Dull Weather Routine

We have had some appalling weather over the last few days, a typical "English Summer". So I have posted a few images gathered during the previous week.

Mr Heron adopting his resting position in the long grass in the parkland.


A male Linnet which from the split in his underside feathers appears to have been sharing the brooding on the nest.


A female Chaffinch which when observed at certain angles can be confused with other species.


A male Greenfinch which has spotted me pointing a camera at him.


Here is that Greenfinch in the open.


Red Admiral Butterfly (Vanessa atalanta)
I last observed this species in April. This is a new arrival for this year, unfortunately he didn't wait around for another shot.


Peacock Butterfly (Inachis io)
I did observe several of this species and I never pass up on the chance to photograph them.


Now for something a little different.

Trout (Salmo trutta)
There are two forms of Trout, the Brown Trout (shown in the two photographs below) that spend all their time in freshwater. There is also the Sea Trout which swims from the sea up into freshwater to spawn. You can just see the pinkish red spots along their sides. They measure approximately 20cm long.



The Pike (Esox lucius)
Some of my ex colleagues who are Scottish, would probably refer to this species as "Nasty wee beasties" which just about sums them up really. This one was approximately 25 cm long and just a tiddler in pike terms.

The Flowering Rush

The Flowering Rush (Botomus unmbellatus)
A very common waterside plant in the British Isles. It is classed as an invasive weed in some countries. I took these images of the flower head which when not fully open, look like small Tulip heads.

Little Egret

Occasionally on the Fenland you get the opportunity to observe the Little Egret. This is invariably from quite some distance and usually the bird takes off before you can get close enough for a reasonable photograph. I have observed four birds on one occasion, but I never got close to them. They are a wary bird and easily disturbed.

On my travels this week I was able to snatch three quick images of the bird below. Fortunately he emerged from behind a tree line flying low, unfortunately it was low enough to be obscured somewhat by the tall reeds on the waters edge. However I was pleased with the result even though it wasn't clear.

1/2000 at f6.3. 340mm. ISO400.


A relatively new arrival to southern Britain, the Little Egret has become quite common locally, particularly estuaries and inland wetlands. I have certainly observed them fairly regularly on the fenland dykes. Probably the best location to observe them are on southern estuaries.

Scenes from a Cycle Ride (Part 2)

The second of a two part post of scenes from my latest cycle ride.

I took a few of this scene looking up a hill in this field of Oilseed Rape. The sun was behind me and shining on the field, but the scene ahead (although created a dramatic image) wasn't that inviting.


A pair of Small White butterflies (Artogeia rapae) in the mating position.


Another image of my slightly wooly friends.


The beautiful and much photographed and featured Peacock Butterfly (Inachis io). In late July this species emerge from Pupa and can be seen on the wing into October, when they will hibernate over winter.

This is a male which has the much richer dark red colour than the female which appears more orange.


Field Scabious (Knautia arvensis) Bi or perennial
Taken in very dull light this Field Scabious was observed growing on the side of a road.

1/80 at f4. plus 0.67 exposure bias. 28mm. ISO 80. Spot metering.

"No - Look this way please"


The Large White Butterfly (Pieris brassicae)
These are quite numerous now, but are not known for stopping around for photo opportunities though. I snatched this one with the 70-200mm lens.


I was getting a serious "telling off" by this little Wren from a perch in a small sycamore tree. Clearly, I wasn't meant to be there.


Another of the numerous Bumble Bees observed along the route.


Seed pods of the Tufted Vetch (Vicia cracca) getting ready to scatter next year's seeds.


The Five-spot Burnet (Zygaena trifolii) Wingspan 35mm
This is a day time Moth which flies July to August. There is also a similar Six Spot species.


My journey started out well with sunny weather. Later it turned really dull and there was distinct look of rain ahead of me. (see the image up the road on my previous post) It remained overcast for quite some time, but eventually brighter weather returned.
Finally a field of golden Wheat.


(Scheduled)

Scenes from a Cycle Ride (Part 1)

The first of a two part post of scenes from my latest cycle ride.

A field of Peas is the first image. Peas are used in this way to provide cattle feed and also nutrition for the soil.


During this cycle ride I observed a lot of butterfly species along the way. There are a number of images of various species in these two posts, all of which I have featured already this year.

The first one here is the Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina). This is the female of the species and has patches of dull orange colour on the wing tops. This is absent in the male.


A pair of Meadow Browns in the mating pose.


I passed by the field again where the sheep that I featured recently had been shorn. You can see here that their wool is already growing again.


The Green-veined White (Artogeia napi) are quite numerous now. I took this particular shot as I liked its position on the bramble flower.


There are certainly more Bumble Bees on the wing now. I am still searching for the Red Tail though.


A field of Oilseed Rape (Canola) which has been cut down ready for the Combine Harvester to come along and pick up the plants and thrash out the tiny black seeds from the pods.


Here are some of those tiny black seeds and the pods. The seeds are as small as lead shot and this is what the plant is harvested for. The seeds are crushed to produce a form of vegetable oil.


The Nettle-leaved Bellflower (Campanula trachelium) Perennial
It grows to a height of 75cm and flowers July to August. Only common in some areas of South and Eastern England.


The Ringlet Butterfly (Aphantopus hyperantus)
The first image is of the male which is quite dull looking, the second image is of the female. The female has very pronounced spots on the upper and lower wings, the males spots are hardly visible.



Although I found quite a number of butterflies along this hedgerow to photograph, it was at this time that I asked myself, "should I carry on up that hill in that direction." ?

Gatekeepers and Sandpipers

The Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus)

A common wayside and hedgerow butterfly with a 40mm wingspan.

This one is a male which is identified with the dark brown patches in the middle of the fore wings. (This is absent in the female.) This is one of my first sightings of this species this year. I have posted it for that reason and that the images are an improvement on previous years.




The Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos)

A very fortunate find for me as this is the first time I have been able to photograph this Wader. It was quite some distance from my position though and I had to crop these images considerably.

Mainly a summer visitor and passage migrant found on the edge of streams and pools. I am fairly confident this one was a passage migrant.

A Clever Fisherman

The actions and habits of birds and wildlife never cease to amaze one. The more you study them, the more you realise how intelligent they are.

An example is this Black-headed Gull below. I observed him standing in shallow river water. The water contained a lot of weeds and green plants. The Gull had learned that these plants are good hiding places for small fish such as Sticklebacks.

I noticed that as he moved slowly along the river bed he shuffled his feet about, causing a stir within the immediate area around his feet. This action disturbed small fish to move out of the greenery and make a run for it. At that point he was able to catch them.

You can see from these images that on occasions he collected a beak full of weeds as well for a side salad.