Kingfishers - Star Performers at Lackford

We decided to get to Lackford early, though we were certainly not the first by a long way in the hide. We had some early sightings of the female (last four images - red under the bill) consuming a dragonfly larva. just as john and Christine turned up,  a wonderful display by a young male who repeatedly flew and settled on all the perches around the inlet. He dived a few times (missed those!) and looked extra good with water droplets. Flight shots not quite sharp but show the action.

Wasp spiders Doing Well at Paxton Pits

Great to see a species doing well in a local reserve. During an afternoon walk round only a small part of the reserve, I encountered three of these colourful spiders at very different locations. Not easy to photograph as usually in brambles and nettles but a very colourful and striking subject 

Close Formations in Poor Flying Conditions at Shuttleworth

By the afternoon, the weather had deteriorated further with thick clouds and increasing winds but the planes that did take to the air gave great displays including the Avro Tutor and Tomtit who often looked a little close for comfort. Taken at between 250th and 400th sec shutterspeed on FujiXT-2 depending on speed of aircraft to get blurred propellers but forgot one essential when doing moving propellers and that is not to use electronic shutter. You can see the curved prop well in the Mustang.

Shuttleworth Heritage Day

Today, the Shuttleworth held a Heritage Day with the House, Swiss Gardens and Museum open as well as flying in the afternoon (separate blog). There were lots of period costumes and the gardens, especially the grotto and Fernery looks as spendid as ever.

The Old Warden Estate was acquired by the Ongley family in the 18th and 19th Centuries and subsequently purchased in 1872 by Joseph Shuttleworth a Lincolnshire industrialist. His grandson, Richard Ormonde Shuttleworth, eventually inherited the estate but sadly died in 1940 following a flying accident whilst serving in the Royal Air Force.

Upon Richard’s death, his mother put the estate into a charitable trust for the purpose of promoting Richard’s interests in agriculture and aviation, establishing the Shuttleworth Collection and Shuttleworth College. The non-operational parts of the estate are let to provide funds to support the Collection and College.

Light and Shadow at Wicken Fen

As with most areas visited this year, the insects are definitely in short supply though there seem to be plenty of spiders so they must be eating something. Playing with light and shadow on a very sunny morning at Wicken. The last image is a Damsel Bug - a family of insects I haven't previously encountered with my macro.

Redgrave and Lopham Nature Reserve Suffolk II

A second batch of images from yesterday's visit - mainly to see if John agrees with the IDs. Short-winged Conehead, Field Grasshopper, Dock, Green and Spiked Shieldbugs, Kite-Tailed Robber fly, Flesh Flies mating, Cranefly, Big-Headed Flies (Pipunculidae), Fever flies and Frog!