Happy Festivities to one and all!

Bullfinch berry bonanza...

Four Bullfinches have spent most of today feeding on these squishy red berries on a tree outside our bedroom window.  The only bright red male didn't come within effective camera range unfortunately.  If only some Waxwings would drop in too!

Trumpets or Pixies??

We found this odd little forest of lichen on a damp log pile by South Marsh at Tophill Low during Tuesday afternoon's class.  They look more like something out of the film Avatar than something you would expect to find in East Yorkshire.  The jury is out, either Trumpet Lichen (Cladonia Fimbriata) or Pixie Cup (Cladonia Pyxidata), so if you know which.............

Dewdrops on Spider Webs

Some photos from the back garden at the weekend.  I have made them totally mono though they were naturally almost mono.  In the Tuesday class we have been talking about the need to manually compensate for both dark and light backgrounds to avoid over and under exposure which is a technique I have put into practice here.

Latest Introduction to Wildlife Photography Course starts 8th November

The latest Introduction to Wildlife Photography course starts at Tophill Low Nature Reserve on Tuesday 8th November from 1pm to 4pm and will run over four weeks. Places are still available. The cost is £90 and full details can be found here.  We are running this course over four weeks with three hour sessions on Tuesday each week.  For info give me a call on 07866 316577 or e-mail me at: info@mauricephotos.co.uk

Puffins revisited

I have been re-hosting lots of my online content from photobucket on to flickr as the images reproduce far better on blogs and forums from the flickr host.  This also allows me to reproduce the photos on my blogs at a larger size.  Some Puffins here on Skomer Island from last year which I have "digitally remastered."

Sunny late September at North Cave Wetlands

Its going to be sunny all week!!  Small Tortoiseshell above, Ruddy Darter below and Migrant Hawker.

Turnstones

There were good numbers of Turnstones along the beach and in the harbour in Bridlington today.  I think these are great little birds though they seemed to go largely unnoticed by the crowds.  I suppose they do blend in well with their surroundings.  The birds breed up in the arctic but are here to feed on our rocky beaches.  Those that pass through in Autumn and Spring are from Scandinavia on their way to or from wintering grounds in Africa and birds from Canada and Greenland spend the winter in Europe.  So today's birds are perhaps more likely to be Scandinavian.  Are we in Autumn yet?  Though most Turnstones today were in their drabber non breeding plumage, a few birds still showed some of their bright rusty coloured summer feathers.  Other birds were the omnipresent Herring Gulls - many juvenile birds - and also a group of Ringed Plover on the beach though the light had dropped and the rain set in when I spotted them.

and doing exactly what it says on the tin..


prawns for tea


how many Turnstones can you see?



oy save us some crab

walk like a dinosaur



an archive picture here showing a bird in breeding plumage

Kingfisher Reprise

Good to see the birds back in action fishing successfully at Tophill.  Today was definitely a "must get a bigger lens" day though!

Bee prepared!

I was checking the verbena yesterday afternoon for butterfly activity (sans camera) when a large blue hawker dragonfly hung itself up on a bush next to me.  I went back inside to get the camera so I could get some pics to id it, but on my return it had flown.  Lesson - always expect the unexpected!  So, this bumble bee got snapped instead.  In terms of butterflies there are several Small Whites around in my back garden, one pristine Red Admiral and one very tatty one.

Invertebrate selection

Some shots from the past week or so.  I've been distracted by the insects over the summer but I'm looking forward to the autumn migration now for some interesting bird sightings.

Can you spot the spider?


Cinnabar moth caterpillars


Grasshopper


Grasshopper


Grasshopper


Speckled Bush Cricket


Southern Hawker (male)


Common Darter (female)


Pairing Ruddy Darter


Hoverfly on heathland, different to my garden variety