After a night of heavy rain, the big surprise today was that it was warm and sunny. And being a Bank Holiday weekend we headed out into the Downs. As usual, the rabbits were everywhere. They don't like company and have various ways of letting you know.
Thumping the ground
Hiding
And when all else fails…
The birds are plentiful, but not always easy to spot. They lurk in the shrubs and trees, or in the thick grass. Occasionally they emerge, though usually at a distance. So I have several shots of dunnocks, a white throat and a wren, all of which were none too successful. On the plus side I got what I think is my first ever shot of a blackbird in full flight. They are just about impossible in the garden (they shoot across like arrows). But even they can't avoid the camera when the next landing site is a couple of hundred yards away.
The stonechats are easier. They perch on the top of shrubs just above the tall grass. The female kept her distance, but this male was happy to come close enough for a decent shot.
We also saw a kestrel fly over, as well as swifts and house martins, but the star of today was the skylark. They emerge from the thick grass and rise up in full song. Plus they hover, which is what every photographer wants!
There are more shots from today in the May Birds album, including several more of the skylark on the wing.
I also added to my collection of butterfly shots. This was taken at the edge of a dew pond we stumbled across.
Now for the rest of the title. I promised a strange trio, but possibly the strangest thing is that I spend my time taking photos of them. Meet the snail, the ant and the young newt.
Camera note: all the birds and rabbits, and the butterfly, were taken with the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens. The trio was captured with the Sigma 105mm F2.8 EX DG macro lens.
Vulpes vulpes
26 May 2008LOL at trio! 😆 All great shots – particularly like skylark, blackbird and butterfly! :yes:
zetorres
26 May 2008:up: nice trio! :up:
Ukwildlife
26 May 2008nice one – the silver studded blue is a nice find. ANd I like your trio 🙂
cakkleberrylane
26 May 2008Wonderful trio!! Interesting to see the rabbit thumping. Excellent shots of the birds!
gdare
26 May 2008How did you managed for trio to stay that long together? I ahve tried to photograph one ant several times but never got a decent photograph, they moved too fast 😆
And this shot of blackbird is excellent, also the butterfly too :up:
Words
26 May 2008Thanks Lois. The rabbits were everywhere, but disappear into the undergrowth as soon as you get anywhere near. All those shots are fairly hefty crops.
Words
26 May 2008Thanks Vulpes.
Words
26 May 2008Thanks ZT!
Words
26 May 2008Thanks Neil. It's always nice to add a new find. I'm sure I must have seen the silver studded before but they are small enough to be tricky to i.d on the wing. Now I must get a photo of an orange-tipped!
Words
26 May 2008Darko, the ant was running around but I took a shot whenever it went close to the snail or newt. Mostly it was out of focus. The newt and snail were together for about a minute and a half. With ants it's usually a case of being very patient. Keep the camera still and focused, and wait for the ant to run across the field of vision. Chasing them is nearly impossible 😉
Flying Red Fox Blog
26 May 2008Thats an excellent series:D I like the way the antand snail on the second photo looks like they are gonna gang attack the newt 😆
I was cycling along a countr road yesterday and a few young rabbits were dashing across the road, they are quicker than me but may not be so lucky if i was in a car.
gdare
26 May 2008Thanks for a tip. I was trying to chase them 😆
*feeling stupid*
SittingFox
26 May 2008Amazing pictures of the snail and newt! :up: And, of course, the stonechat and the silver studded blue, but the skylark is special, considering how difficult they often are to capture!
Words
26 May 2008Adele, yes the skylark was a great moment. Usually they are just too far away to get any detail, but this one hovered across our path and kept fairly low. As is always the way, that came right at the end of the day and I was running low on battery and card space. I had spares on me, but it was touch and go. I think I had about 6 shots to spare after the skylark sequence.
Words
26 May 2008Mark, I couldn't quite make up my mind whether the ant was about to attack or get eaten! It scurried off in the end, out of harm's way.
Words
26 May 2008Darko, I learnt my lesson with dragonflies! I now watch for where they are flying and stay pointed more or less at one spot, just keeping an eye out to see if anything is going to come into shot. It's just about the only way!