Insects in flight

Now we have lots of insects in the garden, I am returning to last year's project of getting insects in flight. The female Hairy Footed Flower Bee in the first image is in a perfect position with diffuse background (green bin!!) but has not extended its tongue forwards for the characteristic pose of this species distinguishing it often from the Early Bumblebee in the second image. Various shutterspeeds from 1000th upwards - the Beefly in the penultimate image was a 6,400th of a second and still not completely stopped the wing movement. The final image used flash to freeze the motion.

Flowers Using Wide-angle and Long Lenses

Because of the cold conditions last month and early this month followed by warm temperatures, all the spring species are flowering together giving wonderful displays in Cambridgeshire's woodlands - here at Hardwick Wood. I took images with both a long lens (140-560mm) and a wide angle (23mm). Generally I prefer the wide angle shots giving some environment information. The Oxlips are particularly fine this year. For many years it was thought that the oxlip was cowslip/primrose hybrid. In 1842' the botanist Henry Doubleday did some breeding tests, later confirmed by Charles Darwin, that showed it is a separate species.  

Paxton Pits RPS Field Trip

 On Saturday, we had our second Field trip of 2021 for the RPS Nature Group, a general natural history day at Paxton Pits. We saw a wide variety of birds and insects on a warm very bright sunny day. It was not the best conditions to get photos but certainly made the whole day very enjoyable. The Willow Warblers were singing very prominently from many perches along with Blackcaps. The bees are mining bees Andrena nitida and Andrena nigroaenea with a Blood bee (Sphecodes) that is a parasite of bees laying its egg in their brood chambers

Cambridge Camera Club Exhibition 2021

 Like many UK camera clubs, our Exhibition this year is on-line. The Opening is in a week's time on Monday April 26th at 7.30pm. It is free - just register with the Eventbrite link below for the Zoom link. There will be a review of the Exhibition and a guide to how to view the Exhibition at your leisure after the event. Here are some of the images I had accepted for the Exhibition

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/2021-photography-exhibition-online-launch-26th-april-registration-148913844317

Wildlife Garden Progress (7)

I manage my garden to help provide food and habitats for bees and other insects. Every few months I record the habitats and flowers so I can compare over the years. The Cowslips are just coming into full bloom in the front grassed area while the woodland area Primroses are still in bloom. I added some Grape hyacinths and Anemones around the trees for nectar feeders. The most popular plants with bees are Comfrey and Dandelions - conveniently seeded in various parts of the garden. The Kingcups around the pond attract various flies. In the shadier areas, there are Hedge garlic, Yellow archangel and Celandines while the main bed at the bottom of the garden is full of Red Campion and Foxgloves this year

Spring Comes to Toft Wood

Yesterday for the first time I heard a Willow Warblers singing in Toft Wood and managed to photograph it in full song. The Woodland Trust has cut back quite a number of trees and bushes to widen the paths. On the walk round the fields back home, the view is now turning yellow with a lot of the oilseed rape in flower.