Barn Owl

I have been watching a Barn Owl near me for some time and now think I know a couple of its' favourite perches. I am still only seeing it after 8pm so the light is still not great but last night managed to get a few shots as it flew over me.

Glanville Fritillary Caterpillars

There are a lot of Glanville Fritillary caterpillars about right now so I took a walk down to Compton (Shiphards Chine) with my macro lens. All images are hand held as I only had about 20 minutes. I have heard that there are also a lot in Ventnor at the moment, so it looks like the hard winter hasn't affected them.








As I went to leave this beautiful Small Copper Butterfly crossed my path and I just managed to get a couple of shots. It was a bit windy so I hope to go back with the tripod when the wind drops a bit.

Wheatear arrivals

I seem to be having a weekend of every time I went out for a walk with my girls and no camera I would see all sorts of things but when I get the opportunity to take the camera with me not a thing.

I have done a lot of walking this weekend and have been seeing a lot of Swallows and Wheatears all along the south west side of the Island. Although I have been finding that where I see them in the morning isn't where they are the evening.

Here are a couple of shots taken from the car this morning of a pair of Wheatear. They look like they have found a suitable nesting site but were a bit unsure about the sheep.

Squirrels down the lane

I have occasionally photographed the Red Squirrels where I live but I had never seen them on a regular basis. This winter I even started leaving a few hazelnuts out, hoping for that beautiful shot in the snow but it wasn't to be.

In recent weeks myself and a good friend had started to notice them more and had both got a few shots in the same place. A few weekends ago, we decided to stop by the area on our way back from an early shoot along the coast. Within 10 minutes we had four Red Squirrels darting about between us and some gardens.

There was a lovely little tree stump in the corner which looked like it would make the perfect place for a shot. It was one of the first places to get the early morning sun and would make a lovely natural shot. The stump was quite old and I managed to get a few hazelnuts into the stump out of my line of sight. I only had to wait about 5 minutes before one of the Squirrels had come to the stump and taken the bait. At first they would take the nut and run out of sight but I only had to wait a short while before one of the Squirrels sat on the edge of the stump and ate one.The next time I was able to visit the squirrels it was Easter Sunday and I was really wanted to try something a little different. On arriving at the area there were two little patches of primroses. It was perfect, but would it work? I positioned a hazelnut behind the primroses that I wanted in shot and waited. Initially they went straight to the tree stump but eventually this little one stood right behind them. It couldn't have been any better. I have a few shots but liked this one the best with its little paws up and staring out of shot. The first few shots the squirrel was facing into the space on the left which worked perfectly for the composition and I feel still works very well with this pose too.

This shot is of the odd one out of the bunch. Its' coat is much paler, almost a grey brown colour rather than red and also was the most jumpy of all the squirrels. But I like a challenge and was very pleased with this one.

Every time I watch squirrels I can't help but think of Eddie Izzard doing stand up and talking about the way squirrels always seem to stop and have that look of 'did I leave the oven on, no I'm a squirrel'. This one looks like I've caught him doing something shifty.

Over the next few days I came back and had a lovely time photographing the Red Squirrels. I even introduced another log as the first log had been half destroyed by a fox late one evening. The smell of the fox was quite strong and I had pushed some peanuts deep into the stump for a little challenge for a couple of Jays. The fox had obviously been desperate to get at the nuts deep in the stump that the Jay couldn't reach.

After spending a few days at this spot I soon realised that this little patch of ground was a haven for wildlife. I will post more images from the area in a later blog.

I liked this image as it looks as if the squirrel thought I couldn't see it hiding behind the new log. One morning the grass was quite damp and this little chap would stop and shake himself violently almost looking like he was trying to turn himself into a drill.

I still liked the idea of using the primroses in shot but wanted more from the squirrels. This time I positioned a nut right in the middle of the flowers and this little squirrel entered from stage right and didn't forget his lines. Those primroses never smelt so sweet.

I would really like to get some good shots of them in the tree but there is an awful lot of small branches between me and their trees. Here are a couple of my images so far.

For this image I had hid myself in the shadows and low branches of a tree and some bushes to get a little closer. It gave me a great angle on the squirrels playground.

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Spring is here?

I have been really busy photographically but as it is the Easter holidays, when I have been at home I haven't had much time to write up any of the shoots. Have had lots of nice walks up to the Tennyson, along Compton beach, Devil's Chimney and more, we have also been to Robin Hill on a few occasions and I have been lucky enough to photograph Steven Hain's birds (White Falconry). I have worked with Steven and his team on a few occasions and always enjoy the opportunity to get shoot his magnificent raptors and now a Vulture too. I have also spent a lot of time with some local Red Squirrels which has been great fun and have some really lovely images. I will cover the Falconry and the Red Squirrels in later blogs.

I had been hoping to capture the Hares boxing and some more spring action from them but the wonderful English weather changed again and we had a bit of a cold spell resulting in the Hares being very elusive. I glimpsed some boxing one early morning (image above shows the two in the middle but it was a split second of boxing and then all over) in the fog but since then the hares have been seen further a field.

I have found a couple more spots with hares but it seems I have missed mt opportunity again this year.On one morning I did manage to spend a few minutes watching a Kestrel hunting at Compton Bay and had managed to get quite close until some holiday makers saw me with my camera and came over to ask what I was photographing and the Kestrel moved on.

I also took a trip over to Blackwater to see the Little Owls but unfortunately it rained constantly the whole time. I did manage to photograph one of the birds but the light poor and it was cold and damp. I have been hoping to go back but it will have to wait until term time again.

I am still out and about following some Barn Owls but only seeing them when the light is very low, this has led me to find an old fox who seems to be not bothered with me so hope to get some good shots of him soon. These images were shot at iso 6400 as it was about 30 mins after sunset and very cloudy.