Saturday, 29 May 2010
Great Spotted Woodpeckers
I couldn't resist an opportunity to get up and see the Woodpeckers yesterday. I only had about 30 mins but it was one of the loveliest shoots I have had in a long time.
Thursday, 27 May 2010
Glanville Fritillary Butterfly
The Glanville Fritillary Butterfly is only found on the coastal cliffs of the Isle of Wight. The Glanville Fritillary is found in other parts of Europe but the Isle of Wight is it's most northern range. A few weeks a go I came down to Compton Chine to briefly photograph the caterpillars and this week I took advantage of the warm weather and got back to Compton Bay to try and get some shots of the beautiful butterflies.
Unfortunately the only day I could get out with my camera it was windy and I am a little disappointed with the results as the previous days while I was at the beach with my two girls we saw a pair of butterflies mating and one that only just come out of its chrysalis.
I decided not to even try the macro lens as the butterflies were hardly landing at all and when they did, were swaying in the wind. The London Zoological Society are currently studying the butterflies and I was lucky to meet a lovely lady who explained that there was concern that with our more extreme weather and colder winters and wetter summers, they were worried that they may be in decline.
They were catching the butterflies in large nets and numbering them. I was amazed that you would be able to number a butterfly, but as you can see in the shot above they know which ones they have already caught and tagged because of the marks they make on the wings (I believe this one was number 114). Another worry is that if there are a lot of caterpillars (which you may think would be a good thing), there are often less butterflies as the caterpillars eat the same plant as the butterfly leaving little for them.
Shippards Chine and cliffs along Compton Bay are probably where you will find the highest concentration of the Glanville Fritillary on the Island. It is also my favourite place on the Island and where I have spent much of my life.
While scrabbling around on the cliff top and down some very sketchy cliff falls I was amazed at the amount of insects that shared this area. I couldn't help but think of my good friend Viv in Northern Ireland who has taken some amazing macro shots of insects and one of the best macro photographers I know. If you like your insects or Northern Ireland in general then you must check out her work by clicking the link here;
The Glanville Fritillary Butterfly is very similar to the Heath Fritillary the upperside having orange or sandy-brown reticulate pattern, but its hindwing has a conspicuous arc of orange spots with dark centres. The Glanville Fritillary can been seen from May to the end of June but prefers warm days.
As I was walking back to the car I just spotted this Small Blue Butterfly land near to me and just managed this shot. I had been seeing Common Blues and Small Blue Butterflies all day but they didn't seem to land anywhere because of the strong breeze.
Unfortunately the only day I could get out with my camera it was windy and I am a little disappointed with the results as the previous days while I was at the beach with my two girls we saw a pair of butterflies mating and one that only just come out of its chrysalis.
I decided not to even try the macro lens as the butterflies were hardly landing at all and when they did, were swaying in the wind. The London Zoological Society are currently studying the butterflies and I was lucky to meet a lovely lady who explained that there was concern that with our more extreme weather and colder winters and wetter summers, they were worried that they may be in decline.
They were catching the butterflies in large nets and numbering them. I was amazed that you would be able to number a butterfly, but as you can see in the shot above they know which ones they have already caught and tagged because of the marks they make on the wings (I believe this one was number 114). Another worry is that if there are a lot of caterpillars (which you may think would be a good thing), there are often less butterflies as the caterpillars eat the same plant as the butterfly leaving little for them.
Shippards Chine and cliffs along Compton Bay are probably where you will find the highest concentration of the Glanville Fritillary on the Island. It is also my favourite place on the Island and where I have spent much of my life.
While scrabbling around on the cliff top and down some very sketchy cliff falls I was amazed at the amount of insects that shared this area. I couldn't help but think of my good friend Viv in Northern Ireland who has taken some amazing macro shots of insects and one of the best macro photographers I know. If you like your insects or Northern Ireland in general then you must check out her work by clicking the link here;
The Glanville Fritillary Butterfly is very similar to the Heath Fritillary the upperside having orange or sandy-brown reticulate pattern, but its hindwing has a conspicuous arc of orange spots with dark centres. The Glanville Fritillary can been seen from May to the end of June but prefers warm days.
As I was walking back to the car I just spotted this Small Blue Butterfly land near to me and just managed this shot. I had been seeing Common Blues and Small Blue Butterflies all day but they didn't seem to land anywhere because of the strong breeze.
Tuesday, 18 May 2010
Great Spotted Woodpeckers
A few weeks a go, a good friend and fellow wildlife photographer was watching a Great Spotted Woodpecker starting to make a hole in an old tree. On more recent visits it became obvious that this looked like it could be their nest.
Last weekend we made a trip up to the woods to find that they now had young and the parents were busy gathering food.
It was amazing to watch the parents going back and forth bringing beak fulls of insects back to the nest having been only gone for a few minutes.
The nest is in an old tree near a bank so we can sit at almost the same height as the hole with a lovely backdrop of the woods behind.
There are a few very convenient branches for the adults to land on before entering the nest hole which made for some lovely shots.
I also noticed that on leaving the nest the parents would leave with what I think is the little poo sacks of the young and then deposit them elsewhere so that any predators would not know where the nest is.
This is a really magical find and I cannot wait to go back and see them again. I am hoping for some really good light this week so I can attempt to get some better flight shots.
Last weekend we made a trip up to the woods to find that they now had young and the parents were busy gathering food.
It was amazing to watch the parents going back and forth bringing beak fulls of insects back to the nest having been only gone for a few minutes.
The nest is in an old tree near a bank so we can sit at almost the same height as the hole with a lovely backdrop of the woods behind.
There are a few very convenient branches for the adults to land on before entering the nest hole which made for some lovely shots.
I also noticed that on leaving the nest the parents would leave with what I think is the little poo sacks of the young and then deposit them elsewhere so that any predators would not know where the nest is.
This is a really magical find and I cannot wait to go back and see them again. I am hoping for some really good light this week so I can attempt to get some better flight shots.
To out fox the Fox
We have been having lots of fun with the foxes but there is only so much cover and it has been hard to get really close without spooking them.
We have one spot that has excellent cover and the foxes can come really close but it has limited visibility. The only problem is often they are just out of shot and it is so tempting to move to try and get the shot but know that the slightest movement will spook them.
This spot is also only big enough for one so we have been setting up at opposite ends of the field. I would lay behind some tufts of grass and a small bank while my friend would use the good cover in the hedge.
The only problem with this is that when the foxes get too close to me and see me they usually leave quite quickly so I decided to try some thing that I had heard before when setting up in a hide.When setting up a hide some say it is a good idea to bring someone with you as a decoy and so two people walk to the hide and one person leaves.
The wildlife you are hoping to capture will think that the hide is empty as they see someone leave. So when I have been seen by the foxes, I get up and leave making sure they can clearly see me leave, but then double back around the outside of the field.
We have also use it when setting up so that one of us feins to leave but doubles back and shoots from the fence line. We have found it to work very well and now the foxes also are starting to realise that we are not a threat.
We recently had a tip that at a spot near to us there were some foxes that were feeding from peoples hands but last night when we checked it out there were a handful of motor-homes at the spot but no foxes. We headed back to our usual spot and got these few shots before the light had gone.
We have one spot that has excellent cover and the foxes can come really close but it has limited visibility. The only problem is often they are just out of shot and it is so tempting to move to try and get the shot but know that the slightest movement will spook them.
This spot is also only big enough for one so we have been setting up at opposite ends of the field. I would lay behind some tufts of grass and a small bank while my friend would use the good cover in the hedge.
The only problem with this is that when the foxes get too close to me and see me they usually leave quite quickly so I decided to try some thing that I had heard before when setting up in a hide.When setting up a hide some say it is a good idea to bring someone with you as a decoy and so two people walk to the hide and one person leaves.
The wildlife you are hoping to capture will think that the hide is empty as they see someone leave. So when I have been seen by the foxes, I get up and leave making sure they can clearly see me leave, but then double back around the outside of the field.
We have also use it when setting up so that one of us feins to leave but doubles back and shoots from the fence line. We have found it to work very well and now the foxes also are starting to realise that we are not a threat.
We recently had a tip that at a spot near to us there were some foxes that were feeding from peoples hands but last night when we checked it out there were a handful of motor-homes at the spot but no foxes. We headed back to our usual spot and got these few shots before the light had gone.
Thursday, 6 May 2010
Foxes
Had a great shoot with the foxes again last night. This time I got there earlier and managed to get into position to get some closer shots.
The foxes still didn't come out until 8pm and so still at iso 800 but with the evenings getting lighter I should get some great images soon.
The foxes still didn't come out until 8pm and so still at iso 800 but with the evenings getting lighter I should get some great images soon.
Wednesday, 5 May 2010
My Local foxes
Last night I went back to the spot where I had seen the foxes last and there was already a young fox about searching for food. This made it a bit difficult to get into position without spooking him but i managed to hide behind a fence line.
I have been very lucky to get permission to go onto some private land next to the farm land where the foxes live. I moved along the fence line, removing the camera from the tripod in hope that I would be able to crawl along the ground to a nearby bank that would give me cover and get me a lot closer. As I started to open the gate another larger fox appeared so I stopped and leaned against the fence.
This larger fox was obviously the dominant fox in the area as the fox I had been watching slunk to the ground and didn't move. He acted very submissively towards the larger fox and looked quite nervous. The larger fox walked around and around the other fox marking his territory everywhere before searching what food he could find.
The light had already gone so my shutter speeds were quite low and again had to use a high iso speed. I was shooting at around 1/30 sec but was hoping for some better images. Here is a selection of them.
The farmer is not keen on foxes and last year joked with a friend of mine that he had already killed 30+ foxes by May last year. This means I have to be very careful, the last time I saw the fox he was in the field near to where the farmer keeps chickens and not long after I started to shoot the fox I heard the farmers quad bike start up. I don't know whether he saw the fox or saw me but luckily the fox heard it too and was off like a shot.
I have been very lucky to get permission to go onto some private land next to the farm land where the foxes live. I moved along the fence line, removing the camera from the tripod in hope that I would be able to crawl along the ground to a nearby bank that would give me cover and get me a lot closer. As I started to open the gate another larger fox appeared so I stopped and leaned against the fence.
This larger fox was obviously the dominant fox in the area as the fox I had been watching slunk to the ground and didn't move. He acted very submissively towards the larger fox and looked quite nervous. The larger fox walked around and around the other fox marking his territory everywhere before searching what food he could find.
The light had already gone so my shutter speeds were quite low and again had to use a high iso speed. I was shooting at around 1/30 sec but was hoping for some better images. Here is a selection of them.
The farmer is not keen on foxes and last year joked with a friend of mine that he had already killed 30+ foxes by May last year. This means I have to be very careful, the last time I saw the fox he was in the field near to where the farmer keeps chickens and not long after I started to shoot the fox I heard the farmers quad bike start up. I don't know whether he saw the fox or saw me but luckily the fox heard it too and was off like a shot.
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