RMweb Gold Phil Bullock Posted April 12, 2017 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted April 12, 2017 I hear plenty of Skylarks. I'll be darned is I can see the blighters now though.... Often the case! Which makes them ideal background sound for the model... Phil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 Often the case! Which makes them ideal background sound for the model... Phil Especially if you want to model them at a scale height... Spring is on hold, after last weekend's taste of summer we are back to dull and chilly down here in the soft south. The birds will still be around but most of the butterflies will be lying low - can't say I blame 'em. Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetmorgan Posted April 15, 2017 Share Posted April 15, 2017 Especially if you want to model them at a scale height... Spring is on hold, after last weekend's taste of summer we are back to dull and chilly down here in the soft south. The birds will still be around but most of the butterflies will be lying low - can't say I blame 'em. Chaz Not such bad weather over here in Kent...been quite a sunny weekend so far if a bit chilly. Been working out in the garden though today in Tshirt but I have been building a brand new raised flower bed in the back garden for a new wildlife pond and bee and butterfly friendly plants & flowers. The old one I had built for veg had rotted pretty quickly as we have heavy clay soil and I left it sitting on the soil. So the new one I removed a load of soil and filled the hole with several hundred mugs that were being thrown out at my workplace, put into the trench and crushed up and then a layer of gravel all for drainage. Then haul all the timber (all reclaimed timber so no expense there) back home from work as a kit of parts and start putting the whole thing together in the hole. All I have to do now is put a membrane around the inside and start filling up with soil...with gravel around the edges to help with drainage. I have a large plastic planter tub which will be the wildlife pond and that will be at one end. 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted April 17, 2017 Share Posted April 17, 2017 "several hundred mugs that were being thrown out at my workplace" - sounds a bit harsh, presumably they got redundancy payments? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetmorgan Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 I'll putting a wildlife pond into the raised flower bed at a later point. I'm using a large plastic planter tub for mine but here are a couple of other ideas from the BBC Autumn/Winter/Springwatch team http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03xcbb1 http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04qrxhp Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted April 21, 2017 Share Posted April 21, 2017 We made a trip to RSPB Pulborough Brooks today hoping to see and hear nightingales. I took a few snaps which are signs of spring, even if sunshine was in short supply. Chaz 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 (edited) Three snaps from Magdalen Hill on Sunday afternoon. Unfortunately sun was in short supply so I didn't see the dingy skipper, green hairstreak or brown argus that were reported but I did get.... ruby tiger moth grizzled skipper And another obliging male orange tip, perched on Jack-by-the-Hedge (aka hedge garlic or garlic mustard). The orange tips don't seem to be able to get enough of it. Chaz Edited April 25, 2017 by chaz 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Phil Bullock Posted April 25, 2017 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted April 25, 2017 More great shots Chaz! Holly blues certainly having a good year around here.... Phil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted April 26, 2017 Share Posted April 26, 2017 More great shots Chaz! Holly blues certainly having a good year around here.... Phil Yes, down here too. I think they must be at the peak of their 4-6 year population cycle. Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Joseph_Pestell Posted April 26, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 26, 2017 Still very few butterflies here. I wonder if they knew that there would be the late frosts that we are suffering from. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 Spring was on hold, but it is very definitely re-sprung down here in the soft south. A bright, warm day yesterday which couldn't be ignored so I was off to Magdalen Hill. Here are a selection of snaps... dingy skipper small heath brown argus cinnabar a pair of grizzled skippers, mating small blue green hairstreak A pair of brimstones in "courting flight" - I'm really proud of that one. I've tried to photograph butterflies in flight in the past but it's so difficult to get 'em sharp: this one's not bad. Chaz 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Co-tr-Paul Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 That Brimstone one is a rare shot indeed. Well done ! Down here, the whites are just coming out in force but no browns, not even a Speckled Wood seen this year yet. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Co-tr-Paul Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 Any other far south west rmwebbers notice an absence of Orange Tips over the past 5 - 6 years ? My local patch has seen none since the National Trust " cleared " the sides of Penrose Walk some 3 springs back removing the Hedge Garlic in the process, right in the middle of egg laying season and whilst there are other locations of the plant, they are mainly under trees so of no use. I also recently read in the national press that the range as a whole is moving north due to climate change. Anyone else noticing this ?? Miss Marbled Whites too !! Oh, and snow ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 (edited) Any other far south west rmwebbers notice an absence of Orange Tips over the past 5 - 6 years ? My local patch has seen none since the National Trust " cleared " the sides of Penrose Walk some 3 springs back removing the Hedge Garlic in the process, right in the middle of egg laying season and whilst there are other locations of the plant, they are mainly under trees so of no use. I also recently read in the national press that the range as a whole is moving north due to climate change. Anyone else noticing this ?? Miss Marbled Whites too !! Oh, and snow ! Plenty of orange tips and hedge garlic in my part of Hampshire. I have seen a lot of orange tips so far this year (hoorah!). I suspect that your lack is a local effect and, I hope, temporary. While, as a rule, one should not invest too much credence in the utterances of the national press some species are certainly moving north (little egrets, dartford warblers, cettis warblers, wasp spiders, etc, etc). Chaz PS - a bit too early for marbled whites - they should be along mid/late June. Edited May 11, 2017 by chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted May 12, 2017 Share Posted May 12, 2017 Yesterday I went to Bentley Wood (not far from Salisbury) to try and photograph pearl-bordered fritillaries. Frustrating weather - it started fairly sunny and the butterflies were showing well. Then it clouded over so I repaired to the Black Horse in Tytherley for sustenance. Suitably recharged I returned to the woods and the sun obliged - however this galvanised the insects - I saw lots of the butterflies in flight but very few perched and when they did but it was too brief for snaps. Still here are my best ones... Like some of the other fritillary species it's the underwing that's really beautiful. Chaz 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Phil Bullock Posted May 13, 2017 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted May 13, 2017 Chaz - in line with the rest of what you post on here - stunning! Picked up a leaflet from the Malvern Hills conservators this morning. Theres a walk in July looking for Grayling populations - will book in on that I think, make a change from the Grayling I usually seek (Thymallus Thymallus) Phil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted May 13, 2017 Share Posted May 13, 2017 Thanks for the very positive comment Phil, much appreciated. I couldn't understand your last sentence until I Googled grayling and realised (or rather remembered) that a grayling is also the name of a fish, Thymallus thymallus (only the first part of the species name should be capitalised). Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Phil Bullock Posted May 13, 2017 Author RMweb Gold Share Posted May 13, 2017 Chaz - in line with the rest of what you post on here - stunning! Picked up a leaflet from the Malvern Hills conservators this morning. Theres a walk in July looking for Grayling populations - will book in on that I think, make a change from the Grayling I usually seek (Thymallus Thymallus) Phil Thanks Chaz And you are of course correct - as a Chartered scientist I remembered that when I typed it .....but then forgot to edit it! Cheers Phil Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Downendian Posted May 14, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 14, 2017 Terrific photos Chaz, the pair of Brimstones In flight is one in a million. You must have used a very fast shutter speed. I'm getting a new camera next month, and butterfly photography will be one of this summers actvities. Neil 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonny777 Posted May 14, 2017 Share Posted May 14, 2017 Excellent fritillary photos Chaz. I haven't seen a Grayling in years; they used to be common near the coast, but much less so now. Similarly, I rarely see a Wall Brown these days and they were a regular sight 30 years ago when we moved here. I have just seen my first Red Admiral in the back garden, but for a bizarre 60 seconds or so it was being chased round in circles by a blue tit. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Co-tr-Paul Posted May 14, 2017 Share Posted May 14, 2017 First Red Admiral today here too, egg laying, possibly a hibernated adult judging from faded but not damaged wings. First Painted Lady !! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 Terrific photos Chaz, the pair of Brimstones In flight is one in a million. You must have used a very fast shutter speed. I'm getting a new camera next month, and butterfly photography will be one of this summers actvities. Neil ISO set to 400 - shutter set to 1/500th sec - aperture (set by meter) was F11. Focus was manual as the camera (D610) would otherwise have almost certainly gone for the background vegetation. Picture taken with a Nikkor 300mm F4* lens (not a zoom) backed up with a x1.4 converter - making it effectively 420mm. The lens is a recent introduction, bl00dy expensive, but it is the sharpest telephoto I have ever owned - quite superb. It's a Nikon 300mm f/4 PF VR and is small enough and light enough to carry without inducing back pain or a hernia. It doesn't focus as close as a macro but the results are so good that cropping quite hard is feasible. It's just a shame that the necessary compression to upload my snaps to the net knocks the edge of the sharpness. Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 Saturday was warm and sunny and as this is one of my transect weeks (they run Friday to Friday) I went up to Magdalen Hill reserve to do my duty. I do two counts - results were as follows... Extension route brimstones - 10 large white - 3 green hairstreak - 1 small blue - 5 brown argus - 1 common blue - 10 holly blue - 1 peacock - 2 North route brimstone - 5 small blue - 3 brown argus - 1 common blue - 2 holly blue - 2 Those numbers are very low for a warm day (18 degrees C) and leave me to wonder whether the insects have been adversely affected by the torrential rain that deluged the Winchester area a day or two before. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gismorail Posted May 26, 2017 Share Posted May 26, 2017 Good morning all just thought I'd share a picture from yesterday and the rather beautiful visitor that I had in the kitchen once I had captured the moment it was very carefully shown the open window. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 (edited) Thought I ought to post another snap ahead of something special that I will post in a day or so... A coupled pair of green-veined whites enjoying the sunshine (and each other) up on Magdalen Hill Down. Shortly after I took the snap they took off, still coupled, with one insect doing all the work (think about it) and the other just going along for the ride (!). Chaz PS - I processed this picture and exported it as a JPEG in my new computer. Could you let me know if it's too big on your screen - it looks fine on mine. Edited June 4, 2017 by chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now