Macro Session at Paxton

The sky was cloudless on Thursday morning for our macro photography session at Paxton so I decided to go for dramatic portraits and therefore  look for situations where the subject was lit against darker backgrounds (normally I would be looking for even lighting to bring out as many details as possible for identification!). The Jade Hopper is always one of my favourite subjects (except it is very small!!). There were plenty of Grasshoppers/Crickets and other Hoppers though the Wasp Spider was catching as many as it could. Close ups of  Darters and Norfolk Hawker faces gave some good macro practice as they rested on sunlit branches.

Warnham Nature Reserve Surrey

 The 92 acre site, owned and managed by Horsham District Council,  was designated a Local Nature Reserve in 1988. It includes a 17 acre millpond, marshes, grassland, reed beds, hedges and woodlands. The site provides a haven for a variety of wildlife with over 400 species of plants, and over 100 species of bird, including a thriving Heronry, wildfowl, and all three species of Woodpecker. Thank you Josh for showing us round the reserve on Friday and pointing out the many interesting insects and birds - here a few favourites with a full ID sheet of the species that I photographed during the day (click to enlarge).

30th August Toft Garden

Here are some of the species I was able to identify while starting to cut my  'meadow' area  - the root areas are particularly full of insects and spiders. There are many many more still to record  though not sure how many will be large enough to photograph and ID. some extras at the end from the Tansy etc

Paxton Survey - Sanctuary

I did a survey of the sanctuary and the Meadow along side it on Thursday as I could't go on Saturday.Here are some of the more confiding insect and spider species - over 50 more or less identified.