Wicken Fen on a Windy day

We didn't see a lot of birds on our windy walk at Wicken Fen yesterday though this Little Grebe came close enough to snap from the New Hide and the Gadwall were looking in great condition. There were lots of St Mark's flies everywhere as well as several hoverflies,  parastitic wasps and a splendid small spider that signalled with its palps in an entertaining way.

Garden Safari in Toft

It has been a disappointing year so far for insects in the garden with the cold spring followed by too hot conditions for hoverflies but yesterday's cooler conditions saw three species of hovers on the wing plus a flesh fly, a couple of shield bugs etc. 

Cambridge Camera Club Exhibition

Only a week to go now till our Exhibition. Do come along if you are in Cambridge area. Over 200 prints and 240 PDI on display plus award panels etc. 

Paxton Pits Evening Activity

I called in at Paxton Pits on my way home from Birmingham to see what migrants were showing themselves. Certainly the Terns were active on the lake and Chiffchaff, Black Cap and Willow Warbler were all singing but no Nightingale song though three were heard recently. The Great Crested Grebe put on a good show catching and eating a small fish.

High Key in the Botanic Gardens

It felt really tropical in the Botanic Gardens on Thursday so a few hot steamy images to record the day. Some were in-camera effects (eg. first image when misted up in the Tropical Zone or overexposure as with Bee Fly), others created during  the processing

Jade Vine etc in Cambridge Botanic Gardens

Always one of my favourite photographic subjects, the Jade Vine is in flower at the moment. On the hottest April day for 70 years, the lighting was very harsh so I accentuated this but kept detail in the flowers by using fill-in ring flash.

Majorca: Wasps, Bees and Other Insects

I only used the 100-400 mm lens for taking insects so it was a bit hit and miss as regards depth of field and background (close focus 1.5 metres) but here a few insects that I managed to photograph in reasonable positions. The wasp is Polistes dominula.