Another first for me today

From the garden pond a few minutes ago.

I was watching the little froglets, so with some minor tail stumps still other without. Most of the tadpoles still are in conventional form sporting just a pair of rear legs, but some are clearly more advanced. Both Red and Blue Damsels were dancing around too, with one pair of Red's mating.

Out of teh corner of my eye, I noticed something much larger flying around. Well it was the first Broad Bodied Chaser I had seen in the garden since making the pond. This one is a Male, as it is sky blue in colour.

So a good day



Martin

Local patch - Stratford upon Avon

One of the great finds I made this year is a little wildlife reserve within walking distance of where I live. It was a beautiful evening last night with strong late sun, so with the breeze easing I took a short walk. I took the 1D111 and 180 macro on the off chance, as you do. Well I was pleased to see eight Painted Lady butterflies. There is a veritable flood of these migrants into the UK this year, and I have seen quite a number passing through the garden as well.

Additionally, there were two male Orange tips, five Speckled Woods, three large Whites, two Small Whites, a Small Heath and finally this beautiful Large Skipper on the second image.

Painted Lady

Large Skipper

After I had completed this little walk, I took a drive to a location where there are many Common Spotted Orchids. It is still too early for them yet, but they are not far off now. I also found over a dozen of another species of Orchid, which are just coming up too. I am pretty sure I know what they are, and am hoping that I will be right. I will let you know if I was right when I photograph them.

Martin

Getting ready for a week away

Just a quick note today to say that tomorrow i am flying off to Colorado and will meet up with brit photographer Phil Shaw, We will be spending the week shooting Mountain goats and Bighorn sheep at Mount Evans and then some time in Rocky Mountain NP-Cant believe how much gear we take with us and i am in the process of getting everything together-batteries charged/sensors cleaned etc-Must get a tick list sorted,Lots to get sorted so just keep an eye out from Sunday for the trip reports and keep your fingers crossed for the weather, I know its been rough there lately and last month they had 4 feet of snow

Dave

News - Cuckoos in the News

Bad news sadly - seems that numbers are done significantly, judging by this story on the BBC yesterday and The Times today. Also worth a listen to this too on the BBC iPlayer, at least if you are UK based. Apologies to our overseas readers

I would agree with this situation in England, based on my unscientific observations as I have only heard three so far, all in the same woods last weekend on my butterfly trip.

However, over the last four years I have heard and seen plenty while on Mull. In fact on one very memorable occasion last year, I saw three together, one female and two males. I guess the host nest sites (Meadow Pipits) and source food are readily available.

Hope you have been watching and enjoying Springwatch each night this week too. I missed Tuesday's episode, but will catch up with it at the weekend.

Martin

Agency work

Its great to have an agent or 2 to help sell some images and get some pennies rolling in, These days it seems everybody has a digital camera and agencies are getting very picky who they sign up, So you have to prove to them that you can keep a good quantity of quality images coming in on a regular basis, This means spending as much time out in the field getting a good collection of stuff that you hope they will accept-this also means that you will be spending many hours stuck behind the PC/Mac, Today i have just finished 650 images that will be sent out as submissions for agencies to pick which they feel will be good sellers or will plug gaps in their portfolios-so here are a few of the fox images that took in Switzerland that have seen the first light of day since i took them a year ago

Of course not all the images in the submission are foxes-they account for around 150 images,But agencies like to have images done in a project fashion so that when some good images of one species come in their salesmen can get the jungle drums going so that books/mags/calenders know that a variety of fresh work is in

Dave

Nikon Mail for 200-400 owners

Received this today from Nikon-Check your cases to avoid a costly repair

Notice to users of the Semi-soft case CL-L2 Because you are a valued customer using a Nikon AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 200-400mm f/4G IF-ED lens, we wanted to personally write you to make sure you were aware of a recent technical service advisory issued on the Semi-soft case CL-L2 case included with the lens (and sold seperately). It has recently come to our attention that select components incorporated in some CL-L2 Semi-soft cases may be compromised. This may result in cracking of the bottom of the case. In a worst-case scenario, the bottom of the case may fail. Should a failure occur, the case's contents would be subject to release and possible damage. Nikon has studied this issue thoroughly and steps have been taken to effectively correct this issue, assuring the quality of CL-L2 Semi-soft cases going forward. Recognizing the possible problem that may affect some number of CL-L2 Semi-soft cases, Nikon will replace cases affected by this issue free of charge. In addition, Nikon will take what it has learned from this event, applying it to quality assurance measures that will contribute to the prevention of similar events in the future. The CL-L2 Semi-soft case is supplied with the AF-S VR Zoom-NIKKOR 200-400mm f/4G IF-ED, and available separately for use with 400mm, 500mm, and 600mm AF-S or AF-I ED lenses. This issue does not apply to CL-L2 Semi-soft cases with a "T" (in one of 2 variations) imprinted on the bottom of the case. These products meet Nikon quality and durability standards, and replacement is not needed. To obtain a replacement CL-L2 Semi-soft case: If you own a CL-L2 Semi-soft case affected by this issue (without a "T" imprinted on the bottom of the case), please follow the return information available from our website at: http://www.nikonusa.com/cl-l2 or contact the Nikon Customer Relations Department toll-free at 800-645-6687. Calls will be received Monday through Friday, between the hours of 6am-4pm, PDT. A Customer Relations agent will confirm that your CL-L2 Semi-soft case is affected by this issue and arrange for its return to Nikon, at Nikon's expense. When the affected case is received by Nikon, a replacement CL-L2 Semi-soft case will be shipped to you free of charge. It may be necessary for the Nikon Service Relations agent to request personal information in connection with the CL-L2 replacement process. Such information will not be used for any other purpose. Nikon thanks you for making our brand an integral part of your photographic system and regrets any inconvenience this issue may have caused. Sincerely, Richard Houghton Senior Manager Customer Relations

Trip Report - Warwickshire Butterfly Conservation Site, Ryton

As I mentioned on my Sunday post, I went to an event run by Warwickshire Butterfly Conservation Trust. I managed a few images from the day, not always the best or the easiest, and some were taken for identification purposes for me, as I am not familiar with this part of wildlife photography and am keen to learn, identify and understand the subjects.

Report from the event posted here

Silver Y

Click Beetle Oedemera nobilis

Mother Shipton

Dingy Skipper

Grizzled Skipper

Small Heath

Small Heath

Dingy Skipper

Martin

More quick News - Cyprus Shooting Ban in May

Well this story here is good news. This is something that has been a real problem for many years and so well done to all the good work by BirdLife. Let's hope that this is the start of something positive.

Martin