Birds in High Winds at Mistley Essex

I called in at Mistley to see what birds were managing to weather the storm and had a great hour watching and photographing the various species battling against the very strong winds. More images to follow of Black-tailed Godwits as they were the definite stars of the afternoon. Also enjoyed Shelduck, Pintail and Black-Headed Gulls feeding and preening. Thanks to Manningtree club for a warm welcome and especially Jenny for hosting me for the night.

CRUFC Narrowly Lose to Rotherham

Yesterday's match was a hard-fought battle that Cambridge narrowly lost. Unusual in that two of Rotherham's and one of Cambridge's tries came from penalty tries - the 14 and 7 points, respectively, were definite bonuses on a very windy afternoon and really decided the game in Rotherham's favour.

An International Evening with Focus Stacking and Penguins

Last night we had a Table Top evening at CCC and this gave an opportunity to play around with focus stacking a Lambretta, drown a couple of ducks and a Penguin and be creative with dried flowers. Thanks to Barry and Shelagh B for their set ups and Paul K for letting us see Intelligent Arsenal in a bit more depth.

RHS Gardens at Hyde Hall

As the weather was sunny, I decided to visit the RHS gardens at Hyde Hall on my way to talk at Billericay. The temperature was too low for a lot of insect activity but good to see Honey bees, hoverfly Melangyna, Wasp spp, 7-Spot Ladybirds and two other Diptera on the Camelias.

Misty Morning Toft Wood

Last week's warm days and frosty nights produces some great misty mornings so I took the opportunity to visit our local wood (planted in 2000) and begin a year of recording  the seasons there. I loved the way the low light produced great colours in the background and dew drops.