Aliens Visit CCC Workshop

We had an evening of creative photography concentrating on ICM (intentional camera movement), panning and in-camera multiple exposures. Several of us had fun with a disco ball - I seem to have aliens plus their planet of origin. We then tried to draw butterflies and letters using a street lamp as light source. Worryingly, I found this very easy which probably, like drawing perfect circles, denotes some strange mental abnormality! Lastly we had a go at multiple exposures.

 

Wicken Fen - Insects, Fox and Returm of the Hobbies

Yesterday was the first bright and relatively warm day for a time, so headed to Wicken Fen for a session with the birds and bugs. Not a lot around on the insect side though Brimstone, Red Admiral and Peacock all active plus as Red and Black Bug Cercopis vulnerata and a Cardinal beetle Pyrochroa serraticornis. An old Vixen fox (obviously with suckling young) watched as things hotted up from the hide - first the Terns and then up to five Hobbies entertained us with their antics (separate blog to follow). Also Buzzard, Marsh Harrier and Courting Great Crested Grebes

Smooth Newts

Many thanks to Richard Revels for introducing us to his Newts and the attractive set up to photograph them. We greatly enjoyed the session until exhaustion of a battery stopped play.  These are Smooth Newts (also known as  Common Newt, Lissotriton vulgaris). The first two are males with the crest and the third a female.

Alice in Wonderland at the Swiss Garden - Many Strange Encounters

They were holding an Alice in Wonderland picnic in the Swiss Gardens at Shuttleworth with lots of strange animals to encounter. The Peacocks had a hard day both displaying to the plastic flamingo and being chased by the children - especially my granddaughter. I retired from the noise to the lakeside walk where there were further strange encounters including Scorpions flies, a Fold-Winged Cranefly (Ptychoptera contaminata) a new Shieldbug for me (Crucifer Shieldbug Eurydema oleracea) and a Long-Jawed Spider

Macro - Spider's World at Audley End, Essex

As it was a bright morning, we were hoping for lots of insects at Audley End to practise macro photography but only located Honey Bees, a few Solitary Bees (Adrena spp), some ladybirds and this minute Crab spider guarding its prey in a curled leaf. Another spider had trapped a Wood Louse

First Damselfly and a Few More Insects Present At Last

Yesterday saw the first Large Red Damselfly this year in our garden. We have had a succession of days with cold northerly winds so the insects have been absent. Today saw a selection of Hoverflies and still plenty of Bee flies