{"id":1141,"date":"2008-05-26T00:05:42","date_gmt":"2008-05-25T23:05:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.permuted.org.uk\/photography\/archives\/1141"},"modified":"2013-11-20T21:23:29","modified_gmt":"2013-11-20T21:23:29","slug":"a-day-on-the-downs-and-a-strange-trio-in-the-garden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.permuted.org.uk\/photography\/a-day-on-the-downs-and-a-strange-trio-in-the-garden\/","title":{"rendered":"A day on the Downs (and a strange trio in the garden)"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

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.
<\/span> Thumping the ground<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span> Hiding<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span> And when all else fails…<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

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!<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

There are more shots from today in the May Birds<\/a> album, including several more of the skylark on the wing.<\/p>\n

I also added to my collection of butterfly shots. This was taken at the edge of a dew pond we stumbled across.<\/p>\n

Silver Studded Blue<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

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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.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[980,991,1026,8,253],"tags":[308,33,1144,114,423,1164],"class_list":["post-1141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-birds-2","category-insects-2","category-newt-amphibians-2","category-rabbit","category-snail","tag-ant","tag-birds","tag-butterfly","tag-newt","tag-rabbits","tag-snail","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t