Wet Evening in Lyme Regis

 We went into Lyme Regis during our CCC trip to Dorset, hoping for a good sunset and light for long exposures etc. As we arrived the rain started and got heavier till we were forced to abandon photography and head back to Kingcombe. It did produce some atmospheric shots. The first, a favourite from the evening, is a straight shot - the result of using a 10-stop neutral density filter and not focusing before putting on the filter. The other shots have only been processed quickly in Lightroom -I will reprocess with Nik software when I get it loaded on my new PC.
I have put together a book of images from Kingcombe area yesterday evening - really as an experiment doing a Blurb book direct from Lightroom 4 - very quick to do but not quite as flexible.

Higher Kingcombe Lodge

 Many thanks to Andrea for another splendid long weekend at Higher Kingcombe Lodge. A party from the
Cambridge Camera club filled the 7 en-suite units in the stable block with an overflow into Kincombe centre. With our meals provided in a large dining/living room available all day for our use, it is an excellent place to base our photographic holiday. I can recommend  Higher Kingcombe Lodge to anyone wanting bed and breakfast or full board accommodation. The lodge overlooks seven fishing lakes looking very attractive in the morning sunshine.

Hirundines at Kingcombe Lodge Lakes

 A definite challenge trying to capture the moment when the Swallows and House Martins touch the surface of the Lake to pick up water. Great fun as they do great acrobatic tricks as they emerge.

Buzzards, Heron and Hobby

 We spent a couple of hours at Kingcombe Lodge before heading home and were rewarded with views of the Heron, a passing Hobby and up to four Buzzards in lovely light.

Toller Porcorum Demoiselles and Dragon

 The Beautiful Demoiselles at Toller were mostly not yet fully mature but the brilliant blue of the male is beginning to show with the green and brown females. A Southern Hawker put on a good flying display for me and then perched conveniently

Powerstock reptiles etc

 Another session at Powerstock Common produced some great reptiles- Common Lizards including black form (juvenile) and a Slow worm (a legless lizard not a snake). The Scorpion Fly wanted to get in on the act.

Dawn at Kingcombe

 Beautiful misty morning after rain overnight. Meadows looked magical with dew drops and cobwebs

Woodpeckers and Fighting Sparrows

 The Green Woodpecker chick at Studland put its head out every time the adult was in the area so I hoped for a feeding picture but we decided that the adults were trying to get the youngster to leave the nest. The Greater Spotted Woodpecker and House Sparrows are on the feeders at out accommodation.

Studland Heath

Not a lot of wildlife to observe on Studland Heath. It is famous for reptiles though I only saw brief sightings of lizards, they are obviously there as this Wood Ant is carrying a shed snake skin. I did manage a female Keeled Skimmer, a glimpse of the Dartford Warbler and a very pristine Sundew. (Looking at photo I believe this is a female Black-tailed Skimmer not a keeled)

Kimmeridge and West Bay

 Our next stop was Kimmeridge Bay, famous for the flat rocks but these were covered as the tide was higher  than expected probably due to the onshore wind. The wind surfers kept us occupied for a couple of hours - very brave folk in the huge waves. I remembered that West Bay had a promenade and therefore might be good to photograph at high tide, so we ended up there. The spray was fantastic but even more intriguing were the large lumps of foam being propelled into the air.

Swanage Pier

 Very strong winds were forecast so we went searching good rough sea pictures. Our first stop at Swanage proved to be an error for our mission as the bay is protected by the hills from the South Westerly. Howewever the pier itself and the diving Sandwich Terns were very attractive in the welcome sunshine

Powerstock Common Dorset

 Four butterflies from today - Green Hairstreak,Speckled Wood, Wood White and Marsh Fritillary, Three species of Orchid,  Greater  Butterfly, Twayblade and Common Spotted, with Foxgloves.