Mixed bag.

Hello all, I've been continuing with the Macro stuff for the last few days with an hours long lens thrown in, in the Forest on Weds whilst I waited for the dog at the hairdressers.

Ladybird.

Large White Butterfly.

Pearl bordered Frittilery.

A Cerposis Vulnerata.

are enough examples of the Macro stuff, the Wood Warbler was very frustrating, I found one who was not too afraid of me but it just wouldn't come low, this is a crop.

Wood Warbler.

One of the most enjoyable opportunities this week came from some more views of one of the Terrapins on the local pond, I have seen two together this week but the one decided it wanted to remain anonymous and plopped into the water just as I got my lens set up.

It is hard to photograph them on their favourite log as the sun is wrong in the mornings and the angle wrong in the afternoon. However I decided to have a go when it was very hazy the other day, I'm pleased with these.

Terrapin.

and

I tried to get the Mallard ducklings that are currently on the pond but the Cob Mute Swan was adamant that he did not want them in the picture, I have never witnessed such unfaltering chasing of ducklings. The Swan did not seem interested in stopping the mother from getting the bread that I had thrown out but it just wouldn't let the ducklings come close.

Mallard and Ducklings.

I hope you will agree another mixed bag of not a lot. But my I've been having fun doing the tiny stuff, its almost given me back my desire to do more photography.

On a sad note, I'm having horrendous problems with my laptop, it crashed the other day and despite getting most of my stuff back I lost a months worth of pics including some lovely ones of my Grandson, I cannot upload pictures to the gallery link, because it say's "access denied" every time I try and the EOS utility programme seems to be working only intermittently. I have problems with Photoshop updating too. I will get it looked at as soon as I can but for a while there won't be any updates in the gallery.

Just for your perusal and because I can I want to show you this shot of my boy, My little Grandson Kenzie-James Lamb, who now can say, Grandad, Car and Keys, and whom I have to allow to drive my car outside his house for 5 mins every visit.

As always click on the pics for larger versions.

Little Birding, Little critters.

I have very few photos to show you this time, I have been struggling to get bird pictures due to weather and wind.

I did have a good week adding to my bird list, Common Whitethroat, Garden Warbler, and Yellow Wagtail have all been added since my last posting. I got photos of two wagtail species, but unfortunately neither was very good as both were large crops.

Yellow Wagtail.

I saw this bird in Herefordshire at a pond a few miles from my house, I was chatting to a fisherman when I saw it on a pad of lilies, it was having a wash. By the time I had gone to the car and fetched my camera a coot had decided it didnt want it in its patch and was just about to shoo it off. I managed a few quick frames but nothing to sing about.

Grey Wagtail.

This fellow was at another pond in south Herefordshire, clearly collecting food for its young. Again it was a snap shot and from a distance, its a large crop. You can see immediately though the difference between the two.

I was out with the camera today and whilst waiting for a Chiffchaff to come into range a Shield bug landed on my lens. I got the 50D out of the car and got a few close ups of it, this encouraged me to try my hand at a few others. I really would like to crack macro work, It gives me a lot of pleasure. The hardest part is identifying what you've snapped.

I think this first one is a Soldier Beetle but I only have a Collins Gem book of insects so I cant be 100% sure.

I have no idea what this is, or what it's feeding on.

This next one is a Cercopis Vulnerata. A very speedy little bug, when disturbed it disappears so quickly you dont see it go, honestly, I did not see it fly off, the book says its a quick mover too.

This is a Shield Bug, I think its a Green Shield Bug. This is the critter that landed on my lens initially and then proceeded to walk all over my kit.

A slow mover this one, no sense of urgency whilst it was on my kit.

The weather is going to be somewhat mixed again this week so it'll be get what you can whilst you can. Come back soon.



Gods Country.

The Welsh are very quick to tell us that Wales is Gods country and after a 2 day stint in Powys and in particular the Elan Valley I am tempted to believe them. The Elan valley, close to Rhayader, is truly one of Gods best attempts to give us heaven on earth. Most of you reading this will have been there, but if any of you haven't then you should go. If for no other reason than to spend time in the open to admire the stunning views and the countryside at its best. The reservoirs and dams are beautiful, although if I had a choice of when to go to see them at their best it would be autumn/ winter.

Birds were our target, obviously, and Powys and the valley did not let us down. Let me list what what I've added to my yearly list from the 2 days spent there.

Red Kite, Ring Ouzel, Swallow, Redstart, Pied Flycatcher, Grasshopper Warbler, Lesser Redpoll, Meadow Pipit, Tree Pipit, Whinchat, Stonechat, and Dipper.

We also saw lots of stuff that I've already got this year, infact most of my yearly list to date was seen. The Highlight though were nesting Kestrels. I'm not going to say where we saw them, I'm sure you will understand why, but we did and although the views of them were very distant, it was great to see a pair of one of  Britains most loved bird of prey hopefully bringing more of their number into the world.

Thats all well and good Brian I hear you say but lets see some photo's. Okay here goes.

Wheatear.

The top bird is the male of the species.

Meadow Pipit.

Buzzard,

Whinchat,

and finally Pied Flycatcher.

There will be more going into the gallery in the next day or two so have a look, its in my links. As usual you can click on each picture for a larger version.

I will be returning to Powys and the Elan valley again throughout the summer and will post anything more that I get on those trips in due course.

From a distance.

Another 3 or so hours spent in my hide in the forest yesterday produced one single Hawfinch shot, not a very good one but its all I have to show.

It turned its head towards me just as I pressed the shutter, spoiling a better shot. It then flew off, obviously scared by the camera, not to return.

Other things came down including this Siskin.

I am slightly concerned that the leg with the ring on it appears to be swollen. I have voiced my concerns on this blog before about the excessive ringing of birds in this country. I hope the scientists and the like hurry and compile all the info they need so it can stop. I saw Blue tits, and chaffinch with rings on them too, I cannot believe we dont know all we need to know about these birds.

I then decided to have a walk in a different area of the forest and saw Blackcaps, Chiffchaff, and Willow Warblers in good numbers but they were all at a distance. I did manage a few shots of the Blackcaps and Chiffchaff, these are all crops.

Male Blackcap.

Female Blackcap                                                                                                             

Chiffchaff.                                                                                                                      

Nothing would come close. Still, lovely to see and lovely to hear.

Whore Finch

No not a spelling mistake, just me venting my frustration. I've spent the best part if 10 hrs in my hide in the last 5 days trying to get shots of the Hawfinch. As you will see below, I failed.

I got Squirrel.

I got Brambling, happy with this as she's lovely.

But thats it. I saw one Hawfinch, too high to photograph. I saw Siskin but behind a stump.To cap it all I also broke a section of my hide pole. Fortunately I had a spare section which I have adapted to fit. I am gutted. The weather is turning this coming week so I may not get another chance this year.

Other stuff I've seen this week include this Great spotted Woody,

He's actually at a nest hole, I've posted another two shots of him in the gallery, along with a couple more of the squirrel, dont forget to keep having a look, its in my links.

I was also driving near Eastbach and stopped to try and locate a Chiffchaff I could hear, whilst I was trying to locate him I saw some movement to my right in amongst the tall undergrowth. I hoped Fox, Stoat, Weasel. But no, just a female Pheasant mooching around.

So disappointing.

I have found a few nests whilst out walking the dog this week, GSW, Nuthatch, and Blue tit to name three. I actually saw something today (sun 10th) that I've never seen before too, GSW's mating, it was noisy and over in moments but it was amazing to watch.

A trip to Anglesey in the week fishing with my brother, although fishing isn't quite the right word as we caught none,produced my first Willow Warbler and Sand Martins of the year. The list is now in the 80s, dont think its going to be such a productive year this year.

As I said at the start the weather is predicted to get cold and wet this week so it may be a while before I have anything else to post, come back and check though hey.

Oh just one more thing, had a hedgehog in the garden twice during the night this week, must be coming in under the side gate. I put it in a box the first time hoping to photograph it in the morning but it escaped. Then the second time I quickly got my camera and flash together but not quickly enough, it disappeared somewhere. I dont want my dog getting fleas so I have blocked the gate but its given me the incentive to spend a night having a mooch around to see if I can find one on one of the many grassy areas on this estate. I'll let you know how I get on.