Weedon's World of Nature

Antigua Day 2, Digiscoping Part 2

2009-07-19T09:47:00.004Z

The paparazzi move in on a Lesser Antillean Crested Hummingbird

Royal Tern

Black-necked Stilt

Another Royal Tern

The setting sun

Potted Caribbean highlight snippets

2009-07-16T21:55:00.005Z

Antigua
Eyeball to eyeball with baby egrets deep inside a mangrove heronry.

Surrounded by noisy Sooty Terns, a Red-billed Tropicbird flies by.

Snorkelling from Bird Island over soft corals and sea cucumbers, following cuttlefish back to the catamaran anchored offshore.

Barbuda
A million lagoon jellyfish turn upside-down to filter feed like hydroids, ignoring the Rasta at the dock.

A joyous damp boat trip powered by a bat-faced grump to cruise within laughing distance of full-grown baby Magnificent Frigatebirds.

Barbuda Warbler, mid-pish, pished to touching distance.

The horror of former slave caves; which now house an irascible, disheveled Pearly-eyed Thrasher.

Montserrat
Sleeping in George Martin's bed; replacing Green Heron and Iguana with a dive in his pool.

A male Montserrat Oriole forages oblivious to us and brings a cricket or a moth back to young from a previously unknown nest.

Turtles mating at the surface, near the edge of the Exclusion Zone.

Pure tragic emotion, seeing from the unbelievable blue sea, the hollow grey ruins of Plymouth, buried and reburied since 1997.

Brown Trembler (the Twitcher's friend) at the nest.

Dominica
Plumbeous Warbler at our fingertips in a channel through mangroves blocked at the sea by hurricane-driven rusty hulks.

Five-and-a-half hours of Quaker-driven silent vigil, awaiting the Imperial Parrot that never came, while everything else came to pay respects.

Blue-headed Hummingbird dancing around us, Queen of the forest flowers.

A powercut night under the Milky Way, new stars flashing on and off with every firefly.

Antigua Day 2, Digiscoping Part 1

2009-07-16T21:40:00.005Z

Laughing Gulls*

Views from colony on Bird Island*
We snorkelled out of this near bay to that catamaran moored in the distance. There were spiny lobsters, parrotfish, surgeonfish, holothurians and a little group of cuttlefish constantly changing colours as I followed them: close to my idea of paradise. The island to the left of the boat was covered in nesting Brown Noddies.

Preening Brown Pelican

White-crowned Pigeons

White-crowned Pigeon squab

Laughing Gull

Dickenson Bay*

*= not really digiscoped

Antigua Day 2, DSLR Part 1

2009-07-16T21:19:00.010Z

Sooty Tern
On our second day in Antigua, we spent a brief time in the morning in the gardens of the Siboney Beach Club, before sildling down the white coral sand beach to pic up our catamaran outsie Sandals. Our destination was Bird Island, home to a large Sooty Tern colony, with smaller numbers of Brown Noddies and Laughing Gulls. It was simply fantastic to walk among the nesting terns, trying to disturb them as little as possible...

Female Antillean Crested Hummingbird

Male Lesser Antillean Bullfinch

Zenaida Dove

Gecko sp

Laughing Gull

Sooty Terns

Magnificent Frigatebird

Bridled Tern

Sooty Tern

Brown Noddies

Brown Boobies

Laughing Gull

Sooty Terns

Green-throated Carib trying to see off a blue Budgie from its nest site...

Antigua Day 1, DSLR Part 1

2009-07-14T21:31:00.005Z

These shots were taken with my DSLR in the area around Dickenson Bay, Antigua, including an excellent mixed heron/egret and pelican colony.

Probably Tricoloured Heron chicks

Bananaquits

Black-necked Stilt

Carib Grackles, including a youngster begging in a bin

Great White Egret over the colony

Snowy Egrets

Egrets and Brown Pelicans

Least Tern (note grey rump compared to Little Tern)

Antigua Day 1, Digiscoping Part 1

2009-07-13T19:51:00.005Z

Here are some digiscoped images from our first day on a 'Fam Trip' to the Lesser Antillean islands of Antigua & Barbuda, Montserrat and Dominica. This first bunch are from the inlet outside the Siboney Beach Club, Dickenson Bay, Antigua.

Black-necked Stilt

Siboney Beach Club garden

'Baby' Brown Pelican

Grey Kingbird

Black-necked Stilt

Bahama or White-cheeked Pintail

Common Ground-dove

Mixed flock of dowitchers (probably Short-billed), Turnstones, Sandwich Terns, Brown Pelican and Laughing Gulls

Young juvenile Black-necked Stilt

Wilson's Plover

Royal Tern

Guess what I am?

2009-07-12T18:52:00.002Z

Your clue: the photographer (ie Mike 'Weed' Weedon of Weedon's World of Nature) has just returned from a trip to the Lesser Antilles.

Rhino

2009-06-27T17:03:00.004Z

Rhino Beetle, Sinodendron cylindricum, Serpentine Brick Pit, Peterborough. I don't remember seeing anything like this since I was a kid.
Canon PowerShot A640

Hornet Moth

2009-06-27T12:48:00.002Z

This female emerged this morning at Serpentine Brick Pit, south of Peterborough. I am literally in love with this superb species of clearwing moth. I am ashamed to say these photos were taken using flash [at its lowest setting]) as it was very dark, misty and grim this morning.
Canon PowerShot A640

Sky Lark

2009-06-26T23:41:00.003Z

One day I will take a decent digiscoped image of a Sky Lark. Meantime you are left with these less than satisfactory efforts...

Ooh, it chafes!

2009-06-23T22:28:00.001Z

Summer Chafer (I think), Thurlby Fen, Lincs

More dragonflies

2009-06-21T22:02:00.005Z

White-legged Damselfly (female)

Banded Demoiselle (male)

Banded Demoiselle (female)

Scarce Chaser(immature male)

Scarce Chaser (female)

Scarce Chaser (mature male)
I popped over to Glapthorn Cow Pastures this morning. There were about 30 car-loads of butterfly-watchers come for the Black Hairstreaks. I lasted all of five minutes, before the crowd had me fleeing (not their fault, just not my cup of tea...). I was told of a Silver-washed Fritillary there, but it wasn't enugh to hold me, so I fled to Cotterstock to catch up on the dragonflies on the River Nene.
There were a lot of Scarce Chasers (mostly mated males, but also one or two females, pairs flying in tandem (a weird site, as they are looped up) and at least immature male.
Also there were loads of Banded Demoiselles, a few hairy Dragonflies, White-legged Damselfly (I only saw one female in the short time I was there), Red-eyed Damselfies and the first Brown Hawker I have seen this year.

Antpitta revisited

2009-06-19T16:28:00.004Z

I've written the third (and final) part of a digiscoping mini-series for August's Bird Watching magazine. This month we are concentrating on 'tricks' of the experts. Included in this are Kevin Du Rose's patent rubberband technique. Using a bog-standard rubberband and a key ring, you can make a digiscoping adapter in seconds for next to nixpence.

That was how I digiscoped this shot of a Chestnut-crowned Antpitta in Colombia earlier this year (in very dark, forest conditions). I know you may have seen this shot before, but I just thought I'd present a close up, full size (if you click it), to see exactly what a rubberband can achieve. A quick check of the Exif data shows the photo was taken with a shutter speed of 1.0sec.

This is a song of hope

2009-06-18T22:03:00.004Z

Emperors emerging from our pond (late May), ascending the stairway provided by Water Soldiers (all DSLR).

Three interesting insects

2009-06-14T20:30:00.008Z

Black Hairstreak, Glapthorn Cow Pastures. This is a key site for this localised species, which draws insect fans and photographers from all over the country, each June. Jas, Ed and I met a few today, some down from Yorkshire, others from Watford, and still more from Lincolnshire. The full emergence hasn't happened yet, and most of the Brambles (which the adults drop down from Blackthorns to feed on), weren't yet in bloom.

Scarce Chaser (mature, mated male), the River Nene at Cotterstock. Compare this powder-blue insect with black, worn saddle in the pruinescence on its abdomen (from the female's grasping legs, during mating), with the rather orange immatures seen earlier in the year at Woodwalton Fen: see here and here

White-legged Damselfly (male), the River Nene at Cotterstock. This was an insect tick for me, gripping back from Bogbumper's recent post...

Pipit with grubbeth

2009-06-13T21:37:00.002Z

Meadow Pipit asking me to please vacate Dogbite Bench, Maxey pits, so it can feed its young on what appear to be mayflies (digiscoped)...

In our garden

2009-06-13T20:04:00.004Z

Frog
One of swarms of frogs and toads in the garden at the moment. And there are still at least hundreds of tadpoles metamorphosing to froglets in the big pond. It is interesting how the tiny froglets are much smaller than the tadpoles they develop from. This one, though, is a largish fella, and he has taken up residence in our smallest pond, no more than a rubber carrying basket/bucket we have sunk into the lawn (he shares it with several froglets and one or two mini-toads). Small toads (a few cm long) are in good numbers in the long grass round the drinking pond.

Small Tortoiseshell
Despite the pretty good weather of the last few days, butterflies have been in short supply inthe garden. All I have seen is one Large White, one Large Skipper and this Small Tort which was fond of the Red Valerian.

Buff-tailed Bumblebee
Part of my attempt to identify the bees of the garden is an attempt at bumblebees (by looking and photography). I believe this is a Buff-tailed, but if anyone knows different...

Pretty Hairy

2009-06-12T16:05:00.004Z

Hairy Dragonfly (male).
This was the best look I've had of this normally very active species (which seems to rarely sit still). Up close, it is remarkably attractive, particularly with those dramatic, marbled blue eyes.
Photographed with Canon PowerShot A640

Our pond

2009-06-09T15:12:00.004Z

In case anyone is wondering, this is what our garden pond looks like (sort of). There is a view from the north, looking over the birch logpile (beloved of Lesser Stag Beetles). Note the abundance of Water Soldier (which I love, as it seems to be the dragonflies' favourite plant), with a mix of other aquatic and semi-aquatic plants and the odd logpile around the edge.

Then a view to the north, toward the birch logpile (with bananas added for colour...)...

And finally, to Mt Weedon, the flower-rich mound built of debris from the digging of the pond (note edge of pond):

Emperors' Old Clothes

2009-06-07T09:03:00.007Z

Kazakhstan Part 4: Mountains near Almaty

2009-06-07T08:33:00.000Z

Sunrise hits the mountains looming above our Almaty hotel
Big Almaty Lake, purportedly home to Ibisbills, but we dipped (perhaps better later in the year, when the ice has melted somewhat)

Black-throated Accentor

These mountains echo to the lonesome wails of Himalayan Snowcocks

Himalayan Rubythroat

Lesser Grey Shrike

By Big Almaty Lake

This marmot looks pretty similar to the steppe version to me, but I was assured it was a different, mountain species...

Q: Why is Dale Forbes looking so pleased with himself?
A: After meditating over a dead beetle, he has just found a pair of Eversmann's Redstarts. Lovely.

Male and female Eversmann's Redstarts

Male Eversmann's Redstart

Cute...

2009-06-04T08:52:00.004Z

...yet somehow, ugly, but then again, cute wins.
This teeny baby Dunnock had clearly only left the nest very recently. It was extremely vulnerable on the cycleway/footpath through Longthorpe, Peterborough, and didn't bat an eyelid as I whizzed by on my bike. So, I slammed the brakes on and went back to shoo it gently to the grass under the cover of a hedge (after taking a shot or two, of course). It's parent was nearby, and I reckon it was pleased that its youngster was under better cover.
Remember, folks, baby birds are best left alone, but when they are going to be splatted or eaten any minute, a bit of cover is surely a good idea.
Give the photo a click (to enlarge it) and check out the fine feathering on its head and bristly feathers around the face.

Garden frenzy

2009-06-02T21:02:00.006Z

Springwatch is on over the next couple of weeks. I have never been its greatest fan, but this year my excuse for not watching is that there is just too much live action going on every evening to keep me out and about experiencing live wildlife drama - without the slightest need to see other people's stuff on the gogglebox.

The action that is captivating me is largely going on in our garden, which has come on in leaps and bounds as a wildlife haven, even over the last year. The 'big' pond is the natural centre of attention and now that it is two years old it is looking amazing, Each evening at the moment is seeing a few more Emperor dragonflies coming out; tonight there are another two. One was already drying out its wings and straightening its wings when I went out to look, while another nymph was making the long climb up a few blades of Lesser Reedmace to find its position for metamorphosis.

The other day I noticed that once they find a position the nymphs wiggle their abdomens around a lot. I put this down to the itch to get on with shedding that brown skin. But after watching the one this evening it looks more like they are using the abdomen-flex to feel around them to see if the chosen spot will have enough room to accommodate the size of the adult's body, particularly the wings. It tried a few perched out for size until it settled on its chosen site.

Meanwhile as the light fades, the surface of the pond becomes carpeted in dozens of small white moths flitting around. And seemingly waiting for them are several adult frogs (the ponds still has loads of tadpoles and some minuscule froglets have started emerging). I watched one frog excitedly grabbing at a falling Dog Rose petal, apparently mistaking it for a moth. It is strange how infrequently you ever see frogs eating, isn't it?

The highlight of this evening's live garden watch was going on at our largest log pile, though, which sits at the edge of the pond. It is made of big chunks of Silver Birch and kindly donated by our neighbours who were otherwise going to make a bonfire with the logs. I heard a buzzing coming from the pile and lookin up saw a Lesser Stag Beetle. Then I noticed there were several - I counted at least 11 and all looking rather amorous.

I watched one pair doing an odd dance: the smaller one (?female) was walking slowly forard and the larger following with its abdomen tip nearly touching the other's, so 'she' walked forward and 'he' walked backwards wherever she went.

Previously, I have only seen single Lesser Stag Beetles, so it was excellent to see a gathering and even the odd bit of flight action. They lay their long-living grubs in dead wood, so it is pleasing that our pile seems favoured. Thank goodness this wasn't burnt.

Garden pond miracles

2009-06-01T20:43:00.003Z

Our garden pond has been the subject of several amazing little miracles over the last half a week. At least 25 adult Emperor dragonflies have emerged, hatching out of their larval skins and expanding into the most beautiful of our insects. Here are a few shots I took tonight of one emerging.

The skin of the nymph splits between the 'wings' and the soft adult bursts forth

The adult finally fully emerges and drags itself forward to grip the exuvia - its cast-off larval skeleton

The wings start to pump up and the body to straighten

Digiscoped Scarce Chasers at Woodwalton Fen

2009-05-25T19:23:00.003Z

It was very warm on Sunday, and we had a few insects in the garden, including Broad-bodied Chaser, Azure Damselfly and Blue-tailed Damselfly at the pond. We also had a Red Admiral (a migrant) in the garden and a few Painted Ladies were passing through, seemingly heading north-west. I figured it would be a good idea to head out to Woodwalton Fen, which is famed for its Scarce Chasers at this time of year.
SO, down there I went, and the place was buzzing with the beauties, seemingly along every ditch, including the Great Raveley Drain where you park. There were also a whole load of Painted Ladies passing through, also heading NW, like the ones at home. It turns out that this movement of migrant PLs was far from local, with probably millions passing through the country on that day.
The Scarce Chasers were very obliging, comprising largely orange-toned sub-mature males and females, but with one or two males gaining pruinescence (powdery blue). I started with some digiscoping, but later moved onto DSLR (see below the Kazakhstan posts).

Pair in tandem. The male (left) is not quite fully mature, with still some orange tones in the veins of the wings. He has clasped the female round the back of her head, and she in turn is grasping the male's abdomen, which causes black patches among the blue in this species. Note she has a bit of black in the wingtips and a hint of pruinescence of her own on the underside of her abdomen (facing up here).

Maturing male

Maturing male

Maturing female (note broader abdomen than male and black wing tips)