And as I look out of my office window at the rain I wonder where the warm sunshine went... this last week has been almost summer, today we have the return of dampness... so much for cutting the lawn and doing the garden... and I have to wait in for the delivery of a new phone...
The week started with part one of a dragonfly survey at Wicken Fen National Nature Reserve - something I am doing voluntarily for the British Dragonfly Society... great to do something useful and enjoyable at the same time...dragonflies are probably my favourite creatures... studying them at close quarters is time well spent... a few images...
broad-bodied chaser (Libellula depressa) in flight... I don't normally go for the in-flight shot, but I like this one...
Banded demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens) - gorgeous iridescent blue insect - they look so delicate but in reality are voracious hunters...
even in death they have a certain elegance...
Whilst out and about on the Fen I came across this broad-bodied chaser that appears to have been attacked by a bird... great photo opportunity...
As well as dragonflies I was able to capture a few plants - as is my wont...
hop trefoil (Trifolium campestre)...
...lesser trefoil (T. dubium)...
pink water-speedwell (Veronica catenata)...
I also came across this beast...
Now isn't this beautiful... forget that it is a fly, just check the markings, the patterns, the subtleties of colour... it is in fact a horse-fly; a clegg... capable of taking large chunks out of your arm or indeed anywhere it lands and then drinking your blood. Most people hate them... but just look at it... forget its habits... it's stunning...
So, on Tuesday morning we were awoken by a loud buzzing...a look out of the window yielded this...
It turns out the BBC were filming at the Mill - a new David Attenborough series about flight and here they were using the drone (see above) to show a dragonflies view of the world and i particular, Wicken Fen. I wandered down there later to take some pictures and came across the film crew including the great man filming a sequence about dragonflies...
Whilst out on the fen and before I bumped in Sir David, I captured the following...
...marsh pea (Lathyrus palustris) - rare with limited distribution... a new plant for me and a lovely one...
meadow vetchling (L. pratensis) - quite the opposite to the marsh pea; common everywhere in grasslands, but still a joy to see..
southern marsh orchid (Dactylorhiza praetermissa) although as with most of the orchids on Wicken Fen there is a hint of hybridisation about it...
A day or so later a brief walk along a public footpath in Ely, yielded this... almost lace-like in its appearance...
hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium) - not quite Queen Anne's Lace but similar...
First Test started this week - England v Sri Lanka - great knock by Joe Root but its got draw written all over it - apart from that there is the World Cup - it's going sportstastic on the BBC and as I write this I'm listening to Rugby Union - All Blacks against England and then we have the football team playing tonight... is it going to be a good day for English sport?
From the Fen, I looked around the garden, particularly the wild bit and captured...
...brome flower (Bromus spp.) - grass flowers are really worth looking at... great colours and tones...
spear thistle (Cirsium vulgare) - love the colours and shapes... always pay to look closely...
Final shoot of the week... and I paid a second visit to Chettisham Meadows Nature Reserve. I was looking for bee orchids and failed at that... but I did manage...
bird's-foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) - superb little plant for insects and pure visual delight...
common blue butterfly (Polyommatus icarus) - a bit worn around the edges this one, but still going strong. Looks like it has had a run-in with a bird...
Essex skipper butterfly (Thymelicus lineola) - the skippers are an interesting group; they sort of fill the gap between moths and butterflies...
marbled white butterfly (Melanargia galathea) a gorgeous species of flowery meadows... who says black and white is dull...
meadow brown butterfly (Maniola jurtina) - common everywhere and brown... but delightful none the less...
one of my favourite woodland and grassland plants - selfheal (Prunella vulgaris) - almost looks like an orchid and it provides great colour and invertebrate food wherever it grows...
And so to this morning, Saturday and the rain... we are promised brighter later so if the phone arrives I may get out... however, I did learn this morning that all but one of my submission to a picture agency have been accepted - yay! This is good, so I can now shoot stock and hopefully start earning money from my wildlife images...
I have a mind to shoot a bit of film - I like the quality if images shot on film and I love to use my old cameras...
aren't they delicious?!
Let's see what the rest of the day brings then... London tomorrow to the Mammoth exhibition at the British Museum - may be the Nikon FE (on the right above) will get an airing...
Keep up with me here as always or here if you prefer... and I shall hopefully see you all next week...
TTFN
The week started with part one of a dragonfly survey at Wicken Fen National Nature Reserve - something I am doing voluntarily for the British Dragonfly Society... great to do something useful and enjoyable at the same time...dragonflies are probably my favourite creatures... studying them at close quarters is time well spent... a few images...
broad-bodied chaser (Libellula depressa) in flight... I don't normally go for the in-flight shot, but I like this one...
Banded demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens) - gorgeous iridescent blue insect - they look so delicate but in reality are voracious hunters...
even in death they have a certain elegance...
Whilst out and about on the Fen I came across this broad-bodied chaser that appears to have been attacked by a bird... great photo opportunity...
As well as dragonflies I was able to capture a few plants - as is my wont...
hop trefoil (Trifolium campestre)...
...lesser trefoil (T. dubium)...
pink water-speedwell (Veronica catenata)...
I also came across this beast...
Now isn't this beautiful... forget that it is a fly, just check the markings, the patterns, the subtleties of colour... it is in fact a horse-fly; a clegg... capable of taking large chunks out of your arm or indeed anywhere it lands and then drinking your blood. Most people hate them... but just look at it... forget its habits... it's stunning...
So, on Tuesday morning we were awoken by a loud buzzing...a look out of the window yielded this...
It turns out the BBC were filming at the Mill - a new David Attenborough series about flight and here they were using the drone (see above) to show a dragonflies view of the world and i particular, Wicken Fen. I wandered down there later to take some pictures and came across the film crew including the great man filming a sequence about dragonflies...
Whilst out on the fen and before I bumped in Sir David, I captured the following...
...marsh pea (Lathyrus palustris) - rare with limited distribution... a new plant for me and a lovely one...
meadow vetchling (L. pratensis) - quite the opposite to the marsh pea; common everywhere in grasslands, but still a joy to see..
southern marsh orchid (Dactylorhiza praetermissa) although as with most of the orchids on Wicken Fen there is a hint of hybridisation about it...
A day or so later a brief walk along a public footpath in Ely, yielded this... almost lace-like in its appearance...
hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium) - not quite Queen Anne's Lace but similar...
First Test started this week - England v Sri Lanka - great knock by Joe Root but its got draw written all over it - apart from that there is the World Cup - it's going sportstastic on the BBC and as I write this I'm listening to Rugby Union - All Blacks against England and then we have the football team playing tonight... is it going to be a good day for English sport?
From the Fen, I looked around the garden, particularly the wild bit and captured...
...brome flower (Bromus spp.) - grass flowers are really worth looking at... great colours and tones...
spear thistle (Cirsium vulgare) - love the colours and shapes... always pay to look closely...
Final shoot of the week... and I paid a second visit to Chettisham Meadows Nature Reserve. I was looking for bee orchids and failed at that... but I did manage...
bird's-foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) - superb little plant for insects and pure visual delight...
common blue butterfly (Polyommatus icarus) - a bit worn around the edges this one, but still going strong. Looks like it has had a run-in with a bird...
Essex skipper butterfly (Thymelicus lineola) - the skippers are an interesting group; they sort of fill the gap between moths and butterflies...
marbled white butterfly (Melanargia galathea) a gorgeous species of flowery meadows... who says black and white is dull...
meadow brown butterfly (Maniola jurtina) - common everywhere and brown... but delightful none the less...
one of my favourite woodland and grassland plants - selfheal (Prunella vulgaris) - almost looks like an orchid and it provides great colour and invertebrate food wherever it grows...
And so to this morning, Saturday and the rain... we are promised brighter later so if the phone arrives I may get out... however, I did learn this morning that all but one of my submission to a picture agency have been accepted - yay! This is good, so I can now shoot stock and hopefully start earning money from my wildlife images...
I have a mind to shoot a bit of film - I like the quality if images shot on film and I love to use my old cameras...
aren't they delicious?!
Let's see what the rest of the day brings then... London tomorrow to the Mammoth exhibition at the British Museum - may be the Nikon FE (on the right above) will get an airing...
Keep up with me here as always or here if you prefer... and I shall hopefully see you all next week...
TTFN
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