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.

Paxton Water Surveys 2026

Disappointed that I didn't have longer looking at the samples taken for the first of the Water Quality survey at Paxton Pits today due to a clash of events but I did get to do a few photographs of the very small insects/invertebrates that needed further magnification such as these very attractive Pond Weed bugs (about 3 mm). Their latin name is Mesovelia furcata. It is usually wingless but winged forms do occur. It lives round the margins of well vegetated ponds. Its eggs (about 100) are inserted in water plants. Also pleased to identify a Soldier Fly larva as I wasn't aware the larvae were aquatic till today though the adults do frequent marshy areas. I wonder if there is an ID group fro these as with Hoverfly larvae. (ID sheet at the end)

Paxton on a Sunny Afternoon

Amazing where three hours can go sitting in a hide overlooking water! I was entertained by hunting Norfolk Hawkers and by many familiar subjects, including Great Crested Grebes sitting on a new nest having we think lost all three chicks at quite a mature stage to the Cormorants, several Egrets and one of the three Heron Chicks now confidently fishing along the margins of the Lake. 

Paxton Pits Juveniles

Very much a nature diary entry as the heat haze yesterday afternoon made sharp distant images very difficult but what a wonderful 3 hours spent doing nothing but watching this year's youngsters  starting to learn their skills and showing visitors the delights of the reserve. I didn't see either of the two Kingfishers catch anything but they were very busy practising their dives while the Heron chicks were still squabbling and showing off inappropriately as teenagers do.  I only recorded six Cygnets but they were moving around a lot. The remaining Grebe chick was staying close to one parent while the other went off hunting and came back with a crayfish I think. The adult Heron was just trying to find something to feed those youngsters on or get them to leave the nest and do their own hunting. The Dunnock wins on the subtlety of its plumage.

Heron Update

A few images of one of  Paxton's Heron families  - definitely three very boisterous teenagers now  competing to get food from the parent and beginning to trial jumps and flaps prior to their first flight. It was very contrasty light in the morning yesterday.