Summer Leys Hedgerow Birds

 In addition to the lakes at Summer Leys, the Feeding station with viewing hide is always an attraction and, apart from the lack of Bullfinches, it was as good as ever with lots of activity and species. Sad to see the Chaffinch with the Fringilla papillomavirus affecting its feet (this may be the cause, with avian flu, for the decline in Bullfinch numbers). Otherwise a delightful hour or so was spent watching and photographing their antics, especially the delightful but very aggressive Siskins. There was a Chiffchaff singing loudly and flitting in the trees and a Sparrowhawk whizzed through at water level (no photo!!!) and we think removed one feeding bird.

Summer Leys Stonechats, Little Grebes etc

A day of difficult light for photography but lots of birds and action to enjoy with RPS Nature Group friends at Summer Leys reserve. The weather was very variable with rain, bright sunny intervals and occasional thick cloud giving a real challenge for photography. A pair of Stonechats and athreesome of Little Grebes kept us entertained from one of the hides with the Stonechats coming close at times and the Little Grebes generally hiding in the reeds but with one clear view. I photographed a flock of Lapwing and amongst them birds that  appear to be Short-eared Owls (there is a site fairly close and birds were being driven off by the rising flood waters) now identified as Golden Plovers. Very high ISOs so not great quality for images

Exploring Macro at Botanic Gardens

We had a day at the Botanic Gardens in Cambridge yesterday in rather poor light. I spent the session before lunch showing a new member the techniques that are available for macro. I was using an Olympus with 60mm macro so explored both straight shots with as small aperture as was possible in the low light (image 1,2 ,12, 13), with focus bracketing (third, fourth images - 30 images processed in Zerene Stacker) and also with the in-camera stacking of 8 images that my model can do (rest of images).

First Wildlife Survey in Toft 2024

The present warm temperatures (up to 18 degrees yesterday) have certainly woken up the insects in Toft. Athough the two hoverflies are the same as last year around this time - Episyrphus balteatus and Eristalis tenax - there were lots of different Diptera species, a new bug to me - the Jumping Nettle louse, lots of Ladybirds including another new species, the Pine Ladybird, an interesting Door Snail, three species of spider, and four Hymenoptera including the expected Early Bumblebee - Bombus  pratorum.