8th May one day course review

The weather which had threatened the worst for Sunday was actually pretty good and very sunny in the afternoon though conditions appeared to be too cool for the Butterflies and Dragonflies.  Everybody managed to get photos of the various waterfowl and also the very obliging Marsh Frogs which have set up shop in front of North Lagoon hide.  I have always heard the "Donald Duck" like cacophony these amphibians create, but this is the first time I have seen the critters close up.  Note the inflated cheek pouches used to create the frog chorus!  We also reviewed images on the computer in the afternoon and looked at techniques to improve colour and contrast.

Sunday 8th May one day photography course at Tophill Low

There are still some places available for the one day photography course taking place on Sunday 8th May at Tophill Low.  The course will run from 10am to 4pm and there are places for up to 10 people. The cost is £20 per person.  There will be plenty of flora and fauna to photograph on the reserve and any sort of digital slr, crossover or compact camera will be fine.  We won't delve too heavily into theory as the plan is to explore the reserve and review the photographs on the computer later in the day.  Attendees are best to bring a packed lunch.  Normal admission charges to the reserve will still apply, though admission is of course free to permit holders. For further details or to book a place you can contact me by e-mail at info@mauricephotos.co.uk or Richard Hampshire the warden at Tophill Low at Richard.Hampshire@yorkshirewater.co.uk

For information about the full introduction to wildlife photography course please click here.

Grasshopper Warbler

I challenged myself to get some photos of this illusive summer migrant out in the open this year reeling its strange insect like trill and I think I have nearly succeeded - but always room for improvement methinks!  The problem is they only seem to show well when they first arrive back in the country.  Later in the season the birds seems to go deeper undercover and of course the vegetation becomes thicker so they are harder to see, though the strange song can still be heard.

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!