Green Hairstreaks

The Green Hairstreak is one of my favourite British Butterflies as, although tiny, it is so bright and exotic looking. I find all our Hairstreaks quite enigmatic as they can take a bit of tracking down in their own specific environments. The Green Hairstreak is the first to appear each year in April and May, followed by the Black Hairstreak for a brief couple of weeks in June/July, then the White-letter Hairstreak and Purple Hairstreak in July and August with the late summer Brown Hairstreak emerging in August and September. The Green Hairstreak is perhaps the hardiest and could almost be described as a generalist as it occurs in a wide variety of habitats though it does require open grassland or moorland which is extensively grazed. I am used to seeing Yorkshire Green Hairstreaks low down on Bilberry, but I found this small population on heathland in Norfolk over Easter flitting between Gorse, Silver Birch and even alighting on Oak. As they can be found on a variety of soils the Green Hairstreak is still quite widespread, but as you can see from their colour they can be hard to spot amongst the foliage - until they move of course!

The White-letter Hairstreak is completely dependent on Elm, the Purple Hairstreak on Oak usually near Ash and the Black and Brown Hairstreaks require abundant Blackthorn. I look forward to tracking down these specialists later in the year.

Further signs of Spring

As well as the bumblebees in the garden today I had visits from three butterflies, a Brimstone, a Peacock and the Comma pictured above.  This individual - most likely a male as he kept chasing the Peacock and returning to the same perch -  will have hibernated through the winter as an adult.  Interestingly this individual looks almost like the the lighter and brighter hutchinsoni form, though the underside would give a truer indication.  As a general rule adult Commas who survive the winter are of the darker tawny red form and give rise to the next generation of the hutchinsoni form in Spring/Summer.  This generation then goes on to produce a second brood of darker individuals in August/September who will overwinter to continue the cycle.

Adder

March is a good time to look for Adders and other reptiles as the warmer weather brings them out of hibernation to bask in the open.  They will become more active and potentially harder to see as temperatures increase.  A male East Yorkshire Adder is pictured above.  Below a female is preparing to shed her skin, which explains the hazy appearance of the eye. The first three photos were taken this year and the picture at the very bottom of this post shows a young female from two years ago in a different part of the reserve where I haven't been able to locate any snakes so far this season.

Sunday Morning Sightings

Sunday morning is proving to be a good time to be out and about photographing wildlife at Tophill  Low.  Last Sunday, 6th Feb,  Mark spotted a very tiny yearling Grass Snake (only around 7 inches long) by O Reservoir.  This provided us with a very good, if rather unexpected, subject for  some macro photography - see below.  We did however move the snake off the path as it was so tiny it could easily have been stood on by an unsuspecting visitor. This early sighting is also featured on the Tophill Low blog.





Yesterday, 13th Feb, on his way to the class, Mike came across this cracking Little Owl by the roadside just on the outskirts of the reserve.  Quite rightly Mike had his camera ready beside him in the car and captured a series of shots.  We worked on some of the RAW images in photoshop and learnt about boosting contrast levels and cropping.





We looked at various crops and decided that this image also worked well in mono.





Looking forward to seeing what we can snap next time!

Weekend Courses

Due to popular demand from many unable to enrol on weekday courses, I am pleased to announce that I will be starting a six week Introduction to Wildlife Photography Course on Sunday 30th January from 11am to 1pm at Tophill Low Nature Reserve. Details are the same as those in the post below this one or contact me on 07866 316577 or e-mail: info@mauricephotos.co.uk

Introduction to Wildlife Photography Course information

Welcome to the blog. Digital cameras have made the hobby of photography even more popular with those already interested in birds and wildlife. Tuition is primarily aimed at people who have invested in digital single lens reflex (DSLR) camera bodies and lenses and who would now like to learn how to get the most out of their equipment. I clarify the reciprocal factors involved in achieving correct exposures with a view to students being able to take full manual control of their cameras as well as choosing the appropriate programmed functions for different lighting conditions. Other topics covered are composition, cropping and resizing and to explain basic Photoshop techniques for improving upon the original image using the "digital darkroom". 

One to one tuition rates are £20 per hour though I recommend booking two hour sessions.  

The most useful pieces of equipment to own are a digital slr camera body, which has the option to be used fully manually and also a telephoto/telephoto zoom lens with a focal length of at least 300mm. However, Bridge style cameras are becoming ever more more capable and increasingly people are contacting me for advice on their use.

Group courses alternate weekly "classroom" and photographic field trip sessions, over four or six weeks. Theory learnt in the classroom can be put into practice in the field the following week. If you are a small group and would be interested in a course please get in touch.

A selection of my own recent photos are displayed below.


To read some comments from previous students please click here


To contact me, either drop me an e-mail to: info@mauricephotos.co.uk or give me a call on: 07866 316577.






















































































And below are a couple of before and after examples of images taken during the Tuesday morning class. The version on the left is the image as recorded by the camera and the version on the right has some basic photoshop "tweaks". Please click for larger versions.

Short-eared Owls

These photographs were taken in North Lincolnshire where up to a dozen Short-eared Owls have been seen in the air at once as they hunt for mice and voles over scrubland. Beautiful birds, but tricky to catch in flight as they don't come out to hunt until late afternoon when light levels have dropped. I am sure these birds will continue to be well photographed over the winter months as they provide such enigmatic subjects.