB2 2 fieldmice leaping and another on ground (crop).jpg
Description: Not so cooperative ...
Date: 13 Dec 2011
View: D5C_20111028_0756_003_FB2 2 rabbits whiskers to whiskers (crop).jpg
Description: We are starting to recognise 'whisker contact' as quite common.
Here a couple of rabbits around a gloomy dawn
View: D5C_20111102_1713_132_FB2 2 Fieldmice whiskers to whiskers.jpg
Description: We often see fieldmice so close their whiskers must be touching.
What a different world of sensations they inhabit.
Date: 12 Dec 2011
View: DF1_20111103_1132_013 Muntjac deer female grooming on back of Dragon Pond island (crop).jpg
Description: This delightful female Muntjac deer was unexpectedly spotted on
the back of the main pond's island. It is all so overgrown they can
probably walk across without getting their hooves wet!
The sunlight came and went - this is the 'prettiest' of the
many images we took.
View: DF1_20111103_1131_004 Muntjac deer female grooming on back of Dragon Pond island - licking cheek (crop).jpg
Description: She was intensively grooming, licking over her fur,
but we never got a really illustrative shot. But here she is licking
her cheek with her impressively long tongue.
View: DF1_20111103_1132_028 Muntjac deer female grooming on back of Dragon Pond island - scratching chin with back leg (crop).jpg
Description: And here she is dealing with an itch under the chin using a back hoof.
Date: 11 Dec 2011
View: P10_20111030_1015_738 Hawthorn Shieldbug (crop).jpg
Description: A really common insect - the Hawthorn Shieldbug, but none the
less welcome for that, and seen very late in the season - an
ever increasing trend of starting earlier, and for some carrying
on later, depending on what limits their lifespan.
View: P10_20111030_1016_745 Hawthorn Shieldbug (crop).jpg
Description: Same individual, now on the stem of the fallen leaf showing the
underside.
Date: 10 Dec 2011
View: D35_20111023_1442_090_FB4 squirrel on tree-stump top eating slice of apple (crop).jpg
Description: One of our several Grey squirrels tucking into a piece of apple.
Fruit is generally very popular at the moment as the creatures
'feed up' ready for winter's meanness.
View: D45_20111025_0726_044_FB1 Rabbit carrying off piece of apple (crop).jpg
Description: As animals feed up for the winter, almost everything, including
rabbits normally content with grass, is carrying off pieces of
fruit.
Date: 09 Dec 2011
View: D45_20111027_1917_218_FB1 3 Fieldmice leaping (crop).jpg
Description: Genuine single frame of 3 fieldmice going crazy.
We love the apparent nonchalance of the one top left.
View: D5C_20111025_0527_032_FB2 Leopard slug and fieldmouse facing away on top of log.jpg
Description: A fieldmouse sharing a peaceful moment with a much less
vigorous Leopard slug.
Date: 08 Dec 2011
View: DF1_20111028_1332_086+088+090 Carrion Crow taking off from black poplar top 1+3+5 of 6 (accurate montage alternates @7fps).jpg
Description: This carrion crow was wobbling about on the top of a black poplar
in a breeze, and decided to depart while the camera was running.
We kept 6 consecutive pictures, but they overlap too much to show
all at once, and couldn't decide which set of alternates images
to montage, so in the end did them both. The larger gap to the
right-most image in each case is due to acceleration.
View: DF1_20111028_1332_087+089+091 Carrion Crow taking off from black poplar top 2+4+6 of 6 (accurate montage alternates @7fps).jpg
Date: 07 Dec 2011
View: D45_20111021_1715_018_FB1 Great tit in flight watched by Bluetit (crop).jpg
Description: Down in the hedge bottom a Great Tit shows off it's wings with
lovely symmetry. The bluetit watches.
View: D45_20111022_1826_119_FB1 Robin landing by aggressive mouse (crop).jpg
Description: Birds and rodents together in single images is not as uncommon
as it used to be. We think this fieldmouse is warning off the
arriving robin. We have no idea of the outcome if a real battle
ensured - sharp beak and 2 claws vs sharp teeth and 4 claws!
Date: 06 Dec 2011
View: DF1_20111025_1636_255 Heron in Flight 06 of 12 (crop).jpg
Description: From the house we have seen 2 herons visiting our patch, but
this adult came flying along our East boundary, saw us outside
and promptly turned away to fly over the centre of our patch.
This single frame of the 12 we kept seemed to catch the light
'just right'.
View: DF1_20111025_1636_258-261 Heron in Flight through autumn branches 09-12 of 12 (accurate montage @7fps).jpg
Description: At the end of the same sequence the heron faded from view through
the trees. The montage is accurately spaced at 7 frames/sec
Date: 05 Dec 2011
View: D45_20111023_1947_199_FB1 Fieldmouse leaping over another (crop).jpg
Description: There is a lot of leaping about and showing off in the hedge bottom
at the moment. We really don't know what's going on here, but
so what.
Date: 04 Dec 2011
View: D45_20111014_1710_023_FB1 Bluetit fluttering through hedge bottom.jpg
Description: A nice show of feathers from this Bluetit fluttering through the hedge bottom.
Date: 03 Dec 2011
View: D45_20111015_1719_125_FB1 Grey Squirrel leaping towards camera (crop).jpg
Description: Attack the err - apple?
View: D45_20111016_1741_235_FB1 Grey Squirrel licking (q) windfall apple.jpg
Description: Perhaps the apple didn't run away fast enough!
Date: 02 Dec 2011
View: D45_20111015_2049_167+1911_143_FB1 Fox in crouched hunting position and 2 fieldmice leaping away (90mins earlier) (montage).jpg
Description: We could not resist making up a little story as soon the hunting
fox and the fleeing mice, both in the same positions you see in
this montage, taken 90 minutes apart, ended up next to each other
on the screen.
Date: 01 Dec 2011
View: DF1_20111015_1056_217+221+223 Little Egret flying South East (discontinuous) 03+05+07 of 11 (arbitrary montage).jpg
Description: This Little Egret flew right over our meadow.
This montaged selection of images is for enjoyment rather than accuracy.
Image Archive arch 2011 nov.htm (view it Here)
Date: 30 Nov 2011
View: D45_20111018_1803_165_FB1 Robin taking off to see off flying Dunnock as Chaffinch male watches (crop).jpg
Description: In a wonderful flurry of wings the robin that 'owns' this site sees off
the long-suffering dunnock. A male Chaffinch just watches - they
seem to be more evenly matched & the robin may get more resistance.
View: D45_20111020_0730_286_FB1 Robin taking off to see off arriving Dunnock (crop).jpg
Description: 2 days later the Robin and Dunnock are still skirmishing
Date: 29 Nov 2011
View: DF1_20111019_1557_432-436 Kestrel female flying to new hunting perch on cables over bridleway to North @ 7fps 02-06 of 40 (accurate montage).jpg
Description: Now all the posts along the bridleway have gone, Kestrels have
started using the overhead powerlines as hunting perches - much
less effort than all this hovering business! We caught this
female as she made a flight along the wire to a new hunting
position. We got the whole flight in 40 shots at about 7 per
second but she landed unfortunately obscured by a nearer wire.
Accurately montaging these 5 taken with Hanslope Church tower
as the backdrop (less than half the height of the proposed wind
turbine towers and 3 times as far away) gives an impression of
the elegant bird.
View: DF1_20111020_1316_028 Rook attacking Kestrel female in flight (crop).jpg
Description: This time not so elegant - defending herself from a rook, upside
down to bring her talons into use as a weapon.
Date: 28 Nov 2011
View: D45_20111008_2307_147_FB1 Fieldmouse in autumn litter with single corn grain held in one paw (crop).jpg
Description: A really sweet Fieldmouse amongst the leaf litter. The mouse is
holding the corn grain in a single paw which got us thinking
'opposing thumbs' and the like. Well is seems mice have 5 digits
on the hind legs, and 4 on the front, Voles the same, but Shrews
5 on each foot.
Date: 27 Nov 2011
View: D5C_20111003_0209_108_FB2 Fox catching rodent (mouse or vole) hanging out of side of mouth (crop 2).jpg
Description: This is one of those images we have long hoped for - a fox
actually catching a rodent. A mouse or vole is in the foxes
partially open mouth sticking out of the left side as we see it.
After this successful hunt the fox has started turning up at this
site a few times a week.
Date: 26 Nov 2011
View: D45_20111011_1708_128_FB1 Great Tit flying off with tip of raw carrot.jpg
Description: Carrots tops and bottoms have been reliably one of the last foods
to be taken, but suddenly they seem to be in favour with both
birds and fieldmice.
View: D5C_20111012_0457_073_FB2 Fieldmouse carrying off raw carrot tip (crop).jpg
Date: 25 Nov 2011
View: D45_20111013_0718_373_FB1 Robin taking off from ground to attack overflying Dunnock (crop 1).jpg
Description: A robin launching from the ground to see off an over-flying Dunnock.
Date: 24 Nov 2011
View: DF1_20111014_0733_179 Sunrise from SE corner (crop).jpg
Description: This is a 'compare and contrast' pair of images we might doubt if we
hadn't taken them ourselves! First a rather murky sunrise (to the South East
of course) but at a quite narrow angle (long focus lens).
View: DF1_20111014_0734_186 Mist to SW from our SE corner (crop).jpg
Description: Turning to the South West 1 minute later with similar lens and it
is so different - like something from an industrialised Japanese
print. We didn't even notice stunning difference at the time, the
camera colour balance is locked, and we haven't 'fiddled'
anything. The images nowhere near overlap & wish now we
had taken a wide-angle shot to see how the change occurred.
Date: 23 Nov 2011
View: P10_20110928_0800_494 Spiders web between teasels both drenched with dew (crop).jpg
Description: A heavy dew turned many spider's webs into jewelry, but the
spider won't be pleased the web doesn't work any more!
Date: 22 Nov 2011
View: DA1_20110929_1349_134+1445_234_FT1 Black Rustic moth (Aporophyla nigra) in flight with hawthorn twig (montage).jpg
Description: The Black Rustic moth appears almost black at rest, and the first
time you see it fly it is quite a shock when the white rear wing
is exposed. Its probably the normal 'don't be seen, and if you
are seen, startle the hunter'.
View: DA1_20110929_1428_169+1429_172_FT1 Large Yellow Underwing moth in flight (montage separate flights).jpg
Description: The underwing class of moths go in for cryptic camouflage on the
forewing, and the startle effect with an orange hindwing only
showing as defence and in flight. This is two views of separate
flights of a single insect to show predominantly the upper (left)
and bottom wing surfaces.
Date: 21 Nov 2011
View: D01_20111003_0730_011 Kestrel on telephone pole under rising sun (crop).jpg
Description: We are expecting to be blighted with wind turbines 1000 metres towards
the sunrise. Until then we shall make the most of the view we have.
Here a dawn kestrel surveys the plot in search of breakfast.
View: DF1_20111005_1600_009-013 Kestrel female turning in flight then diving behind trees 09-13 of 15 (accurate montage at 7fps).jpg
Description: A passing swoop into the wind of the female Kestrel on an
overcast afternoon accurately montaged so you have a bit short of
1 second of flight here.
Date: 20 Nov 2011
View: D35_20110930_2131_029_FB4 Fieldmouse with pine cone behind suggesting stegosaurus armour (crop @768).jpg
Description: The week this photo was taken TV was full of Dinosaur programmes.
So we present 'Stegomouse', a previously
undetected cross between a Stegosaurus and a small Jurassic Mammal.
On the other hand it could be just a fieldmouse in line of sight
of a pine cone, but that's not as much fun!
View: D5C_20111005_0629_075_FB2 Fieldmouse in middle of chaotic leap (crop).jpg
Description: Enthusiasm: 10/10
Height: 3/10
Style: 0/10
Landing: Probably OK - they can twist to get their feet down like cats.
Date: 19 Nov 2011
View: DA1_20111003_1229_012+1322_164_FT1 Cranefly in flight with Great Willow Herb seed head (montage).jpg
Description: The previous day we have seen a number of craneflies, so we decided to have
a go at some of them in flight. Typically - all we could find was this
unusually willing flier but with a leg missing.
View: DA1_20111003_1303_139+20111001_1605_043_FT1 unident Cuckoo Bee in flight with yellow Buddleia (montage).jpg
Description: This appears to be a Cuckoo Bee but we don't have enough
experience or the right books to definitively ID it. Cuckoo Bees
do what their name says - they lay eggs in another bees nest.
Date: 18 Nov 2011
View: P10_20111001_1041_557 Blackberry stems one with ripe fruit and the other flowering (crop).jpg
Description: This is 2 adjacent Blackberry (bramble) stems in the patio flowerbed -
nature loves untidyness! One is in as good a fruit as we are getting
this year, next to another in full flower with no hope of
finishing the fruit but welcome by the insects. Is easy to think
the plant has 'made a mistake' but maybe help feeding the insects
in the autumn helps them overwinter to the benefit of next year's
fruit - its all so complicated and interlinked.
View: P10_20111002_0814_604 Branch of Hawthorn berries.jpg
Description: Our own un-cut hedges are awash with Hawthorn berries - first
choice by birds looking for this type of food. The larger
Blackthorn fruit is second choice by far.
Date: 17 Nov 2011
View: D45_20110930_2143_061_FB1 Fieldmouse partly hidden by stone.jpg
Description: Entry 1 for Twee Fieldmouse of the week
View: D45_20111002_0248_215_FB1 Fieldmouse standing on rotten apple.jpg
Description: Entry 2 for Twee Fieldmouse of the week
View: D45_20110930_2117_054_FB1 2 Fieldmice squabbling over apples (crop).jpg
Description: Not so sweet - the mouse on the right may be trying to gain an
advantage by using to apple to gain some height over the
opponent.
Date: 16 Nov 2011
View: D01_20110926_1811_020-028 Kestrel preening and flying from conifer treetop 1+2+5+7-9 of 9 (accurate flight montage).jpg
Description: Kestrels currently visit tree and post tops at either end of the
day when rooks that chase them off are elsewhere. Here one was
preening in the treetop before flying off.
The flying sequence from 5 to 9 skips 4 & 6 which would have overlapped.
The branch tip 3rd from the right is springing back up after the
bird launched. The 4th from the left is a different branch from a
bifurcate.
Date: 15 Nov 2011
View: D35_20110929_0829_082_FB4 Grey Squirrel with whole pine cone in mouth.jpg
Description: A great crop of pine cones this year (in fact getting more every
year so far as the trees mature) and such opportunities are not
lost on the squirrels, probably taking them off to bury in
their winter cache.
View: D5C_20110927_0802_084_FB2 Grey Squirrel carrying off conker in husk (crop).jpg
Description: Whole conkers are raining down and barely get a chance to bounce
before a squirrel carries them off for the winter store.
Date: 14 Nov 2011
View: D45_20110928_0301_190_FB1 Fieldmouse carrying off small fruit pip.jpg
Description: A cherry pip gets taken away for the fieldmouse to bite open for the kernel
View: D45_20110928_0356_195_FB1 Fieldmouse carrying off whole cherry.jpg
Description: This time the fieldmouse carries off a whole cherry!
Date: 13 Nov 2011
View: DA1_20110929_1323_061+1447_250_FT1 Barred Sallow moth (Xanthia aurago) in flight with Autumn hawthorn leaves (montage).jpg
Description: An atypically very warm few days in Autumn brought out some moths.
This is a Barred Sallow Moth which we haven't identified before.
View: DA1_20110929_1333_100+1447_246_FT1 Angle Shades moth (Phlogophora meticulosa) in flight with autumn hawthorn leaves (montage).jpg
Description: The Angle Shades Moth is very common, but doesn't normally oblige
with flying on request for the camera!
Date: 12 Nov 2011
View: DA1_20110929_1514_310+1450_253_FT1 Southern Hawker Dragonfly male in flight with autumn hawthorn leaves (montage).jpg
Description: After initially fighting at one pond, two unexpectedly pristine
(for late in the season) male Southern Hawker dragonflies settled
to patrolling one pond each for hours on end for a few days - lovely to watch.
We brought one of them in for a little photo-shoot.
View: DA1_20110929_1516_316_FT1 Southern Hawker Dragonfly male in flight (crop).jpg
Description: Here you are looking up at the male Southern Hawker dragonfly from underneath.
Date: 11 Nov 2011
View: D45_20110925_1834_265_FB1 Chaffinch juvenile coming in to land by conker (crop 2).jpg
Description: A young chaffinch in the final stages of aerobraking before
landing by a conker (which as far as we know they don't eat).
View: D45_20110924_2305_159_FB1 Fieldmouse between 2 apples (crop @576).jpg
Description: A sweet little mouse dwarfed by a couple of ordinary sized
windfall apples that have obviously been pecked by assorted birds
Date: 10 Nov 2011
View: DA1_20110929_1451_260_FT1 Hawthorn twig partly in autumn colour (crop).jpg
Description: Two images of Autumn
We picked this hawthorn twig to 'decorate' the insects-in-flight
set, but decided it deserved a picture of it's own.
View: D5C_20110927_1758_087_FB2 Grey Squirrel turning to inspect fruit (crop).jpg
Description: Hunting the cherry?
Autumn's plenty is collected and stored by many creatures before winters
meanness. Many creature just put on weight, while other like this
Grey Squirrel bury or hide food where they think they can find it
later. Hence the saying 'Squirrel Away'?
This individual has some abnormality or healed injury to it's tail
that shows as a coloured ring in the fur, but it uses its tail
normally.
Date: 09 Nov 2011
View: P10_20110918_1331_446 Oak Bush Cricket female (crop).jpg
Description: We have an old apple tree (we call it the 'red' apple tree - the
apples are red even when unripe and the apple flesh is pink as
well) that is next to a pair of old but bushy oak trees. While
collecting apples to store this Oak Bush Cricket suddenly leapt
out of the trug onto the grass. We guess it either switched tree
without realising (they grow into each other somewhat) or we
knocked it down shaking branches to get the apples to drop.
Crickets have these enormously long antennae - grasshoppers are
much shorter.
Date: 08 Nov 2011
View: D35_20110920_0456_056_FB4 Pipistrelle (q) Bat flying by tree-stump (crop).jpg
Description: A huge surprise was this Bat triggering the camera at the tree
stump at 4:56 a.m. (2 hours before sunrise). We think it is a
Pipistrelle bat that was hunting the insects that gather on the
sticky fruit residue from the previous night's food.
Date: 07 Nov 2011
View: D45_20110922_0409_311_FB1 2 Fieldmice leaping and another on ground (adjusted crop).jpg
Description: A pair of leaping fieldmice, the startling vertical one with his
whiskers unfortunately disappearing off the edge of the camera frame.
Date: 06 Nov 2011
View: D5C_20110920_2003_090_FB2 Fieldmouse shaking off water 2 of 3 (crop).jpg
Description: We have never before seen before a mouse shaking out it's fur in
the rain, droplets flying quite a height by mouse standards.
Slow motion movies of dogs drying themselves after a swim by
counter-rotating twists are a favourite in animal programs, and
we think this must be very similar on a different scale.
Date: 05 Nov 2011
View: D45_20110921_0349_210_FB1 fieldmouse nibbling corn grain in paws next to apple larger than it is.jpg
Description: This apple is typically eating apple size - its reminds one how
tiny the world of the fieldmouse is.
View: D45_20110922_2349_398_FB1 Fieldmouse nibbling food surrounded by cherries and an apple.jpg
Description: A few damaged cherries from harvesting our favourite tree
set the scale for this fieldmouse.
Date: 04 Nov 2011
View: D35_20110908_1150_002_FB4 Grey squirrel vertically poised over food with fly.jpg
Description: "What - ME?"
View: D35_20110911_1610_001_FB4 Grey Squirrel female with obviously active teats.jpg
Description: We have seen teats on Grey Squirrel pics before, but never this obviously
'in use'. The Mum is tanking up on something we
can't identify is obviously busy feeding youngsters.
Just what we need - more 'Rats with good PR' stripping bark
off the trees!
Date: 03 Nov 2011
View: D5C_20110911_0544_137_FB2 Fieldmouse leaping off log casting shadow onto another on ground (crop).jpg
Description: Whee.
The shadow falling on his friend on the ground indicates he is
leaping towards the camera, which makes an unfortunate landing
unlikely.
View: D45_20110908_2006_043_FB1 Fieldmouse with mouth open and food in paws.jpg
Description: At another site, a quieter moment with this little creature
looking like it is really enjoying his tiny corn grain, mouth
open in anticipation of the next bite.
Date: 02 Nov 2011
View: D5C_20110912_1942_091_FB2 3 Fieldmice with 1 in vertical leap (crop 1).jpg
Description: A leaping mouse is watched by two on the ground
View: D5C_20110912_1942_091_FB2 3 Fieldmice with 1 in vertical leap (crop 2 @576).jpg
Description: The leaping mouse is unusually sharp, and we think the detail is worth a
closer look.
Date: 01 Nov 2011
View: D5C_20110916_0318_324_FB2 Polecat inspecting dead rabbit but leaving it (crop).jpg
Description: We found a dead young rabbit on one of the grass walks and took
it to one of the photo sites. The only visitor taking an interest
in it was this first Polecat of the season. It didn't drag the
rabbit away, but we saw a few fresh bites next morning.
Image Archive arch 2011 oct.htm (view it Here)
Date: 31 Oct 2011
View: DF1_20110915_1314_169-171+173 Southern Hawker Dragonfly male hovering over duck pond 1-3+5 of 9 (montage).jpg
Description: Some hazy sunshine brought out this male Southern Hawker dragonfly.
The insect hovered long enough to get the camera on him for 9 frames, of which
we have selected 4 for a little montage of various wing positions.
Date: 30 Oct 2011
View: D45_20110911_1830_009_FB1 Bluetit flying down to berries on ground (crop 2).jpg
Description: There is lots of natural food for the wildlife now, so we collect
odd bits and offer it at the photo sites. Here is a beautiful
Bluetit as it flies down for a sample.
Date: 29 Oct 2011
View: D35_20110912_2322_050_FB4 2 Fieldmice squabbling with one being pushed off tree stump (crop).jpg
Description: These 2 squabbling fieldmice remind us of Sumo wrestlers, or the
avatars in 'Wii Sports Resort' fencing game, both trying to push
their opponent out of the ring or off the edge!
View: D35_20110915_2123_193_FB4 Fieldmouse falling from tree-stump.jpg
Description: By chance, 3 days later (and on the other side) a mouse demonstrating
base jumping without parachute.
Date: 28 Oct 2011
View: D45_20110901_2219_396_FB1 Fieldmouse leaping into left edge of frame over another (crop).jpg
Description: Whee!
Recently fieldmice leaping in this vertical position have appeared
at one of other edge of the frame, making a decent crop awkward.
View: D5C_20110901_2018_150_FB2 2 fieldmice side by side on log with backs to us (crop).jpg
Description: "Sitting on the 'bleachers' watching the world go by."
At another site a couple of hours earlier a more relaxed pair
of fieldmice watching we know not what.
Date: 27 Oct 2011
View: P10_20110901_1121_329 Forest Bug (Pentatoma rufipes) (crop).jpg
Description: We found this beautiful Shieldbug in the conservatory and parked it on
a arm of a garden chair to take it's pic. Its body is about 15mm long
Date: 26 Oct 2011
View: D45_20110903_1930_139_FB1 Female blackbird taking off into frame (crop).jpg
Description: A female Blackbird launching into flight from the ground, and
just coming into frame. This makes a nice change from the more
normal 'head out of frame' that leads to so many 'if-only'
discarded pictures,
Date: 25 Oct 2011
View: D5C_20110903_0009_030_FB2 Fieldmouse on hind legs.jpg
Description: The Lookout? "Midnight, and all's well"
It reminds us of the classic pose of a Meercat, but in miniature.
View: D45_20110902_2236_063_FB1 Fieldmouse leaping (crop).jpg
Description: Another means of obtaining a high view, but we think this is
more about joie-de-vie than viewing the surroundings .
Date: 24 Oct 2011
View: DF1_20110905_0654_318 Rook repeatedly landing & leaving thin twig at top of Lombardy Poplar in strong wind (crop).jpg
Description: Whenever the wind is strong the rooks and other corvids can be seen
obviously playing or showing off in the updrafts over the fields,
and here at the top of the local Lombardy Poplar tree.
The top bare twig isn't really stiff enough for
their weight but that doesn't stop them trying to land on it.
Here we think the bird was using the beak as an extra grip.
Despite several tries it never got a stable perch.
View: DF1_20110905_0656_343 Rooks playing in wind at top of Lombardy Poplar (crop).jpg
Description: More of the top of the tree, and two birds gently sparring and playing in the wind.
The bird is on the same twig but here not bent by the bird's weight.
Date: 23 Oct 2011
View: D01_20110830_1803_032 Grey Squirrel reaching down from top of meadow post to food in crevice (crop).jpg
Description: The Corvids (Crows etc.) have largely abandoned feeding at the
'Meadow post', there temporarily being plentiful natural food
available from the freshly cultivated farmland. So the Grey
Squirrel now has little competition when it turns up to excavate
the crevices full of peanut butter and ground nuts. It leaves the
easier to reach corn at the top untouched though a lot of it get
knocked down where the pheasants can reach it easily.
View: D01_20110831_0921_064+066 Green Woodpecker juvenile taking off from meadow post 3+5 of 5 (accurate montage).jpg
Description: This montage shows a Green Woodpecker juvenile standing on the
meadow post, noticing movement at the house window, and deciding
to depart.
Date: 22 Oct 2011
View: D45_20110906_2008_174_FB1 Fieldmouse eating food in paws.jpg
Description: Eat at the snack bar
A corn-grain makes a little feast for this fieldmouse
View: D5C_20110906_0544_029_FB2 Vole carrying whole mini-plum by gripping stone in mouth (crop).jpg
Description: Take Away
We don't see voles anywhere near as often as mice, and even rarer
them carrying off food. So this one carrying off a whole small
(domesticated cherry sized) wild plum by gripping the stone
really caught our attention.
Date: 21 Oct 2011
View: DF1_20110905_1338_015 Great Black-backed gull against white cloud (adjusted crop).jpg
Description: The continuing process of turning the fields of the farm around
us to arable has attracted an assortment of gulls to add to the
local rooks and jackdaws. This one flew over us and we enjoy the
texture and shape - gulls always seems to us to be flying sculptures.
View: DF1_20110906_1639_071 Black-headed gulls and Rooks on freshly turned soil (crop).jpg
Description: Next day the land is still being picked over by Black-headed gulls and rooks
View: DF1_20110906_1644_085 Black-headed Gulls against sky and tree (crop).jpg
Description: 5 minutes later part of a flock of about 100 Black-headed gulls
moving to another field pouring across the sky and making this
gull-against-sky and gull-against-tree almost abstract study.
View: DF1_20110905_1742_061 John Deere 8345RT tractor 6-cyl diesel 9 litres with Sumo Trio 4-5 trailed cultivator & other (crop).jpg
Description: Watching the meadows being ploughed and worked for arable has
been something of a machine eye-opener. The largest tractor in
use and the cultivator (see details in the Ref field) seem to
have a fan base that includes 1:32 scale models of the tractor
and attachments to fit it.
U-tube hosts several videos of this tractor and Sumo attachment
being driven in front of a crowd of spectators jumping about with
excitement. Humans are an amazingly varied bunch!
We have several more images & details should they
be of interest
Date: 20 Oct 2011
View: DF1_20110828_1815_045-048 Hovering buzzard skirmishing with another flying over 1-4 of 5 (interpretation montage).jpg
Description: There is a family of 4 Buzzard in a copse 600m to our East. The
young birds seem to be given sparring lessons by the parents.
Here the bird below was hovering in a strong wind blowing from
the left and had a passing skirmish with the bird flying above.
The bottom bird held its position relative to the trees, so we
have spread out the montage to the left. All in half a second!
Date: 19 Oct 2011
View: D45_20110829_1740_008_FB1 Great Spotted Woodpecker juvenile taking away Pine cone (crop 2).jpg
Description: We collect pine cones fallen on the grass paths, and move them to
the photo sites. Here a Great spotted woodpecker 'just' juvenile
(only a few red feathers left on top of her head) has picked one
up and will fly off with it ...
View: DF1_20110829_1754_005+010 Great Spotted juvenile woodpecker with pine cone then hazel nut in cracks of pole (montage).jpg
Description: We know this because 15 minutes later we spotted this bird on the
pole near site one having a peck at the pine cone, and within the
same minute a hazelnut. Yes, there are 2 holes, and she chose
different holes for the two items. We have montaged 2 of the
images together (trying our best to match the exposures). We are
sure it is the same bird as the ground level image from examining
the head detail in the originals..
Date: 18 Oct 2011
View: DF1_20110901_1224_082 Common Darter Dragonfly female on fallen Hop Sedge (crop).jpg
Description: A bit of sunshine brings out a few dragonflies. This one is
perched on the pond island on fallen sedge - the colours of the
insect match that of the foliage rendering them very hard to see
until they move or you see them land.
View: DF1_20110902_1214_022 Southern Hawker Dragonfly male inside bush hanging from twig (crop).jpg
Description: As the sun went behind cloud this male southern hawker dragonfly ceased
his patrolling and literally hung himself up inside a pond-side bush.
We could only find him because we saw him fly in.
Date: 17 Oct 2011
View: D5C_20110901_1740_135_FB2 Pheasant male with Hazelnut in beak (crop).jpg
Description: We had no idea the pheasants would tackle nuts in shells.
The nut disappeared but we don't know whether the pheasant
could have cracked it open.
Date: 16 Oct 2011
View: D45_20110824_2319_306_FB1 Fieldmouse licking pulp from small plum.jpg
Description: On either side of midnight a Fieldmouse and Bank vole both at the same place
to enjoy the plum pulp. These are at exactly the same scale.
View: D45_20110825_0026_333_FB1 Bank Vole licking pulp from small plum.jpg
Date: 15 Oct 2011
View: D45_20110822_2254_072_FB1 Fieldmice with amorous intent (q) (crop).jpg
Description: Fieldmice can be delightfully affectionate to one another.
It all seems very quick to us, but they live at a different pace.
"Are you Awake?"
View: D45_20110823_2231_184_FB1 2 fieldmice whisker to whisker (close crop @768).jpg
Description: About the same time next night, we think two different mice
Date: 14 Oct 2011
View: D45_20110822_2136_061_FB1 Fieldmouse leaping while facing camera (crop 2).jpg
Description: At times of plenty fieldmice have the energy to spare to leap
about in extravagant ways, sometimes to impress the potential mates
View: D45_20110822_2248_071_FB1 Fieldmouse leaping with another underneath scrambling over pine cone.jpg
View: D45_20110823_0649_117_FB1 Leaping vole in front of stone and Dunnock behind (crop).jpg
Description: We don't often see Voles leaping, but this one is leaping towards
camera (hence shadow on stone) and may have been startled the
arrival of the Dunnock behind the stone.
Date: 13 Oct 2011
View: D35_20110823_2130_056_FB4 Fieldmouse eating food in paws over leopard slug (crop @576).jpg
Description: Fieldmice have been all over the place last & this week and a bit
of rain (about 12mm = half inch) has brought out the slugs and snails
as well.
View: D35_20110826_2206_021_FB4 Leopard slug + snail + fieldmouse on tree-stump top.jpg
View: D5C_20110826_2335_025_FB2 Fieldmouse looking at snail.jpg
Description: "Whats this?" - it's weeks since it rained and
this young fieldmouse has probably not seen a snail before.
Date: 12 Oct 2011
View: D45_20110824_2007_272_FB1 Baby rabbit with small plums (crop).jpg
Description: Rabbits are so twee when young ...
View: D45_20110814_2012_218_FB1 Rabbit head on to camera with mouth slightly open.jpg
Description: But when Rabbits reach this size they are responsible for a
lots of damage to young trees - hence the sea of plastic you see
at new woodland and hedge plantings protecting the bark of saplings.
Date: 11 Oct 2011
View: D5C_20110823_1759_046_FB2 Grey Squirrel feeding on ground.jpg
Description: At the extreme right of the frame this Grey Squirrel feeds
messily at the freshly baited site, taking up the 'classic' pose'
whilst while bits of Hazelnut husk & shell go flying as it bites
it's way to the kernel.
View: D35_20110819_1804_012_FB4 Grey Squirrel with horse chestnut still in husk (crop 2).jpg
Description: The first Horse chestnut Conkers are falling, and the Grey
squirrel is busy collecting and hiding them.
Date: 10 Oct 2011
View: DF1_20110821_1434_086 Pair of Common darter dragonflies coupled on twig at Dragon pond (crop).jpg
Description: An angled stick at the main pond attracted this mating pair of Common Darters.
The male at the top clasps the female by the 'neck' - only the claspers of the same
species will fit! They can fly about in tandem like this, and lay by the pair dipping the
females tail into the water. Different dragonfly species lay in range of ways and places.
View: DF1_20110821_1436_102 Mating pair of Common Darter dragonflies harassed by Ruddy Darter Dragonfly male 2 of 8 (crop).jpg
Description: A male Ruddy Darter kept bothering the pair - he probably thought
the female was 'suitable' for his amorous attentions - we all
know what lads are like! Each time the pair landed on the stick
along he would come and disturb them.
View: DF1_20110821_1437_122+123 Mating Common Darter dragonflies harassed by Ruddy Darter male 7+8 of 8 (montage for focus).jpg
Date: 09 Oct 2011
View: DF1_20110819_1110_241 Hobby flying overhead 5 of 7 (crop).jpg
Description: This Hobby made a flyover and opportunity for some photos.
They mostly hunt dragonflies so will be having a hard time this year.
View: DF1_20110819_0900_017 Rook persuing young male kestrel (crop).jpg
Description: A visit by the young male kestrel was swiftly curtailed by a
couple of rooks. The following morning he was perched on a
telephone pole footrest hunting in peace.
Date: 08 Oct 2011
View: DF1_20110819_1243_363 Common Blue butterfly male feeding on clover flower.jpg
Description: We still have several blue butterflies on the plot whenever the sun comes
out. Here a Common Blue male feeding on a nearly finished clover flower.
View: DF1_20110824_1215_045 Common Blue butterfly male feeding on Purple Loosestrife flower.jpg
Description: The dominant meadow flower at the moment is the Purple Loosestrife.
Here a male Common Blue butterfly sips up some nectar
Date: 07 Oct 2011
View: DF1_20110824_1223_061 Ptychoptera contaminata (probably) flies mating on stick (crop).jpg
Description: These two mating flies arrived on the sloping stick to attract dragonflies.
ID was difficult even with help, and are absent from all but one of our
books. Wikipedia & some other web sites came to the rescue -
the general consensus is the primitive Crane-fly
Ptychoptera contaminata which has no common
name.
If you can provide a positive ID
please let us know.
Date: 06 Oct 2011
View: d12_20110821_1016_005 greater dodder flowers on common (stinging) nettle (crop).jpg
Description: An unusual and rare plant is the parasitic Greater Dodder loaned to
us to take photographs in Ultra Violet which turned out, like most things,
not very interesting. See our
UV Section.
The plant starts off seeding in the ground, but then taps into
the stems of nettles and eventually gives up its own roots.
Date: 05 Oct 2011
View: DF1_20110823_1559_060+062 Southern Hawker Dragonfly laying eggs on wet rotten wood by pond side (montage for focus).jpg
Description: Here is a Southern Hawker Dragonfly laying eggs on a sodden branch
left by the edge of the main pond for a couple of years.
If you want wildlife, untidiness can be a virtue! We noticed
the insects unusual behaviour through the window and stampeded
out into the drizzle to see these few minutes for a first time.
View: DF1_20110823_1559_070 Southern Hawker Dragonfly laying eggs on wet rotten wood by pond side (crop).jpg
Description: We watched entranced (and wet) for several minutes as the Southern Hawker
Dragonfly placed eggs in various spots.
Here you get a good view of her egg laying equipment.
Date: 04 Oct 2011
View: DF1_20110802_1759_076-79 2 Wood Pigeons taking off from high voltage wires 1-4 of 4 (montage extra horizontal space).jpg
Description: A pair of Wood Pigeons watched us approach and finally decided that
we were close enough. About 7 fps but the frames are separated by about
50% extra gap to stop them overlapping
Date: 03 Oct 2011
View: P34_20110805_1743_645 Dark cloud across sun with upward streamers of light (crop).jpg
Description: Wonderful dramatic show of clouds, but it didn't produce any
rain for our parched plot.
Date: 02 Oct 2011
View: D45_20110814_2112_220_FB1 Fieldmouse jumping down from hedge 1m above (q).jpg
Description: The bottom of hedge ground level camera caught this image at the
right edge of the frame. This one has to have been jumping down
from climbing high in the hedge to find berries
View: D45_20110815_2050_061_FB1 Fieldmouse about to land after 1 metre drop (crop).jpg
Description: Next day, at about the same time, we have a sort of 'what
happened next' moment. We have no idea whether it is the same
mouse.
View: D45_20110814_0216_135_FB1 Fieldmouse in vertical leap with tail tip on ground (crop).jpg
Description: "Peek-a-boo"
Date: 01 Oct 2011
View: D12_20110814_1619_012 Wild Carrot centre flower detail (crop with detail insert).jpg
Description: We had hoped that the characteristic purple centre flower of 'Wild Carrot'
(also known as 'birds nest' plant)
might show something interesting in Ultra Violet light, but
were disappointed all of the petals on both sides dark in UV
See A survey of British Wildlife in Ultra Violet (UV) Light
This natural light image includes detail showing the centre flower
which takes a different form as well as colour to the white
flowers.
Image Archive arch 2011 sep.htm (view it Here)
Date: 30 Sep 2011
View: DB1_20110814_1438_044 Cinnabar moth caterpillar on Ragwort leaf waving head end about (crop).jpg
Description: This Cinabar this caterpillar was waving itself about. A
knowledgable visitor tells us they tend to do this when they are
hosting the larva of a parasitic fly.
View: DB1_20110814_1440_061 Tachina fera (q) parasitic fly on knapweed flower (crop).jpg
Description: 2 minutes later, without at the time making any connection, we took
this image of such a parasitic fly nearby. These flies feed on nectar,
but lay their eggs inside various (it seems mostly moth) caterpillars
which the subsequent larvae eat from the inside. Yuck!
We can't be sure of a connection, but we will be watching.
Date: 29 Sep 2011
View: D01_20110817_1222_074 Kestrel male maturing on Conifer top stretching himself (crop @576).jpg
Description: Several days of no kestrels was followed by 'our' young male
('Kevin') almost now in all male feathers. He spent the best of
half an hour preening on the conifer tip, here enjoying an
extravagant stretch.
View: D01_20110817_1234_136-139 Kestrel male maturing diving from Conifer top at SE corner 1-4 of 4 (acc montage).jpg
Description: It seems he spotted something tasty behind the tree and dived down out of sight.
View: D01_20110817_1254_310-313 Kestrel male maturing take off from Conifer top at SE corner 1-4 of 5 (approx montage).jpg
Description: 2 minutes later he suddenly appeared on the top of a disused
telephone pole 50 metres from the tree, and spent a few minutes
cleaning and scratching himself before flying straight back to the tree-top
perch. He stayed about 15 minutes before making this leisurely
departure.
Date: 28 Sep 2011
View: D35_20110815_1800_011_FB4 Pheasant male on tree-stump top (crop).jpg
Description: Pheasant are better flyers than we like to think.
Here this male has just landed on the tree-stump top and gives us
an edge-on view of the separate primary feathers streaking down against
the underside of his wing.
Date: 27 Sep 2011
View: D35_20110804_2305_019_FB4 3 snails and leopard slug.jpg
Description: Even a little bit of rain brings out the slugs and snails (NOT a
montage). The 'orange tower' that the slug has climbed is a
segment of spoiled apple.
Date: 26 Sep 2011
View: DF1_20110809_1245_039+043+046 Red Kite flyby (arbitrary montage).jpg
Description: This red kite made a nice if distant flyby. This is an arbitrary montage of 3 images.
We unusually have the top of the bird as it banked, but this time no wing tags
to report the colours/numbers of. Some of you tell us of dozens of kites at once,
but we are delighted with just the odd one for now.
Date: 25 Sep 2011
View: D45_20110807_1809_268_FB1 Great Spotted Woodpecker juvenile looking at Hazelnuts on the ground.jpg
Description: A Great Spotted Woodpecker Juvenile fixing his beady eye on a hazel nut
a few metres from the bottom of the pole in the next images.
View: DF1_20110809_1423_124 Great Spotted Woodpecker juvenile with Hazelnut in beak (crop).jpg
Description: This is probably the same Juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker using
a long abandoned decrepit telephone pole to wedge Hazel nuts and
hammer away at them to get at the kernel. Enjoy these moments ...
View: DF1_20110809_1512_179-180 Great Spotted Woodpecker juvenile taking Hazelnut to post to hammer open 1+2 of 2 (montage).jpg
View: DF1_20110809_1425_175-177 Great Spotted Woodpecker juvenile flying from post with Hazelnut in beak 1-3 of 4 (approx montage @ 7fps).jpg
Description: The bird spotted us and took his nut away to come back later.
(Poor quality hurried shot not suitable for printing)
Date: 24 Sep 2011
View: D45_20110808_1936_027_FB1 Magpie with pair of hazelnuts in beak (crop).jpg
Description: The Magpies never seem to miss an opportunity, and the early Hazel nuts are no exception.
Date: 23 Sep 2011
View: D45_20110811_1904_312_FB1 Great Tit standing pecking at Strawberry fragment (crop).jpg
Description: Its not every Great Tit that tries strawberry - it had been untouched
for an hour (including other Great Tits) before this one had a go -
it had gone next frame.
Date: 22 Sep 2011
View: D5C_20110810_2033_098_FB2 Blackbird female in aggressive posture.jpg
Description: Couldn't resist this elegant if aggressive female blackbird.
Whatever was to the right was out of frame.
Date: 21 Sep 2011
View: DF1_20110810_0707_015 Rabbit collecting dead grass for bedding (crop).jpg
Description: An influx of rabbits from the now ploughed meadows has done
nothing to dampen their ardour. This rabbit was weeding a
flowerbed for us, cramming grass into her mouth long after it
seemed to be full.
Date: 20 Sep 2011
View: DF1_20110728_1610_181+1612_187+191+197 Grey Squirrel taking Hazelnut onto oak tree trunk to eat it 1-3+5 of 6 (montage).jpg
Description: One of our Hazel bushes thrashing about and there was a Grey
Squirrel grabbing the unripe nuts and carrying them off to eat.
He saw us, sneered suitably, and parked himself on the bark of an
adjacent oak tree to eat his prize. We picked some of the nuts
before it had the lot, but couple of days later under this tree
was found a pile of about 10 more bitten open hazel nuts
View: D35_20110729_1837_027_FB4 Grey Squirrel about to tackle green Hazel nut.jpg
Description: Evening next day here is probably the same individual using the
tree stump to chew up another nut.
Date: 19 Sep 2011
View: D35_20110730_2055_060_FB4 Juvenile robin moulting to adult colours.jpg
Description: A moulting juvenile Robin impatiently waiting for the rest of it's
new breast feathers to come out red.
View: D45_20110804_0542_217_FB1 Blackbird juvenile (crop inc right edge of frame).jpg
Description: For a few days we have seen adult blackbirds carrying off bits of
food instead of eating them on the spot, and now we see this
strange apparition. An expert tell us the distressed tail is
probably the result of 'feather mite' infestation from the nest
- the next moult will restore healthy feathers.
View: D45_20110807_1806_266_FB1 Blackbird juvenile begging.jpg
Description: 3 days later we catch possibly the same juvenile Blackbird
again, this time begging from an adult who was flying off.
Date: 18 Sep 2011
View: DB1_20110730_1510_002 Lesser Marsh Grasshopper on vertical grass blade (crop).jpg
Description: We really enjoy Grasshoppers, although a combination aging ears
and a generally noisier environment means that we can rarely hear
their stridulation. This as a Lesser Marsh Grasshopper. Its just
about invisible unless you see it land.
View: DB1_20110730_1513_004 Lesser Marsh Grasshopper (crop).jpg
Description: The same Lesser Marsh Grasshopper moved onto some meadow 'weeds'
Date: 17 Sep 2011
View: DB1_20110803_0454_097-099 Natterers bat in flight (about 5 fps) 1-3 of 3 (montage).jpg
Description: A muggy night 2-3 August 2011 got us up in time to see Bats on
the CCTV at about 04:30 - too dark to photograph them because you
can't see them at all. By about 04:50 the lightening sky lured us
out with the camera set up for Bats, and found 2 species flying
around the house.
We think the smaller of the species are Natterer's Bats -
three moments of one bat at about 5 frames/sec timed from
bottom upwards.
View: DB1_20110803_0458_147 Brown Long-eared Bat in flight (crop).jpg
Description: This is a Brown Long-eared bat zooming past an upper floor
window leaving his shadow on the wall.
Date: 16 Sep 2011
View: DF1_20110731_1244_230 Common Darter Dragonfly (crop).jpg
Description: A common Darter Dragonfly using an angled perch
hanging over the edge of a pond.
View: DF1_20110731_1245_302+303+306 Common Darter Dragonfly coming in to land on tip of stick 1+2+5 of 6 (irregularly timed montage).jpg
Description: Such perches often encourage dragonflies to perch, fly off for a few
seconds, and then return to exactly the same place. This makes it
possible to catch the approach and landing.
These images are irregularly timed (frames 1, 2 & 5 from a set of 6) that
give the right impression.
Date: 15 Sep 2011
View: D35_20110802_0542_006_FB4 Chaffinch male chasing robin from tree-stump top (crop 1).jpg
Description: The chaffinches are still feeling very territorial, here chasing
robin from the tree-stump top
View: D35_20110802_0542_006_FB4 Chaffinch male chasing robin from tree-stump top (crop 2).jpg
Description: A much better view of the agro from the chaffinch
View: D45_20110801_1942_025_FB1 Chaffinch male with apple pip taken from core of cut apple.jpg
Description: Almost certainly a different chaffinch at a site 70 metres away
eating the pip from a piece of apple - we don't remember catching
this moment before.
Date: 14 Sep 2011
View: D45_20110802_0022_052_FB1 Fieldmouse running off with Hazelnut.jpg
Description: We are including hazel nuts too small to be worth cracking open
in the nightly offerings - none have been left by the morning,
and now we see who takes them away!
View: D45_20110803_0105_122_FB1 Fieldmouse possibly leaping on to food.jpg
Description: Splat?
Date: 13 Sep 2011
View: D45_20110803_0107_123_FB1 2 Fieldmice squabbling (crop).jpg
Description: Two nights running we have caught moments of real aggression
between two mice at this site.
View: D45_20110804_0244_208_FB1 2 Fieldmice squabbling in mid leap (crop).jpg
Description: How these two fieldmice can be fighting mid-leap
each head to other tail we really don't know.
Date: 12 Sep 2011
View: DC1_20110731_0707_006 Wren with insect in beak perching momentarily on dead broken pampas grass (crop).jpg
Description: This wren popped up for a moment with an insect in its beak, and
flew off into the back of the overgrown lilies at the back of the
main pond. We have spotted them around the back over a couple of
weeks and are fairly sure they are now feeding chicks on a nest.
Date: 11 Sep 2011
View: DF1_20110723_1021_018-022 Mistle Thrush taking off from wire along bridleway to North 1-5 of 5 (montage @7fps).jpg
Description: Along the bridleway we were delighted to see 6 Mistle thrushes (a
new species this year for us) on the high voltage wires. This one
stayed after 4 of them had left, and provided this opportunity
for a take-off shot. The montage is accurate except that the
left-most bird's feet should be right where the launching birds feet are.
Date: 10 Sep 2011
View: DF1_20110724_1751_227+229 Kestrel juvenile male taking off from disused telephone pole top 1+3 of 3 (accurate montage).jpg
Description: We surprised this moulting juvenile male kestrel (and him us) on
the top of a quite new but now disused telephone pole on our
South boundary. He watched us for a few seconds, realised we were
not going away, and decided to quietly leave himself. You get a
good view of his crazy mix of juvenile and adult tail feathers.
View: D01_20110724_1932_171-1939_293 Kestrel Juvenile male preening on top of disused telephone pole 09+12+15+27 of 27 (montage).jpg
Description: A couple of hours later he was back on the post, this time having a preen that lasted
about 30 minutes in the lowering sunlight. Here is a little impression 'photo booth' style.
This was taken using a fixed tripod and long-lens setup though and open window
about 50m from the pole.
Date: 09 Sep 2011
View: DF1_20110728_1806_086 Brown Hawker Dragonfly female in flight with midge in mouth (crop).jpg
Description: This Brown Hawker Dragonfly female was having great time feeding on midges -
you can see one here hanging out of the bottom of her mouth.
Date: 08 Sep 2011
View: DF1_20110724_0908_117+139+157 Kestrel juvenile male flying by with rodent in talons then landing to eat it 02+07+12 of 13 (montage).jpg
Description: In the morning around 9 a.m. our moulting juvenile male Kestrel
caught a rodent somewhere and flew right by us with it. We
expected him to vanish into the distance, but the just moled
field had a half metre high lump of clay about 50m from us which
it landed on, battled a bit with the prey, and finally ate it.
Here is our impression.
Date: 07 Sep 2011
View: DF1_20110725_1702_056 Blackcap female on conifer top (crop).jpg
Description: Blackcaps are new here this year. This female was in the top of a
3m high conifer well used as a singing post by many birds.
Date: 06 Sep 2011
View: D45_20110725_2337_030_FB1 Fieldmouse leaping over another (crop).jpg
Description: After many months of mostly placid behaviour, the fieldmice have
started leaping about at the moved site. We judge this to be mating
show-off behaviour triggered by a bit of rain improving the food supply.
View: D45_20110725_2339_031_FB1 Fieldmouse nuzzling rump of another.jpg
Description: 2 minutes later - after the showing off, the reward?
View: D45_20110726_0029_035_FB1 Fieldmouse leaning on stone with another on top.jpg
Description: "I can't push this with the weight of you standing on it"
Date: 05 Sep 2011
View: DF1_20110727_1340_097 Gatekeeper Butterflies mating on thistle down (crop).jpg
Description: Here are a pair of Gatekeeper butterflies mating on un-dispersed
thistle down - looks lovely and comfy!
View: DF1_20110727_1340_106 Gatekeeper Butterflies mating on thistle down with another fluttering round the pair.jpg
Description: This pair didn't have it all their own way - another individual
(probably a male) fluttered around them but they ignored him.
Date: 04 Sep 2011
View: DB1_20110728_1107_046 Common Blue butterfly pair mating in Thistle seed head (female at top) (crop).jpg
Description: When its warm enough with some sunshine, we get to see several species
of butterfly mating, often first spotted in awkward flight while
coupled. Here a pair of Common Blue butterflies on some thistle
seed heads.
Date: 03 Sep 2011
View: D45_20110723_0231_053_FB1 Fieldmouse trying to bite whole (small) cherry.jpg
Description: An early small cherry just seems to be too much for the teeth
and jaw to cut through. The cherry was still there undamaged long
after the mouse left.
View: D45_20110724_2143_166_FB1 Fieldmouse leaping possibly about to land on another.jpg
Description: Fieldmouse practicing diving without the water?
His nest-mate on the ground may have provided a soft landing!
Date: 02 Sep 2011
View: D45_20110718_0605_146_FB1 Dunnock juvenile about to land (crop).jpg
Description: An elegant young Dunnock about to land on the stone.
Date: 01 Sep 2011
View: DF1_20110722_1012_042 Peacock Butterfly and 4 hover-flies on Perennial Sow-thistle (crop).jpg
Description: This Peacock butterfly was repeatedly irritated by the hover-flies
and kept flicking it's wings when they got close.
Image Archive arch 2011 aug.htm (view it Here)
Date: 31 Aug 2011
View: DF1_20110717_1617_111 Small Copper butterfly on thistle + Grasshopper + 5 common red Soldier Beetles (crop).jpg
Description: Concentrating on the intended subject it is easy to overlook what
else is going on. The photo being taken was of the Small Copper
Butterfly but we only later noticed also the grasshopper (below
the butterfly's Proboscis) and 5 Red Soldier Beetles, 1 under the
butterfly on the right, and 4 more in the next flower along, one
pair mating as usual.
View: DF1_20110719_1630_214 Small copper butterfly feeding on thistle flower showing bottom of rear wing (crop).jpg
Description: The rear underwing of the Small Copper butterfly is different to the other 3
surfaces on each side, undoubtedly to provide camouflage when at rest.
Date: 30 Aug 2011
View: D45_20110718_2336_044_FB1 Fieldmouse inspecting beetle (crop).jpg
Description: A Fieldmouse inspecting a beetle, which probably became midnight supper.
Date: 29 Aug 2011
View: D45_20110716_2245_074_FB1 Fieldmouse nibbling food.jpg
Description: Sweet little fieldmouse gorging on corn and spoilt fruit.
View: D45_20110720_0142_090_FB1 fieldmouse lapping up peanut butter (@576).jpg
Description: 4 days later maybe the same mouse clearing up the oily remains of
peanut butter.
Date: 28 Aug 2011
View: P10_20110723_1831_046 Arum Lily Berries along west of track Lords-and-Ladies (Arum maculatum) (crop).jpg
Description: Our usual crop of Arum lilies is not in evidence this year, but we
found some deep in the mature hedge along the trackside in
the ditch edge, presumably finding a little more moisture than
the other sites.
Date: 27 Aug 2011
View: P10_20110715_1759_265 2 Robins Pincushion Galls on Wild Rose (crop).jpg
Description: One wild rose is smothered in Robins Pincushion - an insect gall.
One at the top of the stem (above this framing) is 6cm in
diameter, but these are more typical on this plant at 2 to 3 cm.
View: P10_20110714_1204_251 First ripe Blackberry fruit of 2011 with other undeveloped fruits (crop).jpg
Description: Atypically early first blackberry fruit, and rather small for the
'lead fruit' - the one at the head of a spike is usually by far
the earliest and biggest. The
Woodland Trust 'Natures Calendar'
phenology section are particularly interested in the effect of
the 2011 Spring severe drought on blackberry fruiting.
We are puzzled by the tiny 'fruitlets' in the same stem.
Date: 26 Aug 2011
View: D45_20110709_2126_072_FB1 Young fox (crop 1).jpg
Description: A week after its previous one-off sighting, this pristine young
fox visited this site for at least 20 minutes.
View: D45_20110709_2126_072_FB1 Young fox (crop 3 @ 768).jpg
Description: Detail from above.
Date: 25 Aug 2011
View: DF1_20110711_1019_067 Hover-fly Volucella zonaria on blackberry flower (crop).jpg
Description: We didn't realise Hover-flies came this big or Gorgeous
and had an expert confirm our ID as a Volucella zonaria.
He commented 'I think it's the biggest native
species of hover-fly, but only took up residence in Britain in
the 1940s. ... The larvae live in wasp nests.'
Date: 24 Aug 2011
View: D3B_20110713_1733_022_FB3 Sparrowhawk male (crop).jpg
Description: We haven't spotted a Sparrowhawk 'in the flesh' for many weeks
since the fields were killed for conversion from pasture to arable,
so this image came as a nice surprise outside the kitchen window.
Date: 23 Aug 2011
View: D45_20110713_1916_093_FB1 Dunnock back to camera but looking back.jpg
Description: Coquettish Dunnocks are a rarity!
View: D45_20110713_1944_095_FB1 Fieldmouse and Dunnock together on stone (crop).jpg
Description: We rarely see a rodent and bird at this site at the same time -
this a genuine single frame on a dingy evening. We don't think
the Dunnock quite knows what to make of the mouse.
Date: 22 Aug 2011
View: DF1_20110714_1158_058 Meadow Brown butterflies mating on grass stem (crop).jpg
Description: A pair of Meadow Brown butterflies mating artistically positioned
across a grass stem in a shape reminiscent of the lover's Heart.
Butterflies mate 'tail to tail'.
Date: 21 Aug 2011
View: DF1_20110714_1236_266+268+269+272+274 Buzzard in flight banking overhead 1-5 of 5 (arbitrary montage).jpg
Description: We think we have a buzzard family of Mum, Dad and one juvenile
using the thermals and updraft from local geography to go off and
hunt. This one came quite close, banking as it approached (hence
the increasing size left to right) and we couldn't resist this
montage, much too closely spaced for reality but
echoing what you see as your eyes follow the bird.
Date: 20 Aug 2011
View: DF1_20110714_1647_427 Kestrel male juvenile growing adult tail feathers (crop).jpg
Description: Our juvenile kestrel male gave us a good look at his changing
tail feathers - note the male centre feather we have seen before
but now nearly full length, and now at his left (image's top)
some more male style feathers peeping round the edge.
View: DF1_20110714_1652_504 Kestrel female flying low over killed pasture near north bridleway hedge (crop).jpg
Description: He flew off to the distant East where another Kestrel joined him
but they never got close and he flew off. The other bird resolved
the puzzle by flying our way and it turned out to be a female -
almost certainly Mum.
View: DF1_20110715_1609_068 Kestrel male juvenile skimming over dead pasture (crop).jpg
Description: Next day the juvenile kestrel male, the ID more obvious from
other less interesting shots at the same time, skimming
atypically low over the dead grass.
Date: 19 Aug 2011
View: DF1_20110715_1602_060 Small Skipper Butterfly female.jpg
Description: First sighting of a Small Skipper Butterfly here enjoying the
thistle flowers.
View: DF1_20110715_1612_104 Small Copper Butterfly on clover.jpg
Description: Second sighting (the first was already bird pecked) of a Small
Copper Butterfly down on a fresh flower in the mostly withering clover.
Date: 18 Aug 2011
View: D45_20110702_0151_021_FB1 Fox (crop).jpg
Description: Foxes must find this stone a heaven of scents - Peanuts, fruits,
and other food along with mice and rabbits leaving their aromatic
calling cards.
Date: 17 Aug 2011
View: DB1_20110702_1437_065 Ringlet butterfly on Blackberry flower (crop).jpg
Description: Ringlet butterflies have only been regular visitors for a couple
of years, with more appearing each year. This one likes the
blackberry flowers.
View: DB1_20110702_1442_101 4 Ringlet Butterflies competing to mate ending with pair coupled (discontinuous) 04 of 10 (crop).jpg
Description: On the trackside privet hedge 4 Ringlet butterflies were having a
scrummage of mating rights - we suspect 1 female and 3 males.
View: DB1_20110702_1445_155 4 Ringlet Butterflies competing to mate ending with pair coupled (discontinuous) 10 of 10 (crop).jpg
Description: 3 minutes later - 'The winner takes it all'.
Butterflies mate joined back to back.
Date: 16 Aug 2011
View: DF1_20110702_1716_351 Kestrel on Black Poplar branch.jpg
Description: Meet Kevin the Kestrel - a recent arrival that appears to be
juvenile male who has adopted our patch & the surrounding area
in which to hunt.
In the Black poplar he is watching the nearly bare ground for
some inadequately cautious rodent or insect.
View: DF1_20110702_1717_397-403 Kestrel hanging in wind gradually dropping in height 1-7 of 7 (accurate montage).jpg
Description: Ooh look - a quick descent onto something tasty?
View: DF1_20110702_1718_419 Kestrel killing prey on cut dead grass (discontinuous) 2 of 9 (crop).jpg
Description: On the ground we have frequently watched the kestrel struggling to subdue prey.
Whatever he caught has always eaten on the spot and out of our view.
Date: 15 Aug 2011
View: DF1_20110703_1745_114-116 Little Egret flyby at 7fps 5-7of 7 (arbitrary montage).jpg
Description: Another Little Egret flyby along the side of our patch.
Even taken at about 7 frames/second these images are show much
to close together to get them into one image.
View: DF1_20110703_1745_118 Little Egret flyby (crop).jpg
Description: A couple of frames on from the above, the egret might have noticed us,
but we are apparently in the 'harmless' category!
Date: 14 Aug 2011
View: D45_20110706_0629_047+0630_048_FB1 Great Tit Juvenile + Bluetit Juvenile (accurate montage 1 minute apart).jpg
Description: This montage is from successive frames about 1 minute apart - a
nice opportunity to show the yellow face mask of the two most
common Tits here - Great Tit on the left and Bluetit on the
right. Even losing one box to Bumble bees after it's use for
nesting, we seem to have a fantastic 'crop' of tits - they must
have had multiple broods this year.
View: D45_20110707_0557_079+0735_089_FB1 Blackbird female collecting nesting material (accurate montage 90m apart).jpg
Description: Not good Spring for the blackbirds though - we have eyeballed
only a couple youngsters over the whole site. This female is
obviously busy on a new nest - caught twice in 90 minutes at the
same site carrying maximised beakfuls of materials.
Date: 13 Aug 2011
View: DA1_20110626_1247_088_FT1 Brown Hawker Dragonfly male taking off from Hawthorn twig 2 of 3 (crop).jpg
Description: The first couple of warm days at last brought out the Odonata
(Dragonflies and Damselfies) and this male Brown Hawker Dragonfly
obliged with some in-flight images.
Just taking off from the twig (not a montage).
View: DA1_20110626_1233_013+1310_156_FT1 Brown Hawker Dragonfly male in Flight bottom view with Hawthorn twig (montage).jpg
Description: A Brown Hawker male viewed from underneath the insect.
View: DA1_20110626_1239_051_FT1 Brown Hawker Dragonfly male in Flight showing corrugations on aerodynamically twisted wing (crop).jpg
Description: This detail from another image seemed to us to show how the
pattern of veins in the wings forms sheets of corrugations when
the wing is under stress as here when the insect turned back in
flight.
Date: 12 Aug 2011
View: DA1_20110626_1256_110+1307_145_FT1 Banded Demoiselle male in Flight with Hawthorn twig (montage).jpg
Description: The first couple of warm days at last brought out the Odonata
(Dragonflies and Damselfies).
This Banded Demoiselle damselfly male flying along in all his glory.
View: DA1_20110626_1302_125_FT1 Banded Demoiselle female in Flight (crop).jpg
Description: The Banded Demoiselle damselfly female doesn't have the bands on the
wings but makes up for it with the glorious green and gold abdomen.
Date: 11 Aug 2011
View: DA1_20110626_1446_194_FT1 Privet Hawkmoth flapping wings to warm up on Hawthorn twig (crop).jpg
Description: The Moth trap caught this huge moth - our first sighting of a
Privet Hawk Moth.
View: DA1_20110626_1604_371_FT1 Privet Hawk-moth on Roys hand (crop).jpg
Description: Yes - it is a BIG moth.
View: DA1_20110626_1610_411_FT1 Privet Hawk-moth flapping wings to warm up on Hawthorn twig (crop).jpg
Description: Here it was vigorously flapping its wings to warm up for flight
and making a noticeable draught and blowing dust about on the
'set'. But even when thoroughly warm and flying round the room we
couldn't persuade it to fly in the right direction to get images
in flight.
Date: 10 Aug 2011
View: DA1_20110626_1539_285_FT1 White Plume Moth in Flight (crop).jpg
Description: One of our favourite moths is the plume moth. When perched
it is a white 'T' shape with the 'plumes' brought close together.
(Another Plume moth called the 'T' is brown and really does
align all the plumes)
In flight the plumes separate out to form a wing 'surface'.
Here the insect is flying away from the camera and upwards.
View: DA1_20110626_1540_287+1537_270_FT1 White Plume Moth in Flight with hawthorn twig (montage).jpg
Description: This time the moth is flying right to left and banking
towards the camera.
Date: 09 Aug 2011
View: DF1_20110627_0819_015 Beautiful Demoiselle Damselfly male (1st sighting) (crop).jpg
Description: Last year we glimpsed what might be a new species here, and this
year we have the confirmation of the Beautiful Demoiselle
Damselfly. This is the male - we have only glimpsed females so
far. This insect requires running water for laying eggs, and we
will be trying to work out where they are breeding off our site.
But the corner we find them is also 'midge corner' and we think
they visit for 'eat-on-the-hedge' meals.
Date: 08 Aug 2011
View: DB1_20110627_1040_047 Common Blue damselfly female imm eating midge (crop).jpg
Description: In the corner of our plot often plagued by midges we saw this
immature Common Blue damselfly (not a regular species here) which has
caught a midge and is chewing it.
View: DB1_20110627_1040_059 Common Blue damselfly female imm eating midge (head detail crop).jpg
Description: Another frame provides more detail at the 'business end'
Date: 07 Aug 2011
View: DF1_20110629_0957_176 Marbled White butterfly feeding on Thistle flower (crop).jpg
Description: Thistles are an invasive plant that needs to be controlled, but
they certainly attract butterflies.
We have only previously recorded a marbled White butterfly in 2008.
This year a few of them are a delightful sight flitting over the flowers.
View: DF1_20110629_1222_017+1221_001 Small Tortoiseshell butterfly feeding on Thistle flower (montage).jpg
Description: A visitor in declining numbers is the Small Tortoiseshell butterfly.
Here are 2 images of the top wing and underwing of the same insect on the
same thistle flower although the lighting has changed a bit.
Date: 06 Aug 2011
View: DF1_20110628_1448_126 Bullfinch male eating unident seeds on shingled ground (crop).jpg
Description: This Bullfinch male (and his out of shot mate) were feeding in a shingle
bed covered in weeds, decimating the seed heads and flowers.
View: DF1_20110628_1703_142 Chiffchaff picking Aphids off thistle stem.jpg
Description: Some of the back garden thistles are infested with aphids and this
Chiffchaff knows what to do with them.
Date: 05 Aug 2011
View: DF1_20110629_1236_126 Carrion Crow Harassing Buzzard (crop).jpg
Description: This buzzard flew down into the trees to our North East and vanished.
About a minute later it came zooming out with this Carrion Crow in
hot pursuit. When the pair had skirmishing for about 400m the crow
suddenly broke off engagement and flew back while buzzard carried
on out of sight.
Date: 04 Aug 2011
View: D5C_20110618_1838_031_FB2 Jackdaw with Strawberry top.jpg
Description: Its Wimbledon tennis fortnight - Strawberries (no cream for us),
and rain (we hope - well at night to fill the ponds) - and this
jackdaw is joining in the evening feast.
View: D5C_20110620_2144_017_FB2 Fieldmouse slipping off log (crop).jpg
Description: Easy as falling off a log?
Date: 03 Aug 2011
View: DF1_20110619_1010_192 Large Skipper showing bottom of hind wing (crop).jpg
Description: We normally see skipper wings open or partially open hiding their
underwings, and did not appreciate that the bottom of just the
rear wing has a subtle green colouring different to all the other
surfaces.
View: DF1_20110619_1028_392 Large Skipper with proboscis probing thistle flower (crop).jpg
Description: And here on a thistle flower with proboscis unrolled and in full action
sucking up nectar.
Date: 02 Aug 2011
View: DF1_20110619_1021_243+249 Rustic Sailor Beetle (q) + 7 Spot Ladybird + Bumble Bee on same Thistle (montage for focus).jpg
Description: 3 in one
Although this is a montage its real - 2 frames taken in a few seconds with different choice
of focus combined to get them all sharp.
View: DF1_20110619_1024_346 Meadow Brown Butterfly + 2 Large Skippers feeding on single Thistle flower + flying ant (crop).jpg
Description: 4 in one
This time a single frame containing what we thought was 3 insects
turned out to contain not just a Meadow Brown butterfly and 2
skippers sharing a flower, but a winged ant flying by and casting
a shadow on the butterflies wing it was about to land on.
View: DF1_20110619_1024_347 Meadow Brown Butterfly with ant on wing + 2 Large Skippers on single Thistle flower (crop of ant).jpg
Description: Next frame the ant had landed (sort of).
Date: 01 Aug 2011
View: D45_20110622_2003_071_FB1 Robin with untidy feathers.jpg
Description: Each of our photo sites has its own brave little robin that arrives
the moment we arrive with the food bowl. This adult has produced a
family this year and the first signs of molt are apparent.
View: D45_20110624_0614_106_FB1 Blackcap female with dried fibres in beak (crop).jpg
Description: Its about 2 months since we saw the male and female blackcaps,
and here is the female, probably collecting nesting material for
a new nest, She is standing at the same place as the robin, but
a day and a half later.
Image Archive arch 2011 jul.htm (view it Here)
Date: 31 Jul 2011
View: DC1_20110620_0851_071-_034 Bluetit collecting unripe Ash seeds (keys) clamping to branch with claw to tear them up 4+3+1+2 of 4 (montage).jpg
Description: For several days bluetits have been clambering around in the Ash tree on the
main pond island. We thought they were hunting insects, but the tree does a good
job of obscuring what is going on. Altogether too long spent trying to catch images
finally result in a single glorious minute where one bird did it all in reasonable view:-
Tear off a still green seed (known as a Key -
these become winged seeds), clamp it to a branch with a claw, rip it to bits
and eat the unripe seed.
Unfortunately these are the visible bits of TWO seeds being
'processed' so the frames are not in their natural order, but it
illustrates what was going on.
Date: 30 Jul 2011
View: DF1_20110622_1108_095-97 Little Egret flying overhead @ 7fps 1-3 of 5 (artistic montage).jpg
Description: After several weeks of only distant sightings (usually just one)
of a pair of Little Egrets, this one did us proud with this
flyover catching the light in a magical way. This is 3 successive
frames in the right order over about 0.3 seconds but montaged
purely for effect.
Date: 29 Jul 2011
View: DF1_20110622_1337_238 swift in flight reaching up for insect (unprocessed crop).jpg
Description: No this isn't turned sideways!
The swift was sweeping up to catch an insect
(not big enough to spot even in the original).
View: DF1_20110622_1337_290 Swift in flight at top of wing stroke.jpg
Description: Swifts are normally photographed as sickle shapes, but they
have a full range of wing movements, here caught near the top
of its wing stroke.
Date: 28 Jul 2011
View: DC1_20110611_0848_008 Mallard duck pair resting on bank of dragon pond (crop).jpg
Description: The mallard duck pair that spend much of their day in this favourite spot.
They are starting the moult and that whole area is littered with feathers.
View: DF1_20110611_1031_054 Mallard duck pair taking off from Dragon pond 2 of 6 (crop).jpg
Description: The above was taken from the house. These ducks are not 'tame' but
are used enough to us to not take instant fright. Approaching
the pond on foot was enough to see them both take off for a fly
round and return when we had gone. He was off to the left but
only partly in frame. We love the sheets of water and fine spray
at the tips of her wings.
Date: 27 Jul 2011
View: D35_20110614_1751_031_FB4 Chaffinch male aerobraking approach to tree stump (crop).jpg
Description: A male Chaffinch aerobraking to land on the tree stump just off lower right.
View: D5C_20110615_1918_112_FB2 Chaffinch male (with bumble foot) diving towards ground.jpg
Description: And 10m from the previous site is another individual, sadly
determinable by his being afflicted with the Fungal disease
Bumble Foot. But he is in full breeding colours and we guess was
still well enough to breed this year.
Date: 26 Jul 2011
View: D45_20110613_2140_035_FB1 Bank Vole.jpg
Description: A bank vole has become a regular visitor to this relocated site.
Date: 25 Jul 2011
View: D45_20110612_0155_057_FB1 young Fox (crop 1).jpg
Description: We have seen a young fox on the nearest covert IR camera to this
site once or twice a week. At last we have a good view & what a
beauty.
View: D45_20110612_0155_057_FB1 young Fox (crop 2).jpg
Description: Tongue, wet nose & lovely whiskers.
Sadly it is bound to kill some birds we are fond of, but that how it goes.
Date: 24 Jul 2011
View: DF1_20110612_0702_231 Common Tern flying by with fish in beak (crop).jpg
Description: Chance flyover of a common Tern carrying a fish that we don't stand
any hope of identifying.
Date: 23 Jul 2011
View: DF1_20110614_1213_388+340+342+345+351 Buzzard flying up to electricity post 02+04+06+09+15 of 16 (accurate montage).jpg
Description: This buzzard was working its way along the tops of concrete mains
supply poles. This is an accurate montage except for the doubling
of the post to illustrate the landing. It is selected shots from
an overlapping sequence at about 7 fps - the frame counts are
listed in the file title if you are interested
Date: 22 Jul 2011
View: D45_20110614_1912_078_FB1 Dunnock in flight banking past vertical (crop 1).jpg
Description: Dunnock doing a lovely more than 90 degree banking turn while
keeping the head nearly vertical.
Date: 21 Jul 2011
View: D45_20110616_0436_136_FB1 Blackbird female with nesting material (crop).jpg
Description: Blackbird breeding is NOT going well here - we haven't seen a single juvenile.
According to various reports the drought has locked too many of the worms
and insects they need deep in the hard soil. Each blackbird nest we
happen to spot has already been abandoned.
But they haven't given up - here is a female collecting material
for yet another try and some rain has finally arrived
Date: 20 Jul 2011
View: D5C_20110610_1254_025_FB2 Grey Squirrel in plate of food (crop).jpg
Description: The Woodland Trust asked us to see if we could supply some
'animals stealing picnic food' pics. The local squirrel was the
most obliging - they can't resist (low salt) peanut butter!
Date: 19 Jul 2011
View: D35_20110527_1809_063_FB4 Grey Squirrel behind pile of food (crop).jpg
Description: We don't normally treat animals as objects of comedy, but sometimes
an image suggests a silly title. Here is a selection.
"Mine - all Mine - hic"
(through we suspect squirrel anatomy doesn't allow hiccups)
View: D5C_20110529_1842_094_FB2 Jackdaw walking toward camera with head turned.jpg
Description: "'Evening all"
With apologies to the Legendary Jack Warner
View: D5C_20110529_2024_102_FB2 Young rabbit nibbling carrot.jpg
Description: Classic baby rabbit eating carrot - or at least wondering what it is.
View: D5C_20110602_1951_024_FB2 Young rabbit nibbling green end of carrot top.jpg
Description: 4 days later - perhaps the green end is easier to chew!
Date: 18 Jul 2011
View: DF1_20110604_1351_041 Buzzard in flight with rodent in talons (@432).jpg
Description: One advantage of birds feeding young is that rather than eating what
they catch immediately, they carry some of it back to the youngsters and give
us a chance to see it.
Firstly a Buzzard carrying a rodent. It never got close enough to identify
the prey accurately.
View: DF1_20110604_1435_057 Hobby in flight with dragonfly in talons (ID crop @576).jpg
Description: Half an hour later this Hobby made a rather high flyover. At the time
we could not see the dragonfly clutched in it's talons.
The abdomen (tail) is sticking out below the tail and the
dragonfly's wing outline can be made out below that.
We were out looking for dragonflies & didn't spot one all day!
View: DF1_20110605_1117_098 Buzzard in flight with rabbit in talons aligned with body (crop @576).jpg
Description: Next day a Buzzard carried a rabbit along the line of the brook.
The bird was flying into wind (making poor progress) but we
noticed that it was doing the Osprey trick of lining up the prey
with the direction of flight to reduce drag. A brief skirmish
with a rook had it back in it's normal feet together position,
but quickly reverted to the aligned position here. 7 days later
we saw a similar flight but the rabbit was just hanging down as
we usually see.
Date: 17 Jul 2011
View: DF1_20110604_1448_064 Large skipper male (top view) on Blackberry leaf (crop).jpg
Description: Just about the only butterfly recently - a large skipper. Looking
this up 'in the book' we see the underwing is completely
different.
View: DF1_20110604_1449_067 Mint Moth (Pyrausta aurata) on oxeye daisy (crop).jpg
Description: First identification of this moth here - a 'microlepidoptera' about 2 cm across
with common name the 'Mint moth'. The petals & other parts on some of the oxeye
daisies this year are deformed in various ways, as you see here.
Date: 16 Jul 2011
View: DF1_20110607_1601_142 Swift in Flight (crop).jpg
Description: Swifts are the most regular fly catching bird at the moment -
here a portrait with the wings catching the light nicely.
View: DF1_20110608_1314_123 Swift in Flight.jpg
Description: And here a more conventional view showing the sickle shaped wings.
Date: 15 Jul 2011
View: D35_20110608_0804_029+0806_030+0808_031_FB4 Magpie expelling Pellet 1-3 of 3 (montage at about 2 minute intervals).jpg
Description: Most birds, especially larger ones such as Owls, Gulls, Corvids
(including this Magpie), Woodpeckers & Terns, produce 'pellets'
of undigestible food. In Raptors and owls this is mostly bones
and chitin, but our magpies produce a more catholic mix including
undigested corn. Here a magpie played about with an unripe cherry
fallen from the tree above, before disgorging the pellet you see
next to it. These 3 images each about 2 minutes apart.
Date: 14 Jul 2011
View: D3B_20110607_0549_046_FB3 Chaffinch male turning and aerobraking to land on perch.jpg
Description: Pleasingly sharp and positioned chaffinch male banking and braking to
land on the perch.
Date: 13 Jul 2011
View: D3B_20110610_0555_213_FB3 Great spotted woodpecker adult on perch with juvenile hanging underneath (crop).jpg
Description: We got 2 frames almost identical to this, but don't know why the
juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker has chosen to hang from the perch.
But then why not - they spend their lives on vertical trunks and search
top and bottom of branches for insects.
View: D3B_20110610_0638_224_FB3 Great Spotted woodpecker female skirmishing with Starling male in flight (crop).jpg
Description: 40 minutes later the mother Great Spotted Woodpecker defends her
place from aggressor male starling.
Date: 12 Jul 2011
View: DF1_20110608_1630_509-511 Buzzard flying by 1-3 of 3 (arbitrary montage @ 7fps).jpg
Description: This buzzard seems to have got used to us 'harmlessly' watching
from a corner of our patch, and made a lovely low flyover. Here
are 3 successive picture over about 7 fps more closely spaced for
effect than the actual separation.
Date: 11 Jul 2011
View: DF1_20110610_1459_045 Chiffchaff collecting nesting material from ground (crop).jpg
Description: Chiffchaffs have suddenly started nest building. A frantic hour
or two saw a huge quantity of dead grass & other weeds taken into
a bramble infested bush about 10m from the house.
Date: 10 Jul 2011
View: DF1_20110607_1022_060-065 Skylark singing in flight (selected) 09-14 of 16 (sequential impression montage @ 7fps).jpg
Description: About 1 second of 'The Lark Ascending'.
The spacing and slope is reconstructed from memory and probably
too close - see later.
View: DF1_20110607_1022_039 Skylark singing in flight (selected) 01 of 16 (crop).jpg
Description: This skylark seem to have a nest about 300m away in the (still uncut but very
sparse) meadow to our east and we got an atypically good view of the top of the wing.
Try to imagine the liquid silver song pouring from that open beak.
View: DF1_20110608_1513_296-298+1414_299 Skylark singing in flight 3-6 of 8 (accurate montage @ 7fps).jpg
Description: Next day some soft cumulus clouds gave us reference points to
accurately space the images but were sparse enough not to flare
out the images. So this is about half a second of 'flight' -
skylarks seem to spend about half their time singing with wings
firmly closed.
View: DF1_20110608_1633_602 Skylark singing in flight 3 of 7 (crop @432).jpg
Description: And then he briefly got quite close to us overhead.
Date: 09 Jul 2011
View: D3B_20110601_0701_236_FB3 Great spotted woodpecker juvenile landing on peanut feeder perch occupied by grey squirrel (crop).jpg
Description: A juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker arrives behind an apparently
oblivious Grey Squirrel. When we first saw this we wished we had
another frame a second or two later.
View: D3B_20110605_0705_160_FB3 Grey squirrel fending off arrival of Great Spotted Woodpecker juvenile (crop).jpg
Description: 4 days on we feel we have the 'what happened next' picture
Not so oblivious this time!
Date: 08 Jul 2011
View: DC1_20110601_1203_018 Tree Sparrow.jpg
Description: Tree sparrows are breeding well here. We will be watching the
effect on this as the surrounding farm is converted to arable.
Date: 07 Jul 2011
View: DC1_20110603_1332_007+011 Moorhen adult on high folded over Iris nest (accurate montage).jpg
Description: The moorhen of the main pond have been mating, and have made a nest about 1 metre above
the (low) water level on some folded over Iris fronds.
Bird's red beak at the top, the water along the bottom edge.
View: DF1_20110604_1304_017 Moorhen adults changing over incubation duty on high folded over Iris nest 1 of 5 (crop).jpg
Description: Next day (from a different vantage point) we caught a change-over
at the nest on camera. The moorhen with its back to us on the
left is arriving and the bird on the right promptly left. It's a
precarious and very visible nest - we are not hopeful.
Date: 06 Jul 2011
View: DF1_20110603_1532_083 Mistle Thrush Juvenile (q) (crop).jpg
Description: First sighting of this species here - a Mistle Thrush. Probably
a juvenile, it stopped briefly on the concrete electricity pole
and it was obviously too big for a Song Thrush and quite
different stance.
Date: 05 Jul 2011
View: D01_20110524_1810_090+1811_097 Chiffchaff singing on overhead wire (montage).jpg
Description: Our first 'Chiffchaff' (confirmed by the call even if it may be a sub-species)
has rather taken our fancy. Here it is a montage of it calling from it's favourite
perch on the mains wire between the house and the first concrete post.
View: DF1_20110527_1728_007 Chiffchaff with insect in beak (crop).jpg
Description: 3 days later a Chiffchaff stopped off at one of the camera sites
collecting insects. Maybe we have a pair and they have nestlings.
Hooray!
Date: 04 Jul 2011
View: D35_20110528_1507_068_FB4 Great Spotted Woodpecker adult with white feathers above beak stained brown (q) (crop).jpg
Description: The brown band above the beak of Great Spotted Woodpeckers is
always shown as white in ID books and other photographs. But some
of the birds we see gradually change to shades of brown during
the breeding season (and moult back to white) so we think it must
by something about the nest site or other feeding habitat that
leads to staining to various degrees - this is as dark as we
remember seeing it.
View: DF1_20110530_0747_021 Great spotted woodpecker female feeding peanut fragments to juvenile.jpg
Description: There are at least 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker youngsters being
fed peanut fragments extracted from the feeder by a parent. This
adult female (left) shows the more usual light stain above the
beak.
Date: 03 Jul 2011
View: DF1_20110527_1747_079 Grey Squirrel on peanut feeder perch (crop).jpg
Description: We mostly use peanut feeders made of pierced steel rather than cages
around normal net, so the Grey squirrel can get some nut fragment if it
is hungry enough, but leave plenty for the birds and can not wreck
the feeders Here it is showing us that it is a messy eater!
Date: 02 Jul 2011
View: DF1_20110529_1248_119 Bluetit chick demanding food.jpg
Description: A baby Bluetit doing what it does best - begging for food!
View: DF1_20110602_0730_210 2 Bluetit youngsters in willow (adjusted crop).jpg
Description: A few days later they are learning to find their own insect food.
Here are 2 that were exploring a willow tree for insects.
View: DF1_20110602_0734_252 Bluetit juvenile hanging from twig of copper beech tree (crop 2).jpg
Description: And here hanging precariously at the end of a twig of a
Copper beech tree.
Date: 01 Jul 2011
View: DF1_20110531_1228_075 Common Blue butterfly male on Buttercup (crop).jpg
Description: A couple of portraits of an immaculate male Common Blue butterfly as it
flew around our 'meadow'.
View: DF1_20110531_1230_094 Thick-legged Flower Beetle (Oedemera nobilis) male in buttercup flower.jpg
Description: While we were watching the butterfly, this Thick-legged Flower Beetle
got in on the act. According to some books this is the male, the females
not sporting the leg bulges, but the descriptions get muddled into another
species & we are not sure.
View: DF1_20110531_1232_127 Common Blue butterfly male on Clover flower.jpg
Description: By now the Common Blue butterfly had moved on to a patch of clover.
Image Archive arch 2011 jun.htm (view it Here)
Date: 30 Jun 2011
View: DF1_20110531_1310_337+1312_394+397 3 views of Swift in flight (arbitrary montage).jpg
Description: Swifts are the fly-catching bird of the moment.
Here is a little celebration. At left the beak is open and it is either about to
catch or has just caught an insect.
View: DF1_20110531_1320_745-751 Swallow tumbling to lose height (about 7fps) 1-7 of 9 (accurate montage).jpg
Description: A new behaviour in Swifts for us. We are used to larger birds
spilling air to lose height, but this swift seemed to be doing
the same. With about 1 second of action here this bird tumbled
chaotically down and then regained control. The positions are as
accurate as we can determine from the cloud moving through the
panning camera frame.
Date: 29 Jun 2011
View: DF1_20110531_1316_610+611 Buzzard Flyover 11+12 of 14 (arbitrary montage).jpg
Description: After a mid-air argument with a Rook, this Buzzard did a circle
round and flew right by the camerman at low level. For once the camera was
set up just right. This is two successive frames arbitrarily spaced.
View: DF1_20110531_1316_612 Buzzard Flyover (Selected) 13 of 14 (detail crop).jpg
Description: Couldn't resist this detail from another frame.
Date: 28 Jun 2011
View: DF1_20110502_0702_158 Greenfinch on wire looking up at Goldfinch on wire directly above.jpg
Description: "Don't you dare!"
View: D5C_20110521_0650_038_FB2 Grey squirrel leaping.jpg
Description: Grey Squirrel trying to catch his shadow?
View: SG2_20110522_1317_162-164_SC2 Pheasant female dust bathing with male attending 1-3 of 3 (montage).jpg
Description: Poof ... the magicians Rabbit Pheasant female appears.
The dry weather has many birds making the most of ash to bathe in.
This taken over 'a few' seconds in a steady wind blowing away the dust cloud.
Date: 27 Jun 2011
View: DC1_20110518_1121_005 Green woodpecker pecking at soil on ground (crop).jpg
Description: No signs of the Green Woodpeckers breeding this year, but it may be.
Here is a visitor busy probing the ground in their usual way.
View: DC1_20110518_1122_021 Green woodpecker on side of ash tree (crop).jpg
Description: It then moved onto the ash tree on 'Dragon Pond' island and did a bit
of half-hearted pecking.
Date: 26 Jun 2011
View: D45_20110523_1617_151_FB1 Robin Juvenile standing on pine cone (crop).jpg
Description: We relocated this camera about 30m and immediately started seeing
juvenile robins (at least 2) in this new territory.
View: D45_20110524_1637_016_FB1 Robin landing on stone.jpg
Description: Mum or dad Robin flying in to the site's rock which we used to
replace the log which the rooks threw aside with great ease.
Date: 25 Jun 2011
View: DB1_20110525_1406_010 Noon Fly (Mesembrina meridiana) (crop).jpg
Description: When it is warm we have loads of these appear from 'nowhere'.
They are called the 'Noon Fly' possibly because they only appear
when it is warm. They are wonderfully intricate and the yellow
patches on the wings is quite startling. None of our ID books do
it justice, and perhaps neither does this.
Date: 24 Jun 2011
View: DB1_20110525_1409_042+047+051 Bee entering Yellow Flag Iris flower and exiting through side 03+08+12 of 13 (montage).jpg
Description: Yellow Flag Iris is designed to use bees for pollination. The sexual organs are
beneath the upper petal which presses down on the bee as it enters leaving
or picking up pollen on its back that you can see as yellow specks on the
last image. Bees always go in the 'front' pushing up the upper petal, but
exit out of the side.
Date: 23 Jun 2011
View: D3B_20110525_0541_121_FB3 4 Juvenile starlings spaced along perch + 1 adult.jpg
Description: 4 (of at least 5) Juvenile Starlings forming a very 'English' queue
with one of the adults at the left.
Date: 22 Jun 2011
View: D5C_20110526_1028_087_FB2 Song Thrush with snail in beak (crop).jpg
Description: We have been seeing fresh broken snail shells in more places than
usual, and here is one of the culprits!
Date: 21 Jun 2011
View: D5C_20110526_1919_112_FB2 Robin in flight threatening Chaffinch male on log (crop 1).jpg
Description: The Robin wants exactly the place the male chaffinch is occupying - of course!
View: D5C_20110526_1919_112_FB2 Robin in flight threatening Chaffinch male on log (crop 2).jpg
Description: The Robin is unusually sharp, so lets enjoy a close-up
Date: 20 Jun 2011
View: DF1_20110525_1637_002 Mallard duck pair walking up dried up side of Round pond (crop).jpg
Description: Something has obviously gone wrong for this female mallard, who has been
accompanying this male and showing none of the frantic 'feed and get back'
behaviour. This slope is SUPPOSED to be underwater but only a few millimetres
of rain in two months just can't keep up with evaporation.
Date: 19 Jun 2011
View: DF1_20110512_1343_352 Little egret in flight against blue sky & white clouds 3 of 6 (crop).jpg
Description: In the distance to the North this Little Egret was having a
really hard time trying to make progress into a strong NE wind,
at times going backwards. We expected it to give up and land but
instead it dropped in height into the shelter of trees & made
straight for us, giving an opportunity for flyover shots.
Date: 18 Jun 2011
View: D45_20110515_0716_111_FB1 Bullfinch male (crop).jpg
Description: A Bullfinch male carrying insects in his beak - certainly the first
such sighting here. At the same site we saw him again next day and
the day after that we glimpsed a female, so we so hope they are
breeding somewhere on our patch.
Date: 17 Jun 2011
View: DC1_20110510_1313_003 Mallard duck male in sunshine with buttercups.jpg
Description: Now the female mallard ducks are mostly incubating eggs or
shepherding chicks, the males hang about in mournful little
groups, or as here, alone & feeling lonely.
View: DF1_20110517_1754_111 Mallard duck female dabbling in Round pond (crop).jpg
Description: Incubating females leave their nests only for a hurried feed.
Here she is dabbling, feet paddling like mad and pushing up a
ridge of water ahead of her.
Date: 16 Jun 2011
View: DF1_20110514_1539_122 Bluetit with caterpillar in beak (crop).jpg
Description: This bluetit looks really tatty because of a strong wind blowing up the
head feathers from behind. He has an insect for the chicks. We have
LOTS of tit nest boxes and can't say where this one went.
Date: 15 Jun 2011
View: D3B_20110518_1430_144_FB3 Great spotted woodpecker male on peanut feeder & Starling male threatening each other.jpg
Description: The Great Spotted Woodpecker and Starling continue their animosity.
Date: 14 Jun 2011
View: D3B_20110518_1749_193_FB3 Starling juvenile landing on perch.jpg
Description: Young starlings are in abundance. This family has at least 3
youngsters being fed at feeders, in bushes & on the ground.
View: D3B_20110519_0811_261_FB3 Starling Juvenile begging from adult out of crop to left.jpg
Description: FEED ME!!!
View: DF1_20110519_0900_136 Starling adult feeding chick in bush 2 of 3 (crop).jpg
Description: Looks like a piece of peanut being stuffed down the ever-open craw, but
it is more usually insects and worms. Avoid putting out whole peanuts
in Spring/early summer - it is said that chicks can choke on them.
But the adults find peanut feeders useful as a quick feed for
themselves giving them more time to hunt for live prey for the youngsters.
Date: 13 Jun 2011
View: D45_20110517_2136_131_FB1 2 young fieldmice.jpg
Description: 2 young mice adventure out for supper
View: D45_20110519_2314_269_FB1 Fieldmouse leaping (crop).jpg
Description: Leaping from where to where we have little idea ...
Date: 12 Jun 2011
View: D5C_20110518_0553_071_FB2 2 Young Robins (crop).jpg
Description: A couple of young Robins - always demanding more food.
Date: 11 Jun 2011
View: DF1_20110516_1623_015 Common Blue butterfly male on buttercup (crop).jpg
Description: Following an unusually good showing of Holly Blue butterflies in April,
we now have the Common Blue butterfly - here the male which actually does
have a blue top to the wings (unlike the females brown).
Date: 10 Jun 2011
View: DB1_20110506_1444_009 Orange-tip butterfly male (a bit tatty) feeding on Ground Ivy flower.jpg
Description: We don't ever remember such a good numbers or duration of
Orange-tip butterflies. Now the Lady's Smock has finished this
now slightly tatty individual is feeding mainly on the Ground Elder.
Date: 09 Jun 2011
View: DB1_20110510_1507_010 Broad-bodied chaser dragonfly female hanging from Blackthorn (crop).jpg
Description: Our first Dragonfly (as opposed to Damselfly) sighting this year is a Broad-Bodied
Chaser female (actually seen briefly on 9 May 2011).
We think this is the first sighting in Buckinghamshire this year
View: DF1_20110510_1501_056 Broad-bodied chaser dragonfly female underside backlit showing abdominal translucence (crop).jpg
Description: A few minutes earlier 'grabbing' an image before going back to the
house for the 'macro' kit, we caught this view of the abdomen's translucence.
Date: 08 Jun 2011
View: DF1_20110506_1124_015 Long-tailed Tit with caterpillar in beak (crop).jpg
Description: The Long-tailed tits continue to catch tiny caterpillars and
'show them to us' outside the living room window. This one looks
like it has just spotted the camera. We have no idea where the
nest is.
Date: 07 Jun 2011
View: DF1_20110509_1056_030 small grass snake under corrugated iron (crop).jpg
Description: We have a few sheet of corrugated iron laying on the ground to
attract snakes and lizards where they can warm up. Lifting this
one exposed a small grass snake. Look for the forked tongue
caught in just this one frame of several!
View: DF1_20110509_1058_056 Bee-fly flying just above ground with shadow (crop).jpg
Description: Also under the corrugated iron sheet was this Bee-Fly which came
out rather reluctantly, hovering very low to the ground giving us
opportunities to capture this unusual view of it hovering over
the ground with a lovely shadow.
Date: 06 Jun 2011
View: D45_20110510_1908_073_FB1 Chaffinch pair feeding together.jpg
Description: Day Shift:A single frame catching the Chaffinch pair
together at the site for once.
View: D45_20110510_2215_108_FB1 2 Fieldmice facing each other by cherry.jpg
Description: Night Shift:Write your own caption!
Date: 05 Jun 2011
View: D45_20110512_0018_181_FB1 Fox (crop).jpg
Description: A midnight fox can probably smell the remains of the food put
out, now mostly taken by the birds and mice, and the tempting
smell of the mice themselves if only it can catch one out.
Date: 04 Jun 2011
View: DF1_20110511_1547_098 Heron making overhead flight in strong wind (selected frames) 04 of 16 (crop).jpg
Description: Strong North winds have brought a number of birds close over our
patch giving us the chance of some in-flight portraits. This Heron
did a particularly nice turn over the house.
View: DF1_20110511_1548_110 Heron making overhead flight in strong wind (selected frames) 10 of 16 (crop).jpg
View: DF1_20110511_1548_116 Heron making overhead flight in strong wind (selected frames) 11 of 16 (crop).jpg
Date: 03 Jun 2011
View: D01_20110430_0723_029 Green Woodpecker on Meadow post using tongue to pick up food fragments 1 of 3 (crop).jpg
Description: Green Woodpeckers are more commonly seen on the ground probing the soil
for things to eat. So you don't usually see the tongue in action as here.
View: D01_20110430_0724_078 Green Woodpecker bounding across mown path (crop).jpg
Description: On the ground they use an almost kangaroo hop style of gait
as they move about looking for a likely spot to sink that powerful
bill into the ground.
Date: 02 Jun 2011
View: D5C_20110505_1843_119_FB2 Robin with insect in beak.jpg
Description: This year we have managed to photograph an unusual variety
of birds collecting insects for their young.
View: DB1_20110430_1056_109+112+113 Starling male with caterpillar flies to hole & back + female exits + male returns 07-09 of 14 (accurate montage).jpg
Description: Why is the starling flying away from the hole leading to the nest
in the loft?
Well he turned up, found his 'wife' already inside, flew off and
perched on a nearby pipe, the lady departed and he then went in
with this food
View: D45_20110503_1853_104_FB1 Chaffinch female collecting insects.jpg
View: DF1_20110503_0819_082 Long-tailed Tit with caterpillar in beak (crop).jpg
Date: 01 Jun 2011
View: DA1_20110501_1434_037+1459_103_FT1 Azure Damselfly Female in flight with Hop Sedge (montage).jpg
Description: The first damselflies of the year have made their appearance
View: DA1_20110501_1438_056+1451_108_FT1 Large Red Damselfly Male in flight with Hop Sedge (montage).jpg
Image Archive arch 2011 may.htm (view it Here)
Date: 31 May 2011
View: DA1_20110501_1504_127+1517_167_FT1 Holly Blue butterfly female in flight with Red Campion Flowers (montage).jpg
Description: A 3 weeks ago we brought you the male Holly Blue butterfly.
Here is the subtly different female with different top of the
wing but similar underwing
View: DA1_20110501_1508_154+1517_166_FT1 Holly Blue butterfly female in flight with Red Campion flower (montage).jpg
Date: 30 May 2011
View: DA1_20110501_1522_174+1602_292_FT1 Muslin Ermine Moth male with Hawthorn twig (montage).jpg
Description: A couple of first sighting of moths here. First the rather drab
'Muslin Ermine' moth (called just the 'Muslin Moth' in some ID
books) has surprisingly white legs - its not a lighting effect.
View: DA1_20110501_1553_248+1602_291_FT1 White Ermine Moth in Flight with Hawthorn twig (montage).jpg
Description: This (not a new species) is the White Ermine caught the same night.
View: DA1_20110501_1525_189_FT1 Chocolate-Tip Moth (Clostera curtula) in flight (rotated crop).jpg
Description: This Chocolate-tip moth is a new sighting for us, but was a reluctant flier.
View: DA1_20110501_1603_303_FT1 Chocolate-Tip Moth (Clostera curtula) on Hawthorn twig (crop).jpg
Description: So here he is so he looks like the photo in the ID book!
Date: 29 May 2011
View: DF1_20110429_1704_065 Carrion crow harassing Buzzard carrying dead rabbit in talons 4 of 5 (crop @ 576).jpg
Description: Not an everyday moment - this Buzzard has killed or scavenged a
young rabbit (hanging upside down in the buzzard's talons) and is
being hassled by a carrion crow who wants to steal his prize.
View: DF1_20110429_1704_106-108 Carrion crow harassing Buzzard carrying dead rabbit in talons 1-3 of 4 (montage @7fps accurate height but horizontal stretch).jpg
Description: The crow never did really bother the buzzard who disappeared into the haze we
have processed away here. Horizontal spacing of the pairs of birds is about
50% over natural so they don't overlap.
Date: 28 May 2011
View: D45_20110505_2238_253_FB1 Fieldmouse nibbling food in paws.jpg
Description: Fieldmouse nibbling some tiny morsel of food held in it's paws.
The Lilac coloured flower is Ground Ivy.
View: D45_20110502_2050_036_FB1 2 Fieldmice canoodling (q).jpg
Description: Here at the edge of the original frame we have what might be
a sweet moment.
Date: 27 May 2011
View: DF1_20110328_1231_046+049 2 Buzzards with Airliner and contrail (crop + accurately montaged sharp airliner).jpg
Description: We don't normally treat animals as object of comedy, but sometimes
an image suggests a silly title. Here is a selection.
'Buzzard Airlines'
Accurate montage to handle focus differential. Thanks to George P for the title
View: D35_20110424_1716_044_FB4 Squirrel pianist at his woodland keyboard (crop).jpg
Description: Squirrel poised for the opening chord on his woodland piano.
View: D45_20110424_2135_180_FB1 2 fieldmice one on lump of clay & other down hole (crop).jpg
Description: Upstairs, downstairs and Basement - in need of some renovation.
View: DF1_20110427_1739_118 Jackdaw on meadow post looking down for food.jpg
Description: "The waitress service here is awful."
Date: 26 May 2011
View: D45_20110422_2014_034_FB1 Bank Vole (crop).jpg
Description: The Bank vole is becoming something of a 'regular'
View: D45_20110425_2018_031_FB1 Bank Vole.jpg
Description: And here again 3 days and 4 minutes later!
Date: 25 May 2011
View: DC1_20110422_1131_022 Moorhen chick begging from parent (crop).jpg
Description: A pair of moorhen that nested on the main pond hatched & are rearing
4 chicks, taking them round our 3 main ponds - we never know where we
will find them. Here one of the parents is feeding a chick.
Date: 24 May 2011
View: DF1_20110425_1619_186+189+191 red kite immature (arbitrary montage).jpg
Description: Red kites are very occasional visitors & always a delight to see.
Experts tell us this is one of last years chicks, so not yet mature.
Don't read anything into the spacing of the 3 frames placed for pleasing effect.
View: DF1_20110425_1619_231 red kite immature (crop).jpg
Description: Another view of the same bird as it flew a little closer.
Date: 23 May 2011
View: DF1_20110424_0937_134+136 Kestrel male in flight (arbitrary montage about 400mS apart).jpg
Description: The male kestrel has been flying over our patch low enough for a few images.
View: DF1_20110425_1254_069 Kestrel male in flight (crop).jpg
Description: And this next day.
Date: 22 May 2011
View: DF1_20110427_1612_092 Pair of Orange-tip Butterflies courting 21 of 35 (crop).jpg
Description: A pair of orange tip butterflies spent a couple of minutes
fluttering round each other (very hard to photo) and then the
female landed on the grass path and the male made his intentions
excitably clear. Here one moment from the action - they flew off
together & we lost sight of them in the undergrowth.
Date: 21 May 2011
View: D3B_20110413_0116_022_FB3 Tawny Owl coming in to land on peanut feeder top (crop).jpg
Description: About 1 a.m. a self photographed Tawny Owl landing on top of the ceramic
feeder. We miss many of these arrivals - the trigger beam
senses a break at the bottom centre in this crop so it can easily
fly in without triggering it.
View: D3B_20110417_0427_016_FB3 Tawny Owl leaving peanut feeder top (crop).jpg
Description: 4 days later an arrival missed but the departure has triggered
a photo if somewhat behind optimum focus.
Date: 20 May 2011
View: DF1_20110418_1238_007 Mallard duck female with 13 ducklings on Round Pond (crop).jpg
Description: A nest on a Pond island was the source of 13 duckings. These
photos taken around lunch time, the whole family had disappeared
by evening and we have had no more sightings. This is quite
normal - the mother takes them off to the brook 200m away
and a larger (spring fed) pond beyond.
View: DF1_20110418_1239_025 Mallard duck female with 13 ducklings on Round Pond (crop).jpg
Date: 19 May 2011
View: P34_20110408_1821_980 Lichens on North side of Cherry tree at NE corner (crop).jpg
Description: At the North East corner, on mostly shaded side, a lovely cherry
tree in blossom has on the trunk some beautiful lichens, here
lit by the evening sun.
Date: 18 May 2011
View: SG2_20110416_1926_154-156_SC2 Rabbit dust bathing 1-3 of 3 (montage).jpg
Description: We have had rabbits around us for the last 20 years, but can't
remember seeing one obviously dust bathing, here in ash.
Photographed by a 'trail camera' over a few seconds.
Date: 17 May 2011
View: D01_20110422_0527_016-0531_081 Little Owl female joins male on post top & copulate for 1 minute (select 01-40 of 41montage).jpg
Description: Not an everyday occurrence - for us probably once in our lifetime
- is to see, let alone photograph, a pair of Little Owls mating.
Before dawn the male was already on the top of our concrete mains
electricity poll as we left the bedroom. Grabbing a photo then,
about 3 minutes later the light was already improving as the
female flew up to him, and they preened a bit, looked at each
other it an uncomfortable knowing way, and he then fluttered onto
her back and spent about a minute getting worked up and doing his
thing. He jumped down and she immediately flew off, followed a
few seconds later by him.
Surprisingly to us, the male appears to be the bird with the
damaged left eye we haven't seen for ages & had assumed unable to
hunt.
We have 3 little owl boxes but don't see evidence that they
are using any of them!
View: D01_20110422_0527_019 Little Owl female joins male on post top & copulate for 1 minute 03 of 41 (crop).jpg
Description: A somewhat forced version of the top middle image to give you a
better look at the pair - dawn is behind them making exposure
very difficult. The male on the left has an injured left (right
as viewed) eye.
Date: 16 May 2011
View: D3B_20110420_1126_029_FB3 Jackdaw landing in aggressive posture.jpg
Description: An unusually aggressive looking Jackdaw lands on the perch
looking ready for a fight with anything.
Date: 15 May 2011
View: D45_20110419_0719_058_FB1 2 Grey partridges (crop).jpg
Description: Partridges occasionally take off near where we are walking, but
we never have time to tell whether Grey or Red-Legged variety. We
sometimes see red-legged on the track outside the house, but
these grey seem to prefer a less man-made environment.
View: D45_20110419_1845_080_FB1 Chiffchaff.jpg
Description: Chiffchaffs seem to be new addition to our menagerie. Note the
dried out ground here - the ground is forming cracks along the
paths we don't normally see until mid-summer. The last worthwhile
rain was 2mm on 1 March - almost 60 days now.
Date: 14 May 2011
View: P34_20110417_1305_346 Apple Blossom with ladybird.jpg
Description: 7-spot ladybirds still dominate - haven't seen a Harlequin yet
this year that we can remember. Here it is adding a little spot
of red to the beautiful apple blossom.
View: P34_20110417_1308_368 Cherry Blossom (crop).jpg
Description: Another intricate blossom in purest white petals and black
Anthers.
Date: 13 May 2011
View: DC1_20110410_1807_007 Goldfinch poised on vertical stem of Reedmace (crop).jpg
Description: The Goldfinches have been ripping the reedmace to pieces for
a couple of weeks to take away for nest lining.
We love the 'umbrella' stuck to the birds head.
View: DC1_20110410_1810_061 Goldfinch on Reedmace seed head repeatedly pulling out more than it could carry (crop).jpg
Description: This one kept on going long after there was no hope of it
getting any more into the beak.
Date: 12 May 2011
View: DF1_20110409_0732_050 Blackbird female taking materials to nest in Ivy (crop).jpg
Description: Female Blackbird quite near her nest with a beakful of dry detritus
for the nest ...
View: DF1_20110409_0734_059 Blackbird female on nest in Ivy (crop).jpg
Description: ... hidden in Ivy high on a South facing wall.
Date: 11 May 2011
View: DF1_20110409_1029_062 Snakes-head Fritillary whole clump of white form (crop).jpg
Description: As chance, or maybe the nibbling rabbits would have it, our
original mix of mostly purple Snakes-head Fritillary flowers is
reduced to only a couple of clumps of all white.
Here are 3 ever closer views ...
View: P34_20110409_1031_992 Snakes-head Fritillary white form (crop).jpg
View: P34_20110409_1032_008 Snakes-head Fritillary white form single flower detail looking up (crop).jpg
Date: 10 May 2011
View: DF1_20110410_1253_242 Kestrel male in Flight (crop).jpg
Description: A male kestrel has been hunting out of camera range but did a
nice flyby to confirm how beautiful has was ...
View: DF1_20110410_1254_250+256+260 Kestrel male in Flight 04+08+12 of 13 (arbitrary montage).jpg
Date: 09 May 2011
View: DF1_20110410_1544_413 Orange-tip butterfly female feeding on Ladys Smock flower (crop).jpg
Description: A female Orange-tip butterfly (which doesn't have the orange
tips so obvious in the male) on some of our Lady's smock
flowers they like so much.
Date: 08 May 2011
View: P34_20110413_1620_161 Primrose near corkscrew hazel.jpg
Description: Requests from email recipients for more pics of English Spring
Primroses, as opposed to the less subtle cultivars, encouraged
us to provide these.
View: P34_20110415_1311_240 Primroses on Duck pond mound (crop).jpg
Description: These on the north facing bank of a mound of clay from
digging one of the ponds.
Date: 07 May 2011
View: DF1_20110327_1558_041 Weasel outside conservatory door (through glass) (adjusted crop).jpg
Description: The Weasel graced us with a short visit outside the (closed)
conservatory door. Here he has emerged from under a
not very well laid concrete slab to have a look round.
The front feet are on a lump of 'something'.
View: DF1_20110327_1559_067 Weasel outside conservatory door (through glass) (crop).jpg
Description: Deciding it was safe (dirty windows may be a good thing!)
he came out of the shadows for a look about and we can see it
in his glorious chestnut colour.
View: DF1_20110327_1601_071 Weasel outside conservatory door (through glass) (crop).jpg
Description: We have been spotted, so it ran for cover!
Date: 06 May 2011
View: D45_20110401_1818_064_FB1 Dunnock and Robin squabbling (crop).jpg
Description: In the left corner the Dunnock, in the right corner the
Robin. These are normally only brief skirmishes
View: D35_20110404_1653_015_FB4 Pair of robins.jpg
Description: A little domestic tranquility on the tree-stump top.
Date: 05 May 2011
View: D5C_20110403_0437_121_FB2 Badger (crop 2).jpg
Description: Farm work along our boundary has changed the pattern of badger
visit. Just this one visits to the 'Woodland' site - the powerful
claws always impress us.
Date: 04 May 2011
View: DF1_20110402_0834_049-052 Heron in flight over backdrop of Hanslope Church 1-4 of 18 (accurate montage).jpg
Description: Herons have only made one or two visits here this year because of the limited of frog / toad / newt
activity. But they still make flybys and we couldn't resist this accurate montage (probably about 7fps)
flying 'over' the steeple of the mile distant local landmark Hanslope Church tower.
View: DF1_20110402_1247_109+112-115 Kestrel male diving from wires to prey on ground 1-5 of 7 (top then accurate montage).jpg
Description: A male Kestrel is about intermittently, hunting the grass along
the remains of the hedge line using the high voltage wires as a
hunting perch. The top image was the bird was starting the dive.
We lost the next 2 frames (focus fell off) and we then picked up
the start of a long dive with almost no change to wing or body
positions.
Date: 03 May 2011
View: DF1_20110403_0954_020 Jackdaw carrying nesting materials (crop).jpg
Description: Jackdaw carrying soft stuff for a nest somewhere, possibly a
nest we have since spotted high in a 100 year old Black Poplar.
View: DF1_20110404_1419_077 Greenfinch female collecting Reed make seed for nesting 4 of 4 (crop).jpg
Description: At a very different scale the Reedmace continues to be a big hit -
here a greenfinch getting into a complete mess stuffing as much
as it could into her beak.
Date: 02 May 2011
View: DA1_20110409_1328_119+1511_378_FT1 Orange-tip butterfly female in flight with Ladys Smock (montage).jpg
Description: Caught in a sheltered corner on a sunny but cold day this is
the first time we have photographed a female Orange-tip butterfly
flight before. What does she lack - the orange tip! You are seeing her
slightly from the rear with her head lower left.
The pretty flower is called 'Lady's Smock' - it seeds freely and
our site is every increasingly awash with it!
View: DA1_20110409_1334_158_FT1 Orange-tip butterfly female on Ladys Smock (crop).jpg
Description: Here she is standing on more of the same flower.
View: DA1_20110409_1456_292+1333_151_FT1 Orange-tip butterfly male in flight with ladys smock (montage).jpg
Description: And this a male in all his glory, seeing the bottom of the wings
(what you see when the wings are folded vertical). The green and
white tracery on both sexes is really beautiful, but somehow set
off even better by the orange coloured tip.
Date: 01 May 2011
View: DA1_20110409_1348_214+1332_135_FT1 Holly Blue Butterfly male in flight with Dandelion (montage).jpg
Description: The Holly Blue butterfly is a rare visitor - only seen a handful
of times in 20 years. We managed to catch this one and photograph
him in flight. The light blue with dots is what you see when the
wings are folded, and the deep blue when open.
View: DA1_20110409_1341_180+1511_376_FT1 Holly Blue Butterfly male in flight with Ladys Smock (montage).jpg
Description: We don't feel the previous image does justice to the
blue top of the wing, so here is another view.
Image Archive arch 2011 apr.htm (view it Here)
Date: 30 Apr 2011
View: DF1_20110406_1822_195 Mallard duck female landing on grass facing camera 2 of 4 (crop).jpg
Description: One pair of Mallard ducks don't let us get closer than a few
metres but seem to realise we are 'harmless'. Here this female
saw us at the meadow post providing a later than usual baiting,
and decided to fly in for a look.
View: DF1_20110406_1750_177 Mallard duck pair moving away from rival male metres to left.jpg
Description: The female Mallard ducks get a bit of harassment from the 3
males, but this male was avidly 'protecting her honour' or
'defending his rights' depending on how you view it.
View: DF1_20110407_1737_349 Mallard duck female following 2 males in flight (discontinuous 4 of 5) (crop).jpg
Description: What? Female chasing the males? Genuine single frame.
Date: 29 Apr 2011
View: DF1_20110407_0725_217 Starling with dead leaf for nest 2 of 2 (crop).jpg
Description: Starlings nest in the loft by a hole we had the roofer leave open.
But this Starling was on the roof ridge with this leaf and flew
off toward the main field with it, so the loft is just one of many
nest sites.
View: DF1_20110408_1138_017 Blackbird female with beak full of leaves for nesting.jpg
Description: Somewhere behind the leaves is a female blackbird.
We have found the nest in some trellis on a wall overgrown with ivy,
but we won't be trying to get any close-up photos of the nest
because we couldn't do it without disturbance.
Date: 28 Apr 2011
View: D3B_20110328_2146_068_FB3 Tawny Owl on kitchen window perch (crop).jpg
Description: After a month without seeing any owls this Tawny owl landed on
the perch outside the kitchen window. Spotted in CCTV in
Infra-red (IR) we were able to take a few more images (owls seem
oblivious to the flash as long as they don't hear the camera).
This one shows the wonderful flexible necks can't just turn
through 360 degrees (needed because the huge eyes can hardy move
in their sockets) but can also move sideways like a Balinese
dancer.
Date: 27 Apr 2011
View: DF1_20110328_1210_025 Grey squirrel climbing trunk on Ivans Black Poplar (crop).jpg
Description: A young (well at least small) Grey Squirrel flees from our
arrival up the trunk of our tallest tree - a black poplar named
'Ivan' after a deceased friend.
Date: 26 Apr 2011
View: D35_20110328_2120_038_FB4 Fieldmouse nibbling flesh off cooked cherry pips.jpg
Description: We tend to freeze our fruit crops 'as-is' rather than prepare dishes
en-masse, so we get things like cherry pips out-of-season
(quite apart from what we freeze just for the animals)
This mouse is nibbling the flesh off a pip.
View: D45_20110328_2104_092_FB1 Fieldmouse carrying off fruit.jpg
Description: At another site under a hedge the mouse carries off what may be a
cherry pip, but could be some other fruit.
Date: 25 Apr 2011
View: D5C_20110327_1737_012_FB2 Robin smothered in Reedmace seed blowing about in wind (crop).jpg
Description: The Reedmace seed heads we put out to try to photograph birds
collecting it for nests has now broken up and
with a freshening wind has blown it all over the photo site and
get stuck onto just about anything that visits, like this Robin
who might also be collecting it. Just what
evolution has arranged of course - get the seeds carried away.
From 4 days before the much tidier site has a pair
of Goldfinches taking away some soft seed for the nest
Click for Image
Date: 24 Apr 2011
View: P34_20110327_1432_542 Wood Anemone in bushes right front of dragon pond (crop).jpg
Description: Our first discovery of Wood Anemones here, hiding under a bush to
the right of the main pond as viewed from the house.
View: P34_20110328_1116_618 Marsh Marigold (crop).jpg
Description: Far from secretive, one of the illuminators of a spring pond are
Marsh marigold clumps. Here a couple of flowers.
Date: 23 Apr 2011
View: P34_20110329_1259_686 Black Poplar catkin fallen from tree (crop).jpg
Description: We have 4 male Black Poplars along our track to the road.
There are very few female Black Poplars about because they apparently have
a pungent smell in Spring. Thus the species is only propagated by
cuttings - we have about 6 20 year only trees including our tallest
tree, all from cuttings from a fallen branch long before we knew
the significance. The wood is terribly brittle - every year several
branches of the old trees will break in the autumn storms.
Anyway, they produce catkins a bit later than willow, but don't
leaf for several weeks & you start to wonder if they have all
died - each year! The catkins are a beautiful
red-pink-orange-yellow mix and look like tiny discarded garlands
after a mouse party. Here one found on the ground in pristine
condition.
Date: 22 Apr 2011
View: D5C_20110323_0740_081_FB2 Goldfinch pair one with beakful of reedmace down for nest (crop 1).jpg
Description: Read mace seed heads are very popular for nesting material with
the Goldfinches as well as other birds not so obliging with
photographs. This is a genuine single frame of the pair of birds.
View: DF1_20110325_0644_102 Goldfinch collecting Reedmace seed head for nesting (crop 1).jpg
Description: And another (maybe the same) bird photographed from the house on
a stem in the middle of the reed bed. We saw this one only filling it's
beak and flying off with it, rather than trying to eat the tiny seeds.
Date: 21 Apr 2011
View: DC1_20110323_1034_008 Mallard duck female quacking.jpg
Description: Female mallard ducks make a raucous noise compared to the polite
quacks of the males. This one was having a LOT to say.
View: DC1_20110323_1036_047 Mallard Duck male dabbling 1 of 9 (crop).jpg
Description: This male is 'dabbling' - taking a beakful of water and then
using his tongue to squeeze it out through the serrated edge to
filter out fragments to swallow.
Date: 20 Apr 2011
View: DC1_20110323_1035_038 Long-tailed Tit (crop).jpg
Description: Long-tailed tits occasionally visit the peanut feeder - this one
stopped for a few seconds on the end of the perch in hazy sunshine.
Date: 19 Apr 2011
View: DF1_20110321_0906_030 Robin singing on branch (crop).jpg
Description: 2 Portraits.
Robin singing despite us standing only a couple of metres away.
View: DF1_20110325_0721_129 Dunnock on branch between horse chestnut buds (crop).jpg
Description: This Dunnock (a regular at the feeding site a few metres away) is
so used to us putting out food that it waits for us only a metre
of two away. We love the framing by the Horse Chestnut buds.
Date: 18 Apr 2011
View: DF1_20110324_1424_133+1425_139+146 Sparrowhawk diving est 600m to prey in hedge 25m W of NE corner 01+07+14 of 24 (montage).jpg
Description: A thrilling moment was the dive of this sparrowhawk into and
through a hedge 25m to our left as we stood at a corner of our
patch watching 2 buzzards and this bird circling at about 600m
(calculated from typical birds wingspans).
We missed the start of the dive, and covered it fairly
hopelessly because the descent was so unusually fast it was
difficult to keep the bird in frame. So here we try for an
impression - the bottom 2 frame are about 1 second apart. Sizes
are as they appeared at constant focal length.
Date: 17 Apr 2011
View: DF1_20110319_0903_098 Heron flying low almost overhead 25 of 27 (crop).jpg
Description: This low-flying Heron didn't seem to notice us.
The long neck is often folded back like this in flight and sometimes
for hunting gradually preparing to shoot the head forward.
Date: 16 Apr 2011
View: DF1_20110319_1613_218 Collared Dove taking off from ash tree 2 of 2 (crop).jpg
Description: Collared doves have graced our site for many years, and breed in the trees.
These beautiful delicate birds are unfortunately prey for
sparrowhawks, but within a week or two of one being taken another
will appear to make a pair. There is often a 'pool' of unpaired
birds waiting to take up any vacancy.
Date: 15 Apr 2011
View: D01_20110311_1113_003 Juvenile Heron at Duck Pond.jpg
Description: This juvenile heron spent a few minutes at a pond in the
late morning, It's usual prey at this pond is Smooth &
Great Crested Newts, and the odd frog, but we didn't see it catch anything.
We haven't spotted a single frog this year in any pond, and there
are only about 10 clumps of spawn in just one (not this) pond.
Date: 14 Apr 2011
View: D35_20110310_1719_007+1903_008_FB4 Grey Squirrel & then mouse examine apple peel 1+2 of 2 (montage).jpg
Description: Successive images at the tree stump (here at exactly the same scale)
made an amusing contrast. Obviously the apple peel didn't interest
the squirrel or it would have vanished.
Date: 13 Apr 2011
View: DC1_20110311_1225_024 Mallard duck male guarding upending female (crop).jpg
Description: A pair of mallard ducks spend a lot of time in the main pond.
We throw mixed corn into the water and the female spends hours
upending and/or diving for it, often with the male in close attendance.
View: DC1_20110311_1225_023 Mallard duck male guarding diving female surfacing with weed in beak (crop 2).jpg
Description: Here she is just popped up from a dive with her head still
covered by the coat of water.
Date: 12 Apr 2011
View: DF1_20110312_1056_099 Little Egret standing in meadow North of Brook (crop).jpg
Description: Little Egrets are one of those birds we just never saw 20 years
ago. Here one has landed across the local brook and we managed
to get this image through trees branches without scaring the bird away.
View: DF1_20110314_1319_009-011 Little Egret flying by and calling 06-08 of 26 (vertical montage).jpg
Description: A couple of days later possibly the same bird did a nice flyby.
View: DF1_20110314_1319_038 Little Egret flying by and calling 23 of 26 (crop).jpg
Description: At the end of this flyby we got a characteristic call.
Date: 11 Apr 2011
View: DF1_20110317_1323_049 Kestrel male in flight circling burning wood pile from hedge pollarding (crop).jpg
Description: This male kestrel had a few circles over a huge fire buring
cut wood from 'pollarding' (more levelling) a hedge, maybe using
it as a thermal - it mostly glided in circles and never hovered once.
View: DF1_20110317_1323_079 Kestrel male in flight circling burning wood pile from hedge pollarding (crop).jpg
Date: 10 Apr 2011
View: P34_20110319_1750_201 Sunset 50m before moonrise at closest Lunar Perigee for 18yrs.jpg
Description: Saturday 19th March 2011 saw the nearest Lunar Perigee (closest approach
of moon to earth) at full moon for 18 years. Vaguely assuming moonrise time around
sunset as we saw in 2009 (see March 2009
a few images down) we sallied out to watch, but had 50 minutes to wait.
We rather enjoyed the murky sunset, though it didn't bode well for the view of the moon.
View: DF1_20110319_1836_275 Moonrise at closest Lunar Perigee for 18yrs 03 of 14 (crop).jpg
Description: The moon finally rose unexpectedly far South this wonderful red colour - we processed
these the next morning and used those images (from a lot a framing exposures) as near as we
could remember the appearance.
View: DF1_20110319_1838_287 Moonrise at closest Lunar Perigee for 18yrs 06 of 14 (crop).jpg
View: DF1_20110319_1841_311 Moonrise at closest Lunar Perigee for 18yrs 12 of 14 (crop).jpg
Description: Within only a few minutes the colour lightened.
we have much better images of the moon features, but they haven't
changed much for millions of years!
Date: 09 Apr 2011
View: DF1_20110305_0950_028-38 Mute Swan in flight across house & fields to North 1+3+5+7+9+11 of 23 (3 fps accurate montage).jpg
Description: We don't see much of mute swans in the area (and never landing in our patch)
so this chance flyby while we were standing by the roadside was a lovely
surprise. Alternate frames from a 6 fps sequence accurately aligned.
Date: 08 Apr 2011
View: DF1_20110308_1220_089 Little Egret in flight 02 of 24 (crop).jpg
Description: We have seen 2 Little Egrets cavorting in the distance, but one
did a very nice unconcerned fly-by. First a single image during
approach.
View: DF1_20110308_1220_100+101+103 Little Egret in flight 13+14+16 of 24 (arbitrary montage).jpg
Description: Now 3 images montaged from a little later (No accuracy at all in
spacing or wing positions).
Date: 07 Apr 2011
View: D35_20110307_0829_002_FB4 Squirrel at sunrise.jpg
Description: Sunrise with Grey Squirrel, or Grey Squirrel with sunrise?
View: D35_20110307_1722_018_FB4 Rook on Tree-stump.jpg
Description: At the end of the same day a Rook makes a majestic landing
on the same stump
Date: 06 Apr 2011
View: D45_20110309_1749_167_FB1 Dunnock & Robin squabbling while another Dunnock watches (crop).jpg
Description: Size doesn't really count when it comes to aggression
Here a Dunnock and Robin having a set-to at the edge of the frame
while. presumably, the Dunnock's mate watches,
View: SG2_20110306_1617_059_SC2 Pheasant male surrounded by 7 jackdaws all feeding quietly.jpg
Description: But Pheasants (male and female) and Jackdaws (and Corvids in
general) seem to coexist even when competing for the same supply
of food. There are many examples of 2 or 3 such birds at the high
resolution photo sites, but here a male pheasant is completely
surrounded by 7 Jackdaws which could easily chase him off,
but they all just feed in their own ways.
Date: 05 Apr 2011
View: P34_20110308_1608_947 5 off 7-spot ladybirds at joint of broken stem (crop).jpg
Description: The 7 spot ladybirds seem, for the moment at least, to be holding their
own on our patch against the Harlequin invaders.
Here are two separate groups a few metres apart making the most of
dried and broken annual weed stems.
View: P34_20110308_1609_948 7-spot ladybirds in hollow stem (crop).jpg
Date: 04 Apr 2011
View: D01_20110226_1651_025 Grey Squirrel on meadow post top nibbling corn grain.jpg
Description: A daily event now - a grey squirrel climbs up the meadow post for
a rummage. It has stripped some of the bark, not that it isn't
falling off on its own anyway.
View: DF1_20110303_1401_025 Kestrel female on Meadow post.jpg
Description: A less common visitor a few days later was this
female Kestrel.
A 2m high post in the middle of rough grass with a bit of food
offered each day has been amazingly good at attracting Kestrel,
Sparrowhawk, Barn, Tawny & Litle owl, corvids (rooks, magpies
etc) as well as many small birds.
Date: 03 Apr 2011
View: D5C_20110220_0753_092_FB2 Pair of Robins one flying over the other looking up (orig).jpg
Description: Its Spring, and there are Robins everywhere, usually spotted in pairs rather than
singletons. Out of breeding season robins are rarely seen together except when
fighting!
View: D5C_20110227_0626_198_FB2 Pair of Robins courting.jpg
Description: This pairing has turned up many times over about a week and must
be some of courtship behaviour. In most cases the bird landing here
(we assume the male) is already standing on the log with the other (we
assume a submissive female) points beak upward without hint of
threat.
View: D5C_20110306_1620_064+1716_078+20110305_0624_038_FB2 Robin Pair Courting (3 unadjusted pairs montage).jpg
Description: More than a week later still about two thirds of images of pairs
of robins at this site show this same characteristic positions
We think it has to be some mating display that something
about the way the camera is triggered means we keep seeing it!
Date: 02 Apr 2011
View: D5C_20110220_1618_104_FB2 Grey Squirrel with hazel nut (crop).jpg
Description: Grey squirrel in action:-
Elegantly collecting hazel nuts.
View: D5C_20110227_1559_212_FB2 Grey Squirrel leaping at (q) jackdaw (crop).jpg
Description: Not so elegantly seeing off a Jackdaw, this squirrel is caught in an
wonderfully aggressive Kung-Fu posture.
We would love to have seen this from the other side!
Date: 01 Apr 2011
View: DF1_20110227_0939_061 Dunnock on twig.jpg
Description: A Dunnock in a pool of sunshine.
Image Archive arch 2011 mar.htm (view it Here)
Date: 31 Mar 2011
View: DF1_20110227_1017_124-127 Kestrel female banking in flight at 7fps 1-4 of 4 (arbitrary montage).jpg
Description: An un-forecast sunny morning brought out a number of 'old
friends' we hadn't seen for many days. This female Kestrel graced
the skies for a minute or two and we have montaged 2 fly-bys.
Images were taken about 150mS apart but the featureless sky prevents
alignment using real spacing so both are 'artistic interpretations'
undoubtedly much more closely spaced than they should be.
View: DF1_20110227_1017_158-161 Kestrel female in flight at 7 fps 1-4 of 4 (arbitrary montage).jpg
Date: 30 Mar 2011
View: D3B_20110221_2336_052_FB3 Tawny Owl Landing on perch (wing span 70cm) (crop).jpg
Description: We knew nothing of this short midnight visit by a Tawny Owl until 5 days later
when we imported the images. The wings look close to fully stretched and measure
70cm tip to tip.
View: D3B_20110221_2339_053_FB3 Tawny Owl leaving (q) perch (crop).jpg
Description: 3 minutes later this might be preparation for departure.
There were just these 2 frames.
Date: 29 Mar 2011
View: D5C_20110224_1718_117+1726_118+0847_112_FB2 Grey Squirrel at the log in 3 twee poses (montage).jpg
Description: Morning and evening of the same day, this site produced these
three images of a grey squirrel (among several others) that we
couldn't resist turning into a spread. Note the sky colour changing.
Date: 28 Mar 2011
View: DC1_20110224_1346_053 Great tit in Viburnum (crop @768).jpg
Description: Great tits (and Bluetits) have been consuming the buds on anything they
can reach, but we haven't been very successful at getting photographs.
However, this Great Tit in a Virburnum (winter flowering shrub) is a
lovely contrast of colours.
Date: 27 Mar 2011
View: DF1_20110224_1055_015 Mallard duck pair flying close together.jpg
Description: A few pairs of mallard ducks visit our ponds but these are NOT
town park ducks and flee immediately at the sight of a human.
This unusual juxtaposition of a pair of birds flying close
together took our fancy.
Date: 26 Mar 2011
View: P34_20110211_0842_613 View through water drops (crop).jpg
Description: A foggy morning created lots of water drops in our North-East
corner. We can't resist trying to get these 'miniature' inverted
worlds. Here are our 3 favourites.
View: P34_20110211_0843_616 View through water drop and reflection from water drop surface (crop).jpg
Description: Here the shape of the drop provides a surface reflection of twigs out of
shot as well as the imaged landscape.
View: P34_20110211_0844_624 View through water drops (crop).jpg
Date: 25 Mar 2011
View: D5C_20110212_1640_064_FB2 Grey Squirrel carrying off hazel nut.jpg
Description: Even out of season (this is a stale nut from Christmas)
a grey squirrel knows to grab the nuts and hide them!
Date: 24 Mar 2011
View: DC1_20110216_1351_064 Green Woodpecker bounding forward (crop).jpg
Description: The Green Woodpecker made an extended appearance probing the soft
ground for insects and worms. He spent most of the time almost
hidden, but he appeared for a few seconds in the sunshine with
his beak caked in mud. Here he was bounding over the grass path
in their characteristic way, so you can see the foot even if it
is a bit movement blurred.
Date: 23 Mar 2011
View: DF1_20110218_1321_025 Long-tailed tit on blackthorn twig (crop).jpg
Description: A few fleeting sightings of Long-tailed tits has been augmented
by this bird spending several minutes outside the living room
window, affording good views but through double glazing and
perpetually shaded by the house. The pink patch of feathers is a
lovely highlight on an otherwise black and white bird.
View: DF1_20110218_1321_027 Long-tailed tit on blackthorn twig (crop).jpg
Date: 22 Mar 2011
View: P34_20110212_1220_651 Single Snowdrop flower in sunshine (crop).jpg
Description: The first flowers of Spring are always a delight.
First an individual Snowdrop flower as might be seen by a mouse
looking up at it.
View: P34_20110209_1248_580 Primrose clump (crop).jpg
Description: Primroses already look at the sky, so here a humans eye view.
Date: 21 Mar 2011
View: D45_20110204_1559_056_FB1 Great tit selecting corn fragment.jpg
Description: Perky little Great Tit delicately selects a fragment of a corn grain.
Date: 20 Mar 2011
View: D45_20110210_2312_279_FB1 Fieldmouse nibbling corn fragment in paws (@768).jpg
Description: Not much food left as midnight nears, but enough for a nibble.
View: D45_20110204_1939_102-1951_103+106+107_FB1 Fieldmouse making repeated runs left to right across site over 12 mins (montage).jpg
Description: At the same site 6 days earlier, we have no idea why this
fieldmouse made 5 high speed passes left to right across the site
over 12 minutes. Here are 4 of the passes as a pair of montages.
Date: 19 Mar 2011
View: D5C_20110204_1608_025+1553_024_FB2 Pheasant male and Jackdaw (adjusted montage).jpg
Description: An unusual juxtaposition of two visitors a few minutes apart.
Can you imagine more contrasting eyes and faces?
Date: 18 Mar 2011
View: D45_20110208_1529_089_FB1 Moorhen adult.jpg
Description: An adult moorhen, multi-coloured beak, big green feet, sharp
claws, smart black and brown plumage, with wonderful poise.
Experience suggests it is ready to start breeding.
Date: 17 Mar 2011
View: D3B_20110130_2057_080_FB3 Tawny Owl on perch leaning towards & staring at camera (crop).jpg
Description: After landing on the perch this Tawny owl stayed at the same
position on the perch through the 10 minute stay blocking the IR
trigger beam. The owl completely ignored the camera flash (which
is offset up and right about 1 metre from the camera) so here the
bird has probably detected the photographers movement in the dark
through the window and peered at it, but must have concluded
'harmless' because it stayed.
View: D3B_20110130_2101_096_FB3 Tawny Owl on perch looking up (crop).jpg
Date: 16 Mar 2011
View: D3B_20110130_2056_078_FB3 Tawny Owl landing on perch (crop).jpg
Description: Lovely surprise of this night was the arrival of this Tawny Owl
who triggered this photo with this arrival (more to follow).
Date: 15 Mar 2011
View: DF1_20110201_1448_048+049 Common Gull (q) in flight (arbitrary montage).jpg
Description: A flock of gulls flew over, with this one near the end coming very low
and suggesting this little montage taken about 150mS apart. They
should probably be further apart, but the bland blue sky provides
nothing to register the frames, so we just went for artistic effect.
Date: 14 Mar 2011
View: D5C_20110202_0713_059_FB2 Robin singing on log.jpg
Description: We can't resist a Robin singing at dawn
(even if we can't include the sound)!
View: D5C_20110203_1918_132_FB2 Fieldmouse about to jump onto log (q).jpg
Description: On the evening of the next day at the end of the same little
log we think this mouse was starting to leap onto the log.
Whatever it is actually up to, an unusual position to catch.
Date: 13 Mar 2011
View: D45_20110125_2115_214_FB1 Elegant Fox (crop).jpg
Description: Foxes have been regular visits at stealthy camera sites, but this
one has at last started making visits to the good quality cameras.
Here it is visiting the camera near the boundary hedges, though
rather inelegantly cropped by the top of the camera frame.
Only 2 minutes before a mouse was making a rapid exit - it
probably heard the fox coming in through the boundary hedge.
Date: 12 Mar 2011
View: D5C_20110123_1956_110_FB2 Fox (crop 2).jpg
Description: Foxes have been regular visits at stealthy camera sites, but this
one has at last started making visits to the good quality cameras.
On this day this one visited the 'woodland' site.
Date: 11 Mar 2011
View: D35_20110122_1632_039_FB4 Blackbird female with wings raised selecting fruit from pile of food.jpg
Description: On a overcast evening a female blackbird seems to be almost
attacking the freshly replenished buffet.
View: D45_20110124_1627_042_FB1 Fieldfare pecking at fruit pulp and corn mix.jpg
Description: A couple of days later our 'resident' fieldfare knows when and where the
grub can be found on the other side of the site!
Date: 10 Mar 2011
View: D45_20110121_1836_109_FB1 Fieldmouse on hind legs with tail spread out behind.jpg
Description: Some of these mice really know how to look twee!
View: D45_20110122_1738_159_FB1 1 Fieldmouse nuzzling another from behind.jpg
Description: 'Spring' is in the Air
View: D35_20110124_2154_020_FB4 Fieldmouse leaping off tree-stump top (crop).jpg
Description: Why the mice leap up to jump down about 1 metre we just don't
know, but we often get mice partially out of frame doing this.
Here for once one is in frame if a bit out of focus.
Date: 09 Mar 2011
View: D01_20110118_1228_153 Kestrel female on concrete mains cables post (crop).jpg
Description: Through 3 weeks of freezing weather & afterwards we had not seen
our usual pair of kestrels, and we fear they have succumbed or
moved away. But a new much darker female spent an hour or so in
our little patch particularly liking the top of old fruit trees
but mostly this 5m concrete post.
View: D01_20110118_1214_047+048+050 Kestrel female landing on concrete mains cables post 1+2+4 of 8 (montage).jpg
Description: She left the post, perched in a few trees and returned and we
were ready to catch the moment of arrival.
Date: 08 Mar 2011
View: D5C_20110116_1609_118_FB2 Grey squirrel eating apple peelings.jpg
Description: Squirrels seem to go 'ape' for apple peel - we have picked a couple
from a dozen or images of them eating or carrying off bits of apple.
View: D45_20110117_1620_031_FB1 Squirrel eating apple peel.jpg
Description: Another site, another squirrel, another apple!
Date: 07 Mar 2011
View: DF1_20110117_1529_013 11 Redwings + prob 14 Fieldfares.jpg
Description: There is a flock of at least 200 mixed Fieldfares and Redwings
feeding in the area. Here in an ash tree on our border is a mix
with an unusual number of Redwings - we count 11 Redwings and 14
Fieldfares, though a couple of birds are sufficiently obscured as
make it difficult to be sure. Anyway, we are more used to the
ratio of Redwings to Fieldfares being more like 1:10, so this is
a delight. We find that Redwings are generally less skittish than
Fieldfares so maybe our presence slewed the ratio.
Date: 06 Mar 2011
View: D45_20110118_1554_104+20110119_1626_159_FB1 Moorhen individual feeding almost identically near sunset on successive days (montage).jpg
Description: A day apart the foot positions of this single individual are uncannily similar.
And this was the only image on each of the days so it must make a simular
approach and break the IR beam at the same time.
View: D45_20110118_1813_127_FB1 2 fieldmice facing opposite directions.jpg
Description: 'Heads or Tails?'
Between the 2 visits above these fieldmice came out to eat what's
left.
Date: 05 Mar 2011
View: D5C_20110118_1539_053_FB2 Rook with feathers lit by sky and flashgun.jpg
Description: Unusually lit rook picking up skylight and flashlight to make a
lovely contrast in the feathers.
The skin on the beak base is as ever bizarre.
This was not a one-off - we got a similar image about the same time
on the following day.
Date: 04 Mar 2011
View: DF1_20110109_1537_106 2 Great Black-Backed Gulls flying together lit by setting sun (crop).jpg
Description: Above and below
At the end of 2 successive days, views of birds while looking up
and looking down.
These 2 whopping great gulls flying together were underlit by
the setting sun. We never saw their backs, but our first guess
was different generation Great Black-backed Gulls which we have
had confirmed as 'most likely'.
View: D45_20110108_1535_127+1543_133+155_138_FB1 Bluetit + Tree Sparrow with leg ring + Robin + Great Tit (adjusted montage).jpg
Description: A nice little montage of visitors to the hedge bottom over 20
minutes. The Tree Sparrow (2nd from left) has a leg ring off
which we could read a couple of digits - if we find out more we
will add it here.
Date: 03 Mar 2011
View: D45_20110111_1953_178_FB1 3 Fieldmice.jpg
Description: 3 - 2 - 1
3 fieldmice at once at this site - something
not seen for some months in the freezing weather, though we
probably see many different individuals sequentially.
View: D45_20110111_1915_160_FB1 2 Fieldmice frolicking.jpg
Description: 2 in the prelude to a little whoopee?
View: D45_20110113_1732_336_FB1 Fieldmouse holding half of chewed corn grain (@576).jpg
Description: 1 fieldmouse tackling a corn grain using both paws to hold it
while biting off pieces.
Date: 02 Mar 2011
View: D5C_20110113_1722_171+20110114_0051_177_FB2 2 Fieldmice leaping + Fox 7 hours later after rain (montage).jpg
Description: We couldn't resist contrasting these two single frames (i.e. the
two mice are like this in the original) of the same place 7 hours
apart after rain. Can the fox still smell the mice we wonder?
Date: 01 Mar 2011
View: D35_20101230_1521_083_FB4 Grey Squirrel with apple peel in mouth.jpg
Description: The grey squirrel is currently a daily visitor to the tree stump, and
apple seems to be the favourite - here a bit of apple peel is
the beasties selection.
View: D35_20110102_1554_023_FB4 Grey Squirrel with quarter of an apple in mouth (crop).jpg
Description: 4 days later (in a new year but we are sure the squirrel doesn't
know or care) it is more ambitious and has a quarter of an apple
in it's mouth!
Image Archive arch 2011 feb.htm (view it Here)
Date: 28 Feb 2011
View: FJ1_20101227_1300_037 Grey squirrel posed by side of peanut feeder.jpg
Description: Ludicrously twee pose of a Grey Squirrel caught through the
kitchen window.
View: D45_20110105_2007_259_FB1 Fieldmouse in elegant pose.jpg
Description: A few days later at ground level (admittedly at a different site)
a fieldmouse also poses for a twee picture of the year.
Date: 27 Feb 2011
View: D3B_20110102_2323_056_FB3 Tawny Owl about to land on peanut feeder (crop).jpg
Description: Two tawny owl visits in one night, one about half an hour before
midnight, and the second at about 5 a.m. The birds look very
similar to our eyes, and we expect that they are the same
individual.
View: D3B_20110103_0456_058_FB3 Tawny Owl landing on perch (crop).jpg
Description: Wow!
Date: 26 Feb 2011
View: D45_20110101_1852_246_FB1 2 Fieldmice frolicking (crop).jpg
Description: Now the desperate times have passed, the fieldmice have some energy
to spare and some frolicking has started.
Date: 25 Feb 2011
View: D01_20110104_1416_010 Heron Hunting in meadow (crop).jpg
Description: The large ponds were STILL iced 3 weeks after the freeze-up,
and the heron is still hunting in the soggy meadow.
We didn't see it catch anything this time.
View: D01_20110104_1425_046-049 Heron Taking off from meadow 3-6 of 6 (montage).jpg
Description: But we did catch it leaving!
This was nearly a vertical takeoff spread horizontally.
Date: 24 Feb 2011
View: P34_20110104_0821_061 Partial eclipse of sun at sunrise 04Jan2011 03 of 39 (crop).jpg
Description: At sunrise on Tuesday 4 Jan 2011 there was a partial eclipse of
the Sun in progress at sunrise. We got really lucky with band of
haze at the horizon colouring and dimming the sun a bit with the
rest of the sky overcast. Here are 2 of the 39 frames we kept,
never expecting to have another opportunity.
First when the sun just cleared the horizon (08:21 a.m.)
View: P34_20110104_0830_097 Partial eclipse of sun at sunrise 04Jan2011 30 of 39 (crop).jpg
Description: And now with some birds flying by 9 minutes later (08:30 a.m.).
View: D45_20110104_0823_107_FB1 Redwing taking off from ground with partial eclipsed sun (not obvious) through hedging (crop).jpg
Description: This camera traps also happened to catch a redwing taking off
against the eclipsed sun (08:23 a.m.). The view of the sun
through 2 hedge bottoms completely hides the unusual
appearance of the sun.
Date: 23 Feb 2011
View: D3B_20101222_0827_043+0829_045_FB3 Pheasant female landing & walking on perch by peanut feeder (montage).jpg
Description: During an extended frozen period birds will frequent places they
would not normally visit. Here are a couple of montages of a
female and then a male pheasant arriving on the kitchen window
perch to pick up dropped peanut fragments. The female even had a
go at extracting her own from the metal feeder but her beak has
the wrong shape to succeed.
View: D3B_20101222_1501_056+1516_059_FB3 Pheasant male landing & walking on perch by peanut feeder (adjusted montage).jpg
Description: Here is the male. Quite a lot of supplementary feeding with corn
will have helped see them through the desperate times.
Date: 22 Feb 2011
View: D45_20101221_0807_080_FB1 2 Tree sparrows and dunnock feeding on snow.jpg
Description: The tree sparrows have become 'sort of' regular visitors here in
the extended frozen period, and seem to be mostly tolerated by
the more resident Dunnocks. We have a surprising number of images
of this grouping of birds (we assume the same individuals) over
several days.
View: D45_20101223_1606_156_FB1 Dunnock taking off from snowy site (crop).jpg
Description: From an uncannily similar original layout to the above, something seems to
have startled the 3 birds who all took of in different directions. The
Sparrows were a blurry mess, but the Dunnock showed well.
Date: 21 Feb 2011
View: D5C_20101220_1512_034_FB2 Great tit and robin squabbling in flight (crop).jpg
Description: An unusual view in the snow of an otherwise fairly typical
aerial skirmish between a great tit and robin.
View: DF1_20101220_1436_081 Bluetit hanging off frozen Hawthorn berry as it eats it (crop).jpg
Description: At around the same time, but through the house windows, we saw
this Bluetit hanging from the very berry it was eating which was
frozen hard after days of freezing weather. It was pecking at it
from all directions - you can see some of the damage. Another not
so illustrative image (not included) shows a red piece flying off.
Date: 20 Feb 2011
View: D3B_20101226_2000_077_FB3 Tawny owl standing on short peanut feeder (crop).jpg
Description: For once this Tawny Owl landing caught our eye on the CCTV, and we
triggered the camera a few times while it looked about. We never
see the slightest reaction to the flash watching live on IR CCTV
(the camera is effectively silent through a double glazed
window).
View: D3B_20101222_2030_066_FB3 Little Owl gazing up and right (crop).jpg
Description: Another welcome visit from the Little Owl (species name).
We think he may be looking at a lit upstairs window which will
have had chinks of light through the curtains. He must have been
on the CCTV screen visible to us but we didn't notice the visit
at the time
Date: 19 Feb 2011
View: D45_20101225_1905_115_FB1 Fieldmouse mid-leap.jpg
Description: Whee!
View: D45_20101225_2311_132_FB1 Bank Vole in snow.jpg
Description: We hadn't seen any voles or shrews since the snowfall, so
this sedate Bank vole was a welcome one-off frame return.
(After the thaw the mice and voles returned in what seemed
even larger numbers than before!)
Date: 18 Feb 2011
View: D5C_20101227_0826_017+0848_020_FB2 Moorhen Adult and Juvenile visiting 20m apart (montage).jpg
Description: The moorhen family seem to have survived the freeze up, possibly
helped by visits to peck over the 'baited' areas. Here one of the
adults visiting, and 20 minutes later the single juvenile that is
still sharing the territory with them (but probably not for much longer!)
View: D5C_20101225_1617_063_FB2 Blackbird male kicking up snow with beak open.jpg
Description: Scuffing up the snow with his feet to see if there is anything underneath
to eat, the Blackbird looks like he is calling as well.
Date: 17 Feb 2011
View: D3B_20101224_0925_009_FB3 Pheasant female flying head-on to perch.jpg
Description: Two unusual landings at the Bird feeder:
The Day Shift:
Pheasant often startle us taking off as we walk about.
This startled us in a more pleasant way as she popped up on
the screen.
View: D3B_20101226_1959_076_FB3 Tawny owl landing on perch (crop).jpg
Description: The Night Shift:
A tawny owl makes a deft landing on the awkward (but at
least grippy terracotta) peanut feeder.
Date: 16 Feb 2011
View: D35_20101219_1144_081_FB4 Robin on Snowy tree stump.jpg
Description: The classic robin in snow image beloved by Christmas card
designers - but for real.
View: D35_20101219_1321_091_FB4 Dunnock on Snowy tree stump standing on claw tips.jpg
Description: Look at the birds left foot - we think it is doing a 'don't put
flesh on the ice' trick.
Date: 15 Feb 2011
View: D3B_20101218_1558_066_FB3 Robin flying in to feeder in falling snow (crop).jpg
Description: Snow and continuous below freezing temperatures create unusual
behavior & photographs. Here a Robin homing in on the feeder
despite, or perhaps because of, the awful conditions.
View: D3B_20101219_0940_086_FB3 Dunnock squatting on perch plumped up with feet in feathers.jpg
Description: Trying to keep warm.
View: D3B_20101219_1026_103_FB3 Great Tit and Dunnock in flight squabble against snowy background (crop).jpg
Description: An almost surreal mid air squabble.
Date: 14 Feb 2011
View: D3B_20101220_0701_001_FB3 Little owl landing on perch with back to camera (crop).jpg
Description: The local Little Owl can't be finding much food under the snow covered
fields (no animals are grazing so it is unbroken cover) and it is
spending some time in our more fruitful patch. Here it is
landing (back to us) on the perch outside the kitchen.
View: D3B_20101220_0703_002+0710_007+0706_004_FB3 Little owl on frosty perch (montage).jpg
Description: We got several pics of this lovely little creature & could not resist having
a little fun with this montage (all genuine poses but arbitrarily spaced
along a rather extended perch).
Date: 13 Feb 2011
View: D45_20101216_2010_095_FB1 Fox (crop 2).jpg
Description: An hour apart we got 2 almost identical images of this fox, so it
was not put off by the first 'click and flash'. On the web search
researching commercial camera traps (IR and white light) we
discovered an interesting article on the damage they can do when
placed on transit 'bottlenecks' by causing individuals or groups
to scatter or go elsewhere. However there are plenty of routes
through the boundaries and within our patch that animals can take
(and find food) without ever going near a camera and there are
several individuals that we only ever see on nominally covert
cameras. But if this animal was upset several images showing
feet, tail etc. as well is this position an hour apart shows he
can't be very bothered.
Date: 12 Feb 2011
View: D45_20101218_1425_235_FB1 Fieldfare in snow (crop).jpg
Description: Fieldfares are flavour of the season and still visit the orchard
for windfalls. This is the first year we haven't collected leaves
from the orchard to compost, using the ride-on mower as a
collector which also pulps the apples. So we will in future avoid
damaging the windfalls. Isn't it awful how minor changes in
management transforms what you see and possibly what survives?
View: D45_20101219_1617_335_FB1 Fieldfare chasing off Dunnock on snow.jpg
Description: A little defending of the territory - at least until the fieldfare
is full.
Date: 11 Feb 2011
View: D45_20101220_0150_341_FB1 Fieldmouse in snow.jpg
Description: The fieldmice seem to be managing to feed on the swept photo sites,
displaying their twee side and making us shiver.
But far fewer actual appearances - nip out, grab some food, go back
somewhere warm to nibble it?
View: D45_20101220_0201_345_FB1 Fieldmouse in snow (crop @576).jpg
Description: Note the tail pressed into the fur. This is the second time we have
spotted this in a couple of weeks. We now suspect that this is
the mouse tail equivalent of our putting hands in our pockets to
warm up.
Date: 10 Feb 2011
View: FJ1_20101218_0923_009 4 female pheasants on dragon pond ice.jpg
Description: We chuck corn grain on the ice of the ponds mainly for the
moorhen which are locked out from their usual food source, but
everything else enjoys the handout. This is 4 female pheasants.
View: D5C_20101218_1434_111_FB2 Pheasant male caked in snow on snow in heavy falling snow.jpg
Description: On icy snow, covered in snow, in falling snow.
Does having a Harem of 4 girls make up for having to
put up with this?
Date: 09 Feb 2011
View: D35_20101219_1126_080_FB4 Grey squirrel on snowy tree stump.jpg
Description: Who says squirrels only come out for food on warm days?
View: D5C_20101219_1134_135_FB2 Squirrel in snow (crop).jpg
Description: Is Spring coming soon?
Date: 08 Feb 2011
View: D5C_20101212_1543_102_FB2 Grey Squirrel dragging apple onto log top.jpg
Description: There is no way the apple could balance on the log, so the
squirrel must have dragged it up there or over it to try to bite.
Date: 07 Feb 2011
View: P34_20101209_1016_832 Sundog to right of sun in unusual cloud fragments 1&2 of 2 (rescaled montage).jpg
Description: A single sundog to the right of the sun (not paired with
one on the left) in an unusual cloud fragment.
The clouds were drifting down and left in the photo, but
the position of a sundog is locked by geometry between the
sun and observer, so it moved to a new cloud.
Taken within the same minute but different exposures
the photographer unfortunately moved between shots
spoiling some of the symmetry of the foreground twigs.
View: D45_20101216_0049_314_FB1 Fieldmouse eating Corn grain in paws (crop @576).jpg
Description: Down in the undergrowth at night a ridiculously twee fieldmouse
with a corn grain in it's paws.
Date: 06 Feb 2011
View: D01_20101215_1514_042 Heron hunting in thawed meadow (ponds iced) (crop).jpg
Description: Many birds have a difficult time feeding when ponds and ground
freeze for extended periods. So we didn't expect to see a heron
here with the ponds frozen, but this one turned up nearing sunset
to explore some ground that had started to thaw in a sunshine
heat trap. Note the fully raised left leg as it crept forward
obviously needing to avoid brushing the grass and making a
noise.
View: D01_20101215_1526_146 Heron shaking out feathers after hunt in thawed meadow (ponds iced) (crop).jpg
Description: 10 minutes later with the light fading the bird grabbed and
quickly swallowed something we never saw.
Turning round the bird did a wonderful shake out of it's feathers
just as a moorhen wandered down a grass path behind the heron.
Date: 05 Feb 2011
View: D3B_20101215_0846_029_FB3 Great tit flying over Bluetit on perch.jpg
Description: Huge activity at the feeders in cold weather gave us this
chance moment of an unusually clear great tit flying over a Bluetit.
View: D45_20101213_0731_005_FB1 Fieldfare (right edge of frame) with ice on beak.jpg
Description: Down on the ground a Fieldfare is rooting about in the hedge bottom
with an icy beak.
Date: 04 Feb 2011
View: D35_20101204_1046_066_FB4 Treecreeper (crop).jpg
Description: This treecreeper is only the second time we have photographed one
here, the first time was a juvenile in June 2008 (not published).
We occasionally see them on vertical trunks of old fruit trees and
many years ago one nested in an old tit box but too awkwardly
placed to photograph without disturbance. Anyway it looks like
the bird shuffled it's way up the side as they do, reached the
top and by chance broke the IR trigger beam.
View: D35_20101206_2139_021_FB4 Fieldmouse licking fruit.jpg
Description: On the same tree-stump 2 days later an unusual sighting of a
fieldmouse licking the fruit rather than just trying to bite out
a lump or carry it off.
Date: 03 Feb 2011
View: D01_20101207_1352_182 Fieldfare needing 2 goes to pluck Sloe from frosty Blackthorn & flying off with it 01 of 26 (crop).jpg
Description: This year about 200 Fieldfares have swept around for an hour each day.
They have eaten the reachable Hawthorn berries and they have moved on to Sloes
(Blackthorn fruit) but are mostly targeting the fallen apples.
From a single sequence the first frame shows a Fieldfare
plucking a Sloe but it slipping out of the beak.
View: D01_20101207_1352_195+207 Fieldfare needing 2 goes to pluck Sloe from frosty Blackthorn & flying off with it 14+26 of 26 (accurate montage).jpg
Description: Then it has a second successful try and flies off with it in this accurately
montaged pair of images about 2 seconds apart.
Don't think of the white as blossom - this is December and it
is a severe air frost lasting into the afternoon.
Date: 02 Feb 2011
View: D01_20101207_1502_300 Fieldfare in frosty hawthorn (crop).jpg
Description: Fieldfare Portrait on frosty twigs.
View: DF1_20101208_1216_002 100 Fieldfares (of about 200 flock) in Black Poplar (crop).jpg
Description: Next day about half the local flock of Fieldfares (plus a few
interlopers) perched in one of our 20yr old black poplars just
long enough to get this picture - they are very skittish birds
and don't allow humans to get anywhere near.
Date: 01 Feb 2011
View: P34_20101207_0901_730 teasel head in -8C frost (crop).jpg
Description: Some more air-frost images from our patch. First a teasel head.
No doubt the seeds still in the head will be fine to germinate or
get eaten by Goldfinches when it thaws.
View: P34_20101207_0906_751 Curled dead Beech leaf on tree in -8C frost (crop).jpg
Description: Love the effect of the frost on this curled-up Beech leaf.
Image Archive arch 2011 jan.htm (view it Here)
Date: 31 Jan 2011
View: DF1_20101207_0917_027 Oak tree to East -8C frost (crop).jpg
Description: A really cold air-frost (reaching -8C) and staying iced until past
mid-day provides a new perspective on many items in the landscape.
First an old oak tree across the field from us.
View: P34_20101207_0905_745 Blackberry leaves in -8C frost (crop).jpg
Description: In our own patch this blackberry leaf is outlined by frost.
Date: 30 Jan 2011
View: D45_20101206_0731_003_FB1 Fieldfare with frosty tail.jpg
Description: The Thrush family, in this case Fieldfares and Blackbirds, are
making the most of apples moved to the photo sites.
Note the frost on the ground and the birds tail.
View: D45_20101206_0734_004-0740_006_FB1 Fieldfare eating apple on ground 1-3 of 3 (montage).jpg
Description: 6 minutes of apple demolition!
Date: 29 Jan 2011
View: D45_20101208_1527_196_FB1 Pheasant male.jpg
Description: We adore our pheasants, and have lots about the plot at the
moment. This image just fits the width of the photographed area.
View: D45_20101209_0129_279+0342_282_FB1 Shrew seen 2 hours apart (montage).jpg
Description: At the same site after dark we got our first siting of a shrew
for many weeks. This is 2 visits about 2 hours apart in the
'early hours' montaged into one image.
Compare the scales - the bottom image is 'zoomed in' about 2.5
times bigger than the pheasant.
Date: 28 Jan 2011
View: D45_20101209_0733_296+0855_316+0859_317_FB1 Fieldfare eating apple on ground interrupted by Grey squirrel 1+3+4 of 4 (montage).jpg
Description: We don't know how long this Fieldfare eventually spent pecking away at this apple
because our first frame is at 07:33 (really dark at this time) and the last at
08:59 when this camera is timed to turn off in 'Winter'.
But it was interrupted by this grey squirrel which always attacks anything
it can bully when it arrives. But 5 minutes later the squirrel had gone and
the bird was back to carry on.
The images are sequential down the left edge, with the apple rolling about.
View: D5C_20101207_0837_049_FB2 Grey Squirrel collecting bedding (crop).jpg
Description: This grey squirrel (about 80 metres from the other site) is
obviously collecting winter bedding, and at these temperatures we
hope it was warm enough. Caught in another photo a few days later
doing the same thing, so it is probably a routine 'housekeeping'.
Date: 27 Jan 2011
View: D3B_20101202_0821_073_FB3 2 Jackdaws facing one another on perch in falling snow (crop).jpg
Description: These 2 jackdaws spent several minutes together on the perch
in what looked to us a companionable (possibly more) mood.
In the distance Rooks are already re-furbishing nests so these
Jackdaws may also be a 'couple'.
View: D3B_20101202_0835_079_FB3 Bluetit + Great tit + Great Spotted Woodpecker male + Chaffinch male at feeder in falling snow.jpg
Description: 15 minutes later the jackdaws have gone and smaller birds have arrived
for THEIR breakfast (4 species in genuine single frame).
Date: 26 Jan 2011
View: D45_20101129_1752_063_FB1 2 Fieldmice leaping.jpg
Description: Whee!!
View: D45_20101205_1746_281_FB1 Fieldmouse nibbling food in paws with tail pressed into body (crop).jpg
Description: The tail seems to be pressed really hard against the body as this
mouse eats it's corn grain. While it does show that the tail is a
controllable and muscular appendage used as a 'fifth limb' when
climbing about, we have no idea why it has done this here.
Date: 25 Jan 2011
View: D45_20101130_1524_088_FB1 Robin in snow (crop @576).jpg
Description: Classic ...
(at left edge of frame or you would have got the tail as well!)
View: D5C_20101129_1503_038_FB2 Rook eating peanut butter beak and tongue detail.jpg
Description: Table manners Rook style - open wide and cram it full!
Date: 24 Jan 2011
View: D45_20101130_0044_082_FB1 Fieldmouse in falling snow.jpg
Description: Continuing the snowy and freezing cold theme.
View: D45_20101202_0804_170_FB1 Fieldfare on ground in light falling snow.jpg
Description: Snow must be odd if you only see it a few times in your life.
'Who nicked summer?'
Date: 23 Jan 2011
View: D45_20101202_0745_163_FB1 Dunnock on snow.jpg
Description: Snow is a problem for many of our creatures. While we can put out
supplementary food for them most of the nourishment will be from
fallen berries, seed, insects, worms etc. under the covering.
With this much snow they tend to scrabble away the snow with
their feet to probe with beak or mouth. It amazes us that such
small creatures can carry on with their lives at the -8C that we
experienced over these days.
View: D5C_20101202_1621_042_FB2 Blackbird with icy beak kicking up snow.jpg
View: D5C_20101202_0821_142_FB2 Moorhen on snowy ground in light falling snow.jpg
View: D35_20101203_0803_029_FB4 Squirrel with frost on nose.jpg
Date: 22 Jan 2011
View: D45_20101202_1238_004_FB1 Pheasant male scratching through snow for corn.jpg
Description: Lovely male pheasant obviously scratching away at the snow to find
food underneath.
View: D5C_20101205_0816_135_FB2 2 Pheasant females light and dark plumage (crop).jpg
Description: We have at least 4 each male and female pheasants around the
plot. A group of 3 females are often seen together but there is
also an apparently solitary very dark female (much harder to spot
except against snow!) who turned up in a single frame with
probably one of the trio. We have LIGHTENED the bird on the right
to compensate for being further from the light source, but she is
still somewhat lost against the dark.
Date: 21 Jan 2011
View: D35_20101123_1243_026_FB4 Grey squirrel licking food off dead leaf (crop).jpg
Description: Smears of peanut butter we use to attract mammals end up all over the
place - obviously on this leaf being avidly licked.
View: D45_20101123_1507_143_FB1 Dunnock with corn grain in beak among autumn leaves.jpg
Description: Elegant pose of this Dunnock with corn grain in beak.
Date: 20 Jan 2011
View: D35_20101125_1519_088_FB4 Bluetit flying to tree stump at sunset (crop 2 @576).jpg
Description: Atypically sharp image of a bluetit in flight at dusk, wings still
folded even though only 30cm or so from the tree stump
it is obviously aiming for.
View: D35_20101126_1338_035_FB4 Bluetit.jpg
Description: No - not the bird above after landing but probably a different individual
(we have scores of tits each autumn) next day posing for a portrait.
Date: 19 Jan 2011
View: D45_20101123_1914_197_FB1 Fieldmouse clambering onto apple (crop 1).jpg
Description: Lets get really stuck into this feast ...
View: D45_20101127_2022_253_FB1 Fieldmouse jumping down with peanut (q) in mouth.jpg
Description: A more portable feast being carried off for enjoyment somewhere safer
and probably warmer.
Date: 18 Jan 2011
View: D45_20101128_0720_259_FB1 Fieldfare jumping down onto frosty ground with feathers fluffed & ice on tail (crop).jpg
Description: Brrrr - this first-light Fieldfare has an iced up tail and
fluffed up feathers.
View: DC1_20101128_0914_090 20 fieldfares + 2 starlings in top of 20yr black poplar.jpg
Description: A couple of hours later here are about 20 Fieldfares with a
couple of starlings (lower left & bottom right) getting in on the
act. Unusually there were no Redwings with them - Redwings are
slightly less skittish and were feeding on Hawthorn berries
nearer the house.
Date: 17 Jan 2011
View: D5C_20101126_2044_061_FB2 Fox (crop).jpg
Description: We have seen a fox many times recently on the CCTV and IR
surveillance cams, but one has at last made a (one off)
appearance for a good quality pic.
Date: 16 Jan 2011
View: DF1_20101119_1206_082 2 carrion crows mobbing buzzard (selection inc sequences) 09 of 11 (crop @768).jpg
Description: Not much by way of thermals this time of year means the buzzards
tend to be lower where we can get better photos of the corvids
making their displeasure felt. This is one of a pair of carrion
crows mobbing a passing buzzard. Un-fudged (cropped only) single
frame.
Date: 15 Jan 2011
View: P34_20101116_0804_529 10 7-spot ladybirds covered in thawing frost on dead Hogweed (crop).jpg
Description: We showed you this group of 7-spot ladybirds on the image for
1 Jan 2011, but not like this after an
overnight frost. Doubt that they could be active now, but working
with them for technical photos we can tell you that they can be
quite lively at 4 degrees C.
We are trying to decide what to do with this stem.
It is very exposed and fear it will break & dump its cargo.
Date: 14 Jan 2011
View: D01_20101121_1223_120 Fieldfare reaching for Hawthorn berry.jpg
Description: We have a patch of Hawthorn photographable through a window but
not well lit until mid day when the sun decides to appear. Once the
easier to reach berries elsewhere have been taken various of the
thrush family of birds wobble about on the thin branches reaching for
the fruit. Here are 2 images of fieldfares working at stripping the fruits.
View: D01_20101121_1227_159 Fieldfare reaching for Hawthorn berry.jpg
Date: 13 Jan 2011
View: D5C_20101119_0723_031+20101118_0814_005+0809_003+20101119_1609_042_FB2 4 Grey Squirrel images (montage).jpg
Description: Grey squirrels may not be as pretty as the native Red (which we have
never seen except in wildlife films & photos) but are nevertheless
ridiculously photogenic. We couldn't resist picking a few for this
montage at just one site over a couple of days.
Date: 12 Jan 2011
View: DF1_20101126_0958_084 Jackdaw flying (pursued by others out of frame) with rodent in beak (crop).jpg
Description: Unexpected moment of the week, a jackdaw has a small rodent in its beak.
Out of the original frame we saw a few more jackdaws were intent on
relieving this bird of its catch (or already stolen prize!) and
the action disappeared behind trees where we were aware of aerial
gymnastics but have no idea what happened.
Date: 11 Jan 2011
View: D35_20101111_0720_030_FB4 Grey squirrel with half a carrot in mouth in rain (crop).jpg
Description: We hide larger vegetable items on the top of the angled stick
at the back this tree stump as they tend to move about and either block
the IR beam, or mostly hide the subjects.
But this squirrel has picked it up on the climb up.
View: D35_20101115_1226_020_FB4 Grey squirrel licking tree-stump top (crop).jpg
Description: Licking up the final dregs around lunch time.
View: D5C_20101110_1638_022_FB2 Grey squirrel facing camera with head framed by own tail.jpg
Description: And finally a portrait looking the picture of innocence
Date: 10 Jan 2011
View: D5C_20101111_0756_072+0818_075+0729_067+0833_080_FB2 4 different pheasant males visiting over about 1 Hr (montage).jpg
Description: Farmland & building work in surrounding farm has produced an
unexpected influx of male pheasants to our little refuge. They
rarely appear together in photos (though we have some
surveillance pics confirming 3) but these 4 head and shoulder
portraits show sufficient difference that we think it is 4
different birds (though the two on the right are uncertain).
Glorious beasts we hope can settle the 'pecking order' without
too much 'pecking'.
View: DF1_20101112_1014_038 Pheasant female crouched in leaf litter (crop).jpg
Description: We spotted this female pheasant keeping completely still relying
on her camouflage. There are probably many more we don't spot.
Certainly the sudden flight of the female pheasant from close by
is a characteristic of a walk about at this time of year. She did
suddenly decide to make a hurried exit - on foot!
Date: 09 Jan 2011
View: D45_20101112_1658_045_FB1 Fieldmouse investigating wet mud slurry repair.jpg
Description: We use a bucket of mud slurry to repair eroded photo sites in a morning
so it is firm by the end of the day when we 'bait' it. But in the cold and
damp it is still sopping wet as the day ends. We don't put food
on the wet mud, so this mouse is in for disappointment.
It looks like a young one - mum will not be pleased at the muddy paws?
View: D45_20101114_1924_236_FB1 Fieldmouse on hind legs with front claws shadowed on body.jpg
Description: Fieldmouse with paws so clean you can see them shadowed
against the white fur.
View: D45_20101115_1828_041_FB1 Fieldmouse leaping over Vole.jpg
Description: Did the vole startle the mouse?
Date: 08 Jan 2011
View: D45_20101115_0758_010_FB1 Reed Bunting female in autumn hedge bottom (crop).jpg
Description: Reed Buntings are irregular visitors seen only once or twice some years.
The last inclusion on this site was a male for 6 May 2009.
This single image was the only image we got and is of a female.
Date: 07 Jan 2011
View: D45_20101116_1526_085_FB1 Dunnock.jpg
Description: Portraits of birds feeding in the hedge bottom.
We probably don't appreciate our fortune in seeing perhaps 50
pictures of Dunnocks each week at this site. This one seemed
particularly classic.
View: D45_20101116_1602_096_FB1 Bluetit with corn grain in beak.jpg
Description: Even a single corn grain looks quite big for that little
bluetit's beak.
Date: 06 Jan 2011
View: P34_20101101_1211_298 Autumn foliage from meadow post looking North (orig).jpg
Description: The Autumn 2010 show of leaf colours was a short lived affair.
Up came the colour, up came the wind, and down came the leaves
all in 10 days.
First a general view of the woodland edge looking North showing the
interesting variety of tree colours.
View: P34_20101030_1047_195 Canopy of Large leaf Lime Copse Seq.jpg
Description: We have a little cluster of 'Large Leaf Lime' and have been photographing
the canopy over 2010 every few days. First an image from 30 Oct 2010
View: P34_20101106_1008_333 Canopy of Large leaf Lime Copse Seq.jpg
Description: Same view a week later.
View: P34_20101109_1204_446 Canopy of Large leaf Lime Copse Seq.jpg
Description: Same view 3 days on. Ouch - the autumn colour 'blown away'.
Date: 05 Jan 2011
View: DF1_20101106_0843_015 Grey Wagtail swallowing insect 3 of 4 (crop).jpg
Description: An irregular visitor seen briefly only some years is
a Grey Wagtail (what else do you call the most coloured
wagtail!). This one has been hunting on the roof and you can see
the legs of the insect 'going down the hatch'.
View: DF1_20101106_1025_124 Wagtail on roof ridge about to swallow insect.jpg
Description: Similar for a more regular visitor.
Date: 04 Jan 2011
View: DF1_20101107_0947_041 Redwing on apple twig among hawthorn berries (crop).jpg
Description: We have been trying to get good photographs of Fieldfares. But it was
this Redwing, of which a few are scattered through the Fieldfare
flock, seemed to be slightly less nervous and could be
photographed through gaps in other trees.
We love the subtle blending of bird and foliage.
View: DF1_20101115_1157_050 Fieldfare on Hawthorn branch with a few berries left (crop).jpg
Description: A week later this Fieldfare finally ignored us sufficiently for
this portrait.
Date: 03 Jan 2011
View: D35_20101110_0716_124+20101109_1613_106_FB4 Grey Squirrel with Chestnut husk in mouth + insert with whole nut (montage 1).jpg
Description: Some stale chestnuts hung around many hours.
It may be that a squirrel with sharp teeth and paws to hold it
is the best equipped creature to get at the insides.
View: D5C_20101109_0657_082_FB2 Grey squirrel biting into apple (crop).jpg
Description: And now the fruit course - you can see the peel crinkling up as
the squirrel takes a bite.
Date: 02 Jan 2011
View: D45_20101107_1727_036_FB1 Fieldmouse and apple.jpg
Description: How twee the mouse looks ...
View: D45_20101107_1731_038_FB1 fieldmouse on rotten apple (crop).jpg
Description: .... until you see what it picks to eat!
Date: 01 Jan 2011
View: P34_20101030_1227_270 Hazel tree leaf with autumnal orange tinge & incidental 7-spot ladybird (crop).jpg
Description: One of our Hazel tree/bushes has a particularly striking orange tinge.
Here is one of the leaves with a capricious 7 spot Ladybird.
View: P34_20101030_1229_288 6 7-spot ladybird clustered in dead hogweed (crop).jpg
Description: Talking of 7-spot ladybird - this dead hogweed seems to be a good
place for them to cluster in the sunshine.
Image Archive arch 2010 dec.htm (view it Here)
Date: 31 Dec 2010
View: D35_20101102_0327_015_FB4 Fieldmouse jumping over Leopard slug (@576).jpg
Description: The Leopard slug obstacle course for mice ...
View: D35_20101103_0149_041_FB4 Fieldmouse jumping over Leopard slug.jpg
Date: 30 Dec 2010
View: D45_20101101_1911_057_FB1 Fieldmouse on red apple.jpg
Description: A bumper apple crop this year means plenty of windfalls left
for all comers night and day.
View: D45_20101103_0740_201_FB1 Blackbird male with autumn debris.jpg
Date: 29 Dec 2010
View: D5C_20101103_0755_036_FB2 Squirrel swivelling on log top (crop).jpg
Description: Grey squirrels are popping up everywhere. Here one is caught in
a particularly animated position on the ground.
Warning: the image after
this one includes a (not too graphic) dead mouse that you
might prefer to skip over.
View: D35_20101029_1404_006_FB4 Grey squirrel reacting to dead mouse (crop).jpg
Description: As an oldish house in the country we just can't keep mice out of
the house, and use several 'live traps' to catch them for
eviction. However we had one upstairs that wouldn't go in the
live trap and was chewing electric cables, so we used normal
mousetrap and put the body out in the morning to see what took
it (a Magpie). But earlier in the day we got this very atypical
image of a grey squirrel we think reacting in some way to the
mouse even though it only a few hours dead.
Date: 28 Dec 2010
View: DF1_20101024_1244_058 White Wagtail trying and failing to catch insect in flight 2 of 4 (crop).jpg
Description: On the Roof
A single frame from short sequence that works better on its own
than with the others. The insect was flying left to right and the
bird missed it, letting the insect do a high speed exit upwards.
View: DF1_20101028_1232_026 5 of larger flock of Black-headed Gulls in flight (crop).jpg
Description: Over the Roof
Earth moving works on the adjacent farm has had the same effect
on the gulls as ploughing - a flock of maybe 50 sweeping about
looking for disturbed food. Here a part of the group of
Black-headed Gulls in eclipse (the black spot is the ID) make a
pleasing random pattern.
Date: 27 Dec 2010
View: D45_20101024_1840_235_FB1 fieldmouse on hind legs with apples and sloe.jpg
Description: More from the twee mouse competition folio.
View: D45_20101025_1918_071+1956_076_FB1 Fieldmouse spending 1hr with apple (montage).jpg
Description: This single mouse spent over an hour hovering around this apple,
presumably managing to nibble little bits. Here is a montage of a
couple of moments.
View: D45_20101027_1952_261_FB1 2 fieldmice feeding.jpg
Description: Ah - single frame of a couple of mice that just this once
managed to show both of their faces at the same time.
Date: 26 Dec 2010
View: D3B_20101024_1846_021_FB3 Tawny Owl (crop).jpg
Description: For just 2 days running a tawny owl turned up at the
kitchen window feeder and perch moving around it for 25 minutes
or so each day. Some images were taken automatically, others
with a remote trigger watching the events on CCTV in Infra-red light.
Here are a couple of contrasting portraits.
View: D3B_20101024_1852_024_FB3 Tawny Owl (crop).jpg
Description: Obviously having a good stare at what might be on the ground.
The owl can not hear the camera through the double
glazing, and completely ignores the camera flash.
Date: 25 Dec 2010
View: xmas card 2010 (web version).jpg
Description: This is a simplified version of our 2010 Christmas card.
Best wishes to you all.
Front:
The Jays returning for the Autumn provided some
unusual views hunting along the bridleway posts.
But our favourite image has to be this immaculate
portrait from the automated tree-stump top camera.
Back:
Grey squirrels are far from everybody's favourite,
and do some damage to our little wood. But the
cheeky little critters are fantastically photogenic.
Date: 24 Dec 2010
View: D01_20101027_1549_023 Sparrowhawk in meadow post (crop).jpg
Description: We and a birding visitor were graced by the Sparowhawk spending a
few minutes on the 'meadow post' while we watched.
Date: 23 Dec 2010
View: D35_20101025_1407_005_FB4 Bluetit trying to bite raw carrot top.jpg
Description: Three unexpected bird feasts
Can a Bluetit really manage raw root veg?
View: D35_20101027_1656_076_FB4 Rook selecting tiny piece of food.jpg
Description: All that beak for a tiny 'something'!
View: D45_20101025_1730_049_FB1 Robin packing at rotten apple.jpg
Description: A couple of decent apples to choose from, and which one does the
robin pick?
Date: 22 Dec 2010
View: D45_20101028_1646_342+1647_343_FB1 Chaffinch female and Great Tit in at least 1 minute long stand-off (montage).jpg
Description: Successive frames about 1 minute apart indicate an extended
dispute between this female chaffinch and a great tit.
Date: 21 Dec 2010
View: D35_20101019_1047_028_FB4 Jay (crop).jpg
Description: The images for 28 Nov 2010 brought you a Jay 'hunting' along the bridleway.
A month on one has arrived in our patch and taken this lovely
photo of itself at the tree-stump.
Date: 20 Dec 2010
View: D3B_20101023_1845_038_FB3 Tawny Owl (crop).jpg
Description: This (we assume one individual) Tawny owl has turned up soon after
dusk a few times at the perch outside the kitchen window.
Sometimes it triggers the IR beam and takes a photo, but it seems
to prefer the perch on the left side which the automatic camera doesn't cover.
It seems to spend about 30 minutes at the site occasionally turning towards
or away from the house. It was clearly hunting has not so far not obviously
caught anything.
Here the classic staring eyes fully dilated in the dark.
View: DC1_20101023_1905_087+090+096+098+101+106 Tawny owl left of kitchen window feeder by moonlight (montage of 6 from 11).jpg
Description: Roll-up, Roll-up, for the Tawny Owl Photo Booth
Through an upstairs window in what to the eye was total darkness
& without flash, and using trial and error aiming, focus and
exposure, produced a good number of poses of the owl on the left
of the perch. Owls are remarkably still when hunting so quite a
few images are not movement blurred even at the necessary 8
second exposure. The results are not great images but we think they are fun.
Technical: Manual exposure, manual focus (trial
and error examining images on LCD) Each frame 8 seconds @ F4.0
ISO 6,400 600mm lens on heavy tripod.
Date: 19 Dec 2010
View: D3B_20101017_1944_300_FB3 Tawny Owl (crop).jpg
Description: A few days after a photo of a Tawny owl at the tree stump we got
this image outside the kitchen window. Examining the CCTV footage
for the same time we see it land on the top of the feeder (when
this photo was taken), stay 10 minutes swivelling to look all
round, then suddenly flying away over the pond and returning a
few seconds later to the same perch approaching from above so not
breaking the beam again (which is lower and to the right).
View: DF1_20101018_1125_014 Sparrowhawk on Raptor perch (crop).jpg
Description: Next morning the local sparrowhawk spent a moment on our 'Raptor
Perch' (more normally occupied by amorous pigeons) and this was
the single image grabbed through the kitchen window before the
movement was spotted and off it went. The background is a silver
birch.
Date: 18 Dec 2010
View: D45_20101014_1709_022_FB1 Dunnock in hedge bottom with apple & sloe.jpg
Description: Some Day visitors to the Hedge bottom
Very autumnal portrait of a lovely Dunnock.
View: D45_20101015_0810_099_FB1 Chaffinch male and Dunnock face-off (crop).jpg
Description: Next morning, a not so happy dunnock (right) face to face with a
Chaffinch male.
Date: 17 Dec 2010
View: D45_20101014_1929_055_FB1 Fieldmouse on spread hind legs & front paws crossed (@432).jpg
Description: Some Night visitors to the Hedge bottom
Fieldmouse practicing the splits with artistic paw movements?
View: D45_20101015_0203_081_FB1 Bank vole carrying off big lump of fruit.jpg
Description: We don't often see bank volves carrying off anything, let alone
this quite large lump of soft fruit.
View: D45_20101017_1806_312_FB1 Rabbit examining windfall apple.jpg
Description: The apple looks rotten enough to be fermenting.
Drunken rabbit anybody - insects certainly do get drunk on fermented fruit!
Date: 16 Dec 2010
View: DF1_20101019_1055_091 Kestrel female in flight looking at camera (crop).jpg
Description: The new female kestrel taking a look at the landlords.
View: DF1_20101019_1056_121-139 Kestrel female flying off after kill in grass (prey eaten) 1+2+4+6+8+10-19 of 19 (montage 2).jpg
Description: One minute later the kestrel above dived on some prey in the
grass and we could see her dispatching something with head and
wings occasionally becoming visible, so we got the camera ready
for the takeoff. This is an accurately positioned montage. The
bird took off into a strong Left to Right Northerly wind which is
why she swings back to the right as she climbs. The head in the
grass and launch are consecutive frames but with a few seconds
between them. The first 4 in flight are alternate frames (about
3.5 fps) to avoid overlap and the rest are about 7 fps.
The enlarged insert shows the beginning of the sequence - if you
are an author or artist interested in other positions we can supply
any of them in full resolution.
Date: 15 Dec 2010
View: DF1_20101020_1654_099 Flock of about 30 Goldfinches landing in top of Silver Birch 2 of 8 (crop).jpg
Description: A flock of about 30 goldfinches is often about the plot enjoying
the catkins. They are very skittish and you have to be slow and
patient for them to ignore humans. Here the flock is arriving at
a silver birch.
View: DF1_20101020_1655_126 Flock of about 30 Goldfinches landing in top of Silver Birch 8 of 8 (crop).jpg
Description: Now they have all landed in this one tree there seem to be more goldfinches
than tree! (genuine single frame).
The endless twittering of these flocks is a delight.
Date: 14 Dec 2010
View: D3A_20101009_1757_125_FB2 Pheasant male sitting + Chaffinch male landing (q) + attacking Robin in flight (crop 3).jpg
Description: A quite common occurrence - a robin threatening chaffinch male.
View: D3A_20101009_1757_125_FB2 Pheasant male sitting + Chaffinch male landing (q) + attacking Robin in flight (crop 1).jpg
Description: But here you see the event in its original context, which somehow
changes everything.
Date: 13 Dec 2010
View: D45_20101009_0051_059_FB1 Fieldmouse on hind legs (crop).jpg
Description: A Twee fieldmouse entry for this month.
Is the lean a new fashion?
View: D45_20101009_0455_090+0340_079+20101010_0518_182_FB1 Single Fieldmouse on hind legs over 24 hrs (montage).jpg
Description: This is a different fieldmouse that appeared regularly over 24
hours in almost exactly the same place ...
Date: 12 Dec 2010
View: DA1_20101010_1313_061_FT1 Brindled Green (q) Moth in flight (crop).jpg
Description: From an autumn moth trap catch of about 200 moths we selected about 20
to try to photograph in flight. Only 2 obliged enough to obtain
reasonable images. First what we think is a Bridled Green Moth
View: DA1_20101010_1348_203_FT1 Black Rustic (Aporophyla nigra) Moth in flight (crop).jpg
Description: This Black Rustic Moth looks jet black at rest because all you
can see is the top of the forewing, that you can see bottom left,
which is opaque black. It is very reluctant to fly to order -
this was the only in-flight image over about 6 individuals from 2
sessions a month apart.
Date: 11 Dec 2010
View: DF1_20101010_1351_022 Buzzard flying overhead 6 of 6 (crop).jpg
Description: Can't resist a buzzard - the last of a sequence of 6 as it turned
overhead suddenly caught the birds essence.
Date: 10 Dec 2010
View: DF1_20101010_1549_390 Sparrowhawk flying overhead (crop).jpg
Description: An unexpectedly extended and impressive showing by the sparrowhawk circling
overhead for a few moments.
Date: 09 Dec 2010
View: D35_20101013_1838_088_FB4 Tawny Owl (crop).jpg
Description: Lovely surprise of the week was a Tawny owl landing on the tree
stump. We have been hearing the occasional one-off distant Tawny
owl call over the CCTV system around dusk for a about a week, but
this was a complete surprise. We had a look for a pellet but
didn't find one.
Date: 08 Dec 2010
View: D45_20101012_2303_251_FB1 Fieldmouse chewing horse chestnut conker (crop @768).jpg
Description: Despite the ravages of leaf miner moths on the horse chestnut trees (of which
conkers are the seed), we have a fair crop of conkers this year.
The mice had quite a few goes at getting through the tough skin and
this was the most fun image we caught of them trying.
View: D45_20101013_1958_357_FB1 Fieldmouse starting leap with whole shadow (crop).jpg
Description: Whoosh - complete with shadow
Date: 07 Dec 2010
View: D35_20101008_0351_140_FB4 Fieldmouse facing camera.jpg
Description: "Who are you looking at".
View: D3A_20101006_1907_203_FB2 Fieldmouse jumping up log end with another behind (@768).jpg
Description: The "What happened next" competition possibilities seem endless.
Date: 06 Dec 2010
View: DF1_20101006_1757_148 Kestrel flying low at sunset (crop).jpg
Description: Our busy Female kestrel goes on hunting until sunset though we rarely
see her for a few hours after dawn. Here she is flying
'home' (wherever she roosts) lit by the setting sun.
View: DF1_20101007_1059_295 Cormorant in flight (crop).jpg
Description: Next morning a much rarer siting - a cormorant flying over our patch.
Date: 05 Dec 2010
View: DF1_20101007_1104_344 Comma butterfly on blackberry fruits (crop).jpg
Description: In early October food and sunshine still bring a few butterflies out
to feed - here a Comma butterfly on ripe blackberries where it can
suck up the sugary juice.
The bit of spider web between head and left wing suggest a
recent unpleasant encounter with a spider's web.
View: DA1_20101010_1527_364+1545_446_FT1 Comma Butterfly in flight with Blackberry fruits (montage).jpg
Description: 3 days later we netted this surprisingly spruce Comma butterfly and brought
it in for some images in flight.
First showing the bottom of the wings with the white 'comma'.
View: DA1_20101010_1540_433+1611_009_FT1 Comma Butterfly in flight with yellow buddleia (montage).jpg
Description: And now the top view with our resilient yellow buddleia still
making new flowers as you can see at the top of the floret.
Date: 04 Dec 2010
View: DF1_20101007_1238_417 Kestrel female flying along bridleway with prey in one talon to land on post 06 of 19 (crop).jpg
Description: Our newly arrived female kestrel seems to hunt the area around us
several times a day. Here she flies along the bridleway about 100m from us
with some rodent she has caught (not visible in this first single frame)
View: DF1_20101007_1238_419+421+423+425+428 Kestrel female flying along bridleway with prey in one talon to land on post 08+10+12+14+17 of 19 (accurate montage exc last).jpg
Description: Here she continues flying RIGHT to LEFT aerobraking to land on
the post where you can now see the rodent. Accurate montage at
about 3.5 fps (alternate frames from a 7 fps sequence) except for
extra image of the post at the left.
Date: 03 Dec 2010
View: DF1_20101008_1518_099 Kestrel female on hedge clump to East too thick for flail (crop 1).jpg
Description: This image shows our new female kestrel already using an uncut
clump of overgrown hedge on the adjacent farm too much for the
flail cutter to manage 3 days before after 5 years of unrestrained
growth.
View: DF1_20101005_1552_017 Tractor flail cutting hedge to East viewing cutters & thick stems (crop).jpg
Description: Driving down country roads many of you will have seen flail cutters
trimming hedges and throwing out a shower of wood chips (and sometimes
large lumps!). This is a view from the other side (from a very
safe distance) of the rotating flail in action. The cutter on the end of
thick rods, offset down the rotor, are hinged so that if they hit something
that they can't cut they don't just smash or jam.
Date: 02 Dec 2010
View: P34_20101007_1021_909 4 7-spot ladybirds under leaf in hedge.jpg
Description: By the standard of recent years we have a decent number of 7-spot
ladybirds & only a few Harlequins. This group of 4 7-spots were
hiding under a leaf in the hedge and were rudely turned vertical
for a picture.
View: P34_20101007_1054_916 Canopy of Large leaf Lime Copse Seq.jpg
Description: A weekly photograph of the canopy of a stand of 19 Large Leaf
Lime trees show that Autumn has started with just one tree
noticeably 'turning' before the others.
Date: 01 Dec 2010
View: D45_20101011_0351_298_FB1 Polecat (crop).jpg
Description: The early hours of an early October morning saw the return of the
Polecat for just this one frame.
Image Archive arch 2010 nov.htm (view it Here)
Date: 30 Nov 2010
View: DF1_20101004_1620_088-091 Female kestrel takeoff from grass with small prey item in left claw 1-4 of 5 (arbitrary montage).jpg
Description: Continuing from the previous dive down, we lost her in the grass
but picked her up flying nearly straight at the camera with some
small morsel in her left claw (right as viewed). We have had to
spread the images left to right as they hopelessly overlapped if
montaged in their proper places. The hunt, dive and this takeoff
all taken within the same exciting minute!
View: DF1_20100930_1229_328-330 Kestrel female on post with rodent flies along bridleway 15-17 of 41 (accurate montage @7 fps).jpg
Description: Several days before & 200m away to the North she caught a rodent
on the bridleway (unable to ID) and flew up to a post with it,
had a few pecks and flew off with it down the bridleway.
Date: 29 Nov 2010
View: DF1_20101004_1620_064+069+071+073 Female kestrel hunting on house mains cables & diving down 01+02+03+05 of 12 (montage).jpg
Description: About 30m away on our own mains cables and with us in full view
the bird ignored us and got on with an avid search of the ground.
She is in one place all of the time - so we have placed each pic
as if along the wire.
View: DF1_20101004_1620_076-080 Female kestrel hunting on house mains cables & diving down 8-12 of 12 (Horiz stretched montage).jpg
Description: Frames 6 & 7 were wings up 'ready to go', and then woosh - down
she went. We have had to spread the pics horizontally except for
the last pair. (Tomorrow - what happened next).
Date: 28 Nov 2010
View: DF1_20100930_1459_446-453 Jay flying up to land on Bridleway fence post 1-8 of 8 (accurate montage + spaced frames).jpg
Description: A newly arrived Jay took us by surprise by hunting from the
bridleway posts presumably for worms and insects all swallowed on
the ground. Here a montage of it flying from the ground up to a
post top. It was beautiful to watch this over and over as the
bird worked its way along the posts.
View: DF1_20100930_1500_478-487 Jay flying to post on bridleway dives down and turns into grass 07-16 of 23 (accurate montage).jpg
Description: These 2 images show the jay flying down, skimming along the
ground and then swerving to dive down on something in the grass.
We have never seen this before and neither have experts we have consulted.
View: DF1_20100930_1500_488-494 Jay flying to post on bridleway dives down & turns into grass 17-23 of 23 (accurate montage exc left bird & wing).jpg
Date: 27 Nov 2010
View: D45_20101001_2140_043_FB1 Fieldmouse and Bank Vole (adjusted crop).jpg
Description: The windfall apples are a great hit with the voles, mice and slugs.
(Genuine single frame a bit tidied up)
View: D45_20101001_2324_092_FB1 Fieldmouse standing on red apple.jpg
Date: 26 Nov 2010
View: DF1_20101002_0909_036 7 of 10 Goldfinches feeding on silver birch catkins (crop).jpg
Description: A flock of about 100 goldfinches disperses to feed. Here a group of 10 in one
image is better presented as this 7 all stuffing themselves on Silver Birch
catkins. This is a mixture of males, females and juveniles.
View: DF1_20101004_1113_023+024 Goldfinch adult feeding on silver birch catkins (montage).jpg
Description: And one in more details - "caught in the act".
Is the look 'guilty' or 'so what'.
Date: 25 Nov 2010
View: DF1_20101002_1040_177 Small copper butterfly on bridleway near Pineham Farm (crop).jpg
Description: Out on the bridleway with coats on, this Small Copper butterfly was
sunning itself on the ground. This is the normal form, rather than the
blue-spotted variant we photographed in the same month last year
View: DF1_20101002_1247_464 Red admiral butterfly coiling up proboscis 2 of 2 (crop).jpg
Description: We have a yellow Buddleia that has always kept flowering until
the first air frost. We seem to have a solitary Red admiral
around the plot that is a regular on these flowers. Here it is
rolling up it's proboscis after feeding on nectar - there is
still a drop of fluid at the top of the curve.
Date: 24 Nov 2010
View: DF1_20101004_1612_045 Female kestrel in flight 1 of 4 (crop @ 768).jpg
Description: A portrait of our new local female Kestrel flying along in the distance.
View: DF1_20101004_1612_046-048 Female kestrel in flight 2-4 of 4 (accurate montage @ 7 fps)).jpg
Description: This is the next 3 images accurately montaged - we are frequently
surprised how far a bird in full flight goes 'per flap' once it
is in full flight.
Date: 23 Nov 2010
View: DF1_20100921_1802_052-055 Collared Dove taking of from wires (horizontally stretched montage).jpg
Description: A few collared doves have reappeared after a short summer
absence. This one perching on the main electric wires took off
nicely on cue for the camera. Montage at about 7 fps is
horizontally stretched to show the whole bird each time.
Date: 22 Nov 2010
View: D45_20100925_0355_131+0356_132_FB1 Fieldmouse on hind legs with front paws together (montage).jpg
Description: "Mr. DeMille - do you prefer my front or profile views?"
Consecutive frames of a ludicrously twee mouse.
Date: 21 Nov 2010
View: D45_20100928_1931_183+1915_177+20100929_0007_205_FB1 Fieldmouse or mice inspecting rotten apple (montage over 5 hours).jpg
Description: This field mouse (we think the same one each time but not sure) came visiting
this rotten apple for hours. Here is a confection of 3 visits.
View: D45_20100930_0753_314_FB1 Robin pecking at rotten apple (crop).jpg
Description: The robin spent 15 minutes in the morning with better culinary
equipment making the hole ever bigger, and appeared again the
same evening for further helpings.
Date: 20 Nov 2010
View: DF1_20100930_0943_007 Water droplets on Asparagus twig & berries forming images (crop with inverted insert).jpg
Description: Some dew drenched mornings have created very visible spiders
webs & some water drops large enough to work as lenses. Here the
second from the left berry and drop is inverted and enlarged 5
times on the top right showing an image of our treetop line.
View: DF1_20100930_0958_130 spider web in hawthorn hedge with water drops showing rainbow (crop from defocussed).jpg
Description: The camera DOES lie - you can see these rainbows on dew spangled
spider webs by eye much better than they are captured by cameras
because the intense colours tend to overexpose and turn white.
While trying to catch the wanted effect on this occasion the
camera auto-focussed on the foliage behind, so the water
refracted colours show up much better.
Date: 19 Nov 2010
View: DF1_20100930_1027_196 Bullfinch male eating silver birch Catkin (crop).jpg
Description: Many birds feed on the emerging catkins of the silver birches, and
among them we spotted this lovely male Bullfinch stuffing itself.
Date: 18 Nov 2010
View: D3A_20100921_0329_076+0446_080_FB2 Fieldmouse (montage).jpg
Description: A couple of (possibly the same individual) fieldmouse portraits about
an hour apart.
Date: 17 Nov 2010
View: D45_20100922_1929_057+1927_056_FB1 Mouse running from robin (montage of 2 events 2 minutes apart).jpg
Description: The change-over between day-shift and night-shift is always interesting.
Birds start singing a few minutes before the bats head for the loft.
Owls and Corvids squabble for only a few minutes at twilight, etc.
But we rarely get images of birds and mice in the same frame so 2
consecutive frames a couple of minutes apart, both showing a
robin seeing off a mouse, suggest that birds are above mice in
the 'pecking order', especially if the bird is a robin.
Date: 16 Nov 2010
View: D45_20100923_1921_040_FB1 Vole eating blackberry fruit (crop).jpg
Description: Some of the bounty of Autumn moved to the photo sites lets us see
them stuffing themselves in preparation for the hard times ahead,
even if they don't know why.
View: D45_20100924_1940_108_FB1 Fieldmouse eating blackberry fruits (crop @ 768).jpg
Description: Sticky fingers (well paws anyway)!
Date: 15 Nov 2010
View: DF1_20100925_1404_060 Weasel (crop).jpg
Description: A movement catching the eye and a quick grab for the camera while
the Weasel moved to the other side of the conservatory was just
in time to catch this image through the rain splashed window. It
didn't seem to notice us - maybe dirty windows are a GOOD
wildlife watching tip!
Date: 14 Nov 2010
View: DF1_20100921_1302_041 Common blue butterfly male feeding on Ragwort (crop).jpg
Description: A common Blue butterfly male feeding on some ragwort flowers. Its
a bit faded on both sides - signs of a life well spent in the
sunshine? If he has a memory for such things (pretty unlikely!)
he is going to be disappointed to find it gone later in the day
after a grass cut (its was growing in a grass walk). We don't let
poisonous Ragwort seed in this cattle country anyway. The yellow
buddleia (which flowers until first frost) will have to do.
View: DF1_20100921_1305_064 Craneflies mating on grass (crop).jpg
Description: Craneflies all over the place, but perhaps not the invasion of
some years. Here a pair doing what comes naturally down in the
grass.
Date: 13 Nov 2010
View: D3A_20100914_0327_058_FB2 Small badger.jpg
Description: A small and pristine badger at about 3:30 a.m. looking for
'tea' by his time clock.
Date: 12 Nov 2010
View: D3A_20100915_1815_142_FB2 Great Tit landing on log with aggressive robin with floating seed near beak (crop).jpg
Description: A fairly typical encounter at the camera sites, this time between
a robin and a great tit. Note the capricious floating seed in
front of the robin's beak.
Date: 11 Nov 2010
View: D45_20100914_0254_093_FB1 Vole nibbling apple.jpg
Description: This windfall apple from a red apple tree brought to the site
created a lot of interest amongst the customers. Here from a vole.
View: D45_20100917_1927_050_FB1 Fieldmouse on hind legs by apple.jpg
Description: Twee fieldmouse - with apple.
View: D45_20100918_0508_102_FB1 Rabbit carrying off last piece of whole apple.jpg
Description: Finally got carried off after about 4 days.
We suspect it was bitten up by a fox or badger we didn't
see, but it's a sharp variety and it didn't eat it all.
Date: 10 Nov 2010
View: D35_20100912_0102_138+0113_140_FB4 2 fieldmice & 2 harvestman spiders feeding on tree stump (montage for 2 good views).jpg
Description: A couple of mice spent quite a while feeding quietly on the top of the
tree stump, but never aligned themselves nicely together -
so we have 'cheated' with an accurate montage.
The harvestman spiders far exceed the number seen in previous years.
View: D45_20100912_2214_265_FB1 2 Fieldmice leaping at once (crop).jpg
Description: Genuine single frame. We wonder where the mice are hiding the
trampoline.
Date: 09 Nov 2010
View: DA1_20100912_0936_108+0940_117_FT1 Square-spot Rustic (Xestia xanthographa) (q) moth in flight with Hawthorn twig (montage).jpg
Description: A really pretty little moth we think is a 'Square-spot Rustic'.
View: DA1_20100912_0943_127+133+0940_121_FT1 The Sallow Moth in flight - 2 views either side of hawthorn twig (montage).jpg
Description: We are fairly sure this moth is a 'Sallow'. We didn't get any one
shot we thought told the whole story so here are two views on
either side of a twig.
Date: 08 Nov 2010
View: DA1_20100912_1435_068+1444_081_FT1 Common Darter overmature female (torn wing) in flight with teasel netted on (montage).jpg
Description: As the season advances dragonflies generally get tatty wings from
encounters with thorns etc. They continue to fly fine with quite
extensive damage - we are glad there are no nerves in dragonfly wings.
This Common Darter Dragonfly female is now past breeding and is
photographed with the actual teasel plant she was netted on.
Her head is turned bit toward the camera with her left eye at the top of the head.
View: DA1_20100917_1234_018_FT1 Common darter dragonfly male in flight strobe @ 80Hz (crop).jpg
Description: This image of a male of the same species is taken as a single exposure
using a strobe light - a very fast flash with the shutter held open.
80Hz means 80 flashes a second, so the image below last for about 1/10th second.
These have to be photographed against an extremely black
background (typically 20 flashes hit it) and are not photo montages but made
'in the camera' with the images appearing to be transparent.
View: DA1_20100917_1307_046_FT1 Flesh-fly in flight strobe @ 80Hz (crop).jpg
Description: We accidentally caught this fly along with a dragonfly (likely the
male above) and we used the same strobe technique for this pic.
Date: 07 Nov 2010
View: DF1_20100912_0751_012 Garden Spider on dew drenched backlit web (crop).jpg
Description: A wet morning produced some wonderfully bespangled webs. The spider you can see in the
middle of the web has the common name 'Garden Spider'.
Apparently the glue on the web stays sticky even when wet, but we
can't think the covering of dew drops does anything for the
'stealth' aspect of the web!
View: DF1_20100912_0754_025 Garden Spider bottom view on dew drenched web (crop).jpg
Description: Same web, same spider, from the sun-lit side.
Date: 06 Nov 2010
View: DB1_20100915_0554_098+0556_137+138+0559_194+0600_245 Brown Long-eared bat in flight (5 image montage).jpg
Description: A morning session photographing bats flying round before entering
their roost in our loft is portrayed as this montage over about 5 minutes.
Positions are adjusted to avoid overlaps. The house wall is accurately
positioned for the bat closest to it (i.e. from the same frame).
View: DB1_20100915_0559_194 Brown Long-eared bat in flight (crop).jpg
Description: The upright posture of the bat at the top looks like something
out of a Dracula story.
People frightened of bats getting tangled in hair etc. should know that
we have spent hours with them flying around our heads and Marie
has long fine hair, and although we sometimes feel the breeze of
them passing none has ever touched us or our equipment. They seem
to 'see in the dark' (echolocate) better than see in the day.
Date: 05 Nov 2010
View: DA1_20100916_1505_050+1556_153_FT1 Comma butterfly in flight with mint flower-head (montage).jpg
Description: The mint bed outside the back door has been allowed to flower and
some of the butterflies like to feed on it now many other flowers
are turning to seed. First the crenelated Comma butterfly, named
for the white spot when the wings are closed.
View: DA1_20100916_1618_178+1556_148_FT1 Red Admiral butterfly in flight with mint flower-heads (montage).jpg
Description: And now a Red Admiral butterfly.
Date: 04 Nov 2010
View: DA1_20100917_1339_077+20100912_1444_080_FT1 Southern Hawker Dragonfly male in flight with teasel head (montage).jpg
Description: Hardly a nick in the wing of this beauty despite being almost at the end
of his life.
Date: 03 Nov 2010
View: DF1_20100917_1105_036 Bluetit plucking and eating seed-heads from Hawkweed (q) (crop).jpg
Description: Photographed through the living room window, a bluetit feasted on
seeds from a broken weed stem in the hedge. Look carefully at the
beak and you will see the seed itself attached to the hairs that
would have let it be blown away in the wind if the bird hadn't
got it first
Date: 02 Nov 2010
View: D35_20100903_2143_034_FB4 Fieldmouse eating strawberry top.jpg
Description: After dark a fieldmouse makes whole meal out of the pulled out stalk
and core of a strawberry.
View: D35_20100909_2022_178_FB4 Young fieldmouse + carrot + harvestman spider with leg shadows.jpg
Description: Carrot tends to get nibbled for a day or so before suddenly
disappearing. On the side of the tree stump is a harvestman
spider that looks like it has FAR too many legs because the legs
and their shadows looks very similar.
Date: 01 Nov 2010
View: D35_20100905_1754_183_FB4 Chaffinch male and robin squabbling (crop 1).jpg
Description: Looks like the robin initiated this little encounter.
View: D35_20100905_1754_183_FB4 Chaffinch male and robin squabbling (crop 2).jpg
Description: The Robin's head is uncannily sharp on the original, so here is a 'zoom in'
Image Archive arch 2010 oct.htm (view it Here)
Date: 31 Oct 2010
View: DF1_20100905_1430_119 Migrant Hawker Dragonfly adult female in flight.jpg
Description: This Migrant hawker dragonfly female was hunting over our North boundary
on a chilly but sunny day and this was taken as she flew by into the wind
slowing her progress enough to follow it with the camera.
Note how the legs are neatly folded underneath - something you don't see
in our indoor pictures because the insect hasn't had time to pull them up.
Date: 30 Oct 2010
View: D3A_20100906_1830_015+1835_016_FB2 Female and male chaffinches flying in then together 5 minutes later 1+2 of 2 (montage).jpg
Description: Two montages to tell little stories.
In the first the two outer birds are approaching simultaneously (with no hint
of threat) but too far apart to make a good picture. But the next
frame 5 minutes later showed them apparently enjoying each
other's company so a long thin take on the 2 suggested itself.
View: DF1_20100904_0925_002-004 Kestrel mobbed by 2 Rooks flying into headwind (montage at 7fps horizontal spacing doubled).jpg
Description: The male Kestrel getting mobbed by a couple of rooks.
A strong wind right to left meant that the birds overlapped so
we have about doubled the real horizontal spacing.
Date: 29 Oct 2010
View: D45_20100907_1838_194_FB1 Dunnock in flight over ground (crop 1).jpg
Description: A Dunnock gives us a view of it's underside, claws and both of
the Alulae (singular Alula) which are the birds 'thumbs' with a
few feathers on that it raises to help prevent it 'stalling' at
low speeds. Note the head and wing shadow on the bark on the
stem of the hedging.
Date: 28 Oct 2010
View: DB1_20100903_0549_111 3 Brown long-eared bats flying by loft entrance hole 1 of 2 (crop).jpg
Description: Either the bats have suddenly started using the loft again, or
they are doing so at a time we can get to see them - about 05:45
in the morning as they return to the roost in the loft. Morning
is better than evening for photography as they have a last hunt
and often have to 'queue' to squeeze into the entrance under the
eaves. In the evening they tend to zoom out of the hole and
leave. Here 3 bats flew by the entrance hole hidden under facia
top right. We guess there something like 10 bats altogether.
View: DB1_20100905_0546_098 Brown long-eared bat in flight (crop @768).jpg
Description: And our favourite single frame with all that wonderful texture in
the stretched wing membranes.
Date: 27 Oct 2010
View: DC1_20100901_1117_013+014 Southern Hawker Dragonfly mature male hovering 1+2 of 2 (Horizontally accurate montage @7fps).jpg
Description: Despite the poor weather the brief periods of sunshine brought out a few
dragonflies. They are getting a bit tatty now following encounters
with blackberry thorns etc., but worth a few outdoor images on-the-wing.
It is really only possible when they hover for a moment - here two
frames about 150mS apart as he drifted forward a little.
View: DF1_20100902_1510_393 Common Darter Dragonfly female on leaf (crop).jpg
Description: This is a common Darter dragonfly seen next day perched on a leaf
while it warms up.
Date: 26 Oct 2010
View: DC1_20100901_1119_053 Adult moorhen walking on iris roots at Dragon pond 2 of 4 (crop).jpg
Description: The end of a months long drought has converted the pond margins into
something better than liquid mud to the main pond has brought back
some of the moorhen family. First one of the adults.
View: DC1_20100901_1307_077 Juvenile moorhen walking on iris roots at Dragon pond 1 of 4 (crop).jpg
Description: And now one of this years juveniles.
The vivid green tiny leaves coating the water and lower parts of
the birds is 'duck weed' a thin layer of which comes and goes on
some of the ponds.
Date: 25 Oct 2010
View: DF1_20100901_1455_020 Spotted Flycatcher on wires (crop).jpg
Description: We must have seen these Spotted flycatchers before, but have not
recognised them. First a portrait.
View: DF1_20100901_1748_163 Spotted flycatcher in flight with insect going into beak (crop).jpg
Description: And now a moment from their hunting technique - sit on a wire,
post or branch until you see a tempting insect. Launch towards
it (may be 0.5 to several metres away), grab it, then fly back
to your previous perch or another one nearby.
Here we were lucky to catch the exact moment of the insect
inside the beak but not yet captive - it did get it judging
by the following two frames.
Date: 24 Oct 2010
View: DF1_20100903_1218_031 Swallow feeding youngster in flight (selected frames) 2 of 2 (crop @432).jpg
Description: Adult swallows sometimes feed their youngster on the wing.
They generally rise up facing each other to get the appropriate
beak alignment for just a moment.
View: DF1_20100902_1215_323+324 Swallow in flight pursuing insect 1+2 of 2 (montage left bird positioned for compactness).jpg
Description: How do the insects get taken in the first place?
The speck top right is an insect from the frame with the bird
image nearest it. The left bird image is the same bird about
150mS earlier but the insect was out of the panning camera's
frame and there are no other references so we put it somewhere
'pretty' and probably much too close!
Date: 23 Oct 2010
View: DF1_20100902_1259_256 Swallow in flight feeding juvenile perched on apple tree branch 4 of 9 (crop).jpg
Description: Swallow parents usually feed their youngsters by giving perching
juveniles a beakful of insects without landing themselves. With
one beak inside another it is always difficult to see the moment
of transfer, so from 2 different encounters first we see the
approach with the adult's beak overflowing with insects.
View: DF1_20100903_1639_525 Swallow feeding youngster on wires 5 of 7 (crop).jpg
Description: And now the adult reversing out to fly off leaving the juveniles
beak now similarly filled.
Date: 22 Oct 2010
View: DF1_20100902_1620_162+1621_165 Jackdaw harassing Hobby attacked in return 03+06 of 50 (arbitrary montage of orig pairs).jpg
Description: A Hobby arrived pursued by a couple of jackdaws for an extended
aerial dogfight tracking round the area. Here the jackdaw was
closing in on the Hobby.
View: DF1_20100902_1621_196 Jackdaw harassing Hobby gets attacked in return (discontinuous) 25 of 50 (crop @768).jpg
Description: Finally the Hobby had enough and got the advantage - they really
were this close. The encounter drifted off to the East and we
lost them in the haze.
Date: 21 Oct 2010
View: DF1_20100903_1235-1237_070+106+183+188+220+252+254+255 Kestrel & Sparrowhawk fighting in flight 8 selected from 68 (montage).jpg
Description: We have often wondered what happens when the Kestrel and
Sparrowhawk happen along together. Well it turns out to be an
extended fight - here are 8 time ordered pairs in a chaotic
montage, moving from dark blue sky overhead to pale haze lower
down but further away. All these are at the same scale.
Date: 20 Oct 2010
View: DF1_20100903_1634_466 Swallow begging on wire but disappointed (crop).jpg
Description: The excitement of what the bird hopes is a parent arriving with food.
View: DF1_20100903_1212_010 Juvenile Swallow taking off from Apple tree twig 3 of 4 (crop).jpg
Description: This bird decided not to wait and went chasing after the parent.
Date: 19 Oct 2010
View: D45_20100828_2026_191_FB1 crouching fox (crop 1).jpg
Description: Crouched down to spring on the - err - fruit?
Date: 18 Oct 2010
View: D35_20100827_2246_201_FB4 Fieldmouse clambering over apple core.jpg
Description: Processing autumn's bounty means the wildlife can't move
for peelings and rotten bits, so they clamber over.
View: D45_20100829_0240_223_FB1 Fieldmouse on hind legs looking over heap of fruit.jpg
Description: At another site, also loaded with fruit, we have the winner
of the 'Twee fieldmouse of the week' competition.
Date: 17 Oct 2010
View: DF1_20100829_1524_025-028 Sparrowhawk in flight over grass 1-4 of 4 (montage at about 7fps).jpg
Description: The local Sparrowhawk doing one of it's high speed fly-bys.
Date: 16 Oct 2010
View: DF1_20100831_1106_113 Little owl on Fence post along Bridleway to North (crop).jpg
Description: On a ramble down the bridleway we spotted this Little owl -
the species name of this day and night hunting owl.
We normally see it on the high voltage wires in what
is obviously it's territory.
Date: 15 Oct 2010
View: D3A_20100831_2132_146_FB2 2 young fieldmice - one on log looking down at other (crop).jpg
Description: But this is a genuine single frame of two young fieldmice.
Perhaps they are rehearsing the balcony scene from
'Romeo & Julliet'.
View: D45_20100901_2002_069_FB1 Vole startling shrew (q) (crop).jpg
Description: Did the vole suddenly appear over the stone and frighten the
life out of the shrew?
Date: 14 Oct 2010
View: D45_20100824_0634_083_FB1 2 Chaffinch males fighting on the wing (crop).jpg
Description: Male chaffinches are squabbling all over the site. These two look like
they have given up mild skirmishes to decide the issue
for now at least.
Date: 13 Oct 2010
View: DF1_20100828_1518_156 Migrant hawker dragonfly male basking on pine twig.jpg
Description: A line of Lodgepole pines at the edge of our mini-meadow facing roughly
South are not ideal for the trees behind but they make a magnet for dragonflies
on cool but sunny days. This is a Migrant Hawker Dragonfly sunning itself
before setting off on another patrol.
View: DF1_20100827_1212_037 Migrant hawker dragonfly male basking on pine cone (crop 2).jpg
Description: Another individual (different detail in the markings) has chosen
the end of a pine cone to bask.
Date: 12 Oct 2010
View: DF1_20100828_1754_267 House Martin in flight reaching up to catch just visible insect (crop).jpg
Description: During a poor year for flycatchers a brief sunny period after
rain brought out a few Swallows, 1 swift and this House Martin
which has lifted its head to snatch the insect you can just see
as an elongated smudge half a birds length ahead of it's beak.
View: DF1_20100828_1754_272 House Martin in flight with wings past vertical.jpg
Description: Another view of a House Martin banking really hard in flight.
Date: 11 Oct 2010
View: P01_20100828_1757_107 Clouds during sunshine & showers over house (crop).jpg
Description: A sunshine and heavy showers day produced some wonderful clouds.
To the East was a blue sky with a few cloud tendrils and to the
West at the same moment was this wonderful chaotic sight.
Date: 10 Oct 2010
View: D35_20100821_0042_027_FB4 Leopard slug + fieldmouse with fallen hawthorn twig.jpg
Description: The heap of food looks good enough for us to tuck in, and the
slug and fieldmouse seem to agree.
View: D35_20100822_0152_074_FB4 Fieldmouse examining heap of food including hawthorn berry (@576).jpg
Description: We don't know where the twig
of Hawthorn berries came from, but in the gales bits of the old
black poplars are ending up 50 metres from them so these could
have blown in from a number of our trees.
Date: 09 Oct 2010
View: D45_20100822_1827_007+1802_180_FB1 Young Blackbird in 2 views about 20mins apart (montage).jpg
Description: Two views of what is probably the same young blackbird 20 minutes apart.
View: D45_20100822_1912_016+1913_017_FB1 2 young Bluetits interleave montaged 1 minute apart (montage).jpg
Description: This is a montage of two images about 1 minute apart each with a really young bluetit
(2 images at the left) accompanied by an adult (2 images on the right) all in their
original positions.
Both bluetits and Great tits have 'second brooded' this year.
Date: 08 Oct 2010
View: DA1_20100822_1207_017+1301_104_FT1 Red Admiral Butterfly in flight with blackberry flowers (montage).jpg
Description: A bit of sunshine tends to bring out the butterflies on even quite cool
days. These two were enjoying a sheltered patch of blackberries (brambles)
when we 'invited' them in for a photo session.
First a Red Admiral butterfly.
View: DA1_20100822_1224_091+1301_104_FT1 Speckled wood butterfly in flight with blackberry flower (montage).jpg
Description: This is a speckled wood - the dominant butterfly LAST year and
quite common this year.
Date: 07 Oct 2010
View: DA1_20100822_1213_038+1300_099_FT1 Migrant Hawker dragonfly imm female in flight with hawthorn twig (montage).jpg
Description: This Migrant Hawker Dragonfly was for once flying low enough over
a hedge for us to net her and bring it in for a few minutes
taking photos.
Several years ago the Hawk and Owl trust determined that pellets
from hobbies mostly contained the remains of Migrant Hawker
dragonflies. But it is not so abundant this year - we have been
pleased to see just one or two.
Click for Image
Date: 06 Oct 2010
View: DB1_20100822_0528_002-005 2 Brown Long-eared (q) bats flying near loft entrance hole 1-4 of 4 (accurate montage).jpg
Description: Several (what we think are Brown Long-eared) bats were swirling
round the house just before dawn. Here we have montaged 4
successive frames taken at about 10 fps of two bats flying in
together but going off in different directions. If you
want to work out which bat is which yourself work it out now
before you get to the annotated image 2 below this one!
View: DB1_20100822_0528_002 2 Long-eared (q) bats flying near loft entrance hole 1 of 4 (single bat crop @432).jpg
Description: Detail of the bat on the left.
View: DB1_20100822_0528_002-005 2 Brown Long-eared (q) bats flying near loft entrance hole 1-4 of 4 (accurate montage annotation).jpg
Description: If you enjoyed the impression, you might find this annotation of the two
flight paths of interest. The entrance hole to the loft is in the eaves close
to the upper wing tip of the bat at the end of the 'green' sequence.
Date: 05 Oct 2010
View: DF1_20100824_0936_134 Young grass snake under corrugated iron sheet 30m WSW of Duck Pond (crop).jpg
Description: A young grass snake was under the corrugated iron to warm up.
It panicked when we lifted the cover and then the back edge of the metal
blocked his normal exit, but it stopped for a moment, and found a another route.
It didn't use the hole in the ground used by the larger snake - maybe it was 'occupied'.
View: P02_20100822_1803_375+1805_393 Grass snake sunbathing in Hop sedge at Duck pond (montage of head detail).jpg
Description: A larger grass snake basking in the sunshine at the end of the day in the
sedge at the back of 'Duck pond'. It stayed for several minutes apparently
completely still while we watched and captured a few images.
The insert was 3 minutes after the main image and you can see it has
barely moved relative to the plant stems. This is the first time we have
noticed a grass snake basking in this manner.
Date: 04 Oct 2010
View: P32_20100823_2011_938 Full moon over pink cloud (crop).jpg
Description: A pair of full moons Monday evening and the following morning.
Full moons are always the opposite side of the sky to the sun
so you don't see the sunrise or sunset. However, the cloud in
the first image is lit pink by the sunset.
View: P32_20100824_0545_954 Full moon setting at horizon by phone pole (crop).jpg
Description: The moon in the second image has the same tint as the cloud in
the first because of the atmospheric conditions that colour
sunrises. We haven't altered the colours at all and the camera
colour balance is locked to daylight.
The flattened shape is caused by atmospheric refraction near the
horizon.
Date: 03 Oct 2010
View: D3A_20100817_0716_078_FB2 Robin and chaffinch male skirmish (crop 1).jpg
Description: A young robin and a chaffinch male skirmish.
Who swerved first?
Date: 02 Oct 2010
View: DA1_20100815_1410_011+1521_149_FT1 Emerald damselfly Female in flight with ornamental rush (montage).jpg
Description: In 26 Sep 2010 we showed you a male Emerald damselfly brought
to us for some technical photos (see previous description).
To complete the study we photographed some more males and
this female.
Date: 01 Oct 2010
View: DA1_20100816_1358_053+1544_157_FT1 Common Darter dragonfly male in flight with Flag Iris leaf (montage).jpg
Description: A common darter dragonfly in flight.
Darters dragonflies are intermediate in size between Damselflies
and Hawker Dragonflies and you may spot them perching on
overhanging pond side foliage, taking off and returning to the
same spot.
Image Archive arch 2010 sep.htm (view it Here)
Date: 30 Sep 2010
View: DB1_20100816_1436_016 Long-winged Conehead Cricket female including whole antennae (montaged with detail insert).jpg
Description: Cricket & Grasshopper are broadly differentiated by the former
having very long antennae. This is a Long-winged Conehead Cricket female.
The book description "antennae longer than the body" does not even
begin to express the staggering length!
View: DB1_20100816_1436_010 Meadow (or poss Lesser Marsh) grasshopper (crop).jpg
Description: Grasshoppers are very hard to ID accurately - they are amazingly
varied at various stages of their lives & their calls can also be
important.
Date: 29 Sep 2010
View: DB1_20100820_1216_104 Tachina fera parasitic fly on unripe blackberry fruit (crop).jpg
Description: This wonderful fly came to our attention. It is about 15mm long,
looks wonderful, but is parasitic (lays eggs inside other
creatures) so not very endearing.
Date: 28 Sep 2010
View: DB1_20100820_1219_203 Common Blue butterfly female side view on blackberry flower.jpg
Description: Here you can see this female Common Blue butterfly reaching to
the bottom of the flower rather than the more visible anthers it
is standing on.
View: DB1_20100820_1217_170+172+173 Common Blue butterfly female uncoiling proboscis to reach across to flower 1-3 of 3 (montage).jpg
Description: This one suddenly uncoiled her proboscis to reach into the
nectaries of a bramble flower. We have never noticed one reaching
out sideways like this before from one flower to reach another
Date: 27 Sep 2010
View: DB1_20100820_1235_269+272+280 Common Blue butterfly male flies to female on Blackberry flower & attempts to mate 01+04+12 of 17 (montage).jpg
Description: The main image is a lucky (if spending an hour trying is 'luck')
single frame of a male Common blue butterfly spotting a female
and coming over to try his luck! The bottom 2 show her turning
round, and then him trying to couple with her.
They flew off in a blur without coupling (but may have elsewhere).
View: DB1_20100820_1216_113 Common Blue butterfly female top view on blackberry flower (crop).jpg
Description: The female common blues do not usually display there brown upper
wing surface in the way that the males do. Here we see her basking
for a moment.
Date: 26 Sep 2010
View: DA1_20100808_1439_028_FT1 Emerald damselfly male on Hop Sedge (crop).jpg
Description: A male Emerald Damselfly brought to us for some technical photos
of the blue 'pruinescence' (a powdery substance that rubs off) &
went on to provide some delightful images before release.
The Hop sedge looks a bit strange but that is how it goes - there
were hundreds like this with very similar strips sticking up and down.
View: DA1_20100808_1443_037+1436_016_FT1 Emerald damselfly male in flight with Hop sedge (montage).jpg
Description: And taking a final fly before going back to the waterside
Date: 25 Sep 2010
View: DA1_20100808_1505_067+1601_154_FT1 Southern Hawker dragonfly male in flight with conifer frond it landed on (montage).jpg
Description: This Southern Hawker dragonfly landed on a Cypreses (from which
this frond was cut) in a small cloud of pollen. We brought it in
for a few pics in flight, of which this actually has the whole
insect in view. One of the 4 wings is pointing straight at the camera -
a useful illustration of the total independence of each wing in flight.
View: DA1_20100816_1242_028_FT1 Southern Hawker Dragonfly male in Flight (crop).jpg
Description: I see you!
A week later another individual came in for a few in flight images.
Like all our guests they get released unharmed near where we netted them
Date: 24 Sep 2010
View: DA1_20100809_1106_048+1102_017_FT1 Red Underwing Moth in flight (artistic montage).jpg
Description: We put the moth trap out Sunday-Monday night and caught something like 1000 insects!
Many wouldn't oblige in our flight kit, but some did.
Here is a Red Underwing Moth, a large moth we have not
seen before that looks just mottled grey when at rest.
Date: 23 Sep 2010
View: DA1_20100809_1118_101+1231_228_FT1 Orange Swift Moth in flight with hawthorn twig (montage).jpg
Description: We put the moth trap out Sunday-Monday night and caught something like 1000 insects!
Many wouldn't oblige in our flight kit, but some did.
This lovely little 'Orange swift moth' obliged with just this one image.
View: DA1_20100809_1137_189+1400_236_FT1 Ruby Tiger moth (Phragmatobia fuliginosa) in flight with grass seed head (montage).jpg
Description: This 'Ruby Tiger Moth' fits the description but is much redder
than any illustrations or other photos but it varies a lot
with geography.
Date: 22 Sep 2010
View: D35_20100805_2139_058_FB4 Fieldmouse investigating (or eating) earwigs (q) (@432).jpg
Description: A week before we wondered whether this fieldmouse was eating the
earwig on the tree-trunk top.
View: D35_20100810_0155_059_FB4 Fieldmouse eating earwig (@576).jpg
Description: This time we can see no other explanation.
Date: 21 Sep 2010
View: D3A_20100811_2122_105_FB2 Fox (crop 2).jpg
Description: "I see You"
Whatever it saw probably wasn't around much longer.
View: D3A_20100811_2141_107_FB2 Young fieldmouse inspecting leopard slug.jpg
Description: "What are you?"
A young mouse possibly having its first encounter with a leopard slug.
Date: 20 Sep 2010
View: DF1_20100811_1005_217-219 Kestrel male flying by glancing at camera 1-3 of 7 (accurate montage).jpg
Description: The local male kestrel did a flyby giving the cameraman a good
stare. This is an accurately positioned montage at about 7 fps.
Date: 19 Sep 2010
View: DF1_20100811_1534_683-691 Buzzard calling in flight against field below hanslope church 6-14 of 16 (accurate montage 1).jpg
Description: One buzzard (particularly given to calling repeatedly in flight) started
frequenting fields to our north giving us some photo
opportunities. This sequence is of it flying against a cut crop
field 'underneath' local landmark Hanslope Church
1 montage shown in ever increasing detail of the bird as it started to call.
Camera frame rate about 7 fps
View: DF1_20100811_1534_683-691 Buzzard calling in flight against field below hanslope church 6-14 of 16 (accurate montage 2).jpg
View: DF1_20100811_1534_686-689 Buzzard calling in flight against field below hanslope church 9-12 of 16 (accurate montage 3).jpg
Date: 18 Sep 2010
View: D3B_20100812_1855_015_FB3 Starling and Great spotted woodpecker juvenile squawking at each other (crop 2).jpg
Description: On the left of the original frame was a starling on the nut
feeder squawking back, but this seems to be the most satisfying
crop from the frame.
Date: 17 Sep 2010
View: DF1_20100814_1647_004 Common Blue butterfly male on thistle flower with grass stem magnified by water drop.jpg
Description: Common Blue butterflies are, for the moment, almost 'common' - a
nice change from previous years. Here one is on a thistle flower
with a chance water drop on the grass stem magnifying stem
detail.
Date: 16 Sep 2010
View: DF1_20100815_1046_034 Grass snake with tongue out (crop).jpg
Description: Our grass snake is not as 'reliable' as last year, but last year
he/she didn't show off the forked tongue so clearly.
Date: 15 Sep 2010
View: D35_20100730_0840_037_FB4 Young Great tit.jpg
Description: We delight at these delicate youngsters - the first one a young great tit.
View: D35_20100731_0912_004_FB4 Young robin on tree stump top (crop).jpg
Description: Next a young robin - "Hey - look at my new red feathers"
View: D35_20100801_0531_046_FB4 Blackbird with worm on tree stump top (crop).jpg
Description: And an adult female Blackbird showing the camera what she thinks
is a good meal - none of this vegan stuff!
Date: 14 Sep 2010
View: D3A_20100802_0557_131_FB2 young (q) Song Thrush with snail in beak (crop).jpg
Description: Various stony places are littered with broken snail shells. Here
is the culprit - a Song Thrush. We think this is a youngish one -
it has certainly taken the snail to where there is no convenient
stone.
Date: 13 Sep 2010
View: D3A_20100730_2210_072_FB2 Badger.jpg
Description: Badgers and foxes are suddenly regular visitors again.
View: D45_20100730_2349_144_FB1 Young fox (crop).jpg
Description: This is the first time we have seen a young fox at this
site this year.
Date: 12 Sep 2010
View: D45_20100801_2101_161+0005_079+20100731_2133_066_FB1 Field Vole + Shrew + Fieldmouse (Exact scale montage).jpg
Description: We couldn't resist this montage at exactly the
same scale of these 3 visitors over two nights.
All three species are currently regular visitors at this site.
Date: 11 Sep 2010
View: df1_20100801_1353_025 long-winged conehead cricket (straight cerci with wings undeveloped) on hop sedge (crop).jpg
Description: These Long-winged Conehead Cricket are quite hard to spot on the
Hop Sedge. The antenna on the left is about 20% out of crop,
whilst the apparently short vertical one is full length but
foreshortened by pointing at the camera. Don't be conned by the
short wings - this is an immature insect and the wings are not
yet fully developed - the telling detail is at the tail end.
Date: 10 Sep 2010
View: DF1_20100801_1356_058 Blue-tailed Damselfly teneral male (crop).jpg
Description: A freshly emerged male Blue-tailed Damselfly not yet
in adult colour.
Date: 09 Sep 2010
View: D3A_20100803_1929_101+1931_102+1936_104_FB2 2 Chaffinch males sparring 1-3 of 3 (interpretation montage).jpg
Description: A couple of chaffinch males appeared over about 10 minutes obviously
not appreciating each other's presence and diving on each other.
No one image seemed to tell the story so we have montaged
3 together to provide the flavour.
Date: 08 Sep 2010
View: D35_20100805_1803_044_FB4 Magpie landing in tree stump as another (with iridescent tail) leaves (crop).jpg
Description: Change over at the tree-stump - the arriving magpie has his claws rather
more threatening than needed for just a landing. The iridescent
green sheen on the tail feathers is an optical interference
effect (real - not a photographic effect).
Date: 07 Sep 2010
View: D45_20100805_1958_124_FB1 Wren leaning backwards (crop).jpg
Description: We very rarely see Wrens at the photo sites, so when we
DO get one why does it look like it is falling over backwards?
Date: 06 Sep 2010
View: DF1_20100806_0841_017 Common Blue butterfly male bottom side (crop).jpg
Description: The Common Blue butterflies are seen over our 'meadow' intermittently
during the year
Here are two views of an individual that stayed for a few minutes before
doing the 'vanishing trick'.
View: DF1_20100806_0846_082 Common Blue Butterfly Top view on grass stem (crop).jpg
Description: The view of the grass stems through the wing is real - the wings are
semi-transparent.
Date: 05 Sep 2010
View: D01_20100727_1615_018+1616_042 Green Woodpecker juvenile on meadow post & flying away (montage).jpg
Description: This juvenile Green woodpecker often spends a while on top edge
of the meadow post. We have montaged in the bird flying off a
minute after the main image - it was very blurred (selectively
sharpened here) but shows off the lovely colours (not enhanced).
Date: 04 Sep 2010
View: D35_20100728_1002_040_FB4 Young Bluetit landing on tree stump with young great tit already standing on it (crop).jpg
Description: Genuine single frame (the bluetit at the left selectively
sharpened) of a couple of the new inhabitants of our patch. Tits
sometimes produce second or late broods - this year both Bluetits
and Great tit have done just that.
Date: 03 Sep 2010
View: D45_20100727_0751_011_FB1 Chaffinch female with single corn grain in tip of beak.jpg
Description: Female chaffinch looking like she couldn't be sweeter.
View: D45_20100727_0755_012_FB1 female chaffinch seeing off male.jpg
Description: Maybe not ...
Date: 02 Sep 2010
View: D45_20100727_2340_074_FB1 Twee fieldmouse (crop).jpg
Description: Just a fieldmouse - but how twee can you get?
Date: 01 Sep 2010
View: D45_20100714_0059_047_FB1 Fieldmouse scampering.jpg
Description: Whoosh ... - a Fieldmouse makes a hasty exit.
View: D45_20100714_0216_050_FB1 Shrew in front of snail.jpg
Description: Going the opposite way at more sedate pace is a shrew. We rather
like the snail in the background NOT taking part in a race. From
being a very unusual sighting we have seen a shrew a few times now
at this site so it may be becoming a regular.
Image Archive arch 2010 aug.htm (view it Here)
Date: 31 Aug 2010
View: DF1_20100717_0908_070 Hobby in flight (crop).jpg
Description: This hobby did a nice flyover and circle. The first shot (poor
quality not shown) suggest that it had just caught a dragonfly
and transferred it from talon to beak, and was circling for a
minute to see if there were any more.
Date: 30 Aug 2010
View: DA1_20100719_1500_009_FT1 Banded Demoiselle damselfly female in flight viewed from underneath (crop).jpg
Description: This Female Banded Demoiselle (females do not have the wing
bands) was our guest for a few pics. The first is a 'head and
wing' view of the underneath of the insect flying nearly straight
upwards. The twist of their wings in flight is very evident as
are the green eyes.
View: DA1_20100719_1501_012+1552_107_FT1 Banded Demoiselle damselfly female in flight with Hawthorn twig (montage).jpg
Description: And how she might appear in flight if your eyes could capture an
image at the approximately 0.03 mS flash duration.
Date: 29 Aug 2010
View: DA1_20100719_1512_061+1553_115_FT1 Migrant Hawker Dragonfly imm female in flight caught 20100718 with Hawthorn (montage).jpg
Description: This Migrant Hawker Dragonfly, an immature female, was the first
of the year reported in this area.
Date: 28 Aug 2010
View: D35_20100724_1032_042+1139_047_FB4 Young Bluetit landing + Young Great tit standing on tree stump (montage).jpg
Description: Apparently Great tits and Bluetits occasionally produce a second
brood.. Maybe all the peanut feeders & other food offerings we
provide speed up raising the first brood, because we are seeing
multiple batches of new young tits at the kitchen window feeders,
and here 50m away at the tree stump they photograph themselves.
This is a montage of a young Bluetit and young Great Tit
photographed about an hour apart but in their actual positions.
Date: 27 Aug 2010
View: P02_20100724_1025_217 Coiled grass snake digesting meal (under corrugated iron).jpg
Description: Lifting a sheet of corrugated iron at the side of the meadow area
revealed this somnolent grass snake. Only visible from the other
side is a 'mouse size' bulge in the body and we assume it was
quietly digesting a meal before being so rudely disturbed.
Date: 26 Aug 2010
View: DF1_20100712_1753_006-0011 Swallow in flight hunting overhead 1-6 of 7 (arbitrary montage at about 7fps)).jpg
Description: Swallows remain a rarity this year, seen as the odd bird perhaps
a few times a week. This one chose an overcast day to go chasing
after an (invisible) insect overhead. The bland sky doesn't
provide the reference points to montage accurately, so we sort of
guess/try and make it look nice. We expect reality would spread
them out more horizontally but you get a feel for the twisting &
turning. The tail and the 'pins' are spread much wider than we
normally see.
Date: 25 Aug 2010
View: DF1_20100714_1747_222 Banded Demoiselle damselfly female on Blackthorn hedge (crop).jpg
Description: A female Banded Demoiselle damselfly decorating the blackthorn
hedge at our North east boundary.
Date: 24 Aug 2010
View: DA1_20100710_1519_048+1635_190_FT1 Large Red Damselfly male in flight with hop sedge (montage).jpg
Description: A Large Red Damselfly but as yet without the typically
red eyes. Many odonata vary hugely in colour as they age.
Date: 23 Aug 2010
View: DA1_20100710_1536_104+1537_113+1538_122_FT1 Comma Butterfly in Flight (artistic montage).jpg
Description: Unable to choose between the various images we took of this individual,
here is a montage as they actually appeared in their frames over
about 2 minutes. An unusually obliging flyer.
Date: 22 Aug 2010
View: DA1_20100710_1557_163+1636_204_FT1 Small Tortoiseshell butterfly in flight with Thistle flower heads (montage).jpg
Description: Small Tortoiseshell butterflies used to be abundant here, but we
now see 'a few'. The underwing is a completely different dark
brown.
Date: 21 Aug 2010
View: DA1_20100710_1559_175+1635_192_FT1 Ruddy Darter Dragonfly mature male in Flight with Hop sedge (montage).jpg
Description: A 'Ruddy Darter' dragonfly caught over the sedge at Duck pond who we
'invited' in for a few minutes for some photos in flight.
Date: 20 Aug 2010
View: DC1_20100712_1611_050 Sparrowhawk female on Horizontal River Birch branch staring at camera (crop).jpg
Description: Continuing images from yesterdays female Sparrowhawk ...
"I see you!"
View: DC1_20100712_1606_013+1615_077+1616_078 Sparrowhawk female hunting from Horizontal River Birch branch (montage).jpg
Description: A very relaxed hunt mostly spent with one foot drawn up into the
feathers, she was keeping her eye on something to the right she
finally quietly put both feet down and suddenly plunged to the
right. Left hand image is 9 minutes before the right pair, which
is an accurately positioned montage perhaps a second apart.
Date: 19 Aug 2010
View: DC1_20100712_1607_028 Sparrowhawk female on Horizontal River Birch branch (crop).jpg
Description: This female Sparrowhawk spent about 15 minutes standing
on a 4m high branch about 15m from the house.
View: DC1_20100712_1609_042 Sparrowhawk female on Horizontal River Birch branch scratching face with talon (crop @576).jpg
Description: Scatching with that talon looks nearly as dangerous as a cut-throat razor!
Date: 18 Aug 2010
View: DF1_20100711_1228_096 (prob) Lesser Marsh grasshopper (crop).jpg
Description: On a patch of desiccated grass in the back garden, this
grasshopper obligingly allowed us a few images before hopping
off. We think it is a Lesser Marsh Grasshopper but we are not
knowledgeable enough to be sure. Note the stunning and colour
match with dead grass (like it is at the bottom of rank grass)
even though produced by different materials.
Date: 17 Aug 2010
View: D3B_20100704_1746_026_FB3 Great Spotted woodpecker Juvenile.jpg
Description: We thought the spread tail and generally perky look made an unusual
view of this Juvenile Great spotted woodpecker.
Date: 16 Aug 2010
View: DF1_20100705_1119_014 Broad Bodied Chaser Dragonfly male on desiccated stem (crop).jpg
Description: This Broad bodied Chaser is one of the unmistakable dragonflies.
Only the male of this species has the blue pruinescence - a
powdery blue coating that gets patchy over the weeks that the
insect lives.
Date: 15 Aug 2010
View: D3A_20100708_2212_057_FB2 Fox showing claws with good colour and about 12 burrs.jpg
Description: The return of the high resolution & richly coloured (not enhanced) fox.
View: D3A_20100705_2323_022_FB2 Badger.jpg
Description: 3 days earlier at the same site - a badger made a long awaited
reappearance at this high resolution camera site.
Date: 14 Aug 2010
View: DC1_20100704_1301_048 Moorhen adult stepping over iris fronds with duckweed (crop).jpg
Description: An adult moorhen in a typical stance creeping along the pond margin,
big feet spread to support the birds weight on the submerged
vegetation.
View: DC1_20100705_1219_001 Moorhen Juvenile scrambling over water level iris fronds.jpg
Description: The moorhen on the main pond have produced 7 young for their second
brood, so with the 2 juveniles still about we sometimes have 11 of the birds
on the water. This juvenile was clambering over the foliage full of
'joie de vivre'
View: DC1_20100706_1129_013 Moorhen (prob female) with first 2 chicks of second brood.jpg
Description: Probably Mum with the two she is looking after, while the Father
as usual finished the incubation and looks after 'the rest'.
Its an effective strategy that helps the odds against predators
and food supply.
Date: 13 Aug 2010
View: DF1_20100709_1758_014 Emperor Dragonfly female laying into Duck Pond (crop).jpg
Description: A beautiful Emperor dragonfly female depositing eggs. The only
image we got before she flew off for no obvious reason - this was
taken from at least 5 meters away - it's possible to get much
closer when there isn't water in the way!
Date: 12 Aug 2010
View: D45_20100625_1956_037_FB1 Lesser Whitethroat (Q) with caterpillar in beak (crop).jpg
Description: We had a photograph of a Whitethroat with caterpillar on 26 May
2010, so this one a month later must be another family.
Date: 11 Aug 2010
View: DA1_20100627_1434_038_FT1 Elephant Hawk Moth in Flight (crop).jpg
Description: Most moths are little brown or grey creatures ...
but this psychedelic beastie is called an Elephant Hawk Moth.
They love honeysuckle but we decided to show this moth unadorned.
View: DA1_20100627_1429_019+1522_208_FT1 Yellow Underwing Moth in Flight with Hawthorn twig (montage).jpg
Description: The range of yellow underwing moths are always startling as they
change from a drab brown into a brilliant yellow-orange display
that frightens off many potential predators.
Date: 10 Aug 2010
View: DA1_20100627_1453_104_FT1 Buff-tip moth hanging from Hawthorn leaf (crop).jpg
Description: The Buff tip moth has an incredible camouflage when on wood - it
looks like a broken twig end. Doesn't work so well on this leaf but you
get to see it's intricacy.
View: DA1_20100627_1444_076+1523_218_FT1 Buff-Tip Moth in Flight with Hawthorn twig (montage).jpg
Description: Here in flight.
View: MVC_19990707_0546_545 Moth Buff-Tip Pair Mating (crop).JPG
Description: And finally from 11 years ago we had completely forgotten finding
this pair mating on grass stems taken with an early digital
camera working at less than 1 M pixel and writing the results to
a floppy disc!
Date: 09 Aug 2010
View: DF1_20100627_1125_118 Mating azure damselflies with another male trying to interfere (crop).jpg
Description: The damselflies are busy mating and laying.
Mating couples often get harassed by other males wanting
(and sometimes managing to get) the female for themselves.
Date: 08 Aug 2010
View: D3B_20100626_0616_037_FB3 2 Great spotted woodpecker juveniles squabbling & adult female (left) (crop).jpg
Description: Single frame of some sort of Great Spotted woodpecker family squabble
Date: 07 Aug 2010
View: DA1_20100627_1630_289+1642_328_FT1 Ringlet Butterfly in flight with Clover flowers (montage).jpg
Description: Ringlet Butterflies are new to us here in the last few years and
this year are in good numbers. This is the insect in flight with
the low clover flowers they tend to flitter between.
View: DA1_20100702_1243_053_FT1 Ringlet butterfly in flight against Hawthorn foliage (crop).jpg
Description: And here against a Hawthorn hedge backdrop where we also see them.
Date: 06 Aug 2010
View: D3B_20100629_1757_003_FB3 Sparrowhawk female (crop).jpg
Description: The Sparrowhawk usually goes for birds IN the hedge rather than
on the feeders, so we were lucky to get this image of one coming
in to spend about a minute on the perch by one of the nut feeders.
Date: 05 Aug 2010
View: DA1_20100630_1417_001+1444_036_FT1 Banded Demoiselle Damselfly male in flight with blackthorn twig (montage).jpg
Description: We have been seeing male Banded demoiselles damselflies
fluttering around the sunlit hedges for a few days. Here is one
brought in for a little photo session.
View: DF1_20100703_1152_024 Banded Demoiselle Damselfly female on blackthorn hedge in sunlight (crop).jpg
Description: A few days later we got our first sight of the year of the
ladies, this one photographed at rest in the sunshine, catching
the light unusually well.
Date: 04 Aug 2010
View: D01_20100627_1857_041-43 Green woodpecker female & and leaving meadow post (positionally accurate montage).jpg
Description: The adult female Green Woodpecker likes our meadow post and we
rather like this take off sequence when she left. The birds at
the left are about 130mS apart
Date: 03 Aug 2010
View: D12_20100624_1228_008 Southern Hawker Dragonfly Exuvia side (@ Rory Morrisey) (RGB) (crop).jpg
Description: Dragonflies end their 2 or 3 year life as predatory aquatic
larvae by crawling up a plant stem and emerging from a pupal case
(Exuvia) to expand into the flying insect. This image
shows the intricacy of the case including transparent eyes and
the strands which are insides of the breathing spiracles. The
insect exited out of the upper back. Thanks for Rory for the gift
of the Exuvia from his garden pond.
If you are interested in more detail we photographed an exit
sequence of a different dragonfly species in 1999 (with far
inferior equipment) which you can see at
Dragonfly Emergence sequence
Date: 02 Aug 2010
View: DF1_20100625_1637_108 Emperor Dragonfly male (crop).jpg
Description: Our first definite Emperor Dragonfly at our site. This is the
glorious male on Hop sedge on the island of Duck Pond.
Date: 01 Aug 2010
View: D35_20100619_2002_009_FB4 Juvenile Great Tit.jpg
Description: A juvenile Great Tit out of the nest for a week or two now
looks so sweet.
View: D35_20100624_1336_028_FB4 Dunnock carrying insect or spider in beak.jpg
Description: Meanwhile this Dunnock adult is obviously still hard at work collecting
food for his chicks somewhere nearby.
Image Archive arch 2010 jul.htm (view it Here)
Date: 31 Jul 2010
View: D35_20100621_2156_015_FB4 Fieldmouse twisting.jpg
Description: Fieldmouse in an unusual and appealing position - possibly
surprised by something in the night and then even more surprised
by the camera click and flash.
Date: 30 Jul 2010
View: DC1_20100622_1101_044 Moorhen carrying nesting material to nest out of view behind island.jpg
Description: The two moorhen chicks seem to be doing fine, and the parents are
starting another brood hidden from our view behind the main pond
island.
View: DF1_20100625_1646_113 Sawfly Larvae on Flag Iris leaves (crop).jpg
Description: Flag Iris is the dominant marginal plant at this pond in which
moorhen are building their nest. Many stems now look very tatty
as the Sawfly Larvae use them as green salad, but the plants
thrive anyway.
Date: 29 Jul 2010
View: DF1_20100617_1212_137 Red Kite in flight (crop @ 768).jpg
Description: This Red Kite made a momentary flyover.
View: DF1_20100617_1213_223 Red kite Defending against 2 Carrion Crows 3 of 3 (crop).jpg
Description: It soon wandered off and a pair of carrion crows really took
exception to its presence and harassed it until we lost sight of
the group in the haze.
Date: 28 Jul 2010
View: DF1_20100613_0938_013-015 Sparrowhawk in flight 3-5 of 8 (arbitrary montage).jpg
Description: An unusually visible flyby of this orange-yellow eyed
Sparrowhawk gave a chance for a few shots. The spacing etc of
these is arbitrary - we have no positional reference in the bland
sky. Since we took these we have glimpsed it twice in the next
few days trying to grab birds near the house - the more normal
whizz - what was that - gone.
Date: 27 Jul 2010
View: DC1_20100614_1813_035 Great spotted woodpecker juvenile on vertical raptor post with chance flying insect.jpg
Description: The two juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker seem to be doing fine,
feeding themselves at the peanut feeders and also being fed by the parents.
Here a juvenile is waiting on a vertical post complete with a chance insect.
View: DC1_20100614_1810_010 Great spotted woodpecker juvenile preening on vertical raptor post.jpg
Description: It stops for a brief preen.
View: DC1_20100614_1820_097 Great spotted woodpecker juvenile pecking top of raptor post (crop).jpg
Description: Next it tries out his beak and strengthening muscles by trying to
demolish the post. It wasn't doing badly - the odd bit of wood
went flying.
Date: 26 Jul 2010
View: DB1_20100617_1250_008 Large Red Damselfly male on vertical stem (crop 1).jpg
Description: Red eyes - but NOT a red eyed damselfly - a Large Red Damselfly.
View: DB1_20100617_1250_008 Large Red Damselfly male on vertical stem (crop 2).jpg
Description: A better look at the intricate head and thorax
Date: 25 Jul 2010
View: DB1_20100617_1252_039 Rustic Sailor Beetle (Cantharis Rustica).jpg
Description: A pretty medium sized beetle called a Rustic Sailor Beetle.
View: DB1_20100617_1258_069 Scorpion Fly female.jpg
Description: Female scorpion fly, which doesn't have the curled up tail of the male.
There are a pair of pics in flight in the
Archive for 8 June 2009 about 2/3 down.
Date: 24 Jul 2010
View: DF1_20100617_1335_465 Kestrel hovering in hunt (crop).jpg
Description: The male kestrel doesn't normally put on a good show when we are
about, but was very intent on a hunt. He hovered for several
minutes over the pasture.
View: DF1_20100617_1336_519 Kestrel male in stoop (crop).jpg
Description: He suddenly stoops, ripping through the air and disappearing straight into the
long grass where we saw nothing & missed his takeoff!
View: DF1_20100617_1337_571 Kestrel male flying with rodent in talons (crop).jpg
Description: He flew off to one of the black poplar trees nearby and you can
see he is carrying a rodent in his talons. He spent several
minutes concealed in the tree before flying off away from us - we
don't know whether he ate the prey or took it off to a nest.
Date: 23 Jul 2010
View: D3B_20100607_0651_005_FB3 Great spotted woodpecker male just after feeding youngster (note saliva strand).jpg
Description: This adult and juvenile Great Spotted woodpecker still have a strand
of saliva between their beaks after a feed - undoubtedly of peanuts
from the feeder out of crop on the left. They quickly learn to feed
themselves from the feeder.
View: D3B_20100608_1823_055_FB3 Great spotted woodpecker male threatening another unidentified GSW out of crop (crop).jpg
Description: A blurry mess of another GSW has been cropped off the left.
Date: 22 Jul 2010
View: D45_20100608_2319_143_FB1 Fieldmouse nose-to-nose with slug (crop).jpg
Description: 'If I kiss you will you turn into a mouse, or me into a slug?'
(Genuine single frame).
View: D45_20100613_0019_170_FB1 Field vole and slug.jpg
Description: And a short tailed field vole checking over a slug a few days later.
(Genuine single frame).
Date: 21 Jul 2010
View: D45_20100609_0535_213_FB1 Yellowhammer with caterpillar in beak (crop).jpg
Description: We know Yellowhammers nest near our South East corner but its
nice to get it confirmed by this adult female collecting caterpillars.
View: D45_20100611_2040_033_FB1 Yellowhammer male.jpg
Description: Yellowhammer male in all his glory.
Date: 20 Jul 2010
View: DF1_20100612_1600_291 Banded Demoiselle damselfly male alighting on Hop Sedge (crop).jpg
Description: This banded Demoiselle male sometimes returned to the
same spot providing an opportunity for a photo
alighting on a the Hop Sedge.
View: DA1_20100605_1337_028_FT1 Banded Demoiselle damselfly male in flight (crop).jpg
Description: From a few days earlier, probably a different male from a
different pond taking a flight through our 'flight tunnel' before
being returned to where we caught him.
Date: 19 Jul 2010
View: DA1_20100604_1419_058+1558_321_FT1 Eyed Hawk-moth in flight with Thistle leaf (montage).jpg
Description: An Eyed hawk moth photographed in flight viewed from underneath
with some attractive but unspectacular markings.
View: DA1_20100604_1417_040_FT1 Eyed Hawk-moth in flight (crop).jpg
Description: in flight from the top it's another story altogether! The eye spots
do not show when the insect is at rest.
View: DF1_20100604_1434_065 Eyed Hawk-moth on thistle (crop).jpg
Description: And how you might normally see him - the feathered antenna identify
him as a male.
Date: 18 Jul 2010
View: DA1_20100604_1452_214+20100606_1252_006_FT1 Lime Hawk Moth in flight with small twig of Large Leaf Lime (montage).jpg
Description: A first photograph we have taken here of Lime Hawk Moth, taken in
flight after capture in a moth trap. We have included a bit of
Large Leaf Lime twig, although the leaves here are atypically
small to fit into our little photographic 'stage'.
Date: 17 Jul 2010
View: DA1_20100604_1607_359+20100606_1040_001_FT1 Red-eyed Damselfly imm male in flight with Hop Sedge (Carex pseudocyperus) (montage 1).jpg
Description: A red-eyed damselfly without red eyes!
Many damselflies and dragonflies change colour hugely during their lives and this
the form of the immature male - yet to develop red eyes and blue colouration on the
last 2 tail segments. Thanks to Alan Nelson of the
BDS for the ID.
View: DF1_20100613_0952_055 Red-eyed Damselfly female (crop).jpg
Description: 9 days later we spotted this female Red-eyed damselfly this time with
- wait for it - Red eyes - in a weedy patch 100m from any pond.
Date: 16 Jul 2010
View: DA1_20100604_1507_291+1413_022_FT1 Buff Ermine Moth + White Ermine Moth in Flight (exact scale montage).jpg
Description: We caught both White and Buff Ermine moths in the moth trap on
the same night which suggested a simple montage to allow
comparison of size, colour and markings.
Date: 15 Jul 2010
View: DA1_20100605_1435_059+20100604_1627_370_FT1 unident Lacewing (24mm span & dark head & wing spots) in flight with Blackberry leaf (montage).jpg
Description: We often see Lacewings as an almost ghostly blue haze slowly flying
in and out of hedges. So here is a good look at one of the larger one.
One ID book says are 14 species in the UK, of which we can find
photos or drawings of about 5 altogether. None of them include the
wing spots this one has, so are not even going to guess at further
identification.
Date: 14 Jul 2010
View: DA1_20100605_1650_194+1657_223_FT1 Brimstone Butterfly male in flight with Ground Ivy Flowers (montage).jpg
Description: This Brimstone butterfly is in surprisingly good condition for June.
This image in flight shows the top of the wing (brightest
yellow), bottom of wing (greeny-yellow) and body all in one
'lucky' image.
Date: 13 Jul 2010
View: DF1_20100604_1232_010 Azure Damselflies mating on Flag Iris Frond (crop).jpg
Description: Azure damselflies are mating and laying in all the warm ponds.
Here a pair 'in wheel' on an Flag iris frond - the dominant marginal plant
in the main pond.
View: DC1_20100603_1245_067+070+095 Moorhen adult catching mating Azure Damselflies & feeding to chick 01+04+29 of 30 (montage).jpg
Description: But mating is a dangerous time where the insects are more intent on what they are doing than
looking out for danger. Sad for the insect, but this sort of thing goes unseen all summer long.
- Top Left: Still in tandem attacked by the moorhen
- Top Right: Couple have separated but female head in the beak and male trapped by wing tip.
- Bottom: Adult has swum over to the chick under the foliage & given them to it to eat.
Date: 12 Jul 2010
View: DF1_20100604_1233_015 Broad-Bodied Chaser Dragonfly male on withering Flag Iris Flower (crop).jpg
Description: This beautiful Broad-Bodied Chaser Dragonfly was using the withering
flag iris as a vantage point - it has no interest in pollen or nectar.
Shortly afterward an orange female flew by and he flew off after her.
The blue back (on the males only) is powdery and bright in Ultraviolet.
If you are interested see
Dragonflies in Ultraviolet
from part way down & the top item on the page that follows. They are NOT dead - just cold,
and like all the others flew off fine after warming in the sunshine.
Date: 11 Jul 2010
View: DF1_20100530_1810_005-008 Rook diving between branches to feeding site 1-4 of 4 (Approx montage).jpg
Description: Soon after we have replenished the photo site 'bait' the
rooks and jackdaws come wheeling in to feed. In this case
a strong wind (left to right here) gave some opportunities
for flight studies. Here the top left image is moved a little up
and left to fit but the remaining three are accurately placed at
about 7 fps.
Date: 10 Jul 2010
View: DC1_20100528_1040_033 Moorhen adult passing food item to chick 3 of 6 (crop 2).jpg
Description: So far we know that one pair of adult moorhen are raising 2 chicks.
Here the passing of some item of pond fauna has been passed to one
of the chicks
View: DC1_20100602_1203_007 2 Moorhen chicks.jpg
Description: Although each parent seems concentrate on just one chick each
(actually chasing off the other) the chicks get on fine and are
often seen lurking together. Here is a portrait of the little 'punks'.
Date: 09 Jul 2010
View: D01_20100531_1239_055 Little Owl spotting potential prey.jpg
Description: A specially erected post in the meadow got a couple of all day
on-off visits by the one-eyed little owl.
View: D01_20100531_1314_134+135 Little owl flying from behind Meadow post to post top facing camera 2+3 of 7 (montage).jpg
Description: Accurate montage of two frames of him flying up from the ground
after a successful catch make this rather surreal montage a bit
reminiscent of a totem pole.
Date: 08 Jul 2010
View: DF1_20100531_1603_035 Swift in flight (crop).jpg
Description: BBC Springwatch tells us all flycatchers are late this year.
For us the number of Swifts has soared and the usual
good show of Swallows plus the odd Martin has reduced to
the odd flyover. So we make the most of the Swifts this year.
View: DF1_20100531_1605_088-090 Swift in flight arching back & opening beak to catch insect (q) 1-3 of 3 (arbitrary montage).jpg
Description: We are trying to catch the moment of an insect about to go into
a flycatchers beak. During this attempt we got this unusual
sequence of what we think is a swallow reaching way up
to catch an insect. Probably about 200mS between images
with arbitrary positions.
We guess that the insect was hidden by the right wing of the first image,
and inside the beak by the second!
Date: 07 Jul 2010
View: DF1_20100526_1750_012+1751_015+016+018+030_ Fox pouncing on prey in long grass & then bounding off (approx montage).jpg
Description: Even though this fox saw us it continued hunting some creature
hidden from us in the long grass, doing a lovely pounce and only
then bounding off away from us jinking as it went. as if to avoid
attack. This montage is a fairly accurate portrayal of the events
over about half a minute.
Date: 06 Jul 2010
View: D01_20100526_0823_065 Little owl with beak wide open on Meadow post.jpg
Description: A Little Owl with a defective left eye has been using a post in
the meadow as a hunting perch - on some days for hours spread
through the day. Here he opened his beak wide and we expected,
but didn't see, a pellet to be expelled, so maybe just a Y-A-W-N.
View: D01_20100525_0808_034+0803_018 Little owl taking off from post (montage with extended background to right).jpg
Description: And here caught launching itself onto some unfortunate morsel
(normally a worm or insect).
Date: 05 Jul 2010
View: D35_20100527_1353_016_FB4 Goldcrest (crop).jpg
Description: A first for us - a Goldcrest photographed by an automatic camera.
View: DF1_20100527_1638_039 Goldcrest on oak twig (adjusted crop).jpg
Description: Although taken about 3 hours earlier, we didn't see automatic
cameras image until the next day, meanwhile having spotted the
little beauty hunting in the oak tree 10m from the tree trunk
top. This is a 'wren size' bird and moves just as quickly!
Date: 04 Jul 2010
View: D45_20100526_0121_082_FB1 Fieldmouse.jpg
Description: Very gymnastic position balanced (or at least moving slowly) on the
back feet over a gully.
View: D45_20100525_0229_045_FB1 Snail.jpg
Description: Next frame was a badger, but an hour later so we guess this snail made
it to safety even at their speed.
Date: 03 Jul 2010
View: D45_20100526_0613_093_FB1 Lesser Whitethroat with caterpillar (crop).jpg
Description: Another first for us. After some internal and external debate we
conclude that this is a Lesser Whitethroat. This one would appear
to have a nest nearby & it is collecting breakfast for some
youngsters.
Date: 02 Jul 2010
View: DA1_20100522_1618_046+1629_062_FT1 Azure damselfly imm male in flight with pond frond (montage).jpg
Description: The Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) suddenly appeared
on Sat 22nd May so out came the insects in flight kit for some pics.
This is an Azure Damselfly immature (weak coloured) male.
View: DA1_20100522_1639_095_FT1 Spider Tetragnatha extensa (q) in fronds from Duck Pond (crop).jpg
Description: One sweep of the net over these frond produced both the damselfly and
this spider. Our quickly acquired Spider field guide indicates the ID.
Date: 01 Jul 2010
View: DB1_20100528_1358_374 Great Tit flying to nest box hole with caterpillar 2 of 3 (crop).jpg
Description: Great tits and Bluetits have been feeding youngsters every minute or so
during the day. The food supply has been mostly small
green caterpillars. The Great Tit nest box is the one on the dead
elm featuring just right of centre in the majority of the animated
sequence The field through 16 years.
View: DB1_20100528_1357_296 Great Tit parents cross over at nest box hole 2 of 5 (crop).jpg
Description: Here the parents met at the hole. The bird outside has moved to it's right
to let its partner fly out.
View: DB1_20100528_1347_070 Great tit in flight.jpg
Description: And an opportunity for this nice bird in flight - for once
without a fecal sack as it leaves the box.
Image Archive arch 2010 jun.htm (view it Here)
Date: 30 Jun 2010
View: P30_20100528_1912_254 2 Red-legged partridge on concrete track.jpg
Description: After 5 year of absence it was a delight to see Red-legged
partridges again here.
First the 2 birds we first saw on the concrete farm track.
View: P30_20100528_1919_313 Red-legged partridge 2 dust bathing at edge of track.jpg
Description: Both took turns dust bathing in the loose soil and grit at the
edge of the track, this one really relishing the moment.
View: P30_20100528_1920_322 Red-Legged Partridge disturbed while dust-bathing by rabbit 3 of 4 (crop).jpg
Description: And what made them finally leave - a rabbit more interested than
anything else - one nervous creature frightening off another!
Date: 29 Jun 2010
View: DA1_20100521_1059_225_FT1 Cinnabar moth in flight (crop).jpg
Description: The first Cinnabar moth we have seen here with a striking red
and black appearance that acts as a warning to birds that it
tastes horrible. This one was caught in the moth trap and
photographed against black, but it is also flies at dusk.
Date: 28 Jun 2010
View: DA1_20100521_1006_026+1142_357_FT1 Green Carpet Moth in Flight with Red Campion flowers (montage).jpg
Description: Caught on moth trap this Green Carpet Moth shows the flexibility of it's
wings as it powers along.
View: DA1_20100521_1113_265_FT1 Blood-vein Moth (Calothysanis amata) in flight (crop).jpg
Description: The red line along the wing of this Blood-vein moth is clearly
visible.
Date: 27 Jun 2010
View: DA1_20100521_1049_188+1142_361_FT1 Brimstone Moth (Opisthograptis luteolata) in flight with Red campion flower (montage).jpg
Description: The delicate beauty of the Brimstone Moth knocks us out every
time we see one caught in the moth trap
Date: 26 Jun 2010
View: DA1_20100521_1128_322_FT1 White Ermine Moth (Spilosoma lubricipeda) in flight (crop).jpg
Description: A stunningly beautiful White Ermine moth caught overnight in a moth trap
You don't see the orange body when it is 'at rest'.
View: DA1_20100521_1131_341+1142_361_FT1 Small Waved Umber (Horisme vitalbata) in flight with Red campion flowers (montage).jpg
Description: A medium sized 'brown moth'. These are almost always far more intricately marked than you
imagine from a distance. If moths of this sort flatten themselves against
tree bark they are often incredibly difficult to see.
Date: 25 Jun 2010
View: DA1_20100521_1444_379+1533_403_FT1 Orange-tip butterfly male in flight with Red Campion flower (montage).jpg
Description: The Cuckoo Flower (lady's smock) has almost finished, and the
Red campion is now the Orange-tip butterfly's preferred fuel.
This male is a bit tatty but still lovely and flying well.
Date: 24 Jun 2010
View: DB1_20100521_0914_011 Starling feeding nestling at hole in roof 04 of 20 (crop).jpg
Description: The starlings in the loft have been fed non-stop for the last week.
Some have left and others are coming to the hole in the loft demanding
to be fed. There has to be more than one nest on the rafters.
Date: 23 Jun 2010
View: DF1_20100521_1837_294 Pollen cloud from light tap of Lodgepole pine branch 12 of 34 (crop).jpg
Description: A lot of the pollen producers are late this year, but the
Lodgepole pine literally makes a man size clouds with every puff
of wind or other disturbance.
Date: 22 Jun 2010
View: FJ1_20100520_1405_009 Squirrel sunbathing.jpg
Description: Taking a break from the hard work picking peanut fragments out of
the very robust feeder, this squirrel was clearly having a little
sunbath sprawled along the feeder.
Date: 21 Jun 2010
View: D35_20100512_1451_005_FB4 Squirrel with plum stone in mouth (crop).jpg
Description: Squirrel with a plum stone (from a frozen plum) probably to be
taken off and bitten open for the kernel.
Date: 20 Jun 2010
View: DF1_20100516_0503_103 Barn owl 2 with rodent in claws flying to North over field to East (crop 2).jpg
Description: Out in the