Still No Nightingales

Visited Paxton Pits today hoping that the Nightingales would have arrived (6th April last year) but no sign of them on the Heron Trail (one had been sighted/heard in Rory's Wood). Here are some of the species that we did see so very much not a wasted visit - Great Crested Grebe, Common Tern, Greylag Geese, Chiffchaff, Cormorant, Robin, Heron, Tufted Duck, Black Headed Gull. I hope that the Nightingales will return in their usual number (30 males recorded singing last year).

Blossom and Stormy Sky

The pear and plum blossom looked great against the very stormy sky that we had this afternoon

Grasstrack Racing

We went to the Grasstrack racing at Wood Walton near Huntingdon today. It was very cold standing on a drafty plateau and the racing was delayed by two hours but enjoyable once it got going. Today the veterans and Juniors put on a great show with lots of flying soil to add to the drama. I tried some slow shutterspeed panning as well as action shots with 1/1600 sec shutterspeed.

Hoe Plymouth

A quick visit to The Hoe in Plymouth yesterday on a gloomy morning. The Tinside Lido was built in 1935 when outdoor swimming was very popular. It was closed in 1992 but has now been restored to its original 1930s art deco glory. The Terraces with changing areas and steps to the sea to the left of the pool are less well preserved. 

Many thanks to Linda and Plymouth Camera Club for a very warm welcome.

 

Dartmoor Infrared

I took the infrared camera into Wistman's Wood but the images were not a success as there was so much green around that the images lacked any contrast at all. Here are some other infrared images from Dartmoor that did work well. The first one shows the walk to Wistman's Wood.

Wistman's Wood

I visited Wistman's Wood today and spent several hours wandering around the wood. It is a magical place with mosses, lichens and ferns dripping off the old trees and boulders. 

Barnstaple

 I visited Barnstaple today and, in particular, the Pannier Market that I remembered from childhood visits. It doesn't seem to have changed a lot though the floor is now fancy brickwork rather than bare earth.

North Devon

The sunshine continued yesterday though with a cooler wind. Images from Westward Ho beach - first a general view and then using 300mm lens with a 2X converter and handheld so I was pleased to get some interesting images through the spray haze. The monochrome images are from Widemouth near Bude. The almost black seaweed records as white in infrared which gives an unreal feel to the images.

Ancient Woodland

 
I hoped to get to Black Tor Copse but it was a bit too far for my painful knee so I went to a nearer copse which proved to have a few pedunculate oaks and a lot of rocks, moss and lichens. The effects of a very dry winter are very evident with many of the mosses and ferns drying out.