Peregrines in Cambridge

For the fourth (?fifth) year, Peregrines are nesting on one of Cambridge's tall buildings. Such a treat to see them at relatively close quarters even though action photography is difficult in the confined space of the narrow streets and the light direction. We mainly watched the female at the nest site and then flying to nearby buildings but also had a view of the male (second image with a leg ring), which is a smaller bird with whiter white on the side of the nape. They seem to have two young which are pretty well feathered now.

Looking to the Skies Versus Bee Mimics

I took a circular walk around Lark Rise Farm in Barton, an organic farm run by the Countryside Restoration Trust, with the view dominated by the Radio Telescopes at Lord's Bridge quivering in the heat haze. However, I spent my time looking downward at the insect life and became aware of a number of Hoverfly mimics of the Bumblebee species (shown in pairs with hoverfly on the left). There are some wonderful meadows there - how English Meadows should look with lots of Damselflies and Banded Demoiselles.

Looks Like Bumper Year for Starling Chicks

Our feeders are visited several times a day at the moment by a flock of starlings. We are greatly entertained by their antics - the adults working very hard to keep all the mouths fed.

Cambridge Lockdown Images

 Yesterday we made the short drive into Cambridge to take our 'exercise' as permitted and to record how the city looks in this interim period of  Lockdown with some food shops and Market stalls open and large amounts of repair and construction work in progress but very few other people so it was easy to maintain social distancing. 

(Because I make a diary book from my blog each year, I am including a brief summary of the progress dates and stages for future reading when, hopefully, this will all be over and details begin to fade. As a result of growing number of cases and deaths from Covid19, on March 16, people had been told to avoid all non-essential contact with others and four days later, on March 20, all bars, pubs, cafes and restaurants were closed. Subsequently all schools and childcare facilities, except for the children of key workers, were closed. March 23rd Lockdown began and people were not be able to leave their home without one of four key reasons: shopping for food and other necessities; to exercise alone or with someone from the same household (only to happen once per day); for medical issues, including providing care to others; and to travel to and from work. From May 13th the rules relaxed somewhat: people who aren't able to work from home should be looking to return to work (not in the hospitality sector) and people can take "unlimited" amounts of exercise and drive further to exercise. From June 1, outdoor markets and car showrooms will be allowed to reopen in England. In addition to this non-essential retailers will be allowed to re-open from June 15.)

Macro Continued Using Extension Ring

I spent a bit of time yesterday, trying out my Zeiss 50mm lens with a 16 mm extension tube. It was difficult to handnold at the correct distance as the depth of field is very small even at F22 so I used a monopod to support the lens. The bee is less than a cm and most of the subjects much smaller so some cropping still needed. The second image is the larva of the Marmalade Hoverfly (image 3) - great for gardeners as eats aphids.