Wildlife Photography across the Water: Quick Update

Sunday, 25 July 2010

Quick Update - ramblings from the garden

It has been a very busy day today. Up at 5am to switch off and cover the moth trap after an overnight light on it. I thought it might be a good idea to cover it with an old dark curtain to keep the moths cool and calm, but I am not sure that this tactic is a sound one. I also tried it when Dave was here a week or so ago. On both occasions I had the smallest haul ever. So I can only guess that the moths can detect some form of light leaking in and escape. I will try again next weekend but leave the cover off.

This was also born out by the fact that the overwhelming majority were actually on the surrounding foliage and fence panels.

There were a few new species today including a few new micro moths, a Ruby Tiger, a delightful little brown moth with red undersides, plus a Brimstone moth - the first that we have had. I did get a few images but nothing spectacular.

After that I went back to bed for a while and then made a start in the garden.

After felling a conifer for a neighbour, I started cutting back some of the wildflowers that have now gone to seed. For wildflower meadows it is recommended to cut them back when they have seeded. With the very hot and dry weather early in the month, one particular area was affected quite badly so I attacked that. Now previously I have struggled aimlessly with a pathetic little battery power strimmer that had the power of a moth and the battery life of a few minutes. So with that I went to our local agricultural plant shop yesterday and bought a petrol powered Stihl FS50 brushcutter with a blade head. Wow - light work and plenty of power.

After clearing out a load of duck weed from the pond and topping it up, I had some food and sat down and watched the grand prix - what a waste of time - back to the sad old ways again. I will say no more, but it was a sad day for sportsmanship...............again.

Anyway, back to the garden and more digging and landscaping, with plenty of butterflies around me, now the buddleia is in bloom. Loads of juvenile Blue tits were passing through noisily - at least 50 +, and best of all the Swifts overhead.

All the youngsters have now fledged so I was continually treated to lots of birds flying like agile fighter jets close by me. It was wonderful to watch and an experience I will cherish, as they will surely be heading south very soon.

Hope you all had an enjoyable weekend too.

Martin

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Bio's

David Courtenay, a self taught wildlife and nature photographer, has been capturing images for over 30 years. He has had a passion for wildlife since early childhood and remembers being glued to the television whenever Survival, Wildlife on One and other natural history documentaries were shown. In the 2006 he swapped his established career for the life of a wildlife photographer, such a move demands a measure of uncompromising passion and commitment.

David has travelled extensively throughout Europe as well as spending more than 7 months in India working with local guides and trackers in search of Bengal Tiger, Asian One horned Rhino and Asian Elephant. He has also photographed Wildlife in Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sumatra, Africa, Canada and America. Working closely with Conservation companies he tries to raise funds to help Wildlife that has been put on the endangered list by poaching and habitation loss

Martin Dyer has had a passion for avian wildlife since childhood, particularly raptors. Photography was also another keen interest and it was with the specific availability and control of the whole process that digital offers that Martin was then able to combine the two in 2003. Based in the UK, Martin is a regular visitor to Scotland, specifically the Isle of Mull to watch the Eagles resident there. Other trips to Europe and around the UK are usually part of Martin’s agenda in a typical year.

However, as a firm believer on making the most of the local patch, Martin has spent a lot of time and hard work creating a wildlife garden which is reaping the rewards with many new species and varieties of wildlife. A keen member of a number of wildlife photographic groups, Martin is keen to expand his portfolio into other areas of wildlife, and has already established a wide portfolio of images of fungi.