Yesterday I organised a trip for a number of photographers from the Smethwick Photographic Society Natural History Group to go to the site at near Coventry that is owned and managed by the Warwickshire Branch of the Butterfly Conservation Group.
Well what could go wrong arranging such a trip in the height of summer when warm, sunny and still days occur so frequently in the UK. So nine hardy souls turned up on the cold, grey and windy morning with expectations set fairly low. Our guide for the morning was Mike Slater, the Conservation Officer for the Warwickshire branch, and through this blog I would like to thank Mike for his time, knowledge and enthusiasm that he shared with us. His knowledge was important as he was able to make the best of the conditions to find subjects for us.
I guess the success can be measured in that we saw and had the chance to photograph twelve species of butterfly, plus numerous other bugs and insects.
The site is significant for Warwickshire in that it supports up to 33 of the 36 butterfly species that can be found in Warwickshire, which is testament to Mike and his teams of workers skills in restoring an old sand extraction site.
I have put a larger number of images than I normally would on the blog post to show some of the range of species that we saw. Not all photographic masterpieces, and in some cases a record of the day.
All were shot with the Canon 1Dmk111 and the Canon180f3.5L macro lens, except the White Admiral larvae image which was with the 100mmf.28 macro and MR14EX macro flash
Well what could go wrong arranging such a trip in the height of summer when warm, sunny and still days occur so frequently in the UK. So nine hardy souls turned up on the cold, grey and windy morning with expectations set fairly low. Our guide for the morning was Mike Slater, the Conservation Officer for the Warwickshire branch, and through this blog I would like to thank Mike for his time, knowledge and enthusiasm that he shared with us. His knowledge was important as he was able to make the best of the conditions to find subjects for us.
I guess the success can be measured in that we saw and had the chance to photograph twelve species of butterfly, plus numerous other bugs and insects.
The site is significant for Warwickshire in that it supports up to 33 of the 36 butterfly species that can be found in Warwickshire, which is testament to Mike and his teams of workers skills in restoring an old sand extraction site.
I have put a larger number of images than I normally would on the blog post to show some of the range of species that we saw. Not all photographic masterpieces, and in some cases a record of the day.
All were shot with the Canon 1Dmk111 and the Canon180f3.5L macro lens, except the White Admiral larvae image which was with the 100mmf.28 macro and MR14EX macro flash
Gatekeeper
Tatty looking Ringlet
Soldier Beetle
Small White
Silver Washed Fritillary (shame about the grass stems)
Scorpion Fly
Red Tailed Bumble Bee on Teasel head
Painted Lady (another from the many of the latest batch in the UK)
Meadow Brown on Common Knapweed
Poplar Leaf Beetle
Green Veined White
Larvae of the White Admiral (about 2 to 3mm long)Please post any comments or id updates in the Comments section. For new visitors, if you click on the images they will enlarge, but you need to hit the back button in your browser to get back as they do not open in a separate window.
To just finish the report. When I checked with Metcheck on Sunday morning, rain was forecast for 1300. As we got in the cars to leave at 1300, it started to rain - impeccable timing. Thanks again to all those that turned up and especially to Mike for his time and knowledge
To just finish the report. When I checked with Metcheck on Sunday morning, rain was forecast for 1300. As we got in the cars to leave at 1300, it started to rain - impeccable timing. Thanks again to all those that turned up and especially to Mike for his time and knowledge
Martin
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