ShareMondays2018 – A Photographic First

ShareMondays2018 – A Photographic First

For ShareMondays and Wex Mondays this week is this perfect little brown argus butterfly in the grasses at RHS Wisley Gardens last week. This was the first time I have seen this species at Wisley, the first time I have been able to positively identify the sight of one in the UK and the first time I have photographed one! I was very excited. Then I realised that there were two! I almost did a little dance but my legs had seized up from trying to crouch. A great species to be able to add to my Big Butterfly Count this past week.

Wordless Wednesday: Blue On Brown

Wordless Wednesday: Blue On Brown

#ShareMondays2018 – Jacuzzi Anyone?

#ShareMondays2018 – Jacuzzi Anyone?

Another image captured at Thorpe Lake where I go open water swimming every Tuesday. The grebes are beautiful and fun to watch too. I often see them stamping the water like this, churning it up, before they wash and preen. The sight and this image really made me smile so it’s the perfect one to post for ShareMondays!

In These Burning Lands

In These Burning Lands

Wild Fire

In these burning lands
The only safe flame is the
One carried on wings

At Heather Farm wetlands centre on Horsell Common the grasses are reduced to dry, brown scrub. The waters are at the lowest I’ve ever seen. Flowers bloom and fade fast in this heat. There have been so many heath and grassland fires already this summer and I am very concerned about these precious habitats! It’s the Big Butterfly Count this week and while I am still seeing quite a good number of grassland specialists, like this small copper, I am worried about the laval plants that are so important for the next generation of butterflies. While the heat continues, please be very careful with naked flames, BBQ’s and cigarettes around parks, heaths, grassland and woodland. This is for the Fotospeed challenge and is dedicated to the fire-fighters helping to tackle these blazes across the UK.

Dive! Dive! Dive!

Dive! Dive! Dive!

This composite of a common tern, performing an aborted dive at Thorpe Lake OWS, is for Wex Mondays and dedicated to my Dad. When Mum and I are out swimming with the birds and fish, Dad stays on the lakeside, keeping a watchful eye on us and our feathered friends. Can’t wait to dive back into the waters of the lake tomorrow in this crazy, hot weather!

Silent Sunday

Silent Sunday

Wordless Wednesday: Spotted

Wordless Wednesday: Spotted

ShareMondays2018 – Juvenile Blackcap

ShareMondays2018 – Juvenile Blackcap

This is my third image from my encounter with this dear little blackcap. After feeding and cleaning it’s beak, it hopped up into the branches of the shrubs, in the the riverside hedgerow, to preen. Some of those feathers are still quite downy and the gape (oral flanges) in the corners of the beak are clear to see. I have no idea exactly how old this fledgeling is but it certainly seems to be fending for itself well! The brambles were providing a feast for bees, butterflies and birds. My mum might just have sneaked a few ripe berries for herself too!

Blackcap In The Brambles

Blackcap In The Brambles

I’m sharing this second image of the juvenile blackcap, that I encountered yesterday, for today’s Fotospeed challenge. I haven’t had to crop these images much at all. I was so close to my subject I could hardly believe it! The blackcap was very aware of me and the numerous passers-by on the Thames Path, but was completely unfazed, gorging itself of the bountiful berries before hopping further up into the brambles to clean it’s blackberry-stained beak. I loved the way the light caught it’s face as it turned and stared straight down my lens!

Blackberry Picking Blackcap

Blackberry Picking Blackcap

Last week brought so many fantastic photography opportunities, but the ones that I most want to share in this weeks Monday photo-challenges are among the last few images that I captured yesterday in the late afternoon. I was with my parents at The Weir in Walton, on the banks of the Thames, near Sunbury Lock. There was an abundance of wildlife in the brambles and trees along the river path. I almost missed this juvenile blackcap picking blackberries. It’s often the song that first alerts me to the presence of a bird but this little one was being very quiet. It’s efforts to pick the blackberries where rather clumsy though and the sight of a shaking bramble bush gave the game away! I took a closer look and a shaft of sunlight caught upon this cheeky little face. I was pretty sure the youngster was a blackcap having seen an adult male in the vicinity earlier on. It’s perfect habitat for them as they feed on both berries and insects! I’m sharing this first image for Wex Mondays. More to follow!