CCC Walk at Grantchester

Yesterday evening, we held our annual meet up and walk at Grantchester. Usually there are lots of Demoiselles, Mayflies etc to photograph in the reeds and long grass but this year has been so dry that insects were in very short supply but we our walk around the village produced plenty of photographic opportunities.

Norfolk Hawker and Waders at Winterton

There are several small ponds in the dunes at Winterton adn one had a very obliging Green-eyed (Norfolk) Hawker, shot here at 1/2000th with mechanical shutter. Along the shoreline were several dunlin and ringed Plover, the latter with young. Spiders and seals completed the wildlife parade.

 

Raptors and Little Terns Winterton

Winterton is a well-known site for winter raptors but yesterday they also put on a great summer show including this very tame kestrel and two appearances of a Hobby feasting on the Little Terns. In the third image here, the Hobby is at a distance being pursued by angry adult terns. In the fourth shot, one was much closer but I had 1/500th set for insect photography so unfortunately not sharp. It looks as if it is a fledging tern that it has captured - as the RSPB warden said ' better to scrifice one fledgling than an adult that has potential to produce many more young'. 

RPS Nature Trip to Norfolk Heathland

The Silver-studded Blues appear to be coming to the end of their season at least 2 weeks earlier than last year though we did find a few fairly newly emarged butterflies. There were plenty of other insects and spiders to photograph.

Cyanotype printing onto Fabric

  I had a preliminary go at printing Cyanotypes onto fabric - here a piece of sheeting that I then sewed onto a garment. Next stage to try direct onto a T-shirt!! It was exposed in sunlight for about 15 minutes and then washed until the water stayed clear- the yellow  and orange are turmeric and paprika.

Hummingbird Hawkmoth

 This wonderful moth visited our garden and put on a great display The light was not great being under an apple tree so I could only get  shutterspeeds of a 1/2000th (most) and 1/1000th (images 2 and 7). The body is kept amazingly stable with very flexible wing movements