WREN FLEDGLING STUDIES, DORSET


The first I knew was a light thump against the window as a newly fledged wren chick misjudged its landing on the windowsill. By the time I had grabbed a camera and gone outside, it was sitting happily on the ground, cheeping persistently. It was tiny, yet completely unconcerned by my inching towards it while fiddling with the camera. I fired off a few shots, then it fluttered ineptly to a 5-barred gate. There were other piping little calls around, so plainly there were others. In the end I saw 4 that had flown, and located the nest in the stable – I could hear the plaintive peeping of the last to leave the nest. There were dark and pale birds, presumably male and female. Mostly they stayed separate though in the same area. However I did get one shot of a pair on the top rail of a gate – suitably posed for a caption competition. So here are a few of the photos of miniature versions of what is already one of the UK’s smallest species. For size comparison, the stones are small gravel chips.Wren Fledgling, Dorset 4 Wren Fledgling, Dorset 5 Wren Fledgling, Dorset 6 Wren Fledgling, Dorset 1

Captions?Wren Fledgling, Dorset 2

I tried to get some photos mid-cheep – surprisingly difficult to do. Mostly the attempts did not work out, but I quite liked this little fledgling having a squeak in the middle of an area of gravelWren Fledgling, Dorset 3

METAMORPHOSIS! SOUTHERN HAWKER DRAGONFLY EMERGENCE


AMAZING DRAGONFLY METAMORPHOSIS SEQUENCE

I very rarely reblog, but this set of photos from Foraging Photographer are so intriguing that they deserve to be shared around…

The Foraging Photographer's avatarThe Foraging Photographer

Actually it’s an incomplete metamorphosis, as dragon and damselflies not have a pupal stage like butterflies. Nevertheless, seeing a fully formed dragonfly emerge from the body of an aquatic nymph is a spectacular thing to see.

I’ve photographed the emergence of an adult dragonfly from its nymph body before – HERE – but I was very pleased to get the chance to do it again on Friday. To see a creature go from this…

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to this…

…is one of the most remarkable transformations in nature.

Since we built our pond five years ago, we’ve had a variety of dragon and damselfly nymphs in there. As the pond has developed from bare sand substrate with a few plants through to its current state of abundant overgrown vegetation, different species have made it their nursery, the size of the nymphs (and eventual adults) increasing in size year on year. In the first…

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COOT FEET IN CLOSE-UP: GO COMPARE WITH A MOORHEN


My last post was a short video of coots at WWT Barnes feeding weed to their young, something I hadn’t seen before. Last weekend we had our 2-year old granddaughter to stay and took her to Ravenscourt Park (West London) to look at squirrels, ducks and a lot of manky feral pigeons. There were coots on a nest in the middle of the lake; and there were more strutting round on the grass. I don’t think I have ever bothered to notice the peculiarities of a coot’s foot before. To many people, myself included, a coot is mainly a moorhen with a white beak arrangement instead of a red one. So take a look at a foot comparison. Double-click for a detailed view, especially the close-up #3.

Coot (showing feet), Ravenscourt Park LondonCoot (showing feet), Ravenscourt Park LondonCoot Feet Close-up, Ravenscourt Park London

Moorhen’s feet for comparison – completely different structurallyMoorhen_feet Mehmet Kartuk Wikijpg

 

HOW COOTS FEED THEIR CHICKS (VIDEO)


A couple of days ago I wanted to photograph some birds – Black-bellied Whistling Ducks for my main blog – at WWT Barnes at a moment when I had no camera with me. So I had to use my phone. There were some coots feeding their chicks in an amusing routine involving a great deal of work by the parents. I was amused by the little chick that didn’t join the frenzy, but quietly grazed on the vegetation at the edge of the pond.

‘SILFLAY’: RABBITS I SHOT LAST NIGHT…


With a camera, OK? Clearing a gateway to the field opposite our house has revealed a burrow.  It’s no surprise, it’s a good year for rabbits in this part of Dorset, and I have already filled 3 burrows dug in our garden… But I suspect there’s a massive warren, and they just pop up again somewhere else. A couple of nights ago I took a few photos of rabbits enjoying ‘Silflay’ (© Richard Adams, Watership Down), the evening feed in the open. A glitch eradicated them. Yesterday evening in the sunshine, I took some closer shots of 2 rabbits by the burrow. Very picturesque. As long as they stay that side of the road…

Rabbit, Totnell, Dorset 1Rabbit, Totnell, Dorset 7Rabbit, Totnell, Dorset 10Rabbit, Totnell, Dorset 4Rabbit, Totnell, Dorset 9Rabbit, Totnell, Dorset 8

A HOMING PIGEON TAKES A REST IN DORSET


We had a visitor yesterday. He announced his arrival by tramping around on a length of corrugated plastic roofing. I noticed he was ringed, double ringed in fact. So he was clearly an important visitor. I spent ages trying to get the numbers on the 2 rings, especially the ‘inside’ parts. When his legs were visible, he was too far for me to make out the numbers. When he was close (some corn helped), he was too plump for me to get a glimpse of his inside leg. In the end, once he had happily made himself at home and strolled into the house, I lay drown and photographed his undercarriage. Undignified for both of us, but by zooming on-screen I got the full numbers. So if anyone out there owns J03547 (Jersey prefix?) with a phone number 739776, I’ve got your bird…

Homing Pigeon Dorset 1

He was very tame, but slightly reluctant to let me touch him. He ate corn from my hand, though, and lapped up some fresh cold water. He seemed in excellent condition. He settled down on a low roof for the night, a very safe roost and I assumed that by this morning he would have continued on his way. Not a bit of it: he’s still here. Maybe I made life too comfortable. I checked online, and apparently in these circumstances it is good to welcome the visitor, feed it (seeds, corn, strictly no bread) and give it water. If it’s still around after 48 hours, withdraw the gratis bed and breakfast arrangement and in due course the message will be got. You hope. Meanwhile, I had the perfect opportunity to take some head shots, having noticed the iridescence of the vivid green and purple colouring in watery evening sunlight. The green in particular was startlingly bright, very like the exotic and glorious sheen on a cuban emerald hummingbird (see http://rollingharbour.com for examples). And this on a ‘mere’ Columba…

Homing Pigeon Dorset 2 Homing Pigeon Dorset 3 Homing Pigeon Dorset 4 Homing Pigeon Dorset 5 Homing Pigeon Dorset 6 Homing Pigeon Dorset 7

HOUSE SPARROW CHICKS IN THE NEST IN A HOUSE…


The gable end wall of our house is very old thick stone, and full of holes. Some are deep enough for sparrows to nest in, which they do every year. Mrs RH is quite keen to fill the holes; I enjoy the annual sparrow nesting routines in the holes, and in the gaps under the gable eaves. Last year I recorded the sounds emerging from the largest hole as the chicks grew. This year, I tried photography. The problems, without special equipment, were lighting and focus. I wasted a vast number of shots on useless photos before realising that I only had to wait until the evening sun was full on the wall. Here are some resulting photos. A few days later, they had flown!

Apart from the noise of the chicks awaiting food, nothing much to see here…Sparrow Nest Totnell 1

Half an hour later the sun has helpfully moved roundSparrow Nest Totnell 2 Sparrow Nest Totnell 3 Sparrow Nest Totnell 5

The ‘money shot’!Sparrow Nest Totnell 7Sparrow Nest Totnell 8

‘WAVING FLAGS’: MAY IRISES IN FULL BLOOM


We recently came across this striking purple iris and I was struck by the rich colouring. They aren’t rare, I know, but they are certainly less usual than the common blue / mauve varieties; and also than the more familiar yellow ones (shown below).
Purple Iris 1Purple Iris 2Purple Iris 3Purple Iris 4Yellow Iris 1Yellow Iris 2Yellow Iris 3

VINEYARDS IN CHAMPAGNE


Caillez Lemaire Plaque

The hillsides of the fertile valley of the Marne west of Epernay are almost entirely dedicated to the vine and its various products – not just champagne and wine, but also ratafia (like sherry only far nicer) and marc. There are major producers here, such as Moët et Chandon and Lanson. However every village – for example Damery and Cumières – has many independent producers or Récoltant manipulates (RM) who produce wine from their own grapes in small quantities. These operations are often found in unassuming and apparently small village houses, with the equipment for wine production housed in the basement.  None of this champagne is exported but  it is often of outstanding quality, outdoing many or most mainstream non-vintage champagnes at a fraction of the price. The only problem is, one has to go and get it; and a special occasion is the only way to justify the expedition… Here are some spring vineyards above Cumières. 

Champagne Vineyards above Cumières 1Champagne Vineyards above Cumières 2Champagne Vineyards above Cumières 5Champagne Vineyards above Cumières 6Champagne Vineyards above Cumières 7Champagne Vineyards above Cumières 8The Moët vineyardsChampagne Vineyards above Cumières 4

The poppies are starting to flower, a reminder of grimmer times in this areaChampagne Vineyards above Cumières 3

 

TALKING ‘JACKSON POLLOCKS’: PAINTING ON SILK


This sequence of paintings on textured silk is an anomaly for this blog, concerning neither wildlife, countryside, buildings or any of the other random subjects usually featured. I just liked them. I wonder what you will make of them…

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If you like the ‘pictures’ in these photos, then you may enjoy the tie I will be wearing for our son’s wedding next month – a unique creation hand painted onto silk, despite which it cost an astonishingly small amount. And if you hate it, I’m still going to wear it anyway because although it’s not a tie I’d ever have imagined wearing (and I wear them only very rarely these days) I love it!

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