Wildlife

I have always been passionate about wildlife and conservation and when not photographing people I can often be found out in the countryside and on nature reserves. Though we have of course lost species, we are lucky to still have such a diversity of birds, butterflies and insects in the British countryside. Many species are still under threat, but it is heartening to have met so many like minded people when out and about photographing the natural world.

You can contact me on 07866 316577 or via e-mail at info@mauricephotos.co.uk

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Some wildlife links:
Michael Flowers birdwatching classes and walks
Yorkshire Butterfly Conservation
Yorkshire Dragonflies
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust
Yorkshire Nature Triangle
Yorkshire Mammal Group
East Yorkshire Birding Forum
Birdguides
Tophill Low Nature Reserve
Yorkshire Red Kites
North Cave Wetlands Nature Reserve
The Wild Bird Cafe - North Cave Wetlands
Paull Holme Strays sightings
Potteric Carr Nature Reserve
Hull Valley Wildlife Group
Spurn Bird Observatory
Mike Robinson Bird Photos
Vince Cowell Photography
Steve Mulligan Bird Photography
David Ware - Wolds Birding
Paul Ashton East Yorkshire Wildlife
Wold Ranger
Beetle Boy's Bio Blog
Rory Selvey (age 13) Wildlife Photography
Kill the Badger Cull
The Brown Hairstreak Blog
Africa Gomez Bugblog
Zilch - eliminating litter
Keep Britain Tidy
Plantlife
Buglife

Next Photo Event dates to be announced...

Monday 24 September 2012

Eyes of the Dragon

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Migrant Hawker - male above and below, showing larger ommatidia at the top of the eye


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The eyes of dragonflies are some of the largest in the insect world. The huge compound eyes are made up of the smaller facets known as ommatidia.  Each ommatidium has a lens on the surface and a conical lens underneath.  There tend to be more ommatidia at the top of the eye looking forward and so dragonflies can usually best detect movement and detail from above them which is why they attack prey from below.  However, the eye surrounds the head providing visual input from the front, side and behind all at the same time.  The colour change in the eye from top to bottom - as can be seen with the Common Darters below - coincides with the change in the distribution of the ommatidia.  The black "pseudopupils" are the most powerfully light sensitive parts of the eye as no light is reflected from them.  There are also three simple eyes in a triangle on the top of the head made of one single lens each.  The dragonfly builds a mosaic image from all these different inputs.  Dragonflies have good colour vision which makes sense of the bright colours on show, but they can also see into the ultraviolet which is helpful in identifying light reflected from water.  All clever stuff!

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Common Darter - female

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Common Darter - male

Friday 7 September 2012

Adult Education Photography Classes Wolfreton School - an update

I posted earlier in the year about adult education photography classes which I would be running at Wolfreton School.  After very positive feedback on the well attended taster day all seemed set to go ahead.  Affairs then went very quiet which I have since found out was due to a staff restructuring at the school putting all adult education projects on hold.  I am told a new staff member has been put in charge of adult education so watch this space!

Tuesday 4 September 2012

Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)

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All of a sudden there seem to be lots of Small Torts everywhere I look, which is good news as they are thought to be threatened by the larvae of the Sturmia bella fly which literally eat the caterpillars from the inside out!  I have seen good numbers of Small Torts in Hull today, mainly on Buddleia, along with Peacocks and Red Admirals.  Some pictures here taken at the weekend showing the butterflies enjoying the Verbena in my back garden.

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