Small is beautiful

By Words | Published April 15, 2009

It's the time of year that the insects start to make their presence felt. And time to get out the macro lens.

Dandelion seed head

As for the creatures, the bees are becoming active and doing a good job of spreading pollen.

Bee on dandelion

And here's a hoverfly. These aren't bees or wasps (despite their striped appearance), and are excellent predators of greenfly. Good for the ecology of the garden, and a favourite for macro photography.

Hoverfly

But there are other small creatures to photograph, and today's pick of the smaller birds was a distant whitethroat, and this very cooperative skylark.

Skylark swooping to land
Nature Blog Network
Camera note: the macros were all taken with the Sigma 105mm F2.8 EX DG macro lens, with the on-board flash set to help freeze the action and draw out the colours (I dialled in lots of negative flash compensation to stop the shots from being over exposed). The birds were taken with the EF 400mm f/5.6L USM lens.

This entry was posted in Bee, hoverfly, Uncategorized and tagged , , , .

16 Comments

  1. gdare April 15, 2009 at 5:04 am #

    A bee is bathing in pollen 😀

  2. studio41 April 15, 2009 at 6:04 am #

    the wings are so delicate, fun to see… like that dandy lion, too!

  3. Ukwildlife April 15, 2009 at 6:04 am #

    Well done on finding a cooperative skylark – my local ones are not quite cooperative enough! Nice macros too

  4. annoushkiss April 15, 2009 at 12:04 pm #

    Fabulous macros, very beautiful! The "gray" dandelion is superb :up: And the skylark is very nice, too!
    All in all, just a great post 🙂

  5. Words April 15, 2009 at 9:04 pm #

    Darko, thanks! Bees are fascinating to watch, so industrious.

  6. Words April 15, 2009 at 9:04 pm #

    Thanks Neil. It's a relatively enclosed wild area on the edge of town. Perfect for birds as they tend to stay in more or less one space.

  7. Words April 15, 2009 at 9:04 pm #

    Thanks Jill!

  8. Words April 15, 2009 at 9:04 pm #

    Thanks Anna! Unfortunately it means we'll get more dandelions in the garden. 🙂

  9. SittingFox April 16, 2009 at 10:04 am #

    Good catch with the whitethroat – it's years since I've seen one.

    Wonderful macro shots as always :up:

  10. Flying Red Fox Blog April 16, 2009 at 9:04 pm #

    That Dandelion seed head looks like a beautiful Chandelier :yes: well done!

  11. Words April 17, 2009 at 12:04 am #

    Thanks Adele!

  12. Words April 17, 2009 at 12:04 am #

    Thanks Mark!

  13. cakkleberrylane April 17, 2009 at 12:04 pm #

    Beautiful photos! Art and science meet!

  14. Words April 17, 2009 at 11:04 pm #

    Thanks Lois!

  15. ForestFloor April 18, 2009 at 7:04 pm #

    The dandelion seed head is stunning!! :up:

  16. Words April 18, 2009 at 11:04 pm #

    Thanks Christine!