The garden continues to be a rich source of wildlife. This morning began with another emerging dragonfly. This time I set up the camera over the pond and filmed a long series of clips as it began its process of transformation. I'll get round to editing some of the footage eventually, but for now here are a couple of stills.
Getting battered by the wind
And for those who haven't picked this up via Twitter, here's the edited video from last week.
Shutterbug also came by during the morning. It's always a pleasure to see him, and daytime fox visits are all the more welcome. He didn't stay for long, but his coat is showing continued improvement.
There were plenty of insects about as well, the pick of which was this large moth. I spotted it caught in a web (I helped it escape), just avoiding a close encounter with a large house spider that lurks in the garden ivy. Judging from its size and markings I think it's a Tawny Shears moth, but I could easily be wrong about that. I rarely get my moth identification right! And I was right to be cautious. Now confirmed as a 'Gothic'.
Camera note: all photos and video taken with the Canon 7D and EF 100mm f/2.8L macro IS USM lens.
anonymous
10 Jul 2011Wojtek writes:
That last photo of Shutterbug is really funny… he seems to be like "I know I'm cool" there. 😛
studio41
10 Jul 2011very nice photo journal here 🙂
gdare
10 Jul 2011I liked the birth of dragonfly movie a lot. Never seen anything like that before :up:
Mickeyjoe-Irl
11 Jul 2011Video was worth the wait. 🙂
Words
11 Jul 2011Erwin, thanks!
Words
11 Jul 2011Mick, thanks! It was good to get some 'proper' wildlife footage.
Words
11 Jul 2011Wojtek, yes I think he knows he runs the garden. 😉
Words
11 Jul 2011Jill, thanks!
Words
11 Jul 2011Darko, it was the first time I'd seen the whole process from start to finish. I've now got two more sequences, but no time to edit them! It's a really delicate operation for them, and they are very vulnerable to predators and the weather while they are emerging. A warm windless day is much better for them.
anonymous
12 Jul 2011TBR writes:
Your moff looks more like a "Gothic" to me Words, but I'm hardly an expert either. Nutmeg will be able to tell you as she (unlike me) is no moff snob…
TBR
Words
12 Jul 2011TBR, I think you could be right. I've looked in a bit more detail in my field guide. The two are similar (ish), but Gothic is the more likely looking closely. Thanks!
SittingFox
16 Jul 2011Moth ID worries me except for the obvious species but it's a pretty creature anyway, and Shutterbug is looking great! :up:
Words
16 Jul 2011Adele, I've got the hummingbird hawk-moth sorted, but apart from that all my moth IDs are guesswork. It was good to see Shutterbug looking more his old self.
Wulpen
19 Oct 2012Great photos