Frosty Walk with Full-spectrum Camera

We had a hard frost overnight which was great for walking the 'muddy' footpaths now rock solid and the frost patterns on the leaves were beautiful. A single Red Kite occupied the usual morning tree - hoping its mate is safe somewhere. These are images with the full spectrum camera with very little processing.

Under a Garden Log

As part of my project to record all the species in the garden, in winter I spend time photographing the fungi, mosses etc. Unfortunately a lot of them are very small stretching my macro capabilities. The first two are a couple of different crusts - very colorful with intricate scuplturing. I then located two very tiny slime mould fruiting bodies and a 3mm translucent white Spider/Harvestman plus other crusts and lichens. All will take some time (if ever to put a name to!!)

Hardwick Wood in Winter

 Due to the very thick mud on the paths, Hardwick Wood will be closed from Monday along with other Wildlife Trust woods in the area. After I had finished my usual Saturday morning coppicing session, I took a few images of the wood looking great in the winter sunshine (phone images). I love the way the trees just lie seemingly relaxed on the floor of the wood as mosses and fungi gradually cover them and eventually return them to the soil.

Lichens

As it was a very wet day yesterday, I decided to try some macrophotography on the lichens that I had collected from Toft Wood. These were on a black tile with black background lit by LED light. Probably better if the lichen are dry as the water has picked up a lot of reflections or lit from the side as in the first specimen  - work in progress for rainy days!!

New Year's Day at Paxton Pits

The New Year's Day Birdwatch at Paxton recorded 43 species which is about our usual for January. The Coots are definitely setting up their territories and so glad I was under the flight path of the cormorant! I also recorded any flowers in bloom - total of seven species. Very poor light in the afternoon when these were taken