In the Neighbourhood
It was the first day of June and I had decided to leave the bicycle and take a more local walk just to discover what was there…
My spontaneous wanderings led me first through meadows where the mist was highlighted by the dawn sun and oystercatchers foraged in floral meadows…
Along the side of the road I came across a Jay or two…
Then I decided to check out a footpath alongside the motorway where years ago I used to walk with my beloved fox terrier called Billy…the verge was built up to create a sound barrier…the last time I had walked there there were many young trees…all of which had now been removed and was currently filled with flowers…
Between the flowers and scrub were many birds, mainly Whitethroats…yet there was a bird singing an amazingly beautiful song that was confusing me as it looked like a Reed Warbler, but I was familiar with the Reed Warblers’ song and I knew the song I was hearing was nothing like it…
It wasn’t until a week or so later when I met a fellow photographer, who spoke over Marsh Warblers that it slowly began to dawn on me that all the years I had been overlooking this species…and as usual with bird identification, once you confirm the identity, you see and hear the Marsh Warbler everywhere…
There were whitethroats everywhere too…to be honest it was all a bit of a pleasant surprise…
Finally, the sun was rising on the opposite side of the motorway to which I was standing and made a halo in the sky to round off a perfect morning stroll. 🙂
Stoned Love
Stonechats are very territorial so I always know where I can expect to see them, their presence is usually made known by their distinctive call…these monogamous birds are always seen in pairs or family groups…when I see one I know there’s also another one nearby, like on this warm Indian summer day when I eventually managed to capture a few images of these most amiable chatters! ♥
Life in a Painting
They are little creatures, these insects…that’s why I’ve got to get right down there with them in the dirt…sometimes it helps to actually lay down. 😉
This was the case with this ladybird…I was laying down on the track next to this group of flowers… originally I was attracted to this spot by bees and tiny hoverflies when I came across this busy little fellow who didn’t stop moving at all…
Because of the low perspective I am virtually guaranteed a ready made, impressionist, bokeh background every time…
At the end of the day, if I have sore elbows, soggy knees and nettle stings then I know that I must of had a good day! 🙂
The Blue Forest
One thing I really like doing is getting lost in the woods because I always know I will eventually find my way out…
This was my first visit to the Blue Forest and of course I strayed from the main route, lost the way and almost run over an adder for the second time this year….both times I nearly fell off my bike! 😮
Learning to Look
Since spring I’ve been keeping my eye out for skippers but I didn’t seem to find any…they seemed quite distinctive from photo’s bloggers have posted here on WordPress, yet they are actually quite a bit smaller than I originally thought…
Within the last couple of months I started to notice them on the edges of ditches and meadows but failed to attain a decent image due to focusing issues….until the above image…when this Small Skipper just presented itself to me, I think it is a small skipper but I’m hardly what you can call an expert…
In the rest of the images, which were taken on the following days at the same venue, they look more like Essex skippers…whichever skipper they are I’m very proud to be able to present my first skipper images! 😀
Birdsfoot Blues
Quite close to where I live there is a meadow with a network of mowed pathways, here grows mainly birdsfoot trefoil and clover. Lately I have noticed on passing, many butterflies…notably common blues…its a good job I keep my eyes open on my journeys…
It was the birdsfoot trefoil that caught my attention in the first place…about a month ago I read this at “A Tramp in the Woods” blog that this is a good place to look for common blues and it sort of stuck in my head…Thanks Colin and all you other bloggers for your blogs as we learn together! 🙂
In Search of Natural Filters
Bright sunshine isn’t always handy when it comes to photography…so when that sun is beating down I find myself more on the edge of the forest where light filters down through the leafy canopy like here on a north entrance to the “Old Forest” in Bakkeveen.
This large patch of flowers was full of hoverflies, mainly drone flies and marmalade flies…when I passed this area in the early morning I kept it in mind as a sort of back up for when the heat on the heath became too much and on the return journey I was most grateful for this pleasant spot. 🙂
Psychedelic Surprise
Don’t be fooled by the mild mannered butterfly you can see in the above image….resting for a while on the trunk of a tree in the shade…a picture like this can tend to lull you into a false sense of security… 😉
For several years I’ve been aware of the hidden beauty of the underwing of this butterfly… the topside of the wings initially demand your attention because of their more instantly striking beauty…but if the underside of the wings catches the light just right you can catch a glimpse of a more subtle and most intricate nature.
On encountering a red admiral out in the open on the heather, in full sunlight…nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to witness…. 😮
Ringlets & Gatekeepers
Butterflies with such legendary names as these just deserve to be named in the title…
On several occasions this year I failed to get good images of a ringlet so this was a small victory…add to that the bonus of meeting my first gatekeeper and the promise of a trip to the forest snackbar and you have one of those days that you can dream about in the middle of winter… 😉
A New Disguise
After encountering this ‘Map’ butterfly back in May, I was absolutely certain that I would never forget it, however I did forget this butterfly takes on a new form in the summer…
The above image is the darker summer form when we recently met on the edge of a forest and underneath is my first ever encounter with this gem amongst the spring blooms on the marsh…
The Feline Dilemna
For the last three and a half years I have been “catless”….meaning that I haven’t been under feline ownership. 😉
In these “catless” days I have taken to feeding the garden birds to an obsessive level…therefore my garden is an interesting place for my neighbours cats to visit…I have tried to keep them out but that would mean shutting out the local hedgehogs too…plus the fact that cats will always find a way…
These are the two main perpetrators in the disturbance of my avian paradise…I did build a bird table last year from bamboo as I thought that this may increase bird safety, yet I discovered that the table only created a blind spot which only aided feline offensives…these attacks eventually led to the destruction of the bird table too… 😕
The cats can’t help it, I know….even my lazy cat managed to catch an immature blackbird as well as several dragonflies, frogs and even a bat on one occasion 😦 …basically, it’s an impossibility fighting their natural instincts. The cat with the bell eventually lost his “cat-safe” collar…also it seems that I get more cats now because my garden is no longer the territory of a “home cat”…
a heartical view 